Big Sky Cairn

For a nation so desperate to hang on to its breakaway republics, the Russians sure are excited to help South Ossetia and Abkhazia break-off from Georgia.  Good to see that our President could postpone his trip to Crawford to deal with this tense international situation.  If we ever needed Condoleeza Rice to live up to her resume, now would be a good time for her to start.

In related news, the Russians are shooting reporters again.  But they never really stopped doing that, did they? 

Remember when the Wall came down and the Cold War ended, and we were promised that Russia wouldn’t be a threat anymore?  That we’d all live in peace and harmony while we drank Coca-Colas and ate Big Macs? I think we underestimated the power of a historically corrupt system being run by former KGB agents who still think totalitarianism has it’s upsides.

Frankly, while some of you may disagree, Russia scares me more than al-Qaeda.

Sorry Kate, I disagree with you. Russia is possessed with naked raw ambition. That means that they will probably make assessments of what they can get away with, and if the calculus doesn’t add up, they will not be rash.
Al Qaeda, on the other hand, is religious based. There is no logic, especially when your religion preaches that if you screw up and get killed, you get to heaven.
The Russians are easier to predict. Islamic terrorists are almost impossible to predict.

Yeah Russia without communism wouldn’t be too bad…but Putin seems just as heartless as any Bolshevik.
.

Get your facts right, then get your minds right.

Read today’s essay by Pat Buchanan, “Blowback From Bear-Baiting.”

http://www.humanevents.com/article.php?id=28053

Neocons score another touchdown … for the other team.

Kate you should find this Steve and kick him right in the Dckhole for saying that to you.

It’s not “Raw naked ambition,” Steve. They’re not Darth Vader
and all those idiots in the Death Star. Don’t you watch star wars?

You totally suck just for saying that.

They’re pissed about republican foreign policy –and its fcking with their position in global energy markets– that is why they’re going into Georgia. Just like the Al-Queda problem, this one was created by our bullshit Neocon foreign policy. You know it’s the conservatives’ fault that Georgia’s getting their ass pounded by Russia all the sudden. When you crazy honkeys let your party support the Marine-shooting-gallery they call Iraq, a chunk of the crude market dissappeared for Russia. The only way they can gain comparative advantage over our shinanigans in the middle east, is to try and pump as much oil to European markets as possible, which is where Georgia comes in: it’s their envisioned pipeline route. We take Iraq, they get sick of it, and take Georgia.

And it’s all because of people like Steve, who want to blame this on “naked ambition.” You mean, naked ambition like Cheney and Bush after 9-11, foaming at the mouth to take Iraq? Or blind ambition for extensive clandestine base agreements in middle-asian countries right at Russia’s doorstep and within their sphere of influence? Blind ambition indeed, you blind critic. Whut?

And the GOP’s blind-ass foreign policy let it happen. Rhetoric-obsessed Punks. I suppose your clown-ass supports this? Sheeit.

And it’s all the fault of the bathroom-blowjob havin, mustache wearin, God-talkin, cocaine-snortin, lobbyist lovin, industry sodomites in the GOP. Corrupt Posers.

All because soulless Republicans, who bend over smiling for the Man’s rhetoric as it comes shooting out their mouths, were too obsessed with a tax and war focused agenda, they turned a blind eye to the subtle balance and complexities of foreign policy. That happens when your party cares only about protecting the assetts of rich white people. Money-grubbing conservawhores.

What with your silicone, hair gell, and mustaches.

With all your real estate ads and shit.

Prancing ass posers.

I’m out.

Wow, just when i thought Wulfgar was the bottom of the barrel, we have new king of pointless rambling.

At no point in that comment did you come remotely close to a reasoned thought. You sir are an idiot. I am also editing your comment to delete out your lack of etiquette at the end.

On to other things, Russia signed the ceasefire accord today so I am guessing the major crisis is over. My own thoughts are that this bears remarkable similarities with the Lebanon-Israel conflict. I do not think either side planned this level of escalation. Georgia clearly so. Russia’s air losses would make me think that they did not plan for this either.

As to motivations, I fail to see how this can be pinned on “neocons” (which by the way is the most misunderstood foreign policy term, I really doubt any of those who throw it around to explain all worldly ills have any idea what it means). US policy towards Russia has remained remarkably consistent since 1919, with a brief respite from 1992-3 until 1999 when we bombed the hell out of Russia’s Serbian ally.

