Posted by Tina
One way to measure a mans worth is to look at his record. In todays troubled world a record of calling the shots right may be one of the most important yardsticks we could use when determining our next president. Investors Business Daily provides a glimpse into McCains experience and record on foreign affairs in an editorial titled McCain’s Experience Shows Through:
McCain has a consistently clear reading on America’s role in the world. He’s seen war up close in Vietnam, and knows the mentality of tyrants and thugs. He also has focused on foreign affairs for decades, helping found Ronald Reagan’s International Republican Institute in 1983, which, along with the National Democratic Institute, has attempted to spread democracy through the world. It’s not surprising that he calls for a league of democracies to replace the stagnant U.N. and ineffective multilateral organizations. *** McCain has been calling Russian intentions right since 1999, when he warned that Vladimir Putin was bad news and said Russia’s strike at Chechnya would in time spread to Georgia. *** It was later echoed in his defiant support of the surge in Iraq, which challenged conventional wisdom at the time but has since brought America a real victory in a long war. *** It was also there in 1994, when the former POW defied Republicans to urge the normalization of trade relations with Vietnamgiving President Clinton crucial legislative cover to lift the embargo. Events show he provided America with a vital partner and emerging ally to counter the growing power of China in Southeast Asia. McCain cited that strategic picture in 1994. *** In 1988, he was one of the loudest advocates for Reagan’s missile shield in Europe, bluntly saying that supporters of what was then derisively called “Star Wars” “believe in protecting our security,” while “opponents believe in undermining our security.” Today, with military tests successfully knocking missiles out of the sky, the wisdom of that is obvious, too.