When Pravda.ru editor, Dmitry Sudakov, offered to publish my commentary, he referred to me as "an active anti-Russian politician for many years." I'm sure that isn't the first time Russians have heard me characterized as their antagonist. Since my purpose here is to dispel falsehoods used by Russia's rulers to perpetuate their power and excuse their corruption, let me begin with that untruth. I am not anti-Russian. I am pro-Russian, more pro-Russian than the regime that misrules you today.

I make that claim because I respect your dignity and your right to self-determination. I believe you should live according to the dictates of your conscience, not your government. I believe you deserve the opportunity to improve your lives in an economy that is built to last and benefits the many, not just the powerful few. You should be governed by a rule of law that is clear, consistently and impartially enforced and just. I make that claim because I believe the Russian people, no less than Americans, are endowed by our Creator with inalienable rights to life, liberty and the pursuit of happiness.

A Russian citizen could not publish a testament like the one I just offered. President Putin and his associates do not believe in these values. They don't respect your dignity or accept your authority over them. They punish dissent and imprison opponents. They rig your elections. They control your media. They harass, threaten, and banish organizations that defend your right to self-governance. To perpetuate their power they foster rampant corruption in your courts and your economy and terrorize and even assassinate journalists who try to expose their corruption.

They write laws to codify bigotry against people whose sexual orientation they condemn. They throw the members of a punk rock band in jail for the crime of being provocative and vulgar and for having the audacity to protest President Putin's rule.


Sergei Magnistky wasn't a human rights activist. He was an accountant at a Moscow law firm. He was an ordinary Russian who did an extraordinary thing. He exposed one of the largest state thefts of private assets in Russian history. He cared about the rule of law and believed no one should be above it. For his beliefs and his courage, he was held in Butyrka prison without trial, where he was beaten, became ill and died. After his death, he was given a show trial reminiscent of the Stalin-era and was, of course, found guilty. That wasn't only a crime against Sergei Magnitsky. It was a crime against the Russian people and your right to an honest government - a government worthy of Sergei Magnistky and of you.

President Putin claims his purpose is to restore Russia to greatness at home and among the nations of the world. But by what measure has he restored your greatness? He has given you an economy that is based almost entirely on a few natural resources that will rise and fall with those commodities. Its riches will not last. And, while they do, they will be mostly in the possession of the corrupt and powerful few. Capital is fleeing Russia, which - lacking rule of law and a broad-based economy - is considered too risky for investment and entrepreneurism. He has given you a political system that is sustained by corruption and repression and isn't strong enough to tolerate dissent.

How has he strengthened Russia's international stature? By allying Russia with some of the world's most offensive and threatening tyrannies. By supporting a Syrian regime that is murdering tens of thousands of its own people to remain in power and by blocking the United Nations from even condemning its atrocities. By refusing to consider the massacre of innocents, the plight of millions of refugees, the growing prospect of a conflagration that engulfs other countries in its flames an appropriate subject for the world's attention. He is not enhancing Russia's global reputation. He is destroying it. He has made her a friend to tyrants and an enemy to the oppressed, and untrusted by nations that seek to build a safer, more peaceful and prosperous world.

President Putin doesn't believe in these values because he doesn't believe in you. He doesn't believe that human nature at liberty can rise above its weaknesses and build just, peaceful, prosperous societies. Or, at least, he doesn't believe Russians can. So he rules by using those weaknesses, by corruption, repression and violence. He rules for himself, not you.

I do believe in you. I believe in your capacity for self-government and your desire for justice and opportunity. I believe in the greatness of the Russian people, who suffered enormously and fought bravely against terrible adversity to save your nation. I believe in your right to make a civilization worthy of your dreams and sacrifices. When I criticize your government, it is not because I am anti-Russian. It is because I believe you deserve a government that believes in you and answers to you. And, I long for the day when you have it.

http://english.pravda.ru/opinion/19-09-2013/125705-McCain_for_pravda_ru-0/

No pint reading the letter from a war monger mccain and Obama are on the same sides of the coin

mankand: No pint reading the letter from a war monger mccain and Obama are on the same sides of the coin

amatuerish..how many war has putin started? How much weapons and surface to air missles has putin sent to assad for him to kill his own people? This article is a heavy blow to putin's gut. He thinks he can wake one morning and become a global peacemaker..well. Someone has got to remind him of all the skelentons in his closet.

