Not a Gaffe? McCain Campaign Willing to Destroy Relationship with
Europe to Conceal Confusion

By Max Bergmann, Huffington Post. Posted September 19, 2008.

Worse than Bush. There can be no doubt about it now.

In McCain's bizarre interview with Spanish Owned Union Radio he
refused to say whether he would meet with Spain's Prime Minister, José
Luis Rodríguez Zapatero. Listening to the interview repeatedly, it
simply seemed that McCain had no idea who Zapatero actually was.

McCain seemed to think he was a Latin American autocrat -- despite the
reporter repeatedly saying "I am talking about Spain." This gaffe
would seem to have very significant implications. Not knowing who the
leader of Spain was or thinking Spain was in Latin America would not
really be shocking coming from his running mate, but McCain has run on
his foreign policy expertise and such confusion completely undercuts
his credibility. Furthermore this gaffe would bring up real questions
about his age. Is McCain really prepared to deal with a crisis at 3AM,
when he can't even remember who the leader of Spain is during a late
evening interview?

But was it a gaffe? While it definitely seemed so, now Randy
Sheunemann, McCain's foreign policy adviser is shockingly saying that
this is not a gaffe but an intentional expression of policy toward
Spain. Instead of just admitting that it was small gaffe late in the
day, the McCain campaign has decided that they care so little about
governing that they are willing to potentially nuke the U.S.-Spain
relationship just to get elected. Sheunemann emailed the Washington
Post, saying:

The questioner asked several times about Senator McCain's willingness
to meet Zapatero (and id'd him in the question so there is no doubt
Senator McCain knew exactly to whom the question referred). Senator
McCain refused to commit to a White House meeting with President
Zapatero in this interview," he said in an e-mail.

This is beyond extreme. This is beyond reckless. This is insane.

McCain won't meet with a NATO ally, that has nearly 1,000 troops in
Afghanistan, that has lost more than 20 soldiers there, has been
brutally attacked by Al Qaeda, is incredibly influential in Latin
America, has the seventh largest economy in the world, is a DEMOCRACY,
and is a large and influential country in the EU. Won't meet with
them?

The only plausible explanation for McCain not wanting to meet with
Zapatero, is that, like Bush, he is still angry about Spain pulling
its troops out of Iraq in 2004. If McCain carries that much of a
grudge then how in the world will he rebuild our relationship with
Europe, as he has said he would do. In a big foreign policy speech to
the Los Angeles World Affairs Council in March, McCain expressed a
desire to strengthen the transatlantic relationship.

We cannot build an enduring peace based on freedom by ourselves, and
we do not want to. We have to strengthen our global alliances as the
core of a new global compact...The bonds we share with Europe in terms
of history, values, and interests are unique. Americans should
welcome the rise of a strong, confident European Union as we continue
to support a strong NATO.

McCain even told El Pais, Spain's major newspaper, in April that he
would bring Prime Minister Zapatero to the White House. (translation
via America Blog)

Republican presidential candidate, John McCain, is ready to change the
policy of estrangement with the Spanish government that was put in
place for four years now by George Bush. He declared that he was ready
to fully normalize bilateral relations and that Jose Luis Rodriguez
Zapatero was invited to the White House.

And does McCain not know that his campaign has already met with a
representative of Zapatero's office? From the BBC in April:

Recently, Bernardino Leon, who is currently heading the General
Secretariat of the Prime Minister's Office to attempt to foster
Zapatero's interest in international issues, travelled to Washington
to meet the foreign policy advisers to Democratic candidates Hillary
Clinton and Barack Obama and to Republican candidate John McCain. [BBC
Monitoring 4/22/08]

But Sheunemann's statement now makes it clear that there will be no
rebuilding of the transatlantic relationship. Instead, McCain will
continue the ruinous approach of the Bush administration and continue
to alienate our allies and further isolate America. This should not
come as a surprise. McCain has after all shown in the past a reckless
eagerness to attack America's allies.

See below for some of his more prominent attacks:

McCain attacked our allies as "vacuous and posturing" for opposing war
in Iraq. "Sen. John McCain (R-Ariz.) said that "Iraq is the test" of
both the U.N. and NATO. He charged that the alliance is failing the
test because of the "flawed calculations" and "vacuous posturing" of
Germany and France. McCain and Rumsfeld both said that recent French
and German foot-dragging over even discussing the possible deployment
of NATO assets, such as Patriot anti-missile batteries, to Turkey also
threatened to damage the alliance." [Washington Post, 2/9/03]

John McCain engaged in the anti-French bashing of the far right
because they opposed the invasion of the war. "The Lord said the poor
will always be with us, and the French will be with us, too," said
McCain, a member of the Armed Services Committee. "This is part of a
continuing French practice of throwing sand in the gears of the
Atlantic alliance. But now they're playing a dangerous game, and
coming close to rendering themselves irrelevant." A few days later he
even said that, "Sen. John McCain (R-Ariz.) likened France to an aging
'40s starlet "still trying to dine out on her looks but doesn't have
the face for it." [NY Times, 2/14/03. NY Daily News, 2/17/03]

McCain attacked Germany for opposing the war - saying they lacked
"political courage." McCain said that former German Chancellor Gerhard
Schroeder "looks little like the ally that anchored our presence in
Europe throughout the Cold War...A German Rip Van Winkle from the
1960s would not understand the lack of political courage and
cooperation with its allies on the question of Iraq exhibited in
Berlin today." [Washington Times, 2/14/03]

On the war path, McCain said didn't care if invading Iraq damaged UN,
thought Iraq would prove UN to be irrelevant. "If war is necessary,
the United States will not 'be going it alone,' he said, but will wage
war in Iraq with a coalition of allies - with or without the blessing
of the United Nations. 'The problem here is not whether we do damage
to the United Nations if we have to take military action,' he said.
'The question is, will the United Nations follow the League of Nations
and risk irrelevancy.'" [Washington Times, 2/14/03]

McCain dismissed interests of French and Russians over invasion, said
they were just based on commercial concerns. McCain said that "The
French and Russians are putting their "commercial interests above
international law, world peace and the political ideals of Western
civilization." [Washington Times, 2/14/03]

At German security conference in the run up to the war McCain echoed
Rumsfeld's notorious attacks on our European allies. "Rumsfeld has
made headlines across Europe in recent weeks for a series of barbs at
those who oppose U.S. policy." McCain clearly echoed Rumsfeld's
statements, "McCain accused the Germans and French of "calculated
self-interest" and "vacuous posturing" that left NATO with a "terrible
injury." German Foreign Minister Joschka Fischer said Germany would
support its ally Turkey, but the question was one of timing. Both
German and French officials have said that such a vote is tantamount
to admitting war's inevitability. The conference's most emotional
moment came from Fischer...he told how three times he had led the
charge for German troops to be deployed: in Kosovo, Macedonia and
Afghanistan...His voice rising, and beginning to speak in English, he
addressed Rumsfeld directly: 'My generation learned you must make a
case and, excuse me, I am not convinced.' Rumsfeld sat against the
wall, sipping water and watching without expression. Much was said at
the meeting about the strident tone of U.S.-European discussions."
[Philadelphia Inquirer, 2/9/03]

McCain rejected calls to get more international troops on the ground
in Iraq. McCain said, "I think that the only military presence
required right now would be American and British." [MSNBC Hardball,
4/23/03]