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Thoughts On The Road has Georgia on its mind and says that the conflict with Russia is a direct result of the moral bankruptcy and incompetence of the U.S. Government.
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7 comments
When it comes to “The Great Game” I don’t think morality or moral bankruptcy plays any part. It’s a complete lack of competence in any and all endeavors by this administration that has brought this about.
Military adventurism on the cheap, in Iraq, has left the American military a hollowed-out shell of its former self, incapable of responding to exactly the type of threat situation that was deemed, for nearly half a century, to pose the greatest threat to US security: a Russian invasion of an allied country.
Somehow our illustrious Secretary of State, whose only credential to offer policy advice as National Security Advisor was her expertise on Russia, has managed to ignore the rebirth of the Soviet Union.
Good for the Azerbaijani’s and the Ukraine for standing by and providing support to their Georgian neighbors. Europe is going to be the first to feel the effects of a Georgian loss. And the exposure of NATO’s underpinning as nothing more than a paper tiger cannot be comforting to them.
The US and NATO have a choice to make. Fight now to keep the new energy routes and “democracy” pipelines open, or abandon the Caucasus and the Ukraine to domination under the new Russian Federation. Maybe the ceasefire agreement can be ironed out somewhere close by. How about Yalta?
xpat2 If you think that moral, ethic and international law do not play any part, in that case only military power will rule the world. I am afraid that in that case it is the end of the world, and USA start with that way of thinking and ruling the world. I do not want to mention the Afghanistan,Iraq, Serbia( attack without approval of the UN) Guantanamo, Vietnam, Nicaragua, etc. a lot of world countries was victims of USA foreign policy. Now USA pushed pure Georgia and their clever president to touch the bear. Do you think maybe that USA has more rights than other countries, including Russia.Good for Ukraine is to be out of this and far from aggressive USA foreign policy, same for Azerbaijan. This war will free EU from the barbarian USA politics which are leading only to the wars and victims. Your fight now means end of the world. Maybe you want to make suicide, but I do not want that. For USA and NATO strategists is the last time to stop rounding the Russia and start to think about real democracy in their countries and not to treat Newspapers, TV as military division. It will be the best for all of us. Also if you think that you now the truth from yours newspapers and TV you are my friend totally wrong. They are using this media against their own citizen, to form output thinking what they want from their people to think. We are much closer to the Orwell’s 1984 that you ever think. Maybe you will use your brain for this. Best regards,
Well if a blog says Bush is Evil and resposible for all the world’s woes …IT must be true.
What many people fail to relize about “International Law”, like Laws for people, if they can’t be enforced, they are just ink on a page. If there is no “deterent” other than Euro whining, then only the weak will obey (because they lack the means to break the Law).
When Nations try to enforce UN sactions or international Law , then they are bullies and attacking a tyrant’s sovreignty.
You can’t have it both ways.If the UN fails to act when it gets stonwalled by it’s own limitations,corruption and incompetence, is everyone supposed to cover their eyes and pretend good thoughts will make it stop (Like WE all did for Rwanda and WE now do with Darfur.(God Forgive us)).
When it comes to actualy doing anything on the International stage, Who does all the “Heavy lifting”? That would be the US for those of you who aren’t paying attention. Other nations put forth a token effort and sit back and wait for the US to do the Job. They are quite content to “arm chair quarterback” the whole affair, actual effort or aid,just not going to happen.
So quick to critisize the US and even quicker to beg for a handout or some other favour.
If the US was smart , we would pull out of Nato and the UN (neither has ever helped us) and go back into issolation. Oh typoons hit somewhere in Asia, talk to China, not our problem. Europe in trouble, talk to the Russia, not our problem. Problems in Africa, not our problem. Being invaded/oppressed by your new Chineese/Russian overlords ,you got your wish, not our problem.
Branislav,
I certainly didn’t intend to excuse or justify the list of American foreign policies that you provided. And your point on traditional media being made into an Orwellian double-speak source are true. The real America has been hijacked by a group of political and ideological thugs. This battle for control of America has been waged since the 1950’s. And the current administration is the culmination of the efforts of the side I, personally, oppose. The mistakes generated by a combination of ideology and incompetence have been costly to the the world, and indeed, to America itself. And of course we do owe a debt of gratitude to Soviet organizational structure. Our Department of Homeland Security is organized almost exactly the same way as the good old Komitet!
