Putin accuses U.S. of orchestrating Georgian war to benefit...John McCain

Pretty safe to say Putin would rather have Obama in the White House, and would say anything to help Obama.

A pathetic castrate appeaser is exactly what Putin and the rest of our enemies are hoping for.

These are serious charges. This puts a serious dent on the relationship between Russia and the U.S. should McCain wins. Bush was friendly with Putin and that did not accomplish time. Why be friendly with this guy? He is a moron.

That said, I don't dismiss this government doing something that drastic. People in government republican or democrat do some really unthinkable things. It's no pretty business.

The part of the interview that I saw seemed less accusatory on Putin's part, but I don't think I saw the whole thing. In any case, it appears there were Americans on the ground in the area of fighting, though it's unclear what role they were playing and even if they were civilian or military. So remains to be seen what the facts are in this case.

Obviously it would be prudent to take Putin's accusations with a grain of salt (at best). He certainly wouldn't mind fanning the flames a bit to deflect Russia's role in the conflict. And there is a lot of handwaving being done on all sides right now, with everyone trying to get the upper hand on the public perception of reality. Hopefully someone with intelligence is working behind the scenes to accurately assess and deal with the situation, because the "leaders" certainly aren't acting like adults.

Obviously Putin wants to blame the U.S.. He presented no proof other than 'there were Americans on the ground'. The main question is, is this government even capable of this?

Putin is playing our liberal media.

There would be absolutely nothing to gain by the US picking a fight with Russia. However, by claiming this, Russia hopes to steer the outcome of the US election.

Capable? Every government is capable of anything.

Do I believe our government would start a war just to ensure an election outcome. No.

I wonder why he said that. Could it be that he wants Obama to win? If so, why? I really doubt that this was something planned by the Bush administration for any reason; Georgian troops were deployed in Iraq, the last thing we needed there were less troops because they had to be redeployed home. But it is a great way of convincing the Asians that it really wasn’t Russia’s fault, right?

Bush has treated Russia the same way hes has treated all countries since being placed in office. Bush has continued to lie to Russia about not placing missiles on Russia's border. Would any of you McCain followers want Russian missiles placed on our borders? Say Canada?

America and especially Bush does not own the world although he has been trying to act like a wannabe dictator.

We do not belong in Georgia and this is a regional problem and Bush antagonizing Russia was thought to be a plus for war monger McCain. The republican hypocrites that say they want peace and freedom do nothing but make themselves lyres every time they speak. The people of Ossida have a right to choose how they want to live just like Americans do. The only interest Bush has there is the pipeline not the people.

Phileas Fogg,

Obviously you don't have a very good understanding of Obama! An appeaser he is not although you need to define that term to make it meaningful. Obama will not hesitate to take military action if it is warranted! And that is the only time one should take military action. Bush didn't learn this. And trying to insult him is just like trying to insult Bush, McCain, Hilliary or Mitt Romney. It is a reflection on the insulter, not the insulted.

I kind of think Putin might actually want a more war like relationship with the US, giving him a focal point to energize his people and call for sacrifice. He might rather have McCain in the White House.

Ivan, make up your mind, please. First you say any governmetn is capable of anything and then say the US government would never start a war to influence the outcome of an election. I'm counting on that being the situation in this election! But at the same time I would never put it by the likes of Rove to start a war for that purpose. I'm very glad he is out of the administration.

He would feel that, although the war was wrong and bad, by keeping his favored people in there he would be doing the country a service! The end justifies the means!

Putin is attempting to effect the election in the US. This is no different than the terrorist train bombings in Spain which clearly had a major effect on the outcome of the elections there.

Hezbollah, Iran, N. Korea all want Obama to win, and now their nursemaid Russia has joined them. It is intellectually dishonest to claim there is no reason for this. Think back to how Iran held US hostages under the castrate "leadership" of Carter, and gave them up the day Regan took office.

To claim these countries want "better relations" with us through Obama would be a stretch, none of these countries want a relationship with the west, the want a weak US president so their belligerence will go unchecked.

Our enemies support Obama because the see him as a Neville Chamberlain. Obama came out hours after Russia's invasion and parroted Putin's party line. Obama bought wholesale, their spin of the events.

Pathetic, Castrate, Appeaser.

Good points many of you.

I think this is like a chess game. Out government could look at all the reasons for not doing this and say, "hey, because of that nobody would think it's us"

Christopher, it seems that the last thing they would want is Georgian troops out of Iraq. If I am not mistaken there were 3000 of them. They probably did not need them anymore given we have just announced the length of tours of our soldiers.

Still they could use that as one the reasons nobody would believe it's us. Just playing devil's advocate. Obviously we can't know. But it's good to know that at this time, after Iraq, nobody trusts us. There are many people in the world who believe Putin on this. Even in the US some have predicted a terror attack or a Bin Laden tape for the fall.

Iran had a legitimate grievance and the only reason Reagan got the hostages back is he paid them off to hold them until the election was over and then paid them every ounce of gold that the American puppet stole from them.

I sup[pose we should start a world war with Russia when McCain loses the election.

neocons are really asenine!

