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McCain puts down Putin, sees ’KGB’ in his eyes

By Jessica Van Sack | Wednesday, December 19, 2007 | http://www.bostonherald.com | 2008 Campaign News

Photo by Nancy Lane
Weighing in for the first time on the bombshell revelation that Russia is shipping nuclear fuel to an Iranian power plant, Arizona Sen. John McCain this morning called for the United States to be tougher on President Vladimir Putin.

“I would have had a much stronger response to Mr. Putin a long time ago,” McCain said in an exclusive interview with the Boston Herald.

In light of Russia’s determination to deliver uranium-enriched fuel rods to the Bushehr power plant in Southern Iran, McCain said, “I would seriously consider saying the G-8 should not invite him to its next meeting.”

“I looked into his eyes and saw three letters: a K, a G and a B,” McCain said of Putin, referring to his ties to the former Soviet spy agency.

McCain said today that he does not envision a re-ignition of the Cold War because Russia is too destitute to wield such power. However, he said the U.S. missed an opportunity to put Russia on a better track under the late former President Boris Yeltsin.

“We may look back on the Yeltsin era as a period of missed opportunities,” McCain said.

In a blow to the U.S., Russia made its first delivery Monday of enriched-uranium fuel rods to the Iranian power plant yesterday, a move that the Atomic Energy Organization said today promises to strengthen relations between Tehran and Moscow.

McCain called Russian presidential nominee Dmitry Medvedev a mere “puppet” for Putin, who has agreed to become prime minister under a Medvedev regime. Putin was named “Person of the Year‘’ by Time magazine today.

Article URL: http://www.bostonherald.com/news/national/politics/2008/view.bg?articleid=1054835