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Originally Posted by Cannon Shell
If you think that this has anything to do with ethnic cleansing or believe georgia has done something that encouraged the russians to invade you really dont understand that part of the world or dont read the news very well. Putin IS putting the old USSR back together. He has already turned the govt into a puppet govt, has invited western oil investment and research and then seized the russian companies that worked with them, putting the owners in jail and kicking the western companies out. They are spending like crazy on revamping their military and Russia has lots of money not to mention a semi-alliance with Iran. They have been rattling the cages of Georgia over the pipelines for 2 years now. Control over Georgia gives them control over the lifeblood of much of eastern europes energy supplies. They dont have to occupy the entire country to be able to exert extreme pressure. The Russians have already put the nuclear card on the table in regards to Poland installing the US missle defense system. THEY HAVE SAID PUBICALLY THAT THEY WILL USE NUCLEAR WEAPONS ON ANOTHER COUNTRY IF IT DOESNT DO WHAT THEY DESIRE!!! So if you believe that the Georgians are bad people or that the Russians are the good guys or somehow justified in this fight, you just go ahead and believe that.
http://www.jamestown.org/edm/article...cle_id=2372768 |
i don't think either georgians or russians are unusually good or bad.
i think georgians have been poorly served by their leadership. i'm not sure how georgia taking the bait and sending troops into s ossentia (a region where russian troops were serving as peacekeepers under an internationally recognized mandate) isn't "encouraging the russians to invade you".
we promised gorbachev we wouldn't expand nato into eastern europe in exchange for soviet acquiescence to german reunification. after that we invite ukraine and georgia to apply.
i don't know why anyone is shocked the russians are pissed and swinging a big dick in everyone's face.
what's shocking was the lack of any sense of realpolitik in tblisi.