Better talk,first to comment tinz.

Putin addressed americans in regards to their aggressive foreign policy, I see the address by mccain as being petty and unrelated to the matter on ground.
America's economy too is in tatters now and we all don't have to be gay lovers! They are trying to blackmail governments into allowing homosexuality round the world!
I think its time for america to fall like all previous empires.

gbadexy: Putin addressed americans in regards to their aggressive foreign policy, I see the address by mccain as being petty and unrelated to the matter on ground.
America's economy too is in tatters now and we all don't have to be gay lovers! They are trying to blackmail governments into allowing homosexuality round the world!
I think its time for america to fall like all previous empires.

in your dreams! This article was a direct response to putin preaching to america than all men are created equal. Does his practises comform with what he is preaching? It's idiotic and hypocritical.

This should ring a bell in Putin's head.Well said@Mccain.

Well done Senator Mcain.This is a heavy blow to Putin who thinks he can blackmail Americans just to garner sympathy.he is a pure hypocrite.

And america is always right abi. Msctheww

This is a very weak response just to save face, Putin has done the damage with his letter, attacking Putin's person is uncalled for. Now he ( Putin )is taking the lead in the Syrian negotiations, and the whole world is following Russia's lead right now except something happens to change that, this reply by McCain is not even one of the events or acts that can change that.

What a petty, resentful and off-topic letter! Utter rubbish...... this perpetual wave monger I believe is truly senile

To those angry with this letter, the truth hurts but it cannot be changed nor challenged. You're entitle to your own opinion but not your own facts.

Symphony007: amatuerish..how many war has putin started? How much weapons and surface to air missles has putin sent to assad for him to kill his own people? This article is a heavy blow to putin's gut. He thinks he can wake one morning and become a global peacemaker..well. Someone has got to remind him of all the skelentons in his closet.

I doubt it. This works in Putin's favor again. Nobody wants to see their president attacked personally. This will shore up Putin's support in Russia. The only amateur here is McCain. Considering McCain is a veteran, you have to wonder if he is trying to sabotage the peace agreement on purpose.

Btw isnt McCain for Defense of Marriage act? How does he get off criticizing Putin's anti-gay policies. lol

Symphony007: amatuerish..how many war has putin started? How much weapons and surface to air missles has putin sent to assad for him to kill his own people? This article is a heavy blow to putin's gut. He thinks he can wake one morning and become a global peacemaker..well. Someone has got to remind him of all the skelentons in his closet.

Goons is what you are and no point trying to argue with you. What message can a government that have been spying on its citizens and fellow allies tell me and try to get trust from their citizens again. You have been brainwashed all these while with the Western propaganda. This is the worst times for America, power is shifting from them on the UN council because of Obama. Assad said Obama is weak, lavarov said Obama is like a monkey holding a grenade. Why haven't they strike Syria all these while? Why is Obama punishing whistle blowers in us for exposing them and their evil act. I don't that such government need me to trust them anymore. The world have now seen the bigger picture of who the real enemy is. Why is even your president trying to align with Russia and China? Many African presidents are now running to China and Russia. Sit down there blabbing, no worries your president will come back to ASUU issue.

There is a proverb that never argue with stupid people because they will bring you down to their level and defeat you with they experience in stupidity.

I rest my case, I only advise you to read more about international wars that have happened in the past, who the real perpetrators are and also read about false flags.

Mccain is only trying to come out clean. Russians trust Putin, he loves his country and he is ready to die for his country

mankand:

Goons is what you are and no point trying to argue with you. What message can a government that have been spying on its citizens and fellow allies tell me and try to get trust from their citizens again. You have been brainwashed all these while with the Western propaganda. This is the worst times for America, power is shifting from them on the UN council because of Obama. Assad said Obama is weak, lavarov said Obama is like a monkey holding a grenade. Why haven't they strike Syria all these while? Why is Obama punishing whistle blowers in us for exposing them and their evil act. I don't that such government need me to trust them anymore. The world have now seen the bigger picture of who the real enemy is. Why is even your president trying to align with Russia and China? Many African presidents are now running to China and Russia. Sit down there blabbing, no worries your president will come back to ASUU issue.

