Reply #63: Can't you see both sides? [View All]

[sknabt]

In my various replies I've been critical of all sides: Bush, Saakashvili, and Putin (or his sock puppet Medvedev, take your pick).

Can I blame Russia for invading Georgia? Certainly. Especially, if the issue is 1,000 US Marines participating in a training exercise with Georgia's army. What's the threat to Russia? Georgia's 26,000 strong army will succeed where Napoleon and Hitler failed and march through Russia capturing Moscow? ;)

All the excuses apologizing for the Russian invasion of Georgia don't hold water. There was no human rights disaster of the scale the Russians have fictionalized to justify their action.

Putin's iron fist response clearly is having the effect he hoped of terrorizing the Georgians and intimidating countries in its shadow. However, Russia's intention is clearly to keep them out of the NATO fold and pull them back under their sphere of influence yet it appears it's having the exact opposite effect. Worse for Russia, rather that wilt in the face of overwhelming force and undermining internal support of Saakashvili, the nation has rallied behind him in massive displays of solidarity.

Putin is hardly a hero. He's cracked down on Russia's press dramatically shortening the lifespan of investigative journalists, he's turned elected governors into politically appointed puppets, and he's pushed for state control of industries like energy. He's using his oil wealth to rebuild Russia's military. He's used natural gas as a political weapon against Ukraine, a threat not lost on Europe that's dependent on Russia for its energy needs.

Putin has said one of the greatest tragedies in history was the fall of the Soviet Union. The question is how far will the man go towards rebuilding it?