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Russia vs. Georgia: Implications for the U.S.
Economists know that the total cost of a decision can only be truly measured when its “opportunity cost” is considered: this “opportunity cost” is the loss of ability to make other choices given the resources consumed in implementing the original decision.
Simply, if I buy guns, I can’t buy butter because I’ve already spent my money.
Political decisions also can only be properly evaluated in terms of their opportunity cost. Whatever one may think about the USA’s war in the middle east, it has huge opportunity cost. Russia’s action in Georgia shows that this cost includes the inability of the United States to stand up for its principles where it once sought to apply those principles with much fervor.
Yes, Russia’s action was provoked and did not happen in a vacuum, as this piece in a British Paper by Nobel Peace Prize Winner and the last President of the Soviet Union, Mikhail Gorbachev, indicated, but Russia has acted now crossed a rather simple red line drawn by America – which with treasure spent and lives elsewhere – has done nothing in defense of its ideals of democracy and sovereignty.
As is evident to readers of Watching America.com, the site that translates foreign news about the U.S., the global media sees in the current events in Georgia reveals much that is important about the U.S.
To list the Russian content first;
U.S. Shows Meanness as Russia Mourns Victims of Genocide
LA Times: Classic Example of Disinformation
and a kind of public letter to Bush, entitled Bush: Why Don’t You Shut Up?
Georgia has also been watching America, of course…
Bush Warns Russia Over Georgia
… but the most interesting analysis comes from the rest of the world:
The Uncommonly Soft Hardness of the U.S. (Poland)
A Tale of U.S. Expansion – Not Russian Aggression (U.K.)
Washington Gave Georgia the Green Light (Germany)
Russia Teaches U.S. A Lesson (Israel)
Russia won, Georgia lost, and US was resoundingly defeated
Putin’s Pique (Israel)
Bush Rebuking Russia? Putin Must be Splitting His Sides (U.K.)
America in No-Man’s Land (Germany)
In a different vein, but speaking directly to the opportunity cost of American political, and specifically, military, choices, came this cutting analysis of American society and values today from the Italians, For America, War is Like Breathing
14 Responses to “Russia vs. Georgia: Implications for the U.S.”
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“Bush rebuking Russia? Putin must be splitting his sides”
Ain't it the truth. Thanks to the neo-GOP for this 21st century version of US international “political capital”.
Let's be more specific. Thanks to BigOil behind the neo-GOP….
Odd that the highest-earning monopoly in the US gets to siphon the Public Treasury to fund its corporate takeover of a sovereign nation, and then dupes the US into WWIII under the guise of “humanitarian aide” from those terrible russians bombing strategic …..oil….transportation sites…in yet another nation it infiltrated.
Seems the Texas cowboys don't want their party spoiled by the locals overseas.
And they're going to wave “freedom”, “liberty” and “humanitarian cause” in front of our faces and we'll buy it hook, line and sinker and ask where we can sign the (overdrawn) check and send our sons & daughters to die to do more of their bidding.
Right now GW Dumbass & Co. are like that little scrawny guy on the beach, walking up to sasquatch and kicking sand in his face. Russia will flick us away with its fingernail.
We should've impeached him while we had the chance..him and Cheney.
Congress?
Dear God, is anyone other that Bush ever responsible? Putin has led Russia to the brink of a new totalitarianism, has bullied and blackmailed all of Europe over oil and natural gas, has killed his critics anywhere throughout Europe, and HE and Russia are the fuck*ng victims? Get real.
Bush needs to look in the mirror AR, as do some of his fans. Think about Iraq in this context. Btw, I shouldn't have to remind you of how our dear leader gazed deep into Putin's eyes and pronounced him to be a good man. Yah, right…
Well, those are hardly flattering portrayals of the U.S. from abroad, no doubt. What's most interesting to me is that most people see this as a story of Russia vs. the U.S. A continuing Great Game of global influence. That should be, at best, 10% of the story. The real story is in the people who are now dead in Georgia and its breakaway provinces. That's who lost.
It is patently ridiculous for the international left to point fingers at the victim and blame Georgia for “inciting aggression.” And blame the US for provoking poor little Vlad who tried to poison the present President of the Ukraine, probably Russia's main object of intimidation in this episode.
It's still about the BTC pipeline & alternate outlets of oil from Central Asia to the West. Read Marshall Goldman's “Petrostate,” a book which describes Vlad the Empoisoner's Great Game to imprison the EU-nuchs in an energy Gulag. The Russians have no neighbors, only enemies and vassals.
The lefties probably retain their fondness for their friend Russia and for anyone who flexes his muscles as an adversary of the USA and the West. Happy times are here again!
“It's still about the BTC pipeline & alternate outlets of oil from Central Asia to the West.”
Having everything under the control of Russia and Iran is fine by them.
“Vlad the Empoisoner's Great Game to imprison the EU-nuchs in an energy Gulag”
They need not only the oil, but all that GAZ.
[Bruno, singing with a smirk] “Frosty Snowman, was happy, jolly soul…”
“Dear God, is anyone other that Bush ever responsible?”
McCain, the Warmonger and Bush Clone [tm], especially if there is panic before November.
so it is fine by you that people die so russia can show the world that they can invade a country the size of sc and win. where is the outcry from the peace loveing libs. hmmm the us is not the bad guy so they stay at home and create side splitting humor like gw dumbass and co. get a clue. oh and by the way Russia will flick us away with its fingernail. was that said just to raise a reaction. have you seen the abysmal performance of the russian military. and by the way why did russia invite Checnyan SOF into Georgia the russians learned this one from rhe Nazis who used so called liberated Serbs and Slavs to practice thier long hatred of Jews is support of the finale solution.. Only one reason “ethnic cleansing” and probabledeniability by the russians. Well i guess the radical handbook must believe there are no crrimes against humanity except everything the us does. Points you need to get out of this so called war. !. Russia is trying to become a world military player to counter growing NATO (hmmm why do so many countries want to join a evil organization dominated by the US). 2. The Russians will not give up any Georgian territory siezed and will commit horrendous war crimes without commendation my the leftist press. 3. This same press will not report how truly awful Russian military performance was i.e. pilots dumping weapons just over the border (usually on civilian dwellings and running back to the officxers club. This after loosing front line med and tactical bombers to a almost non existant Georgian air defense. So try the truth please from now on.
I've had it with this preoccupation with “right v. left”; these labels and their repective ideologies have no relevance. The growing animosity of the international community toward the U.S. and the growing number of “independents” within the U.S. are warnings. The old ideologies born of the Cold War and 20th Century economic conservatism have no bearing on the dynamics today.
“Right”, how do you continue supporting “free trade” against the backdrop of devasting trade deficits, devaluation of the dollar, loss of U.S. jobs, and-most embarrasing-the spiralling indebtedness to China? China, for godsakes!
“Left”, you are no less clueless. Not all countries warrant equal consideration. You don't take sides with tier-2 or tier-3 economic or political upstarts if it risks
nuclear confrontation with a tier-1 nation. The name of the game is “real politik”-everything is negotiable, everything predicated on our-not their-self interest.
“Right” and “Left” stop trying to twist realty to conform to your ideologies. The proliferation of nukes and global economics has rendered them obsolete.
I don't mean to antagnonize, here, I would just like to deal with the present.