For the first time since probably 1989 Russia is in a position to be the primary force in Central Asia. Most of the old breakaway states owe no allegiance to Moscow either through culture or history. In fact, many such as Georgia have bloody history of repression at the hands of Moscow. They are naturally hostile to the Russians. Equally naturally, Moscow wants to bring them back under their rule. This would happen regardless of US policy.

Now that Russia is economically recovered from the Yeltsin era and has finally eliminated most internal dissent (ex: Chechneya) Moscow has the ability to begin to reassert control over the Caucasus states. South Ossetia provided a useful excuse to do this.

Meanwhile the US will continue to engage in a policy of containment as we always have. Establish of ring of military installations surrounding the south and west of Russia. I do not see how this policy will change in the near future.

The US has always had a very realist policy towards Russia, while at the same time we exercise a liberal, in the classical sense, policy towards the rest of the world.

I do not see any huge fundamental shifts as a result of this conflict. Now that a ceasefire is signed I am sure Russia will put conditions on the peace such as a primary responsibility in international oversight of S. Ossetia. Russia has already accomplished the goal of putting fear into the soviet state leaders, they will now consult more closely with Moscow.

You can thank Slick Willy and Madeline Halfbright for this mess. When they invaded and dismembered Serbia, a Christian state that had stood for centuries as a bulwark against Islam, they set in motion a train of events that ultimately led to the situation in Georgia. Russia is merely taking a page from the Clinton playbook.

George Bush and his affirmative action joke of a Secretary of State have no idea what they are doing. They have no plan other than incrementally encroaching upon the Russian sphere of influence by setting up stooge governments and buying elections.

The Bush Administration claims to be “spreading democracy,” which is today the equivalent of spreading a social disease, because everyone who has been watching the development of modern democracy knows that it is has become the most corrupt and decadent form of government in the world. Georgia is about creating consumer markets and controlling strategic resources. Georgia is hardly about democracy.

Russia, to the contrary, is the foremost conservative force on European Continent today. It will not allow itself to be polluted by Western “postmodern” ideas. It seeks only to maintain the integrity of its racial, religious, and cultural traditions. Indeed, when the current debauchery of Western Europe reaches its fateful conclusion, and its self-destruction is complete, Russia may be the only state left with the necessary social and moral resources needed to rebuild Western Civilization.

The US has not kept a very “Realist” foreign policy toward Russia. I think the Neoliberalists ruled the day behind the scenes after the cold war, although many current scholars would disagree with me. They don’t disagree about the NECONs though, and your dismissiveness of their influence in US-Georgian policy becomes erroneous here. It makes me think you’re a total hack-minded ass-clown, as well as being a super duper poser.

The NEOCons took a front seat in all crucial policy-making circles from the NSC to the Whitehouse, the DIA and DCI. This level of influence began subtly at the end of Reagan’s administration and receded until it came full force during the Bush ERA. The term NEOCON has been used in numerous foreign policy works since then to describe the trend. You Brad F. are a smug idiot who thinks attitude and stupidity are the same thing. That’s why you’re a misinformed punk.

Word on the street is that you’re also a Jive turkey? What do you think of that, you talking points gobbler?

You’re also a poser for pretending to be smart.

Likening the Israeli-Palestinian situation to this one is retarded as well. One, there’s no pipeline and access to European oil markets in the former. Secondly, there’s not a fundamental, long-standing collusion over water rights in the later. Given that the two underpinning enflarement factors of each are entirely different, I think your analysis stands on a fairly weak assumption that is not generalizable, as you fashion. For that reason you totally suck.

But I”m not here to level reasoned arguments with a light-weight foreign policy wanna be who probably just got a little too jacked up over his undergrad internatial affairs course. I’m here to reiterate that you totally suck, and that your name and tone are totally bogus. Your momma probably used to dress you in funny clothes. How’s that for decorum, poser.

Aside from the bogussness of your ramblings, your obsurd posturing about containment in the Russian sphere means you clearly didn’t live in an era where some of us slept under our beds in fear of the Russians. And how exactly do we contain Russia in their sphere of influence? You clearly were on the side of the Buereaucrats in the Charlie Wilson’s war.

You Russia lover. You say they’re poised to be the number one influence in central asia and the caucus states. And how will that happen? Because of how much the central asians totally love Russians and can’t wait to see more influence from Moscow back in their lives? Or is it because how wonderfully productive all those states have been since being converted into a large-scale cotton gin for so long? Or perhaps it’s because of the water that they can no longer drink because of Soviet pollution, or maybe just the tales of death, torture, and rape at the hands of the Soviets that will help them do such awesome things in central asia. Clearly, you know your shit: how Honkeys should rule the world.

Poserdome indeed.

You’re level of intellectual poserdome has risen to the level of totally hurting my mind.

I’m out.

Anyone who would use the term “enflarement factors” obviously has a PQ (poser quotient) somewhere in the right tail of the distribution curve.

Hey Checker 10, your Mom’s got such massive rolls that she makes Bernice’s Bakery and La Petite look like the keebler elves.

Wulfgar-

Let it be known that compared to superadhominem I welcome you to a respectful discourse.

As a student of military history i would welcome a reasoned discussion on Georgia-Russia. I am not claiming to know it all, just more than the “ass-clown” superadhominem.

On a related note, visters to a lonely grave site in Luxembourg have noticed a faint voice saying,” I was right”.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Image:General_George_S._Patton_gravesite,_Luxembourg.jpg

Swede, I have been to that cemetery. It is very impressive in that Patton’s grave is at the bottom of a bowl, with his soldiers graves arrayed before him.

Oh, and can someone get Super Duper a dictionary? He has enough trouble communicating already, and his either made up words or extremely bad spelling further exacerbate his tendentious ramblings.

Let it be known that compared to superadhominem I welcome you to a respectful discourse.

Apologies, Brad. I wasn’t aware of this thread of comment until now.

There’s little reasonable discourse to be had here, for several reasons:

1) The biggie. It ain’t our fight and it ain’t our problem. China is our problem. They have colonized almost the entirety of Africa, and have us by the short hairs (read Wal-Mart). Russia will continue to be Russia. We won’t influence that in the least.

2) I believe it was the philosopher Toby Kieth who taught this wisdom: Don’t pick a fight with those who will stick a boot up your ass. Georgia, surprisingly, never got that message. Ukraine apparently didn’t get the memo either.

3) Containment doesn’t work if your opponent is more agile and competent than yourself. We just lost another potential point of containment, as we will with Ukraine. But hey, our SecState knows Russian, and that’s good, right? Right?

4) Blaming a past administration doesn’t make a bit of difference, except to fools. Shun the fools; they deserve it.

5) Right or wrong, Patton is dead. Get over it.

6) Militarily, we could take Russia. So What? Georgia couldn’t. They relied on NATO, and NATO relies on us. We weren’t going to pick a fight with Russia. That would bankrupt our country (given that China would side with whomever profits them the most, and they own a ton of our cash.) China has nothing to fear from Russia, while they arm most folks to Russia’s south and west. Our involvement would have started World War III, but not at our behest. It would have been at the whim of those who wish to see us fall. Aren’t we currently in a death-struggle with Islamic Fascism? China doesn’t want to see us fall, but they don’t want to see Russia’s markets destroyed either. They would call the shots in this war, but others would side as they see fit. Can we afford that? I think not.

Finally, Bradley, I think it is very poor form to call me out for comment after having insulted me. You appear to know a small amount about history and that’s to your credit. But you’d best get a grip on recent history as well. My “ramblings” are never pointless. Just because you miss the point speaks not at all about me. And claiming otherwise is pretty shoddy.

I’ve had a suspicion for going on 19 years now that the right never really let go of the notion that Russians were lurking under every bed, that they epitomized evil, that they were out to get us. The right has got new badasses to be afraid of now, like terrists, but it only takes a bit of stimuli to bring out the cold war banter again. It’s fun to watch the bedwetting.

Russia is like every other country on the face of the earth, including the US. It grabs whatever resources it can, always aware of the potential blowback. Georgia is a calculated move. The US can’t do much about it without a major military commitment, which the Russians know full well we cannot risk. Well played.

In 1999 Russia had to sit silently by as the US attacked Serbia in an attempt to break away Kosovo. They are back on stage again, and I welcome them. A unipolar world is much more dangerous than a bipolar or tripolar one. Russia and China stand in the way of US ambitions, and that is a good thing.

[…] http://www.bigskycairn.com/2008/08/14/some-thoughts-on-georgia/ […]