With Reagan it was mostly unjustified. Not the same with Bush. There are many Europeans who do not like American power and influence in the world. I don't care about their opinion in the least. On the other hand, I do think Bush's lack of candor with his own citizens and selective use of intelligence to support his administrations desired outcomes has not helped our would standing or Bush's own reputation in this country. I do not like Bush. That does not mean I support the trashing of our country or of every Bush policy. My love of my country does not leave me unable to criticize what I consider to be the misapplication of our good will and military might under the Bush administration. Reagan was a tremendous force for peace and democracy. He too, was not without his failings but, I do not expect perfection from my President. With Bush I do not think he was or is being honest with the American people. I do not accept that in any President. I did not accept it from Clinton and I wont accept it from Bush. America will be far better of with McCain or Obama than we are with Bush.
Most of what you said is Right. One big mistake McCain makes is he is Anti-Russian. He grosly underestimates the Russians like Bush did in Ossetia. He jumped on the Georgia - Ossetia war blaming entirely the Russians where now all western media acknowledges that the Georgians started it. In other words he showed no compassion to the almost 2% of the S. Ossetian population killed in that ethnic cleansing. I know some Russians and from those I have seen they are amongst the friendliest group of people on Earth. At the same time they are extremly patriotic and will defend themselves if attacked without fear like no one else in the world. McCain is stupid, he will contunue Bush's policies, I and most of my friends don't want him for president. (Most recent stupidity from Bush is sending a Navy destroyer to Georgia to deliver "humanitarian" help. Why not send an ordinary ship? If he thinks that would scare the Russian he is an idiot. Any war ship in the Black see is a sitting duck for the Russian rockets. Even if the whole US fleet is sent to the Black see that won't make a big difference. No country can defeat the Russians without being destroyed itself. Washington needs a change of thinking. Thinking that will produce more friends and fewer enemies. This admin is doing just the opposite. )
There was a build-up of cossack and north ossetian fighters in the days before the fighting. For a week before the Georgian offensive there were daily artillery duels. The evidence of the cossack and north ossetian militias is overwhelming. All Georgian villiages in south ossetia were looted and the Georgians driven out. The cosssacks and north ossestians followed the russian army into Georgia and stole anything that wasn't nailed down.
Why Saakashvili bombed Tskhinvali in the middle of the night killing according to Ossetians over 2000 men, women and children a few hours after he signed a peace treaty with them? 95% of Tskhinvali is destroyed. Didn't the Georgians prepair for this attack? Didn't US and Israely military instructors train the Georgian army? Didn't US give some form of OK for this barbarian attack? Of course Washington says they haven't, but no one in the world believes Georgia a much weaker miltary power would dare to take on on Russia without believing another big power would help them. ..... Indeed they were helped, but with words only.... The neocons here are nothing more than a free propaganda tool for the Bush admin.