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TUESDAY AUGUST 12 2008 5:30 AM

The situation in Georgia is deteriorating rapidly. For those of you who have had your heads shoved up your asses, heres a recap and some history from Redbstrd. Georgia has been a tinderbox for years and the last thing one needs during a tinderbox situation is the simplistic, one note diplomacy of George Bush and company. He fucked the pooch on this one, plain and simple.

Historically, this is a very fucked up situation.Think Israel and Palestine. Georgia has been opposed to their aggressive Russian neighbors for centuries. And two regions inside Georgia, Abkhazia and South Ossetia, are opposed to aggressive Georgia rule. In the end, the regions dont want to be a part of Georgia, so they looked to Russia for help. Georgia invaded the capital of South Ossetia this week and Russia responded by invading, too. The conflict has now spread to Abkhazia and beyond. Thats the incredibly simplistic summary of a conflict that has been going on since the late 1700s. You want more, read this. Oh, and dont forget about the oil. Seems every conflict in the world includes oil as part of the equation.

We should be concerned about what our part in this mess is and how to make sure we dont do more damage.

The Bush administration encouraged Georgia president Mikheil Saakashvili to apply for NATO membership. This really couldnt have been a more ignorant stance to take. During a time of increasing nationalism in Russia, that reminds some of past fascist rulers, encouraging a Russian border country, with a history of conflicts, to join NATO is completely moronic. Oh, and Russia said they would not allow it.

Both Putin and his successor as president, Dmitri Medvedev, have reserved their starkest rhetoric for this subject. Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov has threatened that Georgia's ambition to join NATO "will lead to renewed bloodshed," adding, as if that weren't enough, "we will do anything not to allow Georgia and Ukraine to join NATO."

No, shit. Anyone who had bothered to read any history of the region would have known that, but we are talking about a president who didnt know the difference between Shiites and Sunnis when he invaded Iraq. Nuance and intelligence are the enemies of George Bush.

Bush has been giving weapons and training to Georgia for several years, while he pushed for the countrys entry into NATO. Europe said, No thanks, because they are not fucking morons. They knew if Georgia was allowed into NATO, it would mean war with Russia, which is exactly where we would be now if our retarded president had his way. We would be at war with Russia, obligated by NATO treaties to send troops to defend Georgia. Sound good? Thats how stupid Bush and his people are.

Now, throw in the fact that the U.S. has invaded two countries in the past seven years, and we actually dont have the ability to take a stance against an aggressive Russia. Bush invaded Iraq by using false intelligence, lying to the UN and the American people. Its kind of hard for a guy who killed someone, standing with blood all over his hands, to call someone else a murderer, without everyone looking at him funny. Also, any military or other support we could have given Georgia is being used in two wars. And Russia knows that.

But, its not like some in the Bush administration arent calling for the U.S. to jump into this fight. Colossal dipshit and the greatest threat to America since the Japanese, Vice President Dick Cheney, would like us to get in this fucker.

Cheney spoke Sunday afternoon with Georgian President Mikheil Saakashvili. "The vice president expressed the United States' solidarity with the Georgian people and their democratically elected government in the face of this threat to Georgia's sovereignty and territorial integrity," Cheney's press secretary, Lee Ann McBride, said.

Cheney told Saakashvili "Russian aggression must not go unanswered, and that its continuation would have serious consequences for its relations with the United States, as well as the broader international community.

Oh, good. Call up the president of Georgia and act like you are president of the United States, dick. What a completely insane promise to make. What the fuck does "not go unanswered" mean? Judging by past Bush administration responses, that ain't good. But then, these are the same neo-con idiots who have wreaked havoc on the world, so it cant be a big surprise.

At an emergency session of the United Nations' Security Council, the U.S. alleged Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov told U.S. Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice that Georgian President Mikheil Saakashvili "must go."

"This is completely unacceptable and crosses a line," said the U.S. ambassador to the U.N., Zalmay Khalilzad, who made the allegation.

Okay. Line crossed. What do you propose, genius? The people of Georgia are expecting our support because of this EXACT TYPE OF LANGUAGE over the years.

One soldier, his face a mask of exhaustion, cradled a Kalashnikov.

We killed as many of them as we could, he said. But where are our friends?

Not coming. Not actually your friends.

When they met Western journalists, they all said the same thing: Where is the United States? When is NATO coming?

It's not and we're in Iraq and Afghanistan.

Tell your government, said a man named Truber, fresh from the side of the Tbilisi hospital bed where his son was being treated for combat injuries. If you had said something stronger, we would not be in this.

He had not slept for three days, and he was angry at himself, at Georgia, but mainly at the United States. If you want to help, you have to help the end, he said.

Sorry about that. How about a mint?

Write exactly what I say, he said. Over the past few years, I lived in a democratic society. I was happy. And now America and the European Union are spitting on us.

It's called being on the other end of Bush foreign policy. Kind of a bummer, huh?

The biggest problem here is you, your country, he said. You said that the Soviets were an evil empire, but its you that are the empire.

Not you personally, of course, he added. But your government.

Smell that? Its smells familiar, kind of like the Shiites rising up against Saddam Hussein under the first President George Bush, after he encouraged them to fight, after he insinuated they would be aided in their battle, after he stupidly made public statements he should not have made. They were slaughtered, just as the Georgians are being slaughtered today.

It was he who in February 1991, as American forces were driving Saddam's troops out of Kuwait, called for the people of Iraq to rise up and overthrow the dictator. That message was repeatedly broadcast across Iraq. Eager to end decades of repression, the Shiites arose.

