Russian Invasion of Georgia


There is something about Europe and the guns of August. WWI started in August as a result of the assassination of Archduke Ferdinand and, believe it or not, train schedules (read Barbara Tuchman). WWII began informally in August when Hitler moved into the Sudetenland of Czechoslovakia. Now, in August 2008, Russia has invaded the Republic of Georgia.

Though distracted at present by the Olympics, the media needs to re-focus itself. The Olympics, in fact, serve as an excellent subterfuge for this invasion as it will be a month in before the media truly gives this story the spotlight it deserves.

The simple fact is that Georgia applied to join NATO. If their application had been successful, then we would have employed NATO's purpose of an attack against one member is an attack against all members, and we would be looking at WWIII. That being said, Russia more than likely would not have invaded under such circumstances, but, then again, who really knows what agendas are held by any of the world's superpowers?

Georgia is not a NATO member, but the language being employed by the French and U.S. leaders is very strong in opposition. It is all serving as a flashback to my youth, back in the days of Cold War rhetoric and the threat of nuclear war. Though most perceived here in the West that we defeated the Soviet Union when it collapsed, they failed to acknowledge that those left to run the country were pretty much the same individuals as under the Communist regime, and, though broke, they were and remain armed to the teeth. Inevitably, Russia will want to regain its empire mantle that it has held over the centuries, especially with a man of Putins position pulling the strings of power.

Imperialism is never benevolent. Most of the time, we view an aggressive nation in a negative light, while ignoring our own policies of exploitation. Whether we like to admit it or not, our comforts of the first world are based solely on the oppression of the third world. Russia is as much of a monster as the U.S.; America strives to install democracy and puppet governments to match their needs, just as Russia is in the case of Georgia (natural resources). Democracies that we admire have all founded themselves on exploitation to amass their international influence and power.

Just like we woke up to a new world after 9/11, the events in Georgia may be far reaching for us all. It will be interesting to observe the language used in the case of Russia, in contrast to the War on Terror (better titled The War OF Terror). Again, we move toward war and I shake my head at the destructiveness and ignorance of our species. We are supposed to learn from history, are we not?