There is a proverb that never argue with stupid people because they will bring you down to their level and defeat you with they experience in stupidity.

I rest my case, I only advise you to read more about international wars that have happened in the past, who the real perpetrators are and also read about false flags.

Mccain is only trying to come out clean. Russians trust Putin, he loves his country and he is ready to die for his country

you idiocy is bloody...did i ever argue that america was a saint? But you are deliberately ignoring putin's criminality. You are a fool to think that russia is an alternative to america or china were they carry out forced arbotions and spend more money policing their citizens internally than defending the nation externally is an alternative to america. Obama's love of peace is what has caused goats like you and lavrov to insult him. If john mccain were u.s president or george bush was still in office, they would have bombed russia and no one will do shit. Russia opposed iraq war with all it's might, what did they do when america invaded? America is requesting the repartration of edward snowden to stand trial for whistle blowing but russia did'nt need to do that. They sneaked into london and poisoned vladimir kiscov on his hospital bed for whistleblowing. Maybe i should follow ur advice and stop talking to fools like you.

Symphony007: you idiocy is bloody...did i ever argue that america was a saint? But you are deliberately ignoring putin's criminality. You are a fool to think that russia is an alternative to america or china were they carry out forced arbotions and spend more money policing their citizens internally than defending the nation externally is an alternative to america. Obama's love of peace is what has caused goats like you and lavrov to insult him. If john mccain were u.s president or george bush was still in office, they would have bombed russia and no one will do shit. Russia opposed iraq war with all it's might, what did they do when america invaded? America is requesting the repartration of edward snowden to stand trial for whistle blowing but russia did'nt need to do that. They sneaked into london and poisoned vladimir kiscov on his hospital bed for whistleblowing. Maybe i should follow ur advice and stop talking to fools like you.

Go and face your book, the whole world is fast realising that America is not credible to deal with. Their news and reports are also false. There is no way you can prove to me that Obama is a lover of Peace after the Arab Spring, After his so called Kenyan brother was tied to the formation of Islamic Brotherhood. I think you do not understand anything about international war fare and also White Supremacy.

Go and face your book. No point commenting on this post anymore

mankand:

Go and face your book, the whole world is fast realising that America is not credible to deal with. Their news and reports are also false. There is no way you can prove to me that Obama is a lover of Peace after the Arab Spring, After his so called Kenyan brother was tied to the formation of Islamic Brotherhood. I think you do not understand anything about international war fare and also White Supremacy.

Go and face your book. No point commenting on this post anymore

yeah, and maybe you'll go back to drowning in your conspiracy theorist world were obama ochestrared the arab spring,plus he is a member of the muslim brotherhood, perhaps he's also the anti christ. Trash...america has done bad things,russia has done worse things. Putin has no right taking a moral highground and it speaks volumes of your IQ capacity that you support him. Bye from my thread, don't let the door hit you on your way out.

Nobody in their right mind takes anything that John McCain says seriously because the man has demonstrated time and time again that he is a war mongering sociopath.

This is a man who lied about being tortured by the viet cong during the vietnam war, this is a man whose academic and military track record are a joke, this is a man who sold out his fellow POWs in exchange for a very lucrative political career. Even his vietnam vets have no respect for him and describe his vietnam track record as a disgrace, had he not been the son of a navy admiral he would have been courtmartialled and by now would have been living in penury, therefore to spend even one second of valuable time on this man is a waste.

During his unremarkable career as a navy pilot in the vietnam war he dropped tons of bombs on defenceless vietnamese civillians - he bombed schools, orphanages, hospitals, churches, temples and anything that moved - this evil old man still shows no remorse for the horrors he inflicted on innocent civillians but instead is beating the war drum for more innocent blood to be spilt.

I hope he gets his comeuppance soon.

cap28: Nobody in their right mind takes anything that John McCain says seriously because the man has demonstrated time and time again that he is a war mongering sociopath.

This is a man who lied about being tortured by the viet cong during the vietnam war, this is a man whose academic and military track record are a joke, this is a man who sold out his fellow POWs in exchange for a very lucrative political career. Even his vietnam vets have no respect for him and describe his vietnam track record as a disgrace, had he not been the son of a navy admiral he would have been courtmartialled and by now would have been living in penury, therefore to spend even one second of valuable time on this man is a waste.