But I also think it is naive to believe that international law or morality can restrain the determined actions of those who wield the power of state from acting in their nation’s own “enlightened” self-interest. The political or economic organization is irrelevant. History is strewn with the ruins of both aggressive empires and peaceful civilizations who failed to recognize that fact. Military action is simply politics or diplomacy at the “next level.”
Whether the bear was tweaked or lured the hunter into its den, will be the subject of much pointless debate in the coming days. The impact of the action will reverberate for decades. The Cold War is not dead. After throwing off the dysfunctional yoke of Stalinist communism, the newborn Russian Federation grabbed the capital it was deprived of under communist mismanagement to rebuild itself, and put on a veneer of democracy while re-establishing itself as an oligarchy. It has been becoming adept at using the tools of capitalism, like energy resource control, to once again expand its “sphere of influence” on the world stage. And it is not adverse to using the media to whip up winds of patriotism at home to fan the flames of nationalism, and remind the Russian people of glory lost. Perhaps they share some editorial board members with Fox?
And to TheoD, your isolationist desires cannot be accommodated in the real world anymore. In case you haven’t noticed, you and your neighbors couldn’t drive your cars without oil from abroad. In fact, given the state of raw materials and manufacturing, it’s doubtful whether you could even HAVE cars to drive without foreign trade. Over the last several decades, as America’s own resources have been depleted, you’ve stood by and watched as capital and capacity left the building. All so you could show a tidy little (and I do mean, comparatively, little) gain in your IRA. You should take a look at the once-king-of-currencies US dollar. Sorry, but the economic chickens have come home to roost. And rather than building a fence, or demanding that Homeland Security round up the nannies, you might want to ask the guy cutting your lawn if he knows anyone that could get you a job in Mexico City. How does it feel to know that the fate of your Medicare or Social Security check ALREADY is in the hands of the Chinese government?
xpat2,
Do you think that real democracy exist or could exist in today world.That farce of democracy is already disgusting, and I am asking myself how people In USA , England, France could accept it Now with global network simple man has some chance to now something if he want, and according that to do something. I must express opinion that generation of 1968 has more conscience and bravery then today’s. The people are force which should demand responsibility and transparency from their governments. For example if you organize demonstrations in front of white house and demand to explain what they doing in Afghanistan it will bring some movements. Also if you ask publicly who and where create and execute military operation of ethnic cleansing against civilians named ” Storm” in Croatia against Serbian civilians, and now in Georgia named “Clean Fields”,against Osetins it could bring some changes. Also who have rights, to plan that kind operations in official government departments, and doing crimes against humanity and civilian. Why not demand the responsibility and prosecute persons which are in charge it could bring something. If we all average persons do not doing anything, it will be worse and worse. The question is what we can do to change something or the last of us will only yelling. Will it bring peace to our souls? Besides do you know that USA, England and France send the largest fleet from the II World War in Gulf probably they are bringing humanitarian
goods to Iran?
Best Regards,
Branislav,
Sadly, I don’t think that real democracy exists or can exist in today’s world.
That best that can be hoped for is a demand for accountability from leaderships. Unfortunately, the kind of truly meaningful accountability required only comes after some horrific act is committed, with thousands of victims.
The only way to accomplish that is by making a deal with the devil. You either work inside the system to push for the change and accountability, or you take to the streets to remove the leadership. Unless it is done everywhere, simultaneously, and with the force required for immediate change, it will have no lasting effect.
I haven’t looked at naval movements, but if your claim of a WWII-size fleet operating inside the Gulf is true, then Western military planners are at least as incompetent as their political masters. The good news for Iran is, if they’re not incompetent, that as long as a force of that size is in the Gulf there will be no attack. Just a lot of show and bluster.
Russia-vs-Georgia.com – visitor can vote there for one of the conflict sides. Now Russia leading – only 20% of visitors support Georgia.
And there is more then 2000 comments about war in South Osetia – interesting to read opposite opinions –
http://www.russia-vs-georgia.com/