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Now the really interesting part of all of this is the fact that no United Nations member, including Russia, recognizes South Ossetia as a sovereign state [this is a saga unto itself]. Yet, Russia issued passports, and thereby de facto Russian citizenship, to a large number of the inhabitants of South Ossetia. This would be analogous to the United States issuing US passports to Christian citizens of Moscow and then claiming a right to defend their interests against the Russian government. This sounds like Russia had specific plans for the South Ossetian region, doesn't it. And like they believe that they can get away with it.
Now the cause for concern here is that Georgia has both mutual
defense and anti-terrorist treaties with Western and former Eastern
Bloc countries. What would happen should Russian forces invade
uncontested Georgian territory is anybody's guess at this point.
The US has already airlifted Georgian troops stationed in Iraq back
to Georgia. This may dampen Russia's aggressive tendencies. They
again, it may not. This could get very sticky, very quickly. Stay
tuned.
-- Michael Tobias
BOBBY DEAREST
Re: David N. Bass's The
Anti-Obama:
While Governor Jindal could be a great asset to a GOP ticket,
top or bottom, he is wise enough to know that he needs more
experience, yet on the Democratic ticket another, with little
experience but great hubris, is running (possibly more in service
of his ego than his country). Obama did give a great convention
speech that launched his national debut. Jindal may very well do
the same, but he will not need to obfuscate. He will be able to
speak directly because he believes in solid and conservative
policies that most Americans can embrