ÿþ<html> <head> <meta http-equiv="content-type" content="text/html;charset=iso-8859-1"> <title>OnlineColumnist&reg;.com: Putin Punishes Georgia</title> <meta name="generator" content="Adobe GoLive 4"> <style type="text/css"> .style2 { font-size: large; font-weight: bold; font-family: Arial; } .style3 { height: 58px; } .style4 { font-size: x-large; font-weight: bold; } </style> </head> <body bgcolor="white" vlink="black"> <center> <table cool width="624" height="2719" border="0" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" gridx="16" showgridx gridy="16" showgridy> <tr height="79"> <td width="133" height="118" rowspan="2" valign="top" align="left" xpos="0"><a href="aboutdiscobolos.html"><img height="110" width="62" src="images/discobolos.logo.transp.gif" border="0"></a></td> <td width="7" height="118" rowspan="2"></td> <td width="482" height="79" colspan="2" valign="top" align="left" xpos="140"><img height="75" width="450" src="images/banner.GIF"></td> <td width="1" height="118" rowspan="2"></td> <td width="1" height="79"><spacer type="block" width="1" height="79"></td> </tr> <tr height="39"> <td width="182" height="39"></td> <td width="300" height="39" valign="top" align="left" xpos="322"><a href="aboutdiscobolos.html"><img height="14" width="267" src="images/divisionofNEW.GIF" border="0"></a></td> <td width="1" height="39"><spacer type="block" width="1" height="39"></td> </tr> <tr> <td width="624" colspan="6" valign="top" align="left" xpos="0" class="style3"> <table border="0" width="100%" bgcolor="black" cellspacing="0"> <tr> <td> <table border="0" width="100%" bgcolor="#99ffcc" cellspacing="0" cellpadding="4"> <tr> <td align="center"> <div align="left"> <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> &#149; <a href="articlesindex.html">ARTICLES</a> &#149; <a href="books.html">BOOKS</a> &#149; <a href="teflon.html">THE </a><a href="teflon.html">TEFLON</a><a href="teflon.html"> REPORT</a> &#149; <a href="mailto:letters@onlinecolumnist.com">REACTIONS</a> &#149; <a href="aboutdiscobolos.html">ABOUT DISCOBOLOS</a></strong></font></div> </td> </tr> </table> </td> </tr> </table> </td> </tr> <tr height="2"> <td width="133" height="2">&nbsp;</td> <td width="489" height="2576" colspan="3" rowspan="2" align="left" xpos="133" content valign="top" csheight="2573"> <p class="style2">Russia&#39;s Cold War</p> <p><b><font face="Arial,Geneva,Helvetica">by John M. 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 September 20, 2008<br>All Rights Reserved. </i></font>&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp; </p> <p class="MsoNormal"> &nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp; <span class="style4">C</span>ountering U.S. moves to weaken the Russian Federation, President Dimitry Medvedev crossed two continents to consummate an arm s deal with U.S. adversary Venezuelan President Hugo Chavez.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes">&nbsp; </span>Medvedev s arms sales to Venezuela breaches the Truman Doctrine, banning Russian military infiltration into the Western Hemisphere.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes">&nbsp; </span>Siding with the former Russian province of Georgia, President George W. Bush, Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice and GOP presidential nominee Sen. John McCain (R-Ariz.) blasted Russia for  disproportionate aggression, leaving 1,200 combat troops around Georgia and stationing 7,500 peacekeepers in the independent Russian provinces of South Ossetia and Abkhazia.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes">&nbsp; </span>On Aug.7, Georgian forces attacked both provinces to annex the territory.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes">&nbsp; </span>On, Aug. 8, the Russian army split Georgia in two and decimated its military.</p> <p class="MsoNormal"> <![if !supportEmptyParas]>&nbsp;<![endif]><span style="mso-tab-count:1">&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp; </span>U.S. officials haven t told the truth about Georgian President Mikhail Saakashvili, whose gross miscalculation and recklessness cost his country s sovereignty.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes">&nbsp; </span>Despite the best efforts of French President Nicholas Sarkozy, Georgia remains occupied by Russian forces, in no hurry to leave.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes">&nbsp; </span>U.S. and the North Atlantic Treaty Organization have done almost everything to persuade Russia to get out.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes">&nbsp; </span>Russia has used Georgia as a wake-up call, reminding the U.S. that there s a price to pay for planning to install missile defense in Poland and the Czech Republic.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes">&nbsp; </span>While the two events seem disconnected, Russia no longer wants the U.S. spying in Georgia, or, for that matter, allowing Israeli advisors to beef up the Georgian military.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes">&nbsp; </span>When GOP vice presidential candidate Sarah Palin delivered her Sept. 4 acceptance speech, she told voters  we re all Georgians, implying a mutual defense pact.</p> <p class="MsoNormal"> <![if !supportEmptyParas]>&nbsp;<![endif]><span style="mso-tab-count:1">&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp; </span>Palin urged NATO to adopt Georgia, automatically obliging it go to war against Russia or any other aggressor.