Posted on 10/21/2009 8:06:53 PM PDT by Abakumov
The case for supporting Georgia is fundamentally based on American ideals. "The leader of the free world does not abandon its friends," Mr. Bakradze told us. "American diplomacy is more than European-style realpolitik. Yours is a country of values. We share the same values. They are worth defending."
"In the end, America stands for something," he said. We fervently hope that this is still true.
(Excerpt) Read more at washingtontimes.com ...
Sorry, Mr. Bakradze . . . better luck with our next election.
The one consistent principle of this administration is screwing our friends and currying favor with our enemies.
“All we are saying
is give hate a chance.”
Sorry folks, but encouraging Georgia to attack Ossetia was a complete blunder which caused Russia to react. This idiot president of Georgia actually thought he could get away with it and Russia would stand down like they did when Belgrade was bombed. Those days are over. The Russians responded just like any nation with any self-respect would.
Mr. Bakradze is obviously not a student of history.
Going back at least to 1804 (Hamet Karamanli of Tripoli), the US has a looong history of encouraging people to support us and then hanging them out to dry.
South Vietnam and the Shia of southern Iraq and the Kurds of northern Iraq after Gulf War I are more recent examples.
I certainly wouldn't recommend anyone put trust in the "honor" of the USA.
If you followed it, Russia moved tanks and troops through the tunnel into South Ossetia. They then encouraged the South Ossetians to attack the neighboring towns in Georgia.
Georgia finally responded, and that was magnified into an “invasion.”
No, the whole thing was plotted months ahead of time by Putin.
I would agree that Belgrade was a bad business. That was Bill clinton and his socialist pals. I have always said that we fought that war on the wrong side, and I opposed it from the start, as did most in the forum.
But that was no excuse to attack Georgia. And South Ossetia was, in fact, part of Georgia, although separatist.
Georgia would be well advised to learn how to lobby in the United States. More than just lobbying Washington, Georgia must lobby the American people. In ten thousand different ways, Americans need to meet and become friends with Georgians.
In this, Georgia may find an ironic friend, in of all places, the US State of Georgia. This simple irony, of sharing the same name, is worth more than gold as an introduction of the nation of Georgia to the people of the United States.
The nation of Georgia could send a traveling show about their nation to the school children of the State of Georgia. An entertaining, well rehearsed, but inexpensive troupe of young adults to demonstrate the culture, the music and dance, the festive costumes and traditions of the Georgian people.
They would be welcome in most every school in the State, and would be ambassadors of friendship, but most of all knowledge, so these children would grow up as friends of the nation of Georgia. Likewise their parents would become far more sympathetic to Georgia as well.
In return, the nation of Georgia could play host to the young adults of the State of Georgia in return.
Such lobbying is very effective, and by creating such allies, the future of the nation of Georgia will become much more secure.
My heart goes out to the Georgians and Ukrainians who only want to live free and independently. I hope they will stand with Texans when we try to bolt from our own communist dictatorship.
And you believe the NY Times and the EU wimps who are reliant on Russian energy supplies for survival?
There were a series of deliberate provocations earlier, with South Ossetian Muslims attacking neighboring towns and killing people.
So, as clinton would say, it depends on the meaning of “first shot.”
The Georgians finally decided they needed to go in and do something about the terrorists who were killing Georgians. Maybe that was a mistake. Maybe they just should have suffered it. But the Russians set this up deliberately.
I'm sure that's what Poland thought also
Well said. A voice of good sense! I can't understand why so many here (despite our massive debt) want to spend even more money on policing the world.
Translating from English into Georgian: "Give us money and weapons for free".
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