redblueamerica.com

Nobody can contest that Senator Mc Cain is an honorable man.

 However, his claim to have been a Reagan "Foot Soldier" could be more harmfull than beneficial for his campain.

In my humble opinion,there is a great deal of mythology as far as the " accomplishments" of Reagan in the field of international policies. He is wrongly credited to have " Won the Cold War", mainly because of his famous one liner: " Mister Gorbachev, tear down this wall". As matter of fact,the Soviet Empire was crumbling on it's own (for economical reasons).Gorbachev never got full credit for his courrage of giving up control of the Soviet apparatus.

My main bone of contention with pundits crediting Reagan foreign policy is with the geopolitical long term blunder of Afghanistan. The Reagan's " Freedom Fighters" were generously financed and armed by the CIA. The " Freedom Fighters" of yesterday are today Talibans and terrorists.That,to me, show an extreme short view of geopolitics.

One could argue that the last Republican President with a good long term Foreign Policy was....Richard Nixon. He managed to get the US out of Vietnam and to open diplomatic talks with China.

If Mc Cain get elected, he will hopefully not follow the three diplomatic golden rules of the current Administration:

1- Do not talk to your enemies

2- Have poor judgement in picking " New Friends" ( Musharaff)

3-Never listen to your real friends ( such as " Old Europe")

It is time to get back in the field of Foreign Affairs people as sharp as Kissinger & Allbright instead of the clueless Secretary Rice.

Note: I am a French filmmaker/photojournalist based in the US since 1983. To view my main photo/Editorial web site go to http://www.digitalrailroad.net/Mercier