Graham, Lieberman To Visit Georgia

August 14, 2008 11:29 a.m. EST

Washington, D.C. (AHN) - Sen. John McCain (R-AZ) said Wednesday that two of his top campaign surrogates, Sens. Lindsey Graham (R-SC) and Joe Lieberman (I-CT), will visit Georgia to assess the ceasefire situation in the former Soviet Republic.

Graham and Lieberman are members of the Senate Armed Services Committee and high-profile supporters of the Arizona senator. Graham is a general co-chairman of McCain's campaign while Lieberman is a co-chairman of the campaign's Connecticut Leadership Team.

In a press conference to make the announcement, McCain said he hoped other members of the Armed Services panel will join his surrogates in the visit to learn how to protect the independence of a "brave Democratic ally" in the future.

McCain, a decorated Vietnam War veteran who is seeking to highlight his broad foreign policy experience, also said he was "pleased" by President George W. Bush's demand that Russia honor the terms of the ceasefire agreement with a decision to send aid to Georgia. He expressed concern about reports of "looting, burning villages, and killings of civilians that are in areas under Russian control," and said the United States should speak with G8 allies about whether it "makes sense" to keep Russia in the coalition.

The four-term senator made his statement the same day his campaign officials exchanged barbs with the campaign of Sen. Barack Obama (D-IL) about the conflict in Georgia. Obama Foreign Policy Adviser Susan Rice had accused McCain of "shooting from the hip" and aggravating the situation in Georgia with a "very aggressive, very belligerent statement."

McCains spokesman Tucker Bounds responded that it was "disappointing" that the Obama campaign chose to "launch inflammatory and baseless political attacks" in a time when bipartisanship is needed, according to MSNBC.

But Obama campaign spokesman Hari Sevugan said in an emailed statement it was "the absolute height of hypocrisy" for the McCain campaign to "play victim." Sevugan said Obama had given a "strong and appropriate response" to the crisis in Georgia and is focused on what action the international community must take to resolve the crisis.

Georgia was invaded by Russian military forces last Friday just as it began an offensive to reclaim the separatist region of South Ossetia, which declared independence nearly two decades ago.

Fighting continues despite a ceasefire agreement brokered by French President Nicolas Sarkozy, whose country holds the rotating European Union presidency.

Russian President Dmitry Medvedev told Russian troops on Tuesday to stop military operations in Georgia because their goal of punishing Georgia had been achieved. Georgia has accused Russia of breaking terms of the ceasefire by sending tanks to the Georgian town of Gori.