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Curtis</font></b><font face="Arial,Helvetica,Geneva,Swiss,SunSans-Regular"><b><a href="books.html"><br> </a></b></font><font face="Arial,Helvetica,Geneva,Swiss,SunSans-Regular"><b>(310) 204-8700</b></font></p> <p><font size="2" face="Arial,Helvetica,Geneva,Swiss,SunSans-Regular"><i>Copyright August 12, 2008<br>All Rights Reserved. </i></font></p> <p class="MsoNormal"> <b>&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp; <span class="style1">D</span></b>elivering a devastating blow the Georgia and its U.S.-backed President Mikhail Saakashvili, Russian President Dimitri Medvedev agreed to a ceasefire brokered by French President Nicolas Sarkozy.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes">&nbsp; </span>President George W. Bush, Vice President Dick Cheney, Secreatary of State Condoleezza Rice and presumptive GOP nominee Sen. John McCain (R-Ariz.) all blasted Russia for launching an unprovoked attack, blaming the Medvedev and Prime Minister Vladimir Putin for unjustified aggression.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes">&nbsp; </span> The aggressor has been punished, read a Kremlin statement, blaming Saakashvili for  ethnic cleansing and ordering the Georgian army to annex Russian-controlled independent provinces.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes">&nbsp; </span>Instead of accepting responsibility, the 40-year-old Georgian president blamed Russia for trying to destroy his country s freedom and independence.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes">&nbsp; </span>Saaksashvili couldn t admit his reckless power-grab backfired.</p> <p class="MsoNormal"> &nbsp;<span style="mso-tab-count:1">&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp; </span>Rushing to judgment, blanket condemnation by U.S. authorities fails to take into consideration the Russian perspective.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes">&nbsp; </span>Talking about ejecting Russia from the G-8 does nothing to understand Saakashvili s motivation in attacking South Ossetia, a fiercely loyal Russian province, independent since 1992.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes">&nbsp;&nbsp; </span>Agreeing to a ceasefire, Medvedev made it clear that Russia would not tolerate persecution or military encroachment by its former territories.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes">&nbsp; </span> The aggressor has been punished and suffered very significant losses.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes">&nbsp; </span> It s military has been disorganized, said Medvedev, troubled by U.S. and Israeli military assistance to Georgia.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes">&nbsp; </span>Already degraded by 14 breakaway countries after the 1991 collapse of the Soviet Union, Russia was in no mood to watch more of its provinces fall into a pro-Western orbit.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes">&nbsp; </span>Flush with petrodollars and looking to make a statement, Russia flexed its muscles.</p> <p class="MsoNormal"> &nbsp;<span style="mso-tab-count:1">&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp; </span><span style="mso-spacerun: yes">&nbsp;&nbsp; </span>Saakashvili and U.S. authorities continue to antagonize Russia, blaming the invasion on Russian aggression.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes">&nbsp; </span>Georgian troops also moved on the Russian province of Abkhazia, where Georgian forces were holed-up in the Abkhazia gorge, seeking to control Russian-backed provinces.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes">&nbsp; </span>Saakashvili wants to cast Russian aggression in the context of violating Georgia s sovereignty and territorial integrity.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes">&nbsp; </span>He enjoys Western sympathies, unwilling to honestly appraise his inexplicable move to annex remaining Russian provinces.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes">&nbsp; </span> They just don t want freedom, and that s why they want to stamp on Georgia and destroy it, said a defiant Saakashvili, offering up a mega-dose of jingoism.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes">&nbsp; </span>White House officials and McCain welcomed the bait, preferring simplistic slogans over a factual appraisal of what happened.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes">&nbsp; </span>Instead of further alienating Russia, the U.S. shouldn t jump to conclusions.<![if !supportEmptyParas]>&nbsp;<![endif]><o:p></o:p></p> <p class="MsoNormal"> &nbsp;<span style="mso-tab-count:1">&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp; </span> Leaders of former Soviet breakaway republics, Lithuania, Latvia and Urkraine rallied with Poland in support of Georgia, also not accepting Saakashvili s reckless behavior and propaganda.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes">&nbsp; </span>  Our neighbor thinks it can fight us.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes">&nbsp; </span>We are telling it no, said Polish President Lech Kaczynski, fingering Russian actions as a throwback to bygone Soviet days.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes">&nbsp; </span>Poland and the Czech Republic signed missile defense pacts with the U.S. in April, infuriating Putin and the Kremlin.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes">&nbsp; </span>Putin warned of consequences to Bush s insistence to sign missile deals in Eastern Europe.