WARMONGER!

There was a bit of an uproar today when ABC News showed the first part of Charlie Gibson's interview with Sarah Pallin. Pallin noted that if Georgia was in NATO (something she supports), an invasion of Georgia by Russia would mean the US and others would go to war with Russia.

WARMONGER! was the cry.

Well, DUH -- under the NATO charter an attack on one is an attack on all, requiring the other NATO members to intervene. So if Georgia is a member of NATO, a Russian attack on Georgia would require us to attack Russia.

Now, Obama also wants Georgia (and Ukraine) to join NATO. So I assume that if Georgia joins NATO and is attacked by Russia, President Obama will also go to war with Russia.

One can argue that the TONE of the statements are different, Obama is a bit conciliatory toward Russia while Pallin a bit more bellicose, but the fact remains that Obama's position on Georgia is little different that Pallin's (or McCain's for that matter, as McCain's position is the one that really counts).

Personally, I do not support US membership in NATO anymore, so you can guess my feelings about Georgian membership. But given the lack of imagination by our foreign policy elites, we will continue to be members in NATO.

So the point is, both candidates support Georgian membership of NATO. Which means that any Russian attack on Georgia will mean that we have to go to war with Russia.