The invasion of Georgia by Russia shows once again that the Russians will always be Russians. Brute force instead of diplomacy is their typical method of dealing with other nations. There should be no surprise there.
Russia has been using the pretext of protecting its peacekeepers in a breakaway region and to "restore the status quo" in their invasion. Does indiscriminately bombing non-combatant territories and civilians in Georgia justify "restoring the status quo"? Hardly.
Senator John McCain called upon Russia "to immediately and unconditionally . . . withdraw all forces from sovereign Georgian territory" and advocates tossing Russia out of the Group of Eight (G8). He also advocates organizing a league of democracies to act where the useless and impotent United Nations can't (or won't).
Barack Obama's, echoed by New Mexico Governor Bill Richardson, big idea for ending the violence in Georgia is to have the UN "pass a strong resolution getting the Russians to show some restraint." Apparently when Richardson was ambassador to the UN, he neglected to find out that Russia is a permanent member of UN Security Council with veto power. Obama should also know better. Nothing like speaking big and carrying a soft stick.
Liberals worried about moves to make Georgia a member of NATO (North Atlantic Treaty Organization). But as George Will pointed out, "NATO is scheduled to review the question of Georgia's membership in December. If Georgia were in NATO, would NATO now be at war with Russia? More likely, Russia would not be in Georgia."
The Russians may have discarded the Soviet Union, but they still have Soviet tendencies and the leaders can still be spelled with three letters: KGB.
No comments:
Post a Comment