As much I have had to say about his likely opponent in recent weeks, I don’t want to give the impression that I disagree with any of the criticism that Anatol Lieven, who is also an occasional contributor to TAC, has offered about John McCain in his FT article.  For at least nine years I have been keenly aware of just how belligerent and reckless John McCain was, ever since he advocated introducing ground forces into Yugoslavia in 1999 (the bombing of which began nine years ago yesterday), and I have been writing against him in one venue or another since that time.  His meddling in the Caucasus, his embarrassing and dangerous shilling for Shevardnadze and now Saakashvili and his generally throwback ideas about U.S.-Russia relations are all truly horrifying.  Since the start of this blog, I have warned against McCain’s Russophobia and his militarism, to say nothing of the historical ignorance that he uses to defend his positions.  Obviously, his belligerence towards Iran is extremely troubling, and his insistence on remaining in Iraq indefinitely as well-known as it is awful.  A McCain Presidency would likely be a disaster for our country that is at least on par with what the current administration has done.