During his unremarkable career as a navy pilot in the vietnam war he dropped tons of bombs on defenceless vietnamese civillians - he bombed schools, orphanages, hospitals, churches, temples and anything that moved - this evil old man still shows no remorse for the horrors he inflicted on innocent civillians but instead is beating the war drum for more innocent blood to be spilt.

I hope he gets his comeuppance soon.

Aside from that, Putin squarely addressed a pressing matter of international concern. Senile McCain then took it personal and started attacking the person of Vladimir Putin and cherry picking faults with his administration. McCain even failed to address the matter at hand but digressed in an attempt to score cheap points over Putin. He's claiming the moral high ground on behalf of the United States conveniently ignoring the facts that it is the United States that has in recent times ignored and disregarded international law, sidelined the mandate of the United Nations, dismissed any other viewpoint that opposes theirs and been the aggressive nation threatening to attack dissenting countries or bullying or invading them into submission. Just today, just like in the case of the Bolivian president's flight over Europe some months back, the Venezuelan's president's plane wasn't allowed to fly through US airspace... What a rogue, bullying nation the United States has become!

Well, this increasingly embarrassment of a senator can be rest assured that Putin's letter reverberates further and carries more weight with regards to public opinion than any petty letter that McCain can muster. This shameless senator is parading himself about and making a fool of himself and insulting the conscience of the good American people by claiming that he has met with the rebels and that more than 70% of the invading rebels are moderates when the facts on the ground is to the contrary. Well, it seems he has again met with moderates just like he did in his trip to Bengahzi to celebrate the victory of the LIFG and other terrorist groups over Ghadaffi just as the flag of Al-Qaeda was hoisted over a courthouse!!!

Several months later, Libya is a failed state and a cesspool of violence, a terrorist breeding ground and a place of extreme prejudice and discrimination towards blacks. I suppose the late Ambassador Steven's family has the likes of McCain and that sleazeball Blair to thank for his death...This old buffoon should please just do everybody a favour and retire from politics. He is misguided, delusional and his brand of politics belongs to the 50's at the height of the cold war. I can bet he probably has vested interests in or perhaps he represents the arms manufacturers hence his enthusiasm and eagerness to always want to bomb any country that stands in the way of "exceptional" America. His solution to anything is bomb, bomb, bomb!! As we speak, these islamist rebels are wiping out the "moderate" ones. It has now become a three way war....The seasoned fighters such as the Jabhat Al-Nusra front and ISIS are proving to be the most effective fighters and gaining momentum on the ground so it beggars belief when this crazy old man senator claims that the supply of weapons to the moderate rebels alone can be guaranteed and monitored....How on earth does he hope to achieve that? He must surely think we are all f00ls!!

I just hope to wake up one day and hear the good news that this treacherous, treasonous, blabbering idieet has had a heart attack and passed away doing us all a very big favour....


"I am pro-Russian, more pro-Russian than the regime that misrules you today." .......... What an insult to Russians!

cap28: Nobody in their right mind takes anything that John McCain says seriously because the man has demonstrated time and time again that he is a war mongering sociopath.

This is a man who lied about being tortured by the viet cong during the vietnam war, this is a man whose academic and military track record are a joke, this is a man who sold out his fellow POWs in exchange for a very lucrative political career. Even his vietnam vets have no respect for him and describe his vietnam track record as a disgrace, had he not been the son of a navy admiral he would have been courtmartialled and by now would have been living in penury, therefore to spend even one second of valuable time on this man is a waste.

During his unremarkable career as a navy pilot in the vietnam war he dropped tons of bombs on defenceless vietnamese civillians - he bombed schools, orphanages, hospitals, churches, temples and anything that moved - this evil old man still shows no remorse for the horrors he inflicted on innocent civillians but instead is beating the war drum for more innocent blood to be spilt.

I hope he gets his comeuppance soon.

Aside from that, Putin squarely addressed a pressing matter of international concern. Senile McCain then took it personal and started attacking the person of Vladimir Putin and cherry picking faults with his administration. McCain even failed to address the matter at hand but digressed in an attempt to score cheap points over Putin. He's claiming the moral high ground on behalf of the United States conveniently ignoring the facts that it is the United States that has in recent times ignored and disregarded international law, sidelined the mandate of the United Nations, dismissed any other viewpoint that opposes theirs and been the aggressive nation threatening to attack dissenting countries or bullying or invading them into submission. Just today, just like in the case of the Bolivian president's flight over Europe some months back, the Venezuelan's president's plane wasn't allowed to fly through US airspace... What a rogue, bullying nation the United States has become!

