Georgian conflict leaves west reeling and Russia walking tall

Guardian ^ | 8/12/2008 | Ian Traynor, Ian Black

[a_Turk]

The Kremlin's decision today to call a halt to its five-day assault on Georgia leaves Russia calling the shots in the energy-rich Black Sea littoral and Caspian basin.

(Snip...)

Nato and the EU

The Russians see the Caucasus test as a zero-sum game and have won. That means lose-lose for the west. A key objective for Putin was to destabilise Georgia to invalidate its aim of joining Nato. He may have succeeded.

The Americans suffered a rare defeat in April at a Nato summit when George Bush argued strongly for starting Georgia towards alliance membership and was defeated by Angela Merkel of Germany and Sarkozy of France.

"This is the first time ever that an American president's request was rejected because France and Germany stuck together," said a senior source at the Elysee Palace in Paris.

In a tough statement yesterday, John McCain said the Nato rebuff to Georgia "might have been viewed as a green light by Russia for its attacks on Georgia. I urge the Nato allies to revisit the decision."

But the French and the Germans feel vindicated in rejecting Georgia and are unlikely to bend.

"A country that has such problems and is led by a hot-headed militant does not belong in Nato," said Rahr in Berlin. "It could take the whole alliance hostage and start the third world war."

(Snip...)

[monday]

“I meant the non-feminist, love a big strong man female was coming out in me.”

Oh, pardon me. I hadn’t realized that women had become so feminist that actual women had to act only subliminally female in order to fit in. Strange world we live in.

[autumnraine]

Oh take your sarcasm elsewhere.

It was a play on society today seeing it as wrong for a woman to be swooned by masculinity. But whatever. Take the argument baiting to another poster.

[Winniesboy]

It's rather more than an 'occasional contrary piece'. The Guardian regularly carries a wide range of opinion, much of it at variance with its own editorial line - but that's liberal journalism for you. Yet as far as that editorial line itself is concerned, I don't recall a particularly pro-Russian slant in its comment on the recent series of Anglo-Russian spats - Litvinenko, the British Council, BP. That it is of the left, which is beyond doubt, doesn't necessarily, in the British context anyway, make it pro-Russian.

[kinghorse]

Apparently Georgia is giving the US control of their ports so you could see a Pusan retreat with the USA protecting the refugees and establishing a perimeter. This could be the start of something very big.

[kinghorse]

Apparently Georgia is giving the US control of their ports so you could see a Pusan retreat with the USA protecting the refugees and establishing a perimeter. This could be the start of something very big.

[monday]

I wasn't being sarcastic and wasn't baiting you. I was totally sincere. I think it is a strange world that demands women behave other than in a way they would normally. Don't you?

Sorry if you read sarcasm into my posts. It wasn't intended. Well maybe the first just a bit, but mostly I was just curious.