Georgia’s former defense minister Irakly Okruashvili claims that he helped President Saakashvili draw up invasion plans to retake the breakaway regions of Abkhasia and South Ossetia three years ago, but that President Bush had made clear that the U.S. would not be able to help Georgia militarily if it were to invade. Okruashvili, described as a hawk on foreign policy, noted that Russia built up its military presence in the Caucasus region– “for us” (the Georgians)–in 2006, making it impossible to successfully execute the invasion plan. He goes on to say that Saakashvili was reckless in invading South Ossetia this summer, miscalculating that U.S. diplomatic pressure would stay a Russian response. In January, Okruahsvili fled Georgia, upon his conviction and sentencing (to 11 years) on corruption charges he claims were trumped up to quiet a critic of the president. His account could certainly be a play for fame in the event Saakashvili loses the presidency, but if it is true, it gives one pause about the judgment of John McCain’s good buddy Misha (Saakashvili to those who don’t know him personally), and the wisdom of pushing for Georgia to get into NATO. Although, I read recently that a country cannot get into NATO if its borders are under dispute (for obvious reasons).
The Russian Newspaper Pravda published perhaps the most vile commentary (if it passes for that) I’ve ever read- though I can’t be sure the paper doesn’t always read this way. The foul-mouthed, over-the-top inappropriate piece takes Sarah Palin to task for her recent ignorant and arrogant comments about U.S. policy toward Russia. I found her comments showed just how unprepared for the presidency (or vice presidency) she truly is. But any valid points the commentary could have made are erased by the gratuitous insults throughout. However, reading this wacko commentary will teach you about the challenges ahead in for U.S. -Russian relations generally speaking–and the writer correctly points out that Russia has a nuclear arsenal to think about. While the writer doesn’t speak for the Russian government, his hysterical response is an example of the kind of diplomacy Palin would so misguidedly get us into. Thanks, but no thanks.
However, this commentary by Natan Sharansky in today’s Washington Post, is worth a read, as it sheds light on what went wrong with our post Cold War relationship with Russia. A key point is that when Putin first took over, the United States missed prime opportunities to use the fabled “carrot” to advance the relationship. Then, when Putin began to roll back democratic reforms, the United States failed to use the stick.
Well, Venezuela is lost.
At least that is what many Venezuelans must be thinking after President Chavez appears to have pushed through a number of reforms by presidential decree that were rejected in a national referendum seven months ago. More and more, Venezuela is turning into yesterday’s Cuba — with oil. I say yesterday’s Cuba because the full-on socialist model in Cuba has not reaped tremendous results, popularized education and primary healthcare excepted. In fact, many would say it has failed spectacularly, and that to survive, Cuba must open up the economy more to the free market. These developments in Venezuela are all the more discouraging when you take into account the burgeoning relationship with Russia. Whether Chavez’ Bolivarian revolution will really take off in any of the rest of Latin America is not terribly likely, but the region is not likely to shun him while the country continues to be such a major player in the petroleum market. As this commentary notes, so many of us incorrectly breathed a sigh of relief to see Chavez seemingly chastened by the referendum’s defeat early this year, and even that the “end of the Chavez era” seemed to be in sight.
Inform Your Consent 