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes">&nbsp; </span>Under Putin, despite Bush s insistence that  Vladimir is a good guy, the Kremlin reversed free market and free press gains won under former premiers Gorbachev and Yeltsin.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes">&nbsp; </span>Over his eight years in office, Putin dismantled Russia s free press, jailed political dissidents and expropriated profitable industries.</p> <p class="MsoNormal"> &nbsp;<span style="mso-tab-count:1">&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp; </span>Russia s blitzkrieg in Georgia sent a loud signal to other breakaway republics and to the West that Russia has regained its clout.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes">&nbsp; </span>Within hours, the Red Army divided Georgia, cutting a wide swath of destruction in its path.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes">&nbsp; </span>Saakashvili, with his U.S. and Israeli-trained and equipped military, was turned into Jell-O by a superior military force, showcasing its army, air force and navy.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes">&nbsp; </span>Bush shouldn t lecture Putin and Medvedev about the disproportionate use of force.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes">&nbsp; </span> International law doesn t envision double standards, blasting the U.S. for aiding Georgia, and, at the same time, alluding to the U.S. invasion of Iraq.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes">&nbsp; </span>Bush finds himself in the unenviable position of justifying occupying Iraq and criticizing Russia for defending the integrity of Russan-backed provinces.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes">&nbsp; </span>Threatening Moscow won t help the U.S. cause trying to build consensus on containing a growing Iranian nuclear threat.</p> <p class="MsoNormal"> &nbsp;<span style="mso-tab-count:1">&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp; </span>Russia flexed its muscle in Georgia, reminding breakaway republics, neighboring states, and, yes, the U.S., that the Russian bear doesn t want Washington messing in its backyard.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes">&nbsp; </span> Saakashvili made a rookie mistake trying to annex South Ossetia with Georgian forces.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes">&nbsp; </span>Whether or not the Russian response was excessive doesn t erase Saakashvili s gross miscalculation.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes">&nbsp; </span>Expecting the U.S. to rescue Georgia, given military commitments in Iraq and Afghanistan, was beyond foolish.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes">&nbsp; </span>Given deteriorated relations with Russia, in part caused by Bush s unilateral decision to move forward with missile defense in Eastern Europe, the U.S. has little leverage with Moscow.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes">&nbsp; </span>More belligerent talk from the White House, or the GOP presidential candidate, won t push Moscow to leave Georgia anytime soon.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes">&nbsp; </span>Pushing for sanctions will only tighten Russia s grip in Georgia and beyond.<br> </p> <p><b><u>About the Author</u></b><br> </p> <p><b>John M. Curtis </b>writes politically neutral commentary analyzing spin in national and global news. He&#x2019;s editor of OnlineColumnist.com and author of <a href="books.html">Dodging The Bullet</a> and <a href="books.html">Operation Charisma</a>.<br> </p> <p></p> </td> <td width="1" height="2576" rowspan="2">&nbsp;</td> <td width="1" height="2"><spacer type="block" width="1" height="2"></td> </tr> <tr height="2574"> <td width="133" height="2574" valign="top" align="left" xpos="0"><img height="172" width="111" src="images/johninframe3.jpg"></td> <td width="1" height="2574"><spacer type="block" width="1" height="2574"></td> </tr> <tr height="1" cntrlrow> <td width="133" height="1"><spacer type="block" width="133" height="1"></td> <td width="7" height="1"><spacer type="block" width="7" height="1"></td> <td width="182" height="1"><spacer type="block" width="182" height="1"></td> <td width="300" height="1"><spacer type="block" width="300" height="1"></td> <td width="1" height="1"><spacer type="block" width="1" height="1"></td> <td width="1" height="1"></td> </tr> </table> <table border="0" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="2" width="597"> <tr> <td><font size="1" face="Arial,Geneva,Helvetica"> <hr noshade size="1"> </font><a href="index.html"><font face="Arial,Helvetica,Geneva,Swiss,SunSans-Regular" size="2"><strong>Home</strong></font></a><font face="Arial,Helvetica,Geneva,Swiss,SunSans-Regular" size="2"><strong> || <a href="articlesindex.html">Articles</a> || <a href="books.html">Books</a> || <a href="teflon.html">The Teflon Report</a> || <a href="mailto:letters@onlinecolumnist.com">Reactions</a> || <a href="aboutdiscobolos.html">About Discobolos</a></strong></font> <div align="left"> <p><font size="1" face="Arial,Helvetica,Geneva,Swiss,SunSans-Regular">This site designed, developed and hosted by the experts at</font><font size="2" face="Arial,Helvetica,Geneva,Swiss,SunSans-Regular"> <a href="http://www.cmeonline.net" target="_blank"><img height="30" width="138" src="images/cmelogoANIM.gif" border="0" align="absmiddle"></a></font></p> </div> <p><font size="2" face="Arial,Helvetica,Geneva,Swiss,SunSans-Regular">&copy;1999-2005 <a href="aboutdiscobolos.html">Discobolos Consulting Services, Inc.</a><br> (310) 204-8300<br> All Rights Reserved. </font></td> </tr> </table> </center> </body> </html>