It is we who are displaying a Cold War mentality.

One of the things which always strikes me about the neo-cons is their utter inability to feel empathy; indeed, worse than that, their desire always to humiliate their enemy.

After the downfall of the Soviet Union I cannot remember Thatcher and Reagan ever expressing any desire to revel in Gorbachov's pain. It is with this in mind that I find Bush's constant wish to sit Nato in Putin's back yard simply breathtaking.

The nation which almost went nuclear to stop Russia basing it's weapons 90 miles off their southern border in Cuba have no compunction about placing Nato right on Russia's doorstep and appear to be rather startled that Putin has reacted in the way that he did.

The weirdest thing about everything that has taken place is that, at a time when the US is facing an enemy made up of Islamic idealists, the US and Russia are in an ideal position to become partners as in no other period of history.

Those aren't my thoughts, those are the thoughts of Henry Kissinger:

I consider Russian policy under Putin as driven by a quest for a reliable strategic partner, with America being the preferred choice. Turbulent rhetoric in recent years reflects, in part, frustration by our seeming imperviousness to that quest. Presidents Bush and Putin have formed a constructive relationship but have not been able to overcome habits that their countries formed during the Cold War.

But this won't be achieved by heaping humiliation upon Russia and acting as if we can do whatever we want in Russia's backyard.

It is this lack of empathy and failure to recognise Russia as a possible strategic partner which has led us to our current impasse.

At least Moscow's strategy is clear. It's to reconsolidate Russia's position and self-confidence following the humiliations of the collapse of the Soviet Union. It's the West's response to the end of the Cold War which has been so muddle-headed. While Mr Miliband and President Bush accuse Moscow of reverting to the behaviour of the past, it is Washington and London that have in fact continued the Cold War mindset. Russia was forced to re-evaluate its position by its dismal and humiliating experience in the 1990s. The West, for its part, regarded the fall of the Berlin Wall as a triumph on its part and directed policy towards consolidating its gains by locking in the former Soviet Republics into their associations as if we were still in a world of competing blocs.

Nato was opened up to new members, led by Russia's ancient enemy, Poland. The EU was extended to include Poland, Hungary, the Czech Republic, Slovakia, the Baltic States and then Bulgaria and Romania. The whole process was seen not as an organic development of these institutions, or even a policy of pursuing self-interest, but as an historic process of absorption of former enemies, a steady march of democracy across a ravaged post-Cold War landscape.

The ideals may have been noble but the effect is what we are witnessing now.

Nato used to be a very clearly defined entity with a clearly defined purpose. But the threat of constant expansion is changing it from a transatlantic defensive alliance, which would intervene together should the Soviet Union attempt to take any part of Europe, into a sort of military force, composed of a rag tag bunch, some of whom we will fight to the death for and others for whom we will not.

And it is the US's desire to constantly expand Nato - and use it as a tool to humiliate the Russians by sweeping up their former states - which is producing the fault lines between the US and Europe which resulted in the kind of open fighting which occurred at the Bucharest summit last April when Bush tried to admit Georgia and Ukraine as members.

And this is not, as the usual insane right wing voices would have it, Europe once again shying away from a fight. For if the events in Georgia have taught us anything, it is that the US is also not prepared to go to war with Russia for Georgia.

The constant expanding of Nato as a tool to humiliate the Russians is weakening Nato by diluting and confusing what it is for. That should be the lesson of the last week.

Sadly, from the noises coming from John McCain and other right wingers it is not one which has been learnt.

"I'm not saying we are reigniting the Cold War but this is an act of aggression which we didn't think we'd see in the 21st century... of course we have to deal with Russia and deal with Putin. But it has to be on a very realistic basis.

"I think it's very clear that Russian ambitions are to restore the old Russian Empire. Not the Soviet Union, but the Russian Empire... Russia no longer shares any of the values and principles of the G8, so they should be excluded."

McCain is getting this precisely wrong. He is continuing with the Cold War mentality which led to the recent conflict in Georgia. The lesson to be learnt here is that Russia can be a partner, but to achieve this we must stop our foolish and counterproductive attempts to humiliate her on her own doorstep.

There is a huge difference between Europe and the US, despite all that we have in common. The US have never been occupied, and during the wars which ravaged Europe the US remained untouched. Europe was left decimated, which is why we see Nato as too valuable an instrument to be devalued in the way which the Bush administration and the neo-cons seek to devalue it.

It is not a lunch club to which all are welcome and it is not a game.

Note how differently European sources see what has occurred from the way McCain views things:

"Nato is part of the cause of the problem, not the solution. By encircling and humiliating Russia, Nato has created the climate in Russia so favourable to Putin." Craig Murray. Former British Ambassador to Uzbekistan.

Every word which comes out of McCain's mouth could have come out of the mouth of any Cold War hawk. It is literally the talk of yesteryear.

It is blatant from his recent comments regarding Georgian membership of Nato that McCain has not learnt the lesson of the past week. Europeans have. And if McCain is elected, his insistence of Georgian membership of Nato won't break the Russians, it will break Nato itself.

What actually needs to be broken, is this Cold War mentality. It is time to welcome Russia as a partner.

Tags: Russia, Georgia, Ukraine, Nato, Bush, Putin, Cold War, McCain