georgiaonmymind
Georgia has been quite a victory for Russia, and it's highlighted something for me that I don't think I keep in mind too often. The common person is completely oblivious, having been informed by similarly oblivious journalists, of most major events in international politics.
I still back Russia on their decision to go to war with Georgia. It is, possibly, a matter of my own personal tastes in conduct, the meaning of citizenship, and the responsibilities of government that guide me thus. Any attack on a nation's citizens and soldiers should be met in force and without compromise.
Still, Georgia is a remarkable victory for Putin's Russia. I'm not even going to pretend Medvedev's in charge... they've stopped pretending, so I won't.
Let's look at the hard facts. Georgia was close to joining NATO... the Americans were pushing hard for it and they're the loudest voice in condemning Russia for their actions in Georgia now. Why this sudden interest from the Condoleeza Rice in protecting the sovereignty of a nation? Does that not strike anyone as odd?
The answer is quite simple. Putin said it himself once upon a time... Oil is power in today's world. Russia controls a great deal of it, and they seek to control all of what they can possibly get at in the region. Ukraine's Orange Revolution fell flat on its ass for the same reason, that a great many of pipelines towards the West from Russia ran through Ukraine. Chechnya is still a mess for the same reasons.
Georgia holds not only pipelines out of Russia, but holds many of the pipelines under the control of American corporations. When Russia consolidated their Oil power (again, under Putin's leadership) they built a great many pipelines through Georgia (a pro-West state looking to join NATO) to bypass Russia. This conflict is a threat to those pipelines and a statement towards Russia's ability to control oil in their region.
Clever man, Putin is. I can't help but admire the sheer cunning and guile his route to power, and his actions while in power, have been. It's a genuine mixture of awe, admiration, and revulsion that makes me want to meet the man, pick his brains for a bit...
I have a speculation that Russia's gearing up, not only recovering its formula glory, but gearing up for the next great political and economical conflict. They can easily see the West is losing its place as the dominant economic power... without the EU Europe would've sunk already into a grave economic recession, and the American economy no longer (thanks in part to an overextension in outsourcing and an unhealthy focus on short-term gains) looms a giant over the rest of the world... they're now simply a really tall man in a world that's catching up.
We'll see what happens...
Back to my scotch now.