Mr. Obama, meanwhile, framed the issue not as one of values but as one of sovereignty. "The UN must stand up for the sovereignty of its members, and peace in the world," he said, an argument that just as easily might have been used against, say, the liberation of Iraq, or might be used in the future against an Israeli pre-emptive strike against Iranian nuclear facilities. No one knows what conflicts the four years between 2008 and 2012 will bring, what will be the South Ossetia of 2010, the obscure region that suddenly becomes the focal point of a global crisis. But by the evidence so far Mr. McCain is more ready for the challenge than is Mr. Obama.

 If there was a way of disabling a nuclear facility without any collateral damage, then that would certainly be an option we'd want to take into account. You know, I don't think that's a particularly controversial statement. But the - but those options don't exist.