What to Do About Russia and Georgia

Emergency personnel in front of buildings destroyed in an air raid in Tkviavi, Georgia.

Click here for images from the conflict.

The crisis between Russia and Georgia has escalated intensely over the last few days. Georgian President Mikhail Saakashvili said Monday that Russian troops had effectively cut his country in half, according to reports from The Associated Press.

He also announced a cease-fire and troop withdrawal from South Ossetia and Abkhazia (the separatist areas in dispute). Calls for a Russian cease-fire from the West have gone unanswered by Russia.

Russia remains a critical player on the world stage, a member of the G-8 and the United Nations Security Council. What do recent comments by the presidential candidates Sen. John McCain (R., Ariz.) and Sen. Barack Obama (D., Ill.) tell us about future U.S.-Russia relations?

McCain continued beating on that drum Monday during a press conference in Erie, Pa.: "

Russian President Medvedev and Prime Minister Putin must understand the severe, long-term negative consequences that their government's actions will have for Russia' relationship with the U.S. and Europe. The United States and our allies should continue efforts to bring a resolution before the U.N. Security Council, noting the withdrawal of Georgian troops from South Ossetia, and calling for an immediate cease-fire and the withdrawal of Russian troops from Georgian territory. We should move ahead with the resolution despite Russian veto threats, and submit Russia to the court of world public opinion.

"

Those are strong words. McCain basically wants the U.S. and our NATO allies to work together to embarrass Russia in the world's eyes. Russia may not react kindly to such scrutiny.

It is interesting to note that McCain mentioned NATO instead of the European Union. NATO originates from an effort to contain the former Soviet Union through military coordination during the Cold War. He appears ready to take the mantle and re-establish a Cold War.

Obama, like McCain, issued stronger statements on Saturday than his original one Friday. It included condemning Russia's invasion of the sovereign territory of Georgia, supporting the boundaries and independence of Georgia. He said in a statement: "

As I have said for many months, aggressive diplomatic action must be taken to reach a political resolution to this crisis, and to assure that Georgia's sovereignty is protected. Diplomats at the highest levels from the United States, the European Union and the United Nations must become directly involved in mediating this military conflict and beginning a process to resolve the political disputes over the territories of South Ossetia and Abkhazia. A genuinely neutral mediator -- not the Russian government -- must begin a process of negotiations immediately.

"

However, Obama avoided the strong references to military action from alliances like NATO and stopped short of calling for a U.N. resolution to embarrass Russia.