Tag Archive for 'Vladimir Putin'

Georgia: Evil, reality and war

Published
by
Kim
3 months, 2 weeks ago
in Europe, History, International, Media, Politics, Religion, USA and War
. 45 Comments

Standing beside US Secretary of State Condoleeza Rice, Georgian President Mikhael Shaakazvili described Russia as “evil”. It’s probably too much to expect that he might recognise his own degree of responsibility for the war (not forgetting Vladimir Putin’s of course), but the use of language such as this is reminiscent of Rice’s boss and the moralisation of international relations and conflict usually associated with George W. Bush’s regime. Opinions will differ on whether the use of such emotive rhetoric makes the settlement and resolution of conflict easier or more difficult. Of course war is an evil, but some international actors have acted as if it’s a necessary evil over the course of this decade, and indeed made a virtue of pre-emptive war. So it’s been difficult not to notice the hypocrisy of American claims about the inviolability of sovereign states in the 21st century.

In what I think is quite a balanced article in the New Statesman, Misha Glenny looks at the influence of the reality-free thinking of the Dick Cheney faction on the lead up to the Georgian conflict, without minimising the autocratic and bellicose behaviour of the Putin regime. At Open Democracy, Donald Rayfield looks at the realistic options Georgia has, and some of the background to the war, while Neal Ascherson similarly examines how Georgia could progress beyond this war. Both write as avowed friends of Georgia, but both don’t think inflammatory rhetoric from Washington helps at all - they believe that it in fact hinders any positive outcome. This isn’t to adopt some deracinated Kissingerian realism, but rather to argue that the Manichean language of good and evil does anything but achieve the objectives it ostensibly sets out. As Ascherson powerfully demonstrates, there’s evil enough to go around on both sides of this conflict, with atrocities committed at least since the fall of the Soviet Union. A recognition of that - rather than positioning one side as a plucky sovereign democracy and the other as the incarnation of Satan - might actually provide a basis for realistic and peaceful progress.

Continue reading ‘Georgia: Evil, reality and war’

Russia and Georgia war reaction: reality-free edition

Published
by
Kim
3 months, 3 weeks ago
in Film, TV, Video etc, Foreign Elections, Foreign policy, International, USA and War
. 108 Comments

John McCain:

“Today, many are dead and Georgia is in crisis, yet the Obama campaign has offered nothing more than cheap and petty political attacks that are echoed only by the Kremlin,” said McCain aide Tucker Bounds in the statement. “The reaction of the Obama campaign to this crisis, so at odds with our democratic allies and yet so bizarrely in sync with Moscow, doesn’t merely raise questions about Sen. Obama’s judgment — it answers them.”

Just like the good old days, hey? The Democratic candidate is a puppet of Moscow! Evil empire, anyone?

Here’s neocon ideologue Bill Kristol:

When the “civilized world” expostulated with Russia about Georgia in 1924, the Soviet regime was still weak. In Germany, Hitler was in jail. Only 16 years later, Britain stood virtually alone against a Nazi-Soviet axis. Is it not true today, as it was in the 1920s and ’30s, that delay and irresolution on the part of the democracies simply invite future threats and graver dangers?

Georgia conflict - a couple of informative links.

Published
by
Robert Merkel
3 months, 3 weeks ago
in Imperialism, International and War
. 36 Comments

If (like me), you know bugger-all about why Georgia and Russia have suddenly started a war, this piece in the NYT (hat tip Kevin Drum) provides some useful background. In short, it appears there’s a combination of old-style Cold Warriors in the Kremlin trying to re-establish dominance (if not outright political union) over key parts of the old Soviet Union, two provinces with distinct and complex histories who like their de facto autonomy under Russian protection, and a nationalist leadership in Tbilsi that wants to bring what they regard as “renegade provinces” back into the Georgian fold.

Lots more original reporting and commentary at a Fistful of Euros, which indicates that this may have been a massive miscalculation by the Georgians and particiularly their President (as distinct from all those other rational wars…).

If anybody else has seen (or has written) useful reporting or commentary, please add them in comments.

UPDATE: From comments, an interesting diary from Daily Kos, and an ABC RN “Rear Window” podcast. Also, a news update from the BBC.

Update: [by Mark] A very informative post at Obsidian Wings. And another interesting take at The Global Sociology Blog.

G8 commits to numerical targets, even if inadequate

Published
by
Robert Merkel
4 months, 4 weeks ago
in Climate change, Foreign policy, International and USA
. 34 Comments

While here in Australia, the debate about climate change grinds through the technicalities (which I am still trying to chew my way through), things are happening overseas. At the G8 summit, the commnique on the environment and climate change contained far stronger language than the last one.

The key bit of the communique, which can be read in its entirety at the Japanese Foreign Ministry’s website, is as follows:

We seek to share with all Parties to the UNFCCC the vision of, and together with them to consider and adopt in the UNFCCC negotiations, the goal of achieving at least 50% reduction of global emissions by 2050, recognizing that this global challenge can only be met by a global response, in particular, by the contributions from all major economies, consistent with the principle of common but differentiated responsibilities and respective capabilities.

Continue reading ‘G8 commits to numerical targets, even if inadequate’