McCain: Putin Is a Bigger Threat Than ISIS

Russians the 'Greatest Challenge That We Have'

Speaking today in an interview while visiting Australia, Sen. John McCain loudly declared Russian President Vladimir Putin to the “the premier and most important threat” in the world, saying he was a bigger threat than ISIS, and vowing to push new sanctions against Russia as a result.

McCain has long been an advocate of the war against ISIS, declaring them the largest, wealthiest terrorist organization in world history, and insisting that President Obama didn’t understand how big off a threat that they were.

McCain presented the threat as primarily to elections, saying that even though there was no evidence Russia had actually changed the outcome of the US vote, they were “attacking democracy,” and had tried to change the outcome of the recent French vote.

It is common, of course, to claim Russia tried to alter the outcome of every Western election, past, present, and future, irrespective of evidence. At present hostility toward Russia is the safest way to get more funding for the Pentagon, and that means such allegations are likely to recur for the foreseeable future.

Author: Jason Ditz

Jason Ditz is Senior Editor for Antiwar.com. He has 20 years of experience in foreign policy research and his work has appeared in The American Conservative, Responsible Statecraft, Forbes, Toronto Star, Minneapolis Star-Tribune, Providence Journal, Washington Times, and the Detroit Free Press.