Reagan was really nothing but another Hollywood blowhard.

Putin was the evil one in many articles here but now that he is pointing fingers saying that the crisis helps a US politician, and that fits into some of the paranoids mindsets so now he is believable?

Of course Obama is Putin's preferred candidate. He knows McCain as a Cold War warrior and Obama has made no secret he wants changes in our foreign policy course and a likely turn from foreign affairs towards domestic ones gives Russia a free hand. Who would you want to face if you were the Russians?

Putin was the evil one in many articles here but now that he is pointing fingers saying that the crisis helps a US politician, and that fits into some of the paranoids mindsets so now he is believable?

Of course Obama is Putin's preferred candidate. He knows McCain as a Cold War warrior and Obama has made no secret he wants changes in our foreign policy course and a likely turn from foreign affairs towards domestic ones gives Russia a free hand. Who would you want to face if you were the Russians?

Jack E,

even Carter said long ago the Iranians held those prisoners to humiliate HIM not because of any Reagan plot. That was a pretty sad shot.

If I were the Russians I would want to face someone intelligent that I could negotiate in honesty with not a lying neocon that has delusions of ruling the world.

Charles,

I believe you are under a false impression of Barak Obama. He definitely believes in diplomacy first, but if the need is there he will, without doubt, marshal the full force of the American military machine to deal with whoever is necessary! It takes a strong man to be gentle and reasonable until that is proven to be without benefit. The weak generally are the ones who bluster and threaten, trying to convince themselves that they are not weak. The strong have no need for such pretense. And Obama will prove to be a very strong leader!

Do the Russians or others outside know that Obama is strong? They may well see him as too soft. But if so, they will be in for a surprise!

Jack E., is pretty close to the facts concerning the hostages and Carter/Regan. I don't for a minute believe that it was Regan who arranged it, but it is virtually guaranteed that some of the Ollie Norths and Poindexters set up the pay offs to the Iranians. Just as they shipped them arms later on, these people wanted Regan in there and their willingness to use unethical means has been proven legendary. Regan wouldn't have approved but he was always kept in the dark.

Charles nobody here has said that Putin is correct. We are debating what Putin could gain from this, who benefits, is Bush even capable of something like this.

Has anyone hear heard of Pravda? How about Putin's control over the Russian media and press. If a man like Putin puts this out considering his background in the KGB, I don't believe it. C-SPAN was showing clips of the Russian controlled media message that is aired here in America! That was really interesting! They were showing Russian media clips of the fighting in Georgia and then show clips from the U.S. news. You would think that these were two entirely incidents occurring in two different places. I am very wary of what comes out of Russia lately.

I'll believe this when the FBI arrests the members of the Mafia who paid the Cubans to assassinate President JFK.

Just can't help finding a way to blame the big, bad republicans for all of the problems in teh world, can we?

Conspiracy theories? No comment.

On the issue of Georgia and Russia, did anyone balk when the UK sent troops to kick the Argentinians out of the Falklands? Much ado about nothing if you ask me.

Phineas,

You are half right. Putin and Iran and all the others want OBama to be the President. But so do England, France, Germany Italy, China, Japan Africa, and everyone else on Earth. Why? Because Bush has not only been the worst domestic president since Hoover, he has been the worst President as a World leader ever. And most people are not sure if McCain will be any better.

I agree with Vivian. This is another of the many internal Soviet empire rumblings. Putin cannot be trusted, and on one does. On the other hand, it is a grave mistake to alienate Russia.

There was a tremendous degree of distortion in the Western PRess about the Chechen war. That was actually a war against Islamic terrorism. Ask anyone who lived in Moscow during the years of Chechen rule there. We are also not always told the truth, which I know will come as a big shock to all.

I think everyone is ready for anyone else to be president.

Putin, first and foremost, wishes to solidify his control in Russia and capitalize on the gains made there in recent years. He wants Russia to be a major player on the world stage and to have a say in all changes that occur in the world.

He is not particularly choosy about the methods used to accomplish his ends, but this has been standard with Russia for many years.

Jack E.,
I am coming to this discussing very late and trying to catch up because it is a fascinating discussion.

1) RE: "Reagan was really nothing but another Hollywood blowhard. " I wholeheartedly agree. I cringe when every Republican has to be a "Reagan Republican" in order to have any credibility. Ronny Raygun was just what he was: an actor and an orator with some really good Washington insiders as handlers.

2) Carter and Iran - I read some place (I don't remember where because I read so much) that William Casey, CIA Driector was negotiating behind the scenes with the Iranians during the hostage crisis. Part of the deal was to release the hostages right after Reagan was sworn in.

3) I believe that Carter is the greatest President that we have had in modern American history although that is not an opinion shared by many. I admire him because I have read much of what he has written. People say he was a better President out of Office than when he was in Office. I don't agree. I think that a set of circumstances (e.g., the economy, high energy costs, poor reputation abroad, gas crisis) "conspired" to cause the American people lose faith in him and his Administration. I wonder where we would be with respect to alternate forms of energy if we had listened to Carter 30 years ago. I credit him with building a foundation for research into alternate energy sources. Too bad we didn't listen like Brazil did.