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes">&nbsp; </span>While many in NATO know about the Baku-Tblilisi-Ceyhan pipeline, they re not willing to go to war against Russia.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes">&nbsp; </span>When Russia sent troops across the Georgian border Aug. 8, Saakashvili begged the West to send troops to defend his country.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes">&nbsp; </span>Asking for U.S. troops to go to war against Russia showed incredible selfishness, failing to recognize the limits of U.S. power.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes">&nbsp; </span>With both McCain and Palin saber-rattling against Russia and Tehran, there s no appreciation for how another war would further endanger U.S. citizens and damage the economy.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes">&nbsp; </span>Russia has responded to U.S. hostilities by reinforcing alliances with Tehran, Havana and Caracas.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes">&nbsp; </span>Russia announced plans to sell Tehran advanced S-300 surface-to-air missile defense systems, with a range of over 90 miles.</p> <p class="MsoNormal"> <![if !supportEmptyParas]>&nbsp;<![endif]><span style="mso-tab-count:1">&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp; </span>Russian Deputy Defense Minister Igor Sechin, a close ally of Prime Minister Vladimir Putin, visited Caracas and Havana Sept. 15-16, discussing plans to supply America s Western Hemisphere enemies advanced aircraft systems, armored personnel carriers and the new SU35 fighter jets.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes">&nbsp; </span>Russian incursions into the Caribbean were considered unacceptable since the late President John F. Kennedy stared down the Soviets in the 1962 Cuban Missile Crisis.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes">&nbsp; </span>Russia s latest defensive measures were aimed at countering U.S. dominance in the Middle East but more specifically meddling along Russia s border in Georgia and Eastern Europe.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes">&nbsp; </span>Since Russian s incursion in Georgia, Secretary of State Rice ratcheted up the Cold War rhetoric, threatening to keep Russia from joining the World Trade Organization.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes">&nbsp; </span>Threatening the Kremlin won t help U.S. chances in the U.N. Security Council.</p> <p class="MsoNormal"> <![if !supportEmptyParas]>&nbsp;<![endif]><span style="mso-tab-count:1">&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp; </span>Russian President Dimitry Medvedev has already threatened to bomb U.S. missile defense sites in Eastern Europe.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes">&nbsp; </span>Rice accuses Russia of reviving the Cold War but it was the U.S., not Russia, that insisted on cutting missile defense deals with Poland and the Czech Republic.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes">&nbsp; </span> The picture emerging is of a Russia increasingly authoritarian at home and aggressive abroad, said Rice, urging the WTO to reject any attempt by Russian to join the organization.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes">&nbsp; </span>Rice s tough talk today comes eight years late, watching Russia dismantle the free press, reverse free market reforms, persecute and jail legitimate businessmen and dissidents and try to monopolize Europe s energy trade.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes">&nbsp; </span> Publicly lambasting Russia won t stop Russia s actions in Georgia and military deals around the globe.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes">&nbsp; </span>Only intense diplomacy, negotiation and compromise can expect to breed future cooperation.</p> <p class="MsoNormal"> <![if !supportEmptyParas]>&nbsp;<![endif]><span style="mso-tab-count:1">&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp; </span>More gunboat diplomacy from the White House only antagonizes Russia into taking more defensive actions.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes">&nbsp; </span>When the U.S. Defense Secretary Robert Gates<span style="mso-spacerun: yes">&nbsp; </span>announced plans June 14 to go ahead with missile defense in Poland and the Czech Republic, it killed any prospect of containing Iran s nuclear ambitions or curbing Russia s feverish bent on expanding its influence.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes">&nbsp; </span>Containing Russian power involves more than arming surrogates like Georgia or, perhaps the worst mistake, occupying and setting up permanent bases in Iraq.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes">&nbsp; </span>When the U.S. toppled Iraq under false pretences, it created more global paranoia especially in Russia about U.S. hegemony.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes">&nbsp; </span>To escape pushing the world to the brink, the White House should reconsider its gunboat diplomacy and unilateral plans to go ahead with missile defense in Eastern Europe.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes">&nbsp; </span>More diplomacy can only help the current mess.</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"></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>