russia/ georgia

[Beemnseven]

Originally Posted by Sheriff Gonna Getcha

I would like to know how exactly you know that Putin/Russian action in Georgia is a response to "policies set forth by the chickenhawks." Unless you are Vlad himself, you cannot tell me what is motivating Russian action in Georgia.

You don't have to be a mind reader in order to figure out what's going on here. Russia came to the aid of South Ossetia because their people have cultural and ethnic ties to Russia, and they prefer the Russians to the Georgians. I think at least a part of Putin's brazenness can be a show of force to the United States. A subtle reminder, if you will, that Russians have their sphere of influence too. The policies of the chickenhawks are what had U.S. military advisors and troops training the Georgian military, and it justifiably irritated the Russians.

Also, I think it is noteworthy that the Russians put the smack down on the Chechen rebels well before the chickenhawks came into power. I suppose they were just anticipating that Bush would get elected, fill his cabinet with chickenhawks, invade Iraq, and put an anti-missile system in Poland? . . . Putin seems to long for the days of the USSR - that beast that openly and explicitly declared in numerous manifestos that its goal was world domination.

None of this is to say that Putin, Medvedev, and the Russians government are perfect little angels. As I mentioned earlier, there's a lot of gray area here. It's not a black and white issue. Certainly there's a history of aggression with the rise of Communism in Russia. But the point I'm trying to make is that with the collapse of the Soviet Union, the arrogant interventionist foreign policies of our government have done more to alienate the Russians than to accept them with open arms.

Wait a second . . . Are you suggesting that our government is deliberately trying to start another Cold War?

Yes, that's what I'm suggesting. I don't know what's so difficult to grasp here. As I've demonstrated multiple times now, setting up missle defense systems at the edge of the Russian border, and snatching up former Soviet Republic after former Soviet Republic into NATO is an alarming action to the Russians which they perceive to be a threat.

Just as we would see it if the situation were reversed. I've posted this three times now, and no one seems to have an answer for it, so I'll say it again: What would the United States do if the Russians had 130,000 troops just to the south of us, if they had established anti-missle systems just off international waters to our west, and if the Russian navy were patroling the Gulf of Mexico, acting as though they had the authority to permit or deny access to the gulf at their sole discretion. We would be livid, and rightly so. That would be seen as an act of war.

NATO is a defensive alliance and, unlike the Warsaw Pact, did not regularly engage in offensive operations against "innocent states." Moreover, NATO and the Warsaw Pact were totally different animals. NATO is an alliance of independent states, formed for defensive purposes. The Warsaw Pact was a sham; Moscow controlled every move, decision, and action of the Pact. Moreover, there were even talks of Russia joining NATO. So, do you really think Russia should view NATO as some threat that might ultimately parade through Moscow some day?

Notice how you're referring to the Warsaw Pact in the past tense and NATO in the present? Again, if the shoe were on the other foot, and the Allies agreed to disband NATO, how would we view it if Russia kept their alliance intact and began to coax former NATO countries to their side? While I don't believe we will one day "parade through Moscow" in triumph, what's critical to understand is that the Russians may see it that way. They perceive our actions as a threat.

What do you mean by "one set of people." If you mean a bunch of old, rich, white dudes smoking cigars and pulling levers behind a giant curtain, then no I don't share your view . . . In sum, fortunately, there are so damn many people trying to influence policy, that no single group dominates.

No, it's not 4 or 5 guys that has complete control of things. Remember my statement earlier when I said that this trend "permeates our government's outlook towards foreign policy to this very day by politicians on both sides of the aisle" ?? I see the military-industrial complex as the prime culprit -- but it's not just a tiny little faction pulling the strings. It's a widespread, elaborate web of corporate lobbyists, and defense contractors pushing each and every congressman to spend billions developing tanks, missles, jets, naval warships and other weapons systems, and they do it in every single district, democrat or republican. It has been said that the B-2 Stealth Bomber has a part made in each of the 50 states -- so that when the time comes to vote for more spending, no member of congress would deny their district a piece of the pie. With each new "crisis" that developes around the world comes more cries for U.S. intervention, calls for more defense spending on the part of our elected officials, and feeds the defense contractors with new work orders, massive contracts, and more jobs for each congressman's district who in turn demands a piece of the action. This creates a never-ending cycle which ultimately ends up obligating our service men and women to every corner of the earth wherever trouble pops up, often resulting in their deaths.

Imagine if every representative or senator who votes in favor of war had to personally inform the family of a soldier or marine that their loved one is now dead.

I don't know who "started" the conflict. Some say the Russians did and others say the Georgians did. Russia can be compared to a guy that starts banging his neighbor's wife (i.e., S. Ossetia), the neighbor (i.e., Georgia) finds out and smacks his wife, and Russia then firebombs his neighbor's house. Russia has been trying to provoke Georgia into a military confrontation for quite some time. Moreover, Georgia never attacked Russia. Georgia attacked militants within its own borders.

What you call "militants" is actually an independent nation which effectively broke away from Geogia in the early 1990's. Now, of course, you, the Georgians, and the neocons in this country don't see it that way. But the Ossetians sure do. If they want to break away and live independently of Georgia, who is the Bush administration or Saakashvili to tell them otherwise? Isn't that what the Americans did 200 years ago when they told the King of England to go kiss off?

This might open up another can of worms, but don't you believe there is a fundamental right of individuals or groups of individuals to disassociate or secede from a union in which they feel their interests are no longer adequately served?