Know Your Enemy

John McCain has such a complete and total record of hawkishness, that I think it's safe to assume that this answer for The Jerusalem Post is more than just pandering:

Long considered a dear friend to America, today Israel is our natural ally in what is a titanic struggle against Islamic extremists - an enemy whose sinister nature I need not explain to the people of Israel. . . .

As President, I will pursue every option at my disposal to neutralize that threat. We cannot and must not allow Iran to possess nuclear weapons. I will make sure the American people understand that if we are to defeat the extremists that threaten our way of life, Israel's security cannot be compromised.

Some followup is owed here from reporters. We need to get a better understanding of McCain's understanding of who, exactly, the "Islamist extremists" are that we're in a "titanic struggle" against. One assumes that Osama bin Laden doesn't harbor warm feelings toward Israel. Still, in practice, when one thinks of Israel's foes, ones thoughts turn to Hamas, Hezbollah, Palestinian Islamic Jihad, Iran, etc., rather than al-Qaeda. McCain wants to say, it seems, that all of these groups are part of the enemy. People ought to ask McCain what other sort of groups around the world he would also lump together in this manner. They should also ask him why he thinks the lumping is warranted. Does he see centralized coordination between all these entities? I think I could guess at the answers based on having read years worth of hawkish punditry, but the candidate himself should spell out his thinking on these points and be challenged on it.