Ralph Peters of the New York Post has a short, but very perceptive article online about the extent of Russia's deviousness in connection with the problems in Georgia and elsewhere. Peters points out that, when the old Soviet Union broke up, the Russians made sure to continue investing in local political groups and movements that could be counted on to undermine the genuine independence of the former Soviet "republics".
Solzhenitsyn wrote, back in the early '70's, that he doubted that there was a single person in the Soviet Union who still really believed in Communism. Two decades later, not only did no one believe in it anymore, no one wanted to bother any longer with preserving the fiction. Communism had ceased to be, even in theory, a viable economic and political system, and certainly was not up to the task of enabling Russia to compete with the West. So, the ideology was jettisoned; however, the engine that had always been the real source of the old Soviet Union's power - Russian nationalism (to which even Stalin appealed in times of national emergency) - has now been exposed for what it is. Shorn of the trappings of revolutionary Marxism, the aggressiveness of Russian foreign policy has taken on a greater transparency; we can now see clearly that the great democratic experiment has been sabotaged by a new oligarchy, which has not only boosted Russian belligerence in the realm of foreign policy, but has led to a tremendous increase in corruption, as Putin and his allies extend their tentacles into the banking and industrial sectors through violence, intimidation and the abuse of government power (I have seen much evidence of this in the course of my own line or work).
Russia is not quite yet 1920's Chicago, but it is difficult to see what internal forces have sufficient strength to stop the transformation of the country into a genuine gangster state.
Update: Obama opines on the situation, further consolidating his reputation as a foreign policy feather-weight.
Update II: Good links and commentary from Dogfight at Bankstown and The Belmont Club.
Update III: This should help: John Edwards is channeling the spirit of a dead Georgian civilian before the World Court (context).
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6 comments:
Putin and his cronies simply want to establish a new Russian Empire, and nothing less, starting with the old Soviet territories.
I would not be surprised if that included the former East Germany, either by intimidation, or direct invasion.
I have no illusions about the effectiveness of stern statements and strongly worded letters to the Kremlin; those actions will only invoke howls of laughter from Moscow. Georgia is a strong ally of ours, and we need to support them. Alas, the EU is in a position only to roll over and play dead -- and I include NATO in that assessment, unless we send a couple armor divisions back into Europe. Which I find highly unlikely right now, and no doubt Putin is counting on.
Now that the Soviets are out of the picture, the Russians are acting like Russians again. Shouldn't surprise anyone, save the starry eyed leftists who see American power as the fount of all evil, strife, and discord.
In fact, let's see how long it takes for this to become W's fault. I expect some brain dead Chomskyite is right now furiously penning an asinine screed which lays this at our doorstep.
Regardless, it would be instructive to have a short review of Russian relations with Europe from Peter the Great through the beginning of WWI - and while the Germans were forced to accept the total blame for that war, I'd put the Russians in second place, or at least tied with Austria for that place of shame. Russia has always looked covetously at the states on her periphery, and further many Russians consider the Ukraine and Georgia to be legitimately theirs. When those two states claimed independence many Russians felt it was a betrayal.
So whatever happens, Georgia is going to be in an uncomfortable spot.
I hope there is something the U.S. can do besides express sniffish disdain over the Russians' actions. Anything useful we can do?
The U.S. is ALREADY being blamed for it on many of the lefty websites.
I'm wondering if Belgium is going to blame the U.S. or issue a new law prohibiting Soviet invasions.
paco, there isn't much we can do to openly support George, not unless we commit combat or logistical forces. That, effectively, would be a declaration of war on Russia. We are in no position to do that.
I expect that Russian imperialism* will not go away. Indeed, it is likely to get worse.
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*: That's what it is, after all, even if a bunch of leftards might disagree.
RJ: You're right, of course. I don't suppose there's anything we could do but recall our Ambassador, and it'd be just like Putin to see him off at the airport with a jar of homemade borscht.
It's particularly frustrating not to be able to help an ally that has supplied troops for the war in Iraq.
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