Well, this increasingly embarrassment of a senator can be rest assured that Putin's letter reverberates further and carries more weight with regards to public opinion than any petty letter that McCain can muster. This shameless senator is parading himself about and making a fool of himself and insulting the conscience of the good American people by claiming that he has met with the rebels and that more than 70% of the invading rebels are moderates when the facts on the ground is to the contrary. Well, it seems he has again met with moderates just like he did in his trip to Bengahzi to celebrate the victory of the LIFG and other terrorist groups over Ghadaffi just as the flag of Al-Qaeda was hoisted over a courthouse!!!
http://www.infowars.com/thanks-to-obama-the-al-qaeda-flag-is-now-flying-high-and-proud-over-libya/
http://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/worldnews/africaandindianocean/libya/8861608/Libya-Al-Qaeda-flag-flown-above-Benghazi-courthouse.html
Several months later, Libya is a failed state and a cesspool of violence, a terrorist breeding ground and a place of extreme prejudice and discrimination towards blacks. I suppose the late Ambassador Steven's family has the likes of McCain and that sleazeball Blair to thank for his death...This old buffoon should please just do everybody a favour and retire from politics. He is misguided, delusional and his brand of politics belongs to the 50's at the height of the cold war. I can bet he probably has vested interests in or perhaps he represents the arms manufacturers hence his enthusiasm and eagerness to always want to bomb any country that stands in the way of "exceptional" America. His solution to anything is bomb, bomb, bomb!! As we speak, these islamist rebels are wiping out the "moderate" ones. It has now become a three way war....The seasoned fighters such as the Jabhat Al-Nusra front and ISIS are proving to be the most effective fighters and gaining momentum on the ground so it beggars belief when this crazy old man senator claims that the supply of weapons to the moderate rebels alone can be guaranteed and monitored....How on earth does he hope to achieve that? He must surely think we are all f00ls!!

I just hope to wake up one day and hear the good news that this treacherous, treasonous, blabbering idieet has had a heart attack and passed away doing us all a very big favour....


"I am pro-Russian, more pro-Russian than the regime that misrules you today." .......... What an insult to Russians!

cap28: Nobody in their right mind takes anything that John McCain says seriously because the man has demonstrated time and time again that he is a war mongering sociopath.

This is a man who lied about being tortured by the viet cong during the vietnam war, this is a man whose academic and military track record are a joke, this is a man who sold out his fellow POWs in exchange for a very lucrative political career. Even his vietnam vets have no respect for him and describe his vietnam track record as a disgrace, had he not been the son of a navy admiral he would have been courtmartialled and by now would have been living in penury, therefore to spend even one second of valuable time on this man is a waste.

During his unremarkable career as a navy pilot in the vietnam war he dropped tons of bombs on defenceless vietnamese civillians - he bombed schools, orphanages, hospitals, churches, temples and anything that moved - this evil old man still shows no remorse for the horrors he inflicted on innocent civillians but instead is beating the war drum for more innocent blood to be spilt.

I hope he gets his comeuppance soon.

what did putin do as a KGB agent? By the way, how does your articulate attack on john mccain affect the facts outlined above about putin's russia?

NaWetinNa:

Aside from that, Putin squarely addressed a pressing matter of international concern. Senile McCain then took it personal and started attacking the person of Vladimir Putin and cherry picking faults with his administration. McCain even failed to address the matter at hand but digressed in an attempt to score cheap points over Putin. He's claiming the moral high ground on behalf of the United States conveniently ignoring the facts that it is the United States that has in recent times ignored and disregarded international law, sidelined the mandate of the United Nations, dismissed any other viewpoint that opposes theirs and been the aggressive nation threatening to attack dissenting countries or bullying or invading them into submission. Just today, just like in the case of the Bolivian president's flight over Europe some months back, the Venezuelan's president's plane wasn't allowed to fly through US airspace... What a rogue, bullying nation the United States has become!

