Did Obama Confuse Israel With Georgia?

Russia invades Georgia, and this is what Obama comes up with:

"I strongly condemn the outbreak of violence in Georgia, and urge an immediate end to armed conflict," Obama said in a statement. "Now is the time for Georgia and Russia to show restraint, and to avoid an escalation to full-scale war. Georgia's territorial integrity must be respected."

Obama called for direct talks among all sides and said the United States, U.N. Security Council and other parties should try to help bring about a peaceful resolution.

Can you really tell who attacked whom in the midst of this boilerplate? I assumed that this sort of evenhandedness was limited to Israel--it sounds like what we heard 2 years ago in the war with Hizbollah: let's have everyone calm down the violence, no one do anything rash and most importantly--let's talk. UN Resolution 1701 bears mute testimony on how that approach worked out.

Contrast that with McCain's statement:

Russia should immediately and unconditionally cease its military operations and withdraw all forces from sovereign Georgian territory. What is most critical now is to avoid further confrontation between Russian and Georgian military forces. The consequences of Euro-Atlantic stability and security are grave,” McCain said. “The government of Georgia has called for a cease fire and for a resumption of direct talks on South Ossetia with international mediators. The U.S. should immediately convene an emergency session of the United Nations Security Council to call on Russia to reverse course. The U.S. should immediately work with the E.U. and the OSCE to put diplomatic pressure on Russia to reverse this perilous course that it has chosen.”

McCain makes it clear who bears responsibility for the situation, even while proposing talks, demonstrating leadership strength.

I suppose someday we will will be hearing Obama issue statements like McCain's--
once Obama gets some experience under his belt.
Hopefully, he'll be doing that while he is still a senator.

[Hat tip: Contentions]

Technorati Tag: Obama and McCain.