John McCain, if you "hate war," why is neocon Randy Scheunemann your chief foreign policy adviser?

Republican presidential candidate Sen. John McCain (R-Ariz.) speaks with his director of foriegn policy and national security Randy Scheunemann (L), as they board McCain's chartered plane at Washington's Ronald Reagan Airport, May 16, 2008. (Associated Press)

Randy Scheunemann: McCain Adviser Campaigned for War

By Peter Slevin

CHICAGO -- Randy Scheunemann, the foreign policy adviser to Sen. John McCain who today accused Sen. Barack Obama of a "policy of delusion" toward terrorism, was a prominent advocate of the U.S. invasion of Iraq in the lead-up to the war.

In late 2002, Scheunemann helped create The Committee for the Liberation of Iraq and became the group's executive director. Its mission, pursued with the Bush administration's blessing, was to build public support for the overthrow of Iraqi leader Saddam Hussein.

McCain (R-Ariz.) was on the committee, along with Sen. Joseph Lieberman (I-Conn.), former Secretary of State George Shultz, retired Army Gen. Wayne A. Downing and former Nebraska Sen. Bob Kerrey (D-Neb.), who described the project at the time as "a group of people who will talk to Americans about why the liberation of Iraq is something the United States ought to do."

Scheunemann is a longtime GOP foreign policy specialist who has also worked on the staffs of former Senate Republican leaders Bob Dole (Kan.) and Trent Lott (Miss.) He was a board member of the neoconservative think tank, the Project for the New American Century, which often reflected the views of Bush administration hardliners.

In recent years, Scheunemann has registered as a lobbyist for several foreign governments, including Georgia, Macedonia and Taiwan, according to published reports. His firm has also lobbied for the National Rife Association and defense contractor Lockheed Martin.

http://blog.washingtonpost.com/the-trail/2008/06/17/randy_scheunemann_mccain_advis.html

September 4, 2008

Word Watch: Republicans for "Peace"
Posted by Michael Scherer

The signs have been distributed all across the convention floor: "Peace" they say, hundreds of them, as if this was still 1968 and Eugene McCarthy still had a chance. And upstairs, in the convention kitsch shop, they are selling tie-dye "John McCain 2008" buttons. A little bit of conservative irony, and a whole lot of tactical messaging. Republicans are about to announce to the nation that they are the party of peace. The betting money is that McCain will not go so far tonight as to endorse Dennis Kucinich's plan to christen a new "Department of Peace."

UPDATE: "John is a leader committed to peace," Mel Martinez just said from the podium. It's a theme.

UPDATE: Richard Nixon was also big on "Peace," as in "Peace, Economy, Prosperity."

http://www.time-blog.com/swampland/2008/09/word_watch_republicans_for_pea.html