This sudden crisis of Russian aggression.......

[27inCali]

is much more important that what is going on with Edwards.

I understand people being shocked and it has to do with sex so it's all juicy and irresistable.

But us grown-ups right now are much more worried about Russia attacking Georgia. It's shades of Nazi Germany and it scares the hell out of me. Not just the effect it may have on the election as far as swinging soccer-mom tards to McAsshole, but also to bigger long term consequences of a weakened US military and an arrogant and aggressive Russia chomping on the bit to use it's military to expand it's borders in a region not far from where the majority of our weakened forces are stranded and what kind of extreme actions we may be forced against our will to take to check that aggression.

anyone else want to join me in the real world?

[realisticphish]

1. forget nazi germany

it's just business as usual, stalin-style. Putin always worried me a great deal. His personal positions, on top of being ex-KGB, i just didn't like it. I think the problem is that Russia still hasn't recovered their ego after the USSR fell, and swaggering around is the way to do it. And more worrying is the fact that Russia really doesn't seem to give a shit about international opinion, even less than we do. They still regard most of central asia and eastern europe as theirs by proxy.

Maybe i'm ill informed, but this seems like only the opening salvo in russia's attempt to return to super power status

[Tierra_y_Libertad]

2. According the news reports it was the government of Georgia that did the invading.

And, started the shooting.

[realisticphish]

4. huh

you are in fact right, though it's early in the game to know exactly what happened. I'll have to wait and see what comes out about this before i make my mind up about the situation

[RollWithIt]

14. Well, here's the background on what is going on....

That region actually officially declared itself independent way back in the 90s. It's a border area to Russia. The northern part of that region (by ethnicity) is actually part of Russia. The leaders in that region are very pro Russian. The Georgians of course are very pro American. Last Friday Georgian troops "invaded" their own territory to keep it from either redeclaring their own independence or officially joining Russia. And actually, this region, most of the people there hold dual citizenship but consider themselves to be Russian.

[WHEN CRABS ROAR]

3. And once again an arrogant and aggressive USA chomping at

the bit to prove that military might is the only thing it knows how to use.

[realisticphish]

5. what?

i haven't seen any reports of the US threatening military action (not even on the BBC), but i may have missed them.

Though I must say, if we have to get into an international issue with our military, stopping a war isn't the worst use for it

[WHEN CRABS ROAR]

6. I was only thinking of recent past history.

[SidneyCarton]

7. Agreed,

I mourn for Mr. Edwards, his family and his reputation, but this is not the primary issue in the world at this point. Putin's Russsia is an odd mixture of Fascism, nostalgia for Stalin and old fashion Muscovite Messianism. It is dangerous as hell and a pandoras box of evils, particularly as it has manifested itself once again on the global trip wire of the Caucasus. But by all means, look at the pretty affair, It will make the onset of WWIII all the more dramatic.

[Selatius]

8. It was South Ossetia that was invaded by Georgia. Russian forces counter-invaded.

The first mistake was Georgia decided to do a full-bore military solution to the problem.

[Ichingcarpenter]

9. You think the US/Georgian War Games in July made them cocky?

This is a decent article from "This is London

: http://www.thisislondon.co.uk/news/article-23529182-details/Russia+on+brink+of+war+with+Georgia+after+its+peacekeepers+killed+in+South+Ossetia+fighting/article.do

[malletgirl02]

10. Thanks

That was an excellent article.

[Selatius]

15. I don't think Georgia would've done something so foolish if they thought they couldn't win on day 1.

Well, they found out the hard way Russia was ready to push back on day 2.

[MadrasT]

11. Proximity to Iran, and the matter of those two aircraft carriers

that we apparently have in transit...

http://www.zawya.com/Story.cfm/sidDN20080807023628

Friday, Aug 08, 2008

DOW JONES NEWSWIRES

The Kuwait government has learned that two aircraft carriers are scheduled to arrive in the Persian Gulf and Red Sea in case of a U.S.-Iran war, the Kuwait Times reported on its Web site, citing an unnamed senior official.

The report didn't identify the ships. However, the Jerusalem Post said on its Web site Thursday that they were the USS Theodore Roosevelt and the USS Ronald Reagan.

...doesn't please me. :hide:

[Stevepol]

12. Until we are out of Iraq and have done all we can to make that right,

we don't have any right to tell Russia or anybody else who they can or can't attack. They are thinking of their country's borders. They have far more reason to be concerned about what is happening on their border than we had being concerned about Sadam's wholly illusory WMDs in a country that was never a threat to us in any way.

Bush and the rest of the warmongers in the administration would do well to keep their mouths shut for the duration of the war. Anything that W says is far more likely to cause Russia to be aggressive and war-like than peaceful and diplomatic.

[question everything]

13. I know. Shades of Budapest 1956 and Prague 1968 (nt)

[Bluerthanblue]

16. I'm a grown up, and I'm not worried about Russia's actions in regards

to Georgia as much as I am about the US involving us in places we don't belong.

We've had our military in Georgia training their military- we want the Oil that travels through the region, and we think we rule the world.

We aren't going to be 'forced against our will' to do shit-. Mccain would like nothing more than to have eternal war on earth.
His grandfather didn't live more than a few days after he was finished fighting WWII- he didn't know how to do "peace"- and his father didn't live very long after he finished his military career, (dying in '81 I believe)- McCain sees war as his reason for being, and involvement in this would tickle him pink.

Diplomacy is something this nation has been desperate for for too long. If America wants to survive, we cannot continue to wage endless war.

America has no business telling Russia to leave Georgia, we don't own the world, we just act like we do.