Once again George W. Bush proves to be a wild card in games of international brinkmanship:The US is sending troops to embattled Georgia in the form of a humanitarian aid exercise, President George Bush said.Wonder if Putey-Poot saw that one coming? Everyone figured Bush's hands were tied but the alternative of allowing Russia to run roughshod in the Caucasus, possibly paving the way for a future reacquisition of Azerbaijan or some of the 'Stans if adequate reasons can be manufactured, not to mention the oil pipelines in those regions, perhaps made up the Decider's mind.
So it's Putin's move. Will he call the bluff? Will he dare fire on US soldiers delivering humanitarian aid in a country being illegally attacked, perhaps jeopardizing their role on the Security Council? They say the Russians are good chess players but Bush has always operated under a Rovian doctrine that says "never underestimate the value of being underestimated". We shall see.
MORE 8/13/08
According to reports the town of Gori is being sacked by the Russians. Gori's claim to fame? Birthplace of the most famous Georgian Joseph Stalin, who must be smiling in the grave about now.
2 comments:
Most all of the people that were forced to live under the Stalin regime are now dead. The leaders that brought us de-Stalinization are also dead; and now a more positive legacy for Bro. Josef is currently being written, if not in literary form, certainly in people's minds.
Many Russians are now romanticizing Stalin's reign of terror by doing what revisionists usually do, minimizing the story (that is to say, watering it down). They say he stood up to the the US and the world, and if for nothing else, this alone qualifies him for hero status. I guess the millions that died under his rule do not disqualify him for this twisted and perverted honor.
The revisionism isn't limited to Stalin, if I understand the premise of Buchanan's latest book about WW2.
What strikes me is the notion that Russia has to protect itself from democracies on it's periphery. Quite the revealing concept.
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