Well, this increasingly embarrassment of a senator can be rest assured that Putin's letter reverberates further and carries more weight with regards to public opinion than any petty letter that McCain can muster. This shameless senator is parading himself about and making a fool of himself and insulting the conscience of the good American people by claiming that he has met with the rebels and that more than 70% of the invading rebels are moderates when the facts on the ground is to the contrary. Well, it seems he has again met with moderates just like he did in his trip to Bengahzi to celebrate the victory of the LIFG and other terrorist groups over Ghadaffi just as the flag of Al-Qaeda was hoisted over a courthouse!!!
http://www.infowars.com/thanks-to-obama-the-al-qaeda-flag-is-now-flying-high-and-proud-over-libya/
http://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/worldnews/africaandindianocean/libya/8861608/Libya-Al-Qaeda-flag-flown-above-Benghazi-courthouse.html
Several months later, Libya is a failed state and a cesspool of violence, a terrorist breeding ground and a place of extreme prejudice and discrimination towards blacks. I suppose the late Ambassador Steven's family has the likes of McCain and that sleazeball Blair to thank for his death...This old buffoon should please just do everybody a favour and retire from politics. He is misguided, delusional and his brand of politics belongs to the 50's at the height of the cold war. I can bet he probably has vested interests in or perhaps he represents the arms manufacturers hence his enthusiasm and eagerness to always want to bomb any country that stands in the way of "exceptional" America. His solution to anything is bomb, bomb, bomb!! As we speak, these islamist rebels are wiping out the "moderate" ones. It has now become a three way war....The seasoned fighters such as the Jabhat Al-Nusra front and ISIS are proving to be the most effective fighters and gaining momentum on the ground so it beggars belief when this crazy old man senator claims that the supply of weapons to the moderate rebels alone can be guaranteed and monitored....How on earth does he hope to achieve that? He must surely think we are all f00ls!!

I just hope to wake up one day and hear the good news that this treacherous, treasonous, blabbering idieet has had a heart attack and passed away doing us all a very big favour....


"I am pro-Russian, more pro-Russian than the regime that misrules you today." .......... What an insult to Russians!

i have learned not to exchange words with somebody who quotes alex jones infowars, that person is beyond the fringes in conspiracy theories.

Symphony007: i have learned not to exchange words with somebody who quotes alex jones infowars, that person is beyond the fringes in conspiracy theories.

Hahaha! You can't ignore the truth my friend. You consciously overlooked ALL the facts i stated and picked out infowars to paint me as a conspiracy theorist. What of the telegraph or washington post or wall street journal? Those are conspiracy theorist websites as well? What about CNN that has on its front page at this very moment a story of how the extremists are killing the 'moderates' in northern Syria? Is that conspiracy as well? Ehn, oga ?
I suppose that when Mccain together with Sarkozy and Cameron & the late Stevens visited Benghazi whilst an al-qaeda flag flew high is also a conspiracy?



https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=UzCUyeCv63k

[img]http://1.bp..com/-qyvcNqp-Ebo/T1eyAPgfNTI/AAAAAAAABPo/MNZ2L8k_rYE/s1600/McCainBenghaziCourtHouse.jpg[/img]
[img]http://2.bp..com/-vhL_DIX-XCw/T1esT7dNT3I/AAAAAAAABPc/SyUMVc2_LjU/s1600/AlQaedaOverBenghazi.jpg[/img]

Image: And yet, the very courthouse McCain uttered his lies in front of is now flying the flag of Al Qaeda, while crowds have been photographed in the streets of Benghazi carrying it aloft since the fall of Qaddafi. Clearly, the senator from Arizona was "mistaken." 

"I have met with these brave fighters, and they are not Al-Qaeda. To the contrary: They are Libyan patriots who want to liberate their nation. We should help them do it." -Senator John McCain in Benghazi, Libya April 22, 2011.

The very same verbatim. The very same lies are now been repeated in Syria. Next up.will be Iran..

WHAT DOES IT PROFIT A MAN TO READ WAR STORIES.

.

How this one take CONSIGN us

LOL. Funny.

At least they are not beating each other with wooden stakes Naija style.

This pugnacious mufugga is always foaming in the mouth.

Abeg if una wan fight make una fight this one wen una dey write unaselfs love letter so me nor understand, as far as there are less virgin hunters and authoritativ pregnant men is kool

War