Liberally Biased : Russia pushes back
Posted on Friday, August 22, 2008
Understand, I do not condone Russia's use of overwhelming military force to pummel small weak nations anymore than I do that of the United States of America. Since war broke out between Russia and Georgia, I've felt like I have time-warped back into the Cold War era of my youth. The big bad Russian Bear, we hear, is bullying tiny, angelic Georgia.
Conservative pundits have had a field day playing Cold Warrior again. William Kristol, for instance, asked," Will Russia get away with it ? "This black-and-white narrative being offered of Russian evil versus good little Georgia simply does not stand scrutiny. Has anyone noticed that by all indications Georgia's military initi ated this encounter ?
Georgia has had to contend with Russia for centuries. Georgia was annexed by the Tsar in 1801 and by the Soviet Union in 1922. As the Soviet Union fell apart, Georgia again declared its independence in 1991. Soon, minorities in Georgia itself began fighting for their independence. Separatists in Abkhazia and South Ossetia gained autonomy in the 1990 s. Tensions between Ossetians and Georgians had escalated drastically before the Georgian military launched its attack last week. Georgian President Mikheil Saakashvili, not quite the angel he has been portrayed as, has repeatedly vowed to take back Abkhazia and South Ossetia. Russia always said it would respond strongly to such efforts.
Ethnic factionalism and rampant nationalism are a hoary and contentious issue that looks to be the plague of the 21 st century. Movements for autonomy are everywhere threatening traditional nation-states, from Quebec, to Scotland, to the Caucasus. The U. S., with so much leverage in the world, has taken inconsistent, hypocritical and self-serving positions on such issues.
The most pertinent example is Kosovo. Earlier this year, with U. S. backing, Kosovo unilaterally declared independence from Serbia. Many nations dealing with their own internal ethnic troubles were disturbed at this development. Critics argued that a group could not unilaterally secede from a nation-state. This was the position Abraham Lincoln took in 1861, and one the Russians took over Kosovo. Russia said at the time that if Kosovo could do it, so could South Ossetia and Abkhazia. True to their word, Russia drastically increased its support for separatist movements in Georgia after we backed Kosovo.
This is a difficult issue. Who can secede and when ? The U. S. settled this question for itself during our Civil War. Now the U. S., as with many other issues, uses its global clout to pick and choose according to our interests. We backed Kosovo's independence while denying the possibility in Georgia and also denying longtime Kurdish desires for independence from Turkey and Iraq.
But there are bigger issues involved in the recent war in Georgia than ethnic rivalry. The Caucasus region contains vast oil and natural-gas reserves, and Russia and the United States have been vying for supremacy in the region. Georgia has become a pawn in this power struggle. Just as the United States has long maintained its hegemony in Central and South America through the Monroe Doctrine, Russia claims the Caucasus as its special sphere of influence. The U. S. has done everything it can to undermine this claim. We have encouraged Georgia in its disputes with Russia, we have armed and trained it, and we have recently pushed hard for its inclusion in NATO. This is part of a larger effort by the United States that has infuriated Russia. Since the Cold War, we have consistently kicked the Russians while they were down. We unilaterally abandoned the ABM treaty. We expanded NATO into Eastern Europe after promising the Russians at the end of the Cold War that we would not, and we have ringed Russia with permanent military bases in the former Soviet Republics. All of this is unacceptable to Russian security interests, no matter who is in charge, just as it would be unacceptable to us. Henry Kissinger, the ultimate political realist, once said that no great power retreats forever. He was right. We have repeatedly rubbed Russia's nose in it while they were weak. Now, when they are not so weak, it looks like they are finally pushing back. That is largely what the war in Georgia is about. Russia has dealt the U. S. a stunning political blow. They have reasserted their power. They have humbled an American ally. They have virtually guaranteed that NATO won't expand into the Caucasus. And they have destroyed U. S. credibility in the region. Georgia would never have antagonized Russia to such an extent without American encouragement. They did, and Russia called our bluff. We were never going to go to war with Russia over tiny little Georgia. The real tragedy in all this is that the only ones who didn't seem to understand that were the Georgians.
• • • Tony Red writes a column for The Benton County Daily Record. He can be reached at tred 22 @ cox. net, or write to him in care of this newspaper.
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