HOW I LEARNED TO STOP WORRYING...

“I looked the man [Russian Prime Minister Putin] in the eye. I found him to be very straight forward and trustworthy and we had a very good dialogue. I was able to get a sense of his soul.”
George Bush on Russian Prime Minister Putin

“When I looked at Putin’s eyes I saw 3 letters: KGB”
Sen. John McCain

“I’ve expressed my grave concern about the disproportionate response of Russia and that we strongly condemn the bombing outside of South Ossetia”
George Bush interviewed on NBC Sports

“With our allies, we now must stand in united purpose to persuade the Russian government to end violence permanently and withdraw its troops from Georgia. WE ARE ALL GEORGIANS!”
Sen. John McCain

“Yesterday, I heard Sen. McCain say, ‘We are all Georgians now, Well, very nice, you know, very cheering for us to hear that, but OK, it’s time to pass from this. From words to deeds.”
Georgian President Saakashvili

“The United States spent 45 years working very hard to avoid a military confrontation with Russia. I see no reason to change that approach today.”
US Sec. of Defense Robert Gates

“The United States of America stands with the democratically elected government of Georgia, [and] insists that the sovereignty and territorial integrity of Georgia be respected.”
President George Bush


“One can forget about any talk about Georgia’s territorial integrity”
Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov

“In the 21st Century nations DON’T invade other nations”
Sen. John McCain

“The Americans can take Baghdad…we can take Tbilisi [capital of Georgia].”
Russian Soldier in Georgia speaking with NPR.

“The current demand for our forces exceeds the sustainable supply. We are consumed with meeting the demands of the current fight [in Iraq] and are unable to provide ready forces as rapidly as necessary for other potential contingencies”
Army Chief of Staff, Gen. George Casey during a congressional hearing

“Well boys, I reckon this is it-nuclear combat toe to toe with the Roosskies. Now look, boys, I ain’t much of a hand at makin’ speeches, but I got a pretty fair idea that something doggone important is goin’ on back there. And I got a fair idea the kinda personal emotions that some of you fellas may be thinkin’. Heck, I recKon you wouldn’t even be human bein’s if you didn’t have some pretty strong personal feelin’s about nuclear combat. I want you to remember one thing, the folks back home is a-countin’ on you and by golly, we ain’t about to let ‘em down. I tell you something else, if this thing turns out to be half as important as I figure it just might be, I’d say that you’re all in line for some important promotions and personal citations when this thing’s over with. That goes for ever’ last one of you regardless of your race, color or your creed. Now let’s get this thing on the hump-we got some flyin’ to do!”
Major T. J. “King” Kong in the film DR. STRANGELOVE

The country of Russia is estimated to have over 6,000 nuclear weapons in it’s arsenal. It also has more natural gas and oil reserves than even the Middle East. One fourth of ALL European natural gas is supplied by Russia. In recent years it has shown no hesitation in using those supplies for political gain, often by cutting off heating supplies in the middle of winter. Russia is also one of the few countries with ANY influence over Iran.
Perhaps America needs to reconsider how important it is to think and to talk before threatening action that cannot be sustained in a realistic manner. “Cowboy Diplomacy” makes for great movies…but the consequences in the real world can be deadly.

“A strange game. The only winning move is not to play. How about a nice game of chess?”
The computer Joshua from the movie WAR GAMES