But then George H. W. Bush blew the whistle. Things had got out of hand. What Bush had wanted was not a messy popular uprising but a neat military coup -- another strongman more amenable to Western interests.

But the Bush administration didn't just turn its back; it actually aided Saddam to suppress the Intifada.

Bush I basically told the Shiites we had their back and they were slaughtered, while our soldiers were forced to watch, unable to engage. Now Bush II has done the same with Georgia and the result is not surprising.

John McCain, of course, wants to make the situation worse. Old School believes the situation escalated because NATO didnt vote Georgia into the organization. Uh, yeah. That would be true, I guess, in a world where Russia didnt say the exact opposite.

"I urge Nato allies to revisit the decision," McCain said. Echoing his past support for removing Russia from the G8, he urged the US to convene an emergency meeting of G7 foreign ministers.

Hey, World War III! How you been? John McCain actually wants us to do the exact opposite of what should be done. Just to summarize, he wants NATO to vote for a war with Russia. Because, you know, thats what happens when you bring a country into NATO who is at war with Russia. Johnny wants to play bluff with Russia and hope they would back down. You know, the Russia that is going through a bout of insane nationalism and knows the U.S. is incredibly weak militarily. Hey, draft age guys, you up for it, or what?

Oh, and please dont pay attention to the fact that McCain's top foreign policy advisor was a lobbyist for...Georgia.

John McCain's top foreign-policy adviser, Randy Scheunemann, is a leading expert on U.S.-allied Georgia -- and was a paid lobbyist for the former Soviet republic until March.

Its interesting. A McCain win could mean World War III, but any destabilization in the world only helps McCain because of his military background. Its weird, but somebody predicted a more unstable world as part of his future election breakdown. And hey, he also predicted the surge would be a success! Who would have thought with all that paying off of the enemy and whatnot.

FearTheReaper is a writer, actor and stand up comic. You can read more of his blathering on his blog, Stop All Monsters.

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Comments

alaric

I'm lost

June 2005

AUG 12, 2008 09:18 AM

Russia is no saint here but the bottom line is that georgia started this round and Georgia's actions consisted of ethnic cleansing.

Georgia's military has been trained and supplied for the last several years by the US and Israel. That training included counter terrorism and urban warfare. Considering that the georgian president was elected on a promise of recapturing Abkhazia and Ossetia, you have to wonder about the US and Israel's decision to offer said training.

There is another detail here that is very important. Ossetia's capital is connected to russia via one (1, uno) road. That road has a major tunnel and part of it are closed from september to may due to weather. If Georgia had succeeded in capturing that tunnel Russia would have been facing a far more difficult situation.

The other important detail here is that the BTC (Baku-Tbilisi-Ceyhan) pipeline that runs through the center of georgia is pretty much the only one in central asia that does not eventually run through Russia. The major investor there is British Petroleum and Georgia's president Saakashvili supported it but in exchange for what i now wonder.

Bottom line is that the US and Israel are offering unwavering support for a corrupt undemocratic regime that was attempting ethnic cleansing of Russians. That is not too smart.

Trauma

Downey, CA

April 2005

AUG 12, 2008 09:18 AM

Something tells me regardless of who gets elected, The draft is coming back. Time to go to Mexico...

The U.S. Government knows Russia can kick our ass militarily, since half of the country's standing forces are fighting a foolish war in Iraq, and another in Afghanistan. The Government of the United States is a joke, they want to promote democracy, but they're making us look like huge monsters in the world's eyes than we already are...And if McCain does get elected, his senile view of the world will kill us all.

And yeah, Georgia picked a really bad time to try to take control of a breakaway province. Don't understimate the Russian armed forces. Even after the soviet union broke up, they still kick ass militarily.

subwayfare

Los Angeles, CA

October 2004

AUG 12, 2008 09:19 AM

This conflict is ancient, deep and complex but it's pretty obvious that Russia's response to Georgia joining NATO would be like, oh I don't know, like the USA's might be if Russia installed nuclear missiles ninety miles from Miami. That sure went over well here, didn't it?

GrayRains

Twin Lake, MI

January 2008

AUG 12, 2008 09:58 AM

You know, I leave the Army in December. I've been watching this situation with a mix of curiosity and outright horror. The more I read, the more I realize that I doubt I'll end up with my military career involuntarily extended, but still the whole thing makes me nervous. As stated, sounds like another case of US government doing all sorts of madness while tarnishing its own image.

Disappointing to watch unfold in the news, but this whole conflict has me nervous, and for a good reason.

Ascanius

USA

October 2006

AUG 12, 2008 10:18 AM

alaric said:
Georgia's actions consisted of ethnic cleansing.

In what way?

Jace

San Francisco, CA

February 2004

AUG 12, 2008 11:17 AM

I remember back in 10th grade history, when we were learning about World War I, our history teacher said something to the effect of "it was all because of stupid alliances" and that when that Franz Ferdinand dude was assassinated, almost the entirety of Europe and later the United States had to step in because of alliances they had with the countries involved, even though they really had no interest in the conflict. Our teacher wasn't actually a history teacher; he was just the basketball coach, and he was pretty dumb. But because of a rule at our school that said that coaches had to teach at least one academic class, he spun the wheel and picked history.

I'm just saying. If a basketball coach with no education in history can grasp the concept, I don't think it's unfair to expect the President of the United States to grasp it, too.