Unlike some, I do not think the Iraq War was an illegal conflict. The Congress authorized President Bush to use force against Iraq pretty much at his discretion. It was an act of shameful cowardice by the Congress. What it was was a violation of international law and a moral stain that the United States can not wipe away. And George Bush's reelection in 2004 affirmed that it was an action approved by the American People. We all own this catastrophe.
Now Bill Kristol cares about Georgia. Why you might ask? Is it latent Cold Warriorism? Gawd knows he never cared about foreign policy morality before. Perhaps. But I think the real reason is this:
Georgia, a nation of about 4.6 million, has had the third-largest military presence — about 2,000 troops — fighting along with U.S. soldiers and marines in Iraq. For this reason alone, we owe Georgia a serious effort to defend its sovereignty. Surely we cannot simply stand by as an autocratic aggressor gobbles up part of — and perhaps destabilizes all of — a friendly democratic nation that we were sponsoring for NATO membership a few months ago.
(Emphasis supplied.) Being a neocon nation means that, like Scooter Libby, George Bush owes Georgia protection according to Kristol. It seems Georgia thinks so too. And has acted accordingly. Georgia elected a President who was provocative in his statements and actions in South Ossetia and Abkhazia. Now the fear is Vladimir Putin, the de facto leader of Russia, will move to take out a leader he does not like, that he will push for "regime change" in Georgia:
Two senior Western officials said that it was unclear whether Russia intended a full invasion of Georgia, but that its aims could go as far as destroying its armed forces or overthrowing Mr. Saakashvili. “They seem to have gone beyond the logical stopping point,” one senior Western diplomat said, speaking anonymously under normal diplomatic protocol.
Russia, emboldened by windfall profits from oil exports, is showing a resolve to reassert its dominance in a region it has always considered its “near abroad.” . . . Russia escalated its assault over the weekend despite strong diplomatic warnings from Mr. Bush and European leaders, underscoring the limits of Western influence over Russia at a time when the rest of Europe depends heavily on Russia for natural gas and the United States needs Moscow’s cooperation if it hopes to curtail what it believes is a nuclear weapons threat from Iran.
. . . Earlier, Vice President Dick Cheney expressed a strong warning for Russia. In a telephone conversation with the Georgian president, he said “that 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,” a spokeswoman, Lea Anne McBride, said in a statement released by the White House.
European officials said Monday that Mr. Saakashvili had signed a cease-fire agreement, but that the Russians had yet to endorse the measure. “It’s good to have the Georgian signature, but I’d say we’re not even halfway there yet,” said Alexander Stubb, the Finnish foreign minister and chairman of the Organization for Security and Cooperation in Europe, speaking from Georgia in a telephone interview with CNN.
Russia knows a paper tiger when it sees one. The Bush Administration's unconscionable and incompetent conduct of the foreign policy of the United States, its Debacle in Iraq, its belligerent rhetoric to anybody and everything they decide they do not like, has left the US without hard military power at the ready or soft power such as moral, political or economic suasion.
The worst Administration in the history of the American Republic has done untold damages to the interests of the United States and the world. And this conflict between Russia and Georgia is just the tip of the iceberg.
Kristol can stomp his feet in the pages of the New York Times, but Vladimir Putin does not care, and the rest of the world will not help. This is where the foreign policy Kristol champions has led us. Congratulations Bill. You got what you wanted.
By Big Tent Democrat, speaking for me only
