Comments on: In South Ossetia, ‘Kosovo Backfires’: From France’s Le Figaro

By: pacatrue

pacatrue — Fri, 15 Aug 2008 20:37:07 +0000

Hi, peggyb, I think I disagree, though I know the "you did it first so it's your fault" argument is possible. I think of it sort of like this:

Johnny kicks his little brother in the stomach, even though his friend Tommy says not to. Tommy then kicks his own little brother in the stomach. "Why did you do that?!" asks Tommy's mom. "Because Johnny did it first," responds Tommy. Tommy's mother of course thinks this is a dumb argument.

If Russia actually thinks it is wrong to interfere in the matters of other nations by recognizing break away republics, then they broke their own moral code by doing it in South Ossetia. Either that, or they don't actually think it's wrong.

What I think is going on is that neither "the West" nor Russia believes it is wrong morally or legally. They simply each get upset when it is their friends or allies being hurt. Russia didn't like it in Kosovo because Serbia was their ally. NATO doesn't like it in Georgia because Georgia is its ally. The international law argument is just a rationalization of supporting one's friends.

By: News | Serbian Unity Congress » In South Ossetia, ‘Kosovo Backfires’: From France’s Le Figaro, The Moderate Voice

Fri, 15 Aug 2008 12:03:34 +0000

[...] [...]

By: peggyb

peggyb — Fri, 15 Aug 2008 06:27:54 +0000

The west cannot use the same argument because they are the ones who broke international law. Once the law is broken by one, why should anyone else adhere to it?
Russia would've adhered to the law if the people who broke the law were going to suffer consequences of that. Since nobody had any intention of policing the law Russia knew that the only way was to play the same game.
The only people responsible are the original law breakers. You cannot put the two in the same basket. What good is a law which is not enforcable.

By: greenschemes

greenschemes — Fri, 15 Aug 2008 01:58:18 +0000

This was also a European decision and not an exclusively American one. EU was pressing hard for Kosovo's independence because they wanted to end their mission in the republic and bring their forces home.

By: DLS

DLS — Fri, 15 Aug 2008 00:57:48 +0000

This was Russia's decision, not ours. [scowl]

By: McHealth » Blog Archive » In South Ossetia, =91Kosovo Backfires=92: From France=92s Le Figaro

Fri, 15 Aug 2008 00:04:59 +0000

[...] Under communism, no one ever took the delineation of internal borders seriously. The problem is that both in the Soviet Union and Yugoslavia, t= hey remained …Posted from The Moderate Voice – USA [...]

By: JSpencer

JSpencer — Thu, 14 Aug 2008 23:46:00 +0000

This is what happens when amateurs run our foreign policy.

By: pacatrue

pacatrue — Thu, 14 Aug 2008 22:48:36 +0000

The problem, of course, with these “they did it so we can, too” arguments is that they work both ways. Russia wants to say that if the West can support a break-away area, then Russia can, too. The problem is that the West can use the same argument: “how can you say we acted inappropriately in Kosovo, when you acted even more vehemently in South Ossetia?” Russia undermines their own legal and moral position with these actions, because it de facto corroborates NATO's earlier decisions.