Poland: Presidents Of 5 Ex-Communist Countries Head To Georgia

AFP ^ | 11 August 2008

[curiosity]

Poland is in NATO. If Russia attacks Poland, that will be the equivalent of an attack on the United States and the rest of Western Europe. There's no way Russia would risk that kind of a confrontation.

[ought-six]

“President Bush will probably send lightweight Rice over there as emissary/mediator. She’ll want to give away the store like she does with Israel. We are always so screwed.”

I don’t know. Condi’s background was as an expert on the Soviet Union. She knows the Russian mindset. I wouldn’t cut her short just yet.

[Publius]

Back in 1980, when Solidarity was shaking things up in Poland, Pope John Paul told the Soviets that if they invaded Poland, he would leave the Vatican and return to Poland to stand with his people. This is why the Soviets arranged for an internal military coup via Jaruzelski, rather than invade outright. The Soviets genuinely feared having papal blood on their hands.

Despite ongoing friction between the Vatican and the Russian Orthodox Church, the Russians would fear a papal intervention just as much today. No one wants to be known as a pope-killer, even if it is officially "accidental".

[ought-six]

“Because, if the LEADERS of the Free World join these five brave souls, the chance of success goes UP exponentially!”

Exactly.

[Unlikely Hero]

most likely you are quite right, but then that begs the question why Russia is risking as much as they are already.

What’s the endgame?

[MinuteGal]

"I wouldn't cut her (Rice) short just yet."

Mad Maddie Albright was also an expert on the Soviet Union. So was Ziggy B.

Being referred to as an "expert" on the Soviet Union does not a Talleyrand make.

I generally cut Rice short on just about everything and then wait to be pleasantly surprised.

She's a lightweight to State like Powell before her......and like Gonzales was to Justice.

Leni

[ZULU]

“We were hoping Bush or Cheney would make the same trip.”

No chance.

Wait for his 5:00 speech and hear what he has to say. Should be interesting to see if the Russians have become the “evil ones”. (its malefactor, George - MALEFACTOR!!!!)

[big'ol_freeper]

Indeed.

[pgkdan]

From the joint declaration...

It a litmus-test for the credibility of the EU and NATO to solve the conflict in its immediate neighborhood and to prove for all EU and NATO members, aspirant countries and democratic partners that it is worth being members and partners of these organizations.

Amen. I'm afraid though that they won't find much help in Europe. The Western Europeans would probably rather shiver in the dark next winter than face off against the Russians.

[444Flyer]

Adding to the conflict of interests here are the individual EU countries and their dependence on Russia and Gazprom for their energy needs (similar to the U.S.’s dependence of foreign oil). How they respond will depend on how tight Russia has drawn the strings.

“Europe's Strategic Dependence on Russian Energy”
http://www.heritage.org/Research/Europe/bg2083.cfm

[444Flyer]

The EU imports almost half of its natural gas and 30 percent of its oil from Russia.

[pgkdan]

If Russia attacks Poland, that will be the equivalent of an attack on the United States and the rest of Western Europe. There's no way Russia would risk that kind of a confrontation.

I wonder. We have our hands full in Iraq and Afghanistan and Western Europe is failing. We'll see.

[Clemenza]

Even here in the U.S. among Americans of Polish descent. I noticed many years ago how many polish last names there are of those in the U.S. military. As a collective group, some of the best looking people too I’ve noticed. All anecdotal of course, just my own observations.

This half-Polish American thanks you. :)

I should say that almost all apply to me, although I never served in the military (most of the men in my family have, however).

[American Quilter]

The younger guy found the surface of the picnic table to be incredibly fascinating for the rest of the afternoon.

That's a great story. Young skull full of mush meets reality.

[lizol]

Ping

[angelsonmyside]

Prayers for these brave soldiers.

[hellbender]

it could be only a matter of time before Russia “intervenes on behalf of ‘oppressed’ Russians” in Lithuania or The Ukraine.

Stalin deliberated deported large portions of the population of the Baltic states and other captive nationalities, replacing them with Russians. He knew (better than our open-borders crowd) that people of alien ethnicity are a Fifth Column in nations. The liberated satellites all made a fatal error in not eliminating ex-Commies from their midst. The top Commie leaders should all have been tried and executed for treason, and all their flunkies excluded from politics for life. The Baltic nations should expel their Russian populations. A foreign policy goal of the U.S. should be to reduce Russia to an impoverished rotting stump, unable to ever again threaten its neighbors. We should immediately begin building up the military capabilities of Poland, Ukraine, and other friendly countries around Russia.

[Delmarksman]

bump for followup.

[curiosity]

most likely you are quite right, but then that begs the question why Russia is risking as much as they are already.

It's all about the oil pipeline. As of right now, I don't think they are risking all that much. So long as they don't escalate the war to include some countries, they aren't much of anything.

[Dawnsblood]

All I can add is that at times like this I really miss Jeane Kirkpatrick.