Russia/Georgia; Things are never as simple as they seem

August 11, 5:53 PMProgressive Politics ExaminerJay McDonough

Previous Next

Comment Print Email RSS Subscribe

Subscribe

Get alerts when there is a new article from the Progressive Politics Examiner. Read Examiner.com's terms of use.

Email Address   Include other special offers from Examiner.com Terms of Use

Based on the slew of editorials over the last several days, the conservative writers now have the vapors over a brand new fight for the U.S. to take up; Russia.  After all, it seems Iraq will end up a Shia dominated government closely aligned with Iran (jeez, what did the neocons think was gonna happen?), and the Bush Administration has taken a decidedly adult tact by choosing to actually talk to Iran before starting a war (you know that must have really disappointed the neocons).  What's a delusional, saber rattler to do?

Russia's invasion of Georgia has provided just the thing.  Here's conservative writer Robert Kagan's Washington Post editorials opening paragraph:

The details of who did what to precipitate Russia's war against Georgia are not very important. Do you recall the precise details of the Sudeten Crisis that led to Nazi Germany's invasion of Czechoslovakia? Of course not, because that morally ambiguous dispute is rightly remembered as a minor part of a much bigger drama.

From the conservative Washington Times:

It is in America's interest to exert maximum pressure on Russia to withdraw its troops and halt the interference in Georgian territory.

And from Bill Krystol's column in the NY Times:

It’s striking that dictatorial and aggressive and fanatical regimes — whatever their differences — seem happy to work together to weaken the influence of the United States and its democratic allies. So Russia helps Iran. Iran and North Korea help Syria. Russia and China block Security Council sanctions against Zimbabwe. China props up the regimes in Burma and North Korea.

The United States, of course, is not without resources and allies to deal with these problems and threats. But at times we seem oddly timid and uncertain.

Russia's response has been over the top, just barbarous, and their conduct is inexcusable.  The Russians have been unrelenting, attacking Georgian civilian targets and ignoring Georgian calls for a cease fire. And if all you did was read essays from the columnists cited above, you'd believe that Georgia was innocently going about their business when Russia attacked without provocation.  Things are rarely that simple.  Some background:

  -  The disputed Georgian area, South Ossetia, fought a war with Georgia and attempted to declare it's independence from Georgia in the early 1990's.  During that war and since, Georgian forces have been accused of attrocities and ethnic cleansing in South Ossetia.

  -  In 2006, South Ossetia voted in an unofficial referendum for independence from Georgia.

  -  The Russian invasion into South Ossetia and, now, Georgia occured following an armed Georgian invasion into South Ossetia.

Russia is governed by a bunch of criminal thugs with bad motives.  But as it turns out, so is Georgia.  The truth tends to be complex.   But you'd never get that from reading this weekends crop of let's mix it up with Russia editorials.