Good thing Georgia is not a member of NATO. If it was (a position the U.S. advocated during the last NATO summit) then NATO would now have to respond to Russia’s actions at Georgia’s northern border. Such action has the potential to result in World-War III, which would not be much fun for anyone.
Let’s look at things from the Russian point of view for a moment: The U.S. is currently negotiating the construction of giant military bases in Poland and the Czech Republic. Ostensibly, these are missile-defense installations, but who can really say? The U.S. has encouraged Georgia to apply for NATO membership, has delivered weapons, military hardware and military training to Georgia’s troops. Imagine tables were turned and Russia was building giant missile defense installations in Southern Mexico and Cuba, as well as delivering weapons and military expertise to Venezuela, say. You get the idea…
Now it so happens that Georgia’s democratically elected president Saakashvili had calculated that if he sends a couple of thousand of his troops into South Ossetia, Russia will take this lying down and be unwilling or unable to respond. But respond Russia did, maybe with “disproportionate” force (read “shock and awe”).
When politicians fail, civilians die. In the end, nobody will be accountable. President Bush and Georgia’s President Saakashvili may be democratically elected, but that does not mean that they can not make big mistakes, such as this one that has cost many innocent lives. Georgia is now awash in a wave of Nationalist pride, no doubt encouraged by the same clueless leaders that bear responsibility for the loss of human life. Blind patriotism and nationalism does not ask many questions or hold leaders accountable. Quite the opposite. Bad news all around with no winners in sight, except arms dealers.
Some recommended background info:
Lonely night in Georgia, Fred Kaplan in Slate.
Taunting the Bear, James Traub in The New York Times.
A Path to Peace in the Caucasus, Mikhail Gorbachev, in the Washington Post
Putin’s war enablers: Bush and Cheney, Juan Cole in Salon
Russian Strategic Nuclear Forces, Russian Blog, i.e., the Russian view on the topic of U.S. missile defense installations in eastern Europe.
