Article

2008-08-13 Caucasus/Russia/Central Asia

Archived material is restricted to Rantburg regulars and members. If you need access email fred.pruitt=at=gmail.com with your nick to be added to the members list. There is no charge to join Rantburg as a member.

Posted by tipper 2008-08-13 00:00|| || Front Page|| [3 views ] Top

#1 The key guts to this essay, IMHO:

Apologists in the West
The Russians have sized up the moral bankruptcy of the Western Left. They know that half-a-million Europeans would turn out to damn their patron the United States for removing a dictator and fostering democracy, but not more than a half-dozen would do the same to criticize their long-time enemy from bombing a constitutional state.

The Russians rightly expect Westerners to turn on themselves, rather than Moscow and they wont be disappointed. Imagine the morally equivalent fodder for liberal lament: We were unilateral in Iraq, so we cant say Russia cant do the same to Georgia. (As if removing a genocidal dictator is the same as attacking a democracy). We accepted Kosovos independence, so why not Ossetias? (As if the recent history of Serbia is analogous to Georgias.) We are still captive to neo-con fantasies about democracy, and so encouraged Georgias efforts that provoked the otherwise reasonable Russians (As if the problem in Ossetia is our principled support for democracy rather than appeasement of Russian dictatorship).

From what the Russians learned of the Western reaction to Iraq, they expect their best apologists will be American politicians, pundits, professors, and essayists and once more they will not be disappointed. We are a culture, after all, that after damning Iraqi democracy as too violent, broke, and disorganized, is now damning Iraqi democracy as too conniving, rich, and self-interested the only common denominator being whatever we do, and whomever we help, cannot be good.

Posted by Abdominal Snowman 2008-08-13 01:14|| 2008-08-13 01:14|| Front Page Top

#2 The only real question is about Russia I think, not about Georgia.
Will we counter expansionist moves by Russia or not?
NATO has an army, its members have a nuclear arsenal also, as well as access to most of the worlds commerce.
So why are we made out to be so toothless by the press?

Posted by bigjim-ky 2008-08-13 11:10|| 2008-08-13 11:10|| Front Page Top

#3 Is South Osettia worth the price of a hundred million US lives lost due to a nuclear war in the US alone? While the US could certainly destroy Russia with nuclear weapons, what would the cost be for this country and its allies in western and eastern Europe?

Is South Osettia or even Georgia proper worth confronting Russia militarily on the battlefield and the blood of American soldiers against Russia in Georgia?

Possession of nuclear weapons by western Europe does in no fashion guarantee that the western European governments and military would be willing to risk their own countries existences in using them against Russia over something the western European governments clearly have no interest in.

Russia is their energy lifeline. They're not stupid, but they are timid so there's virtually no chance that western Europe would risk becoming involved in any military confrontation with Russia IMO.

To threaten nuclear war over Georgia is strategically naive and denies the fact that tens of millions on both sides would be lost in any such exchange.

There are other ways to punish Russia than threatening them with nuclear war.

Posted by FOTSGreg">FOTSGreg 2008-08-13 16:38|| 2008-08-13 16:38|| Front Page Top

#4 Putin's timing during the Olympics was brilliant...would have made a good war gamer...

Posted by borgboy 2008-08-13 19:30|| 2008-08-13 19:30|| Front Page Top

#5 was it? probably pissed off the Chinese. Whom hes gonna need.

Posted by liberalhawk 2008-08-13 21:01|| 2008-08-13 21:01|| Front Page Top

23:43 FOTSGreg
23:35 Correction
23:33 JosephMendiola
23:29 Correction
23:28 rjschwarz
23:23 Halliburton - Blogosphere Welcome Division
23:23 Jiggs Chiter5628
23:20 JosephMendiola
23:17 Correction
23:12 3dc
23:11 tipover
23:02 Steve White
22:56 Classical_Liberal
22:55 Correction
22:36 Halliburton - Asymmetrical Reply Division
22:35 crosspatch
22:33 McZoid
22:30 Hupusong Hatfield aka Broadhead6
22:30 Besoeker
22:23 Hupusong Hatfield aka Broadhead6
22:22 McZoid
22:21 USN,Ret.
22:18 lotp
22:18 Halliburton - Asymmetrical Reply Division