Day: March 4, 2014

In a speech to the American Israel Public Affairs Committee, McCain (R-Ariz.) said the "blatant act" by Russian President Vladi­mir Putin "cannot stand," even as he acknowledged that the United States does not have a realistic military option to force Russian troops to withdrawal.

And that, in a nutshell, is what is wrong with the Republican Party war hawks led by John McCain and Lindsay Graham. Their foreign policy vision essentially boils down to this formula: TOUGH TALK AND THREATS + ? = PROFIT Where profit can either figuratively mean policy success (i.e. regime change, or Russian withdrawal from the Crimea) or literally mean profits for defense contractors. Republicans resort first and always to military threats whenever a crisis occurs, because they truly believe it is the only way to 1) express and demonstrate the greatness of America and our strength, and 2) it is the only way to achieve American foreign policy goals. And yet, even John McCain, the belligerent war monger that he is, admits that we cannot go to war with Russia. So what is the point in threatening a military option? If you cannot back up a threat, doesn't that make you appear even weaker?

I tried to come up with a phrasing of the Coons Doctrine which captured Senator Coons' claim that the United States must constantly demonstrate Bushian levels of breathtaking and ill-conceived belligerence on a world wide scale, or else be perceived as pussies. I think I only partially captured it. We've seen this idiotic foreign policy doctrine promoted before. Usually it is territory covered by cretins like John Bolton and Dick Cheney. To hear it promoted by our blue state Democratic Senator is truly startling. Coons appears to be taking former Ct Senator Joe Lieberman as a foreign policy godfather. If it is true and Coons is guided by Lieberman on foreign policy and Carper on domestic policy - I can't help but wonder what good he can possibly be to his Delaware constituents? That isn't to say that Christine O'Donnell would have been better, but at least O'Donnell would have been a one termer. Coons, being a Democrat, has a lifetime sinecure in the Senate. Let that sink in as you consider the fact that Coons laments the fact that we didn't go to war in Syrian.