David

Karki

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August 18, 2008

Russia’s Aggression: Old Communist Habits Die Hard

Those of you too young to remember the Cold War were given a reprise this week, as Russian troops marched into the sovereign republic of Georgia. Georgia is strategically located in the Caucasus region between the Caspian Sea and the Black Sea, and serves as a critical route for the only oil pipelines from that area that Russia doesn't control (at least not yet).

Georgia used to be part of the Soviet Union, a loss about which that Russia is still sore. They would like to re-annex it and about a dozen other former Soviet republics while they're at it. I don't know what it is about Russia, but it seems like their national pride or insecurity is a direct function of their size or lack thereof. Naturally, bigger is always better. (Insert Viagra joke here.)

Georgia, for its part, has come along nicely since it parted ways with the old Soviet bear. They had been under consideration for North Atlantic Treaty Organization membership, understandably wanting some kind of protection from the dormant threat lying just to its north. NATO, with its principle of “an attack on one member is an attack on all, and will be responded to as such,” seemed to them to be as good an umbrella as any to be under – its aimless impotence since the end of the Cold War notwithstanding.

But before this could be decided, the dormant became active once more, as Russian troops rolled into the Georgian region of North Ossetia in response to Georgia moving forces there to quell an ostensible uprising by Ossetians wanting to re-join Russia.

I don't believe for a second that most Ossetians want to re-join Russia, and to the extent anything along those lines did happen, I strongly suspect Russia manufactured it to goad the Georgians into responding, thereby giving them a flimsy and phony pretext for invading. (Why else were all those Russian troops massed on the border, ready to march upon a moment's notice?)

So what is the West's and America's role and proper response? Even if Russia did manipulate this, is it our responsibility to bail Georgia out from its misstep? And what are the consequences of not acting? Will it further embolden the ever-more-authoritarian Vladimir Putin?

Thus far, the Bush Administration's response has been something like the Tempest – full of sound and fury, signifying nothing. President Bush condemned the act and went as far as an intense exchange with Putin at the Olympics in Beijing – after which Putin flew directly to the front lines to oversee the ongoing invasion – and some humanitarian aid has been sent to the capital of Tbilisi with enough American escort to ensure it reaches the intended deserving recipients. Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice was traveling to Tbilisi as of this writing.

But none of this is anything Russia would notice, much less fear. And Europe isn't going to say anything, when one quarter of its energy comes from Russia – and potentially a substantial amount more than that should those Georgian pipelines come under their control.

Which means it falls to us. Perhaps this is appropriate, given that Georgia is about the friendliest to the west of any of the former Soviet republics. And that we may have led them to believe that we'd help protect them in a crisis. I'm not saying that we did or that we're responsible for Georgia misreading things, but it's hard to believe that President Mikheil Saakashvili would have taken such a hard line with North Ossetia if he had known that no one would have his back.

We also need to ensure that this goes no further. As pricy as it is to deal with a revanchist Russia now, it'll become exponentially more so with each subsequent former Soviet republic it tries to re-claim. To think that Russia's appetite will be sated here is about as naïve and foolish as thinking Adolf Hitler would be satisfied with the Sudetenland.

America should move to get Ukraine, whose NATO membership is also pending, into the organization as soon as possible. Send the message that if Russia takes a nibble, they'll lose a big bite. And let Putin know that the Baltics – Latvia, Lithuania and Estonia – are next and on the fast-track.

Lastly, abolish the NATO-Russia Council. Invading a potential new NATO member seems more than legitimate grounds for expulsion from the club.

Russia should also be booted from the G-8 group of democratic nations, as its economy was never big enough to justify inclusion in the first place – just its nuclear stockpile. And Putin's dictatorship is anything but democratic. Entry to the World Trade Organization should also be denied.

Any or all of the above could be subject to reversal upon a proper Russian response, starting with full and immediate withdrawal from Georgia back to Russian territory. (Save perhaps for G-8 membership, which would last until such time as Russia meets the proper requirements for participation there.) This way, Russia would be in control of its own destiny, and any repercussions for continued malfeasance would be entirely its own responsibility.

There is one more thing America must do, and it's the most important of all as it regards our own interests. Seeing how this is inherently tied to energy, and very possibly the main motive on Russia's part, the Democrats' and radical environmentalists' continued stubborn and stupid refusal to let us obtain all of our own resources as soon as possible is even more incomprehensible – and dangerous. America cannot keep getting yanked around by events on the other side of the world simply because oil and natural gas is involved, when we're sitting on massive stockpiles of the same under our own lands and waters. We need to drill, dig, pump and build refineries and nuclear plants like crazy.

Hmm, Russia invading a bordering country and an Olympics hosted by a cheating communist country. Is it 1980 all over again? I guess old communist habits die hard. 

© 2008 North Star Writers Group. May not be republished without permission.

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