Thursday 14 August 2008

How Did Russia Become The Bad Guys?

Apart from the obvious bizarreness of watching President George Bush berate someone else for 'invading the territorial sovereignty' of another country, the question being asked by people here is how and why did Russia become the bad guy in all this?
Senator John McCain is talking about 'us all being Georgians now' and President Bush declared the Russian action as "disproportionate and unacceptable" as well as making the quote of the century that world powers should not go about "toppling governments in the 21st century."
The people of Palestine and Lebanon may be wondering just why Georgia receives this kind of response while the US leaves them to the whims of the Israeli military time and time again and the Iraqis and Afghans must have doubled over in laughter when they heard him talking about not toppling Governments.
The facts are the US educated Georgian President gambled on occupying South Ossettia, a protectorate of Russia, under the misguided apprehension that America and the West would protect them from Russian retaliation. Russia, to most here anyway, were justified in stopping the consequent evictions and killings of its nationals in these provinces.
Quite how merely losing a war make you the good guy is a valid point but there are other reasons why America are painting Georgia as the victim when in everyone elses book, it was Georgia who began the whole thing.
Firstly McCain's chief foreign-policy adviser and business partner, Randy Scheunemann, earnt hundreds of thousands of dollars as his job as a lobbyist for the government of Georgia. That conflict of interests show why McCain is grubbily attempting to push the blame away from Georgia but why the rest of the US Government?
A U.S.-backed oil pipeline runs through Georgia, carrying over 1 million barrels of crude oil per day from the Caspian oil fields, estimated to hold the world's third-largest reserves. The present Georgian President, Mikheil Saakashvili, is US educated and his troops are US trained and equipped. Georgia sent troops to Iraq and hold bases for American soldiers on its territory.
The American Government were rebuffed by Europe earlier this year for Georgian membership to NATO, German Chancellor Merkel claiming the Georgian President too much of a hot head to allow into the exclusive club.
The US wants a pro-American leader in charge of the oil pipeline and to lessen the influence of a resurgent Russia in that area and that is why Georgia have been able to invade, kill 2000 Russian civilians in the process, and come out as the victim when its bigger and more powerful neighbour pushed back.
American Governments have a history of backing the bad guys when there interests are at stake, and they have done it again with the Georgian President. Russia are no saints themselves, but if you buy the American line that Georgia are the innocent victims here being bullied by the Russians, you obviously haven't been paying attention.

20 comments:

Anonymous said...

Lucy, this post will send the pro-American contingent among your readership crazy. To them Imperial America has done no wrong and can do no wrong!

WTF Americans are doing in Georgia anyway is an interesting question in itself. But then they've got their war-mongering noses in most other countries of the world so why should Georgia miss out!

Thank heavens Russia is re-emerging as a world power. America needs its wings clipped!

Anonymous said...

Right David G,

The next time maybe the Russians should nuke 'em to really prove a point!

Yes - thank goodness the military dictatorships are on the rise again!!

Q

Anne said...

hot mike

Falling on a bruise said...

I don't fancy Russia much becoming a major world power, nor china come to think of it. I would prefer one of those nice Scandanavian countries like Norway. Anon would make a good leader. He seems calm, thoughtful and eloquent.

Nog said...

Georgia isn't wholly right and neither is Bush or McCain. If the folks in Southern Ossetia want to run off to Russia and take their land with them, more power to them.


The other part of the oil issue is that the Russian is militarily destroying its economic competitors. That's really something that's a bit over the line. The United States have not destroyed Japan for competing in the car market.

Also, I have heard that the "Russian civilians" are more like folks from the region that the Russian government issued Russian passports so that it could say that its people were being hurt.


The thing that gets me is that this really ought to be a European issue. Why do the Americans have to save everyone in the world? Maybe if it weren't always presumed to be the American Government's responsibility, it wouldn't mess around quite so much. Doesn't the EU have a rapid action force and a common defense policy? Where's EUFOR?
And if we love those Swedes so much, why don't we send the Nordic Battlegroup over? I'm assuming that the EU could defend itself from Russia in a nonnuclear land war. If the EU can't hold its own against the Russians, maybe I'm wrong and the American military ought to be more active. Surely y'all aren't scared of the Russians...

-Nog

Falling on a bruise said...

Maybe you didn't notice the EU negotiating a ceasefire nog and there was no need for rapid action forces or even the fearsome Nordic Battlegroup to trouble itself.

Cody Bones said...

I talked to the Nordic battlegroup today, and from what I understand they want to challenge the Russians to a funny hat contest. I'm hoping it can be broadcast on ESPN after the Olympics are over. They might even do the whole arms folded dance thing too.

Nog said...

Personally, I think that the Olympics is a much better way to settle disputes over national glory than war. Although the result is obviously wrong if the Americans don't win. Just about everyone is a Manichean when it comes to sports and war.

As Lucy alluded to, the Georgians might well be in the wrong. But I won't give Putin and his cronies anything that I don't have to give them. At least Bush runs into term limits (Putin may be Prime Minister, but now the office has become conveniently more powerful).

-Nog

Anonymous said...

Hey, I think it's great that Anonymous of the Foul Mouth has joined this readership and has demonstrated what real Americans think!

I look forward to reading more of his mature, highly intellectual and well researched contributions.

God Bless America!

Unknown said...

i agree with david g, america should have its wings clipped, and they are being clipped, economically.

russia should take georgia, why not?

as for china, i think they wouldnt be the worst superpower, as long as the US acknowledges that in this century they will play the submissive ex-superpower. the world is too small for india, china, russia AND the US.

Falling on a bruise said...

It is good to see the European leaders distancing themselves from Bush's stance. Sarkozi couldn't correct Condee quickly enough when she tried to put words in his mouth at the press conference today. Bush and John 'we are all Georgians' McCain seem to have very little support this side i am glad to say.

Anonymous said...

The real irony is when Russia tried to put its missiles in Cuba the Americans went bananas and we almost had a nuclear war! Yet now they think it's quite alright to ring Russia with missiles and army bases.

Americans have one set of rules for themselves and different one for everyone else. Their conceit and stupidity is infinite.

Anonymous said...

david g,

You are right again. Let me paraphrase: the U.S. sucks because it looks out for its own good and countries shouldn't do that... and the U.S. is like probably the only country that does that...

And the USSR wasn't putting missles in Cuba for its own purposes. It was doing it to protect Cuba. After all, Cuba wasn't some little crummy fake democracy like Georgia. It was one of those highly desirable military dictatorships.

Q

Aaron said...

"A U.S.-backed oil pipeline..."

To be fair, bp owns the largest share of the pipeline with 30%.

Aaron said...

Kind of a good way on bp's part to hedge against getting screwed by Russia in the TNK-BP deal now that I think about it.

Anonymous said...

Anonymouse, you're a typical American apologist! Then, in a way, I don't blame you because America has so much to apologize for.

With just five percent of the world's population, why can't it just stay in its own backyard and stop trying to run the whole world for its own selfish benefit?

America is a cancer that the world can do without!

P.S. Now paraphrase that.

Anonymous said...

To the Americans, do you not see how things like this just make you even more unpopular but then do you care? Lucy is right, Russia are not the bad guys here, Georgia are and everyone but America it seems can see it.
Although it is ending as Bush moves out, there is a real anti America feeling running through the rest of the world and when you do crazy things like this and you also do it with Israel, i hope you see that it is understandable why there is animosity aimed at you.

Anonymous said...

David g.,

Did I apologize?

I'm calling the other nations hypocrites. And I'm calling people like you hypocrite.

Q

Anonymous said...

Anonymouse, I reckon that a nation that claims to stand for freedom, democracy and human rights and then goes around the world invading countries for oil and killing civilians by the hundreds of thousands and torturing others would win the gold medal for hypocrisy hands down!

As I said: America is a cancer.

Anonymous said...

As an American I can tell you why the people in power want us to think Russia is bad. It's election time and the age group with the most votes is the ones that lived through the cold war. So instead of concentrating on issues like the economy, job loss, dependence on foreign oil and money. They bring up and old fear. Which is really stupid to the younger generations that don't remember the cold war.