Georgia/Russian War: Blame Obama
Posted on August 12, 2008
-By Warner Todd Huston
General Wesley Clark had one thing right during his tenure as a general in the U.S. military. He understood the portentous nature of the Russian’s move to take control of the airport in Pristina, Kosovo at the end of the 1999 NATO engagement in Yugoslavia. He ordered NATO forces to gear up to prevent the Russians from taking the airport but was opposed by British Gen. Michael Jackson, at the time head of the Kosovo peacekeeping forces, who reportedly told Clark that he wouldn’t help him start a third World War.
I don’t know if Clark fully realized what the investment of the Pristina airport might have meant for future Russian actions, but he seemed to know then that it wasn’t a good thing. In retrospect, we can see that, even though they backed down in 1999, it taught the Russians the lesson that they could act with impunity without fear of any real consequences. Later, though, the Russians found that they could not count out any action with Bush in the White House.
Now, let’s face the truth about Russia. She has never, ever been part of the club. No Russian leader has ever seemed convincingly interested in joining the western world and act as a responsible member of an international community. Oh, there was that brief, shining hour when Boris Yeltsin came close, and then only just. But none before and certainly none after have been interested in joining the enlightened world. And, once again, we are seeing Russian belligerence hold true. In this case, instead of purely militaristic aims, we are seeing a Russia planning on an energy hegemony over Europe and willing to act the bad boy to achieve those aims.
Certainly the weakling states of the European Union haven’t the guts nor the military to force Russia to behave herself. Just as certain, the members of the EU have no will to stop Russian plans to control all energy in the region. Only the U.S.A. has displayed the will to oppose moves such as Russia’s in the world today and even that will is anemic.
George W.Bush certainly has butched up the feminine Clinton styled foreign policy that has infected America’s projection of power. But even Bush’s efforts have been only a little better than lipstick on a pig — though in this case maybe it could be thought of as putting a helmet on that pig. To review, Bush certainly came out of the gate strong with the war on terror and his commitment to Iraq and Afghanistan has been steady, if not proving a bumpy ride. But, Bush has shown no spine with the rest of his foreign policy (Condi Rice being a major disappointment here). He has done practically nothing to counter Iran and his feckless policy has allowed North Korea and Pakistan to become bigger threats to the world. And he has certainly made major mistakes in trusting Vladimir Putin, Russia’s newest Czar.
That is history up to the moment. Now for Obama blundering into the mix.
The former Soviet satellite state of Georgia is on Russia’s hit list. Georgia has many internal problems and certain territories that are in dispute. Georgia has separatists who wish to stay out of Georgian influence and Russia is quite interested in fostering more such strife. Certainly, the Russians have had attacks on Georgia planned for many, many months and it’s all because of energy that Russia wants to totally control. Russia has never stopped imagining that it should control all those border states around her.
But, here is the thing. Georgia’s president Mikheil Saakashvili has been watching the American elections closely. Like the rest of the world, what he sees is a man who presents an even weaker foreign policy stance than the feminized policies of Bill Clinton in the form of Barack Obama, the leading favorite to step into the White House in 2009. Saakashvili has observed the devotion to “talking” that Obama hails as some sort of panacea to world conflict and the Georgian president knows that this means that, regardless of past assurances, America cannot be trusted to help him protect his people should Obama become president. President Saakashvili understands that an Obama presidency will be a nod to the Russians that absolutely anything they do will be met with hotair and nothing else, effectively giving the expansionist Russians the green light to do what ever they want to do with no fear of reprisal.
Who can imagine that a president Obama would even have used American assets to help Georgian soldiers to get from the Middle East to their war zone at home as Bush did this week?
Plainly, it was president Saakshvili that precipitated this conflict by ramping up his own military presence in South Ossetia. But Russia used this small action as an excuse to crush the Georgians and by giving the go ahead to attack during the opening of the Olympics, Putin imagined that the world’s attention would be so taken by the games that his over-the-top actions would not be much noticed.
But, the question remains, why did Saakashvili decide to attempt to pacify the separatists in South Ossetia now? The only answer can be that he is trying to solve his problem now while Bush is still in office so that if things escalate too badly he can appeal to American intervention. Saakashvili understands well that if he makes this move after Obama takes the White House, the Georgians cannot expect any help from what will surely be a weak American foreign policy and a gutted American military.
The Georgian president is on a timer. It’s now or never. It’s now to pacify separatists and take firm control of his troublesome territory before Russia has the ability to act with utter abandon. It’s act now when he might have at least some hope that his American ally might come to his aid. Now is probably his last chance to see America assist a struggling democracy against the grasping, anti-liberty Russian Bear. Once Obama gets into office, the world knows that the USA will likely not come to the assistance of any democratic nation striving to survive.
Once Obama gets into the White House, bad actors the world over understand that they will be on the rise. And Mikheil Saakashvili understands this and made his move accordingly.
Obama’s weakness has been the catalyst for this conflict.
» Filed Under Elections, Europe, History, Liberal Media/Bias, News, War On Terror, military
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19 Responses to “Georgia/Russian War: Blame Obama”
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Yes, Wes Clark was right about Pristina. But to blame Barack Obama for George W. Bush’s policy failures is preposterous. Remember that Wes Clark led a fractious, 19-nation coalition to a quick victory in the Balkans that stopped a genocide and set in place the conditions for a successful peacekeeping mission that the Russians eventually joined.
The president who gave the orders that enabled Clark’s brilliant victory (won without the loss of a single Allied life in combat) was Bill Clinton. The policy failure that have led to this tragic debacle have all been G W Bush’s. He’s the one who looked into Putin’s eyes and declared him a soulmate, then so wasted the great army he inherited that the US is unable to even threaten to stop Putin’s aggression.
You need to read more closely. I neither excused Bush nor blamed it ALL on Obama.
Use of force may be justified in some cases, but this shouldn’t be done just to prove that we have balls. The main issue here is that the President should know more about Kosovo, South Ossetia, etc., than is broadcast on CNN.
Here is what non-CNN media think about US/NATO actions in Serbia (published today):
…. If it had not been for America’s insistence on installing a gang of trigger-happy pimps and drug-pushers in Kosovo, Russia might have responded less ferociously to the flea bites on its southern border. Make no mistake: the American-sponsored Kosovo regime is the dirtiest anywhere in postwar history. Writing in the Spiegel magazine website last April 24 , Walter Mayr described Kosovo as “a country ruled by corruption and organized crime”.
Source: http://www.atimes.com/atimes/Central_Asia/JH13Ag01.html
Roses Prichard
Clinton’s war was on behalf of the Muslims who were committing the genocide. Even the UN found there was NO GENOCIDE committed by Serbia.
http://www.btinternet.com/~nlpWESSEX/Documents/Kosovofalsehoods.htm
In fact, more civilians were killed in the NATO bombing than were killed by the battle on the ground. Clinton went into that war based on a lie, had no mandate from either congress or the UN. He was no hero, but a cur.
Yes, Bush adopted Clinton’s bastard child by declaring support for an independent Islamic Kosovo, and that was a terrible mistake that contributed to this mess.
http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/europe/7246505.stm
But Obama’s weakness alone could account for it:
http://rendevouswithdestiny.blogspot.com/2008/06/will-obama-cut-defense-spending-to-pay.html
Bush’s too, if he stands by and does nothing but talk.
I want the two minutes of my life that I wasted on this dribble back
…you are a liar to say you are somehow against a “waste” of time. After all, you wasted your time and OURS with your empty headed reply, ax113. Oh, and the word you were looking for was “drivel” not “dribble.” Dribble is what you do when you drink from your sippy cup, lil’ fella.
axt113,
It’s hard to believe anyone who would spend years and tens of thousands of dollars to allow Socialist/Marxists to cram their skull full of mush, would be overly concerned by the loss of two minutes.
Case Western Reserve? sheesh.
loboinok
lololol – good one!
And if this is the same character, he/she/it has no problem “wasting time” over at the HuffnPuffPest,
…with 645 comments …SINCE MARCH (of THIS year).
i think everyone needs to look at both sides of the story, which i have, georgia have killed 2,000 russian peace keepers, i am all for russia, US should stay out of other countries business and learn both sides before taking a side if any, i think all of you need to read the news carefully, besides, i also read that US are planning to use something of russia’s for something later on in the future, you won’t be able to if you are going to go against them now, are you?! stay out of other countries business!! and stop attacking everyone, eventually no one will help america because you keep trying to attack all these people… there is no need for war, everyone can work peace out.. i look forward to responses! :]
ok, i don’t know about your voting and stuff.. it’s just for people to stay out of countries business.. i just think people need to think more carefully… i don’t even know who obama is.. nor do i really care, as long as he is about doing good…
uh, martyn, Georgia killing 2,000 Russian “peace keepers?” Russia has “peace keepers?” Who knew?
And Georgia killed 2,000 of them? TWO THOUSAND?! That’s like 2/3 of the 9/11 dead!
What are your sources for that unbelievable nonsense. Put up or shut up.
“useful idiot” martyn has “looked at both sides of the story,” my foot…
Here’s a bit of the actual story…
http://www.timesonline.co.uk/tol/news/world/europe/article4514939.ece
with proof of Russian aggression…
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-uyTFPwSXUI&
the fact that i have alot of russian friends… besides.. on the american news it says that russian are trying to protect south ossetia, russia could take any part they wanted but they don’t, georgia want to take this country back, like i say, you are just reading one side, a typical moron you are :] remember.. read, learn english ;] you embarrass my language! besides.. personally i don’t think it’s wise for anyone messing around with russia nor georgia’s business and if you check the news.. i believe that i was right haha, i usually am, not always, but usually, either way this should have been in another debate area ’cause this is for blaming Obama, which i wouldn’t know because we don’t care for other countries politics, that is for your own country to decide
Martyn
You got the 2000 “peace keepers killed” part wrong. Someone who’s that careless with details is NOT a reliable source of 411. Deal with it.
Obviously our friend Martyn is merely a Russian apologist. They can do no wrong, apparently.
By the way, it is coming to light that the Russians had been undertaking a cyber war against Georgia for about 2 weeks prior to the S. Ossetia incident. So, Russia has been going ahead with attacks on Georgia ahead of Saakasvili’s efforts to protect his own territory.
The Russians (as always) are the villain in this situation. It’s just that plain.
In all respects, the concepts of right and wrong are a matter of perspectives. Russia enter the province on the pretext of protecting Russian citizens whilst Georgia moved to recpature it to try and bring to an end a possible civil war. Now I do agree that Russia is playing hardball. However I do agree that the West has continiously involved itself in issues beyond it’s own understanding (Refer to colonialism). No-one is wrong in their justification. Its their actions that make them appear evil. Russia will be seen as the villian. However, Russia has no choice. It secures their southern borders and protects its citizens. We would do the same thing- look at Korea, Vietnam and Afghanistan for evidence.
I agree with Roses. Knowing how far-right this site is, they will probably blame Russia for starting the conflict when they can’t defend their accusation of Obama.
WHY THE LEFT IS ALWAYS WRONG
“In all respects, the concepts of right and wrong are a matter of perspectives.” — jimmyB
WRONG!
When anything can be right, nothing can be wrong. Yet, the Left pretends to have an absolute monopoly on morality??? And, in a sense, they do… they are absolutely wrong, absolutely always. Even if they ever were accidentally “right” they would still be wrong, because it’s not intentional and they are likely to change their minds any second, while saying whatever nonsense they now support is what they always supported.
That kind of amoral approach is absolute evil.
It is human to err occaisionally, but it is demonic to deliberately choose to be always wrong and claim that is what is right.
Wow…analysis based on nothing…not one piece of actual evidence. I found it particularly amusing that you have the gall to write what other foreign leaders are thinking or imagining. Unless you have a highly placed mole in their respective cabinets, your points are garbage.