What should the West do about Georgia?
An argument might well be made that, realistically, there was nothing the West could have done — then or now — that would have forced the Russians out.
But there was bitterness, then as now, that the West may have encouraged people to risk their lives, relying on us, when we knew from the outset that we were not about to risk armed conflict with a nuclear superpower over Hungary then or Georgia now.
The West has a long history of doing nothing, utilizing the United Nations, and before that the League of Nations, to create the illusion that it is doing something when it makes speeches and passes resolutions.
Neither speeches nor resolutions are going to make any difference to the Russians, to the Iranians or to any other belligerent nation. We know it, they know it, and the world knows it.
Apparently Barack Obama doesn't yet know it, judging by his initial response to news of the Russian invasion of Georgia, which was to call on "both sides" to cease fire and then go to the U.N.
The real question is whether we can force the Russians to pay a serious price without ourselves paying a more serious price than we are prepared to pay. The Russians have already pointed out that the United States needs their cooperation on international problems.
These problems include the war on terrorism and, perhaps the biggest problem of them all, Iran's movement toward building nuclear weapons that can be used either directly by Iran or — more likely — by turning some of these nuclear bombs over to terrorists whom Iran has been supplying with other weapons.
There are two problems: (1) What are we going to do? and (2) What are we going to say?
There are lots of things we can do, if we don't care about the repercussions — but, of course, we do care. The only thing we have complete control over is what we say.
We have been saying far too much already, especially in proportion to what we were prepared to do. This is a problem that began long before this administration. Sometimes it has seemed as if our foreign policy is to speak loudly and carry a little stick.
American presidents, through several administrations, have been publicly commenting moralistically on the internal affairs of other countries around the world.
We have been criticizing friend and foe alike. Sometimes we have sounded like the world's nanny.
Recent comments
Red | 6:25
"Remember the brave Kosovars, whose unilateral declaration…wrz | Aug. 22, 2008 at 10:17 p.m.
I am glad that some people can use common sence commenting on this…
Alex | Aug. 22, 2008 at 1:07 a.m.
There's a teenchy whiff of hyporcisy in the US' kvetching.
Remember…Red | Aug. 21, 2008 at 6:25 p.m.
