Regarding recent events between Russia and former Soviet republic Georgia, count me among those who are very concerned about where this could lead. These are the times when the diplomats earn their money and (hopefully) show us a reasonable way out, but something tells me that Russia is going to be playing hardball here. The stakes are huge: NATO's hold in eastern Europe, how to stem the rise of the new Russia (as bold and ironfisted as the USSR?), whether the fledgling democracies in the former USSR's back yard have the courage to maintain close ties with the West, control of Caspian oil (and consequent supply issues for the West), inflamed tensions leading to all-out war involving the US (if only a proxy war on our end), and so on... I can't even scratch the surface.
A thoughtful set of recommendations from Charles Krauthammer follows:
http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2008/08/13/AR2008081303365.html?hpid=opinionsbox1
4 comments:
What was Georgia thinking? Did they REALLY think they could pull a fast one on the bear?
Rice apparently warned Georgie NOT to do anything like this...but apparently they did not listen. This puts us in an awkward situation. We're like parents "standing by" our son in a courtroom in which he is accused of robbery...we know he did wrong, but we stand by and fight for him regardless.
Georgia was baited, but you're right, KLIM. They shouldn't have taken the bait. We also don't know what kind of diplomat-speak led Georgia to think that we "got their back," whether Sec. Rice's words were as blunt as you might think or whether she might have implied that we would back Georgia more overtly.
Don't think that Russia didn't bank on this happening as a linchpin in a new strategy to push back at the US and NATO and reassert itself. Case in point, the bellicose words directed at Poland in the past day, including threat of nukes in response to mere cooperation with USA on the missile shield; Russia is not acting as if this whole course of events was a surprise. Scary stuff, all. Cold War brinksmanship revived, without the benefit of measured diplomatic words.
A must-read on the Russia-Georgia conflict: http://www.humanevents.com/article.php?id=28087
http://abcnews.go.com/International/story?id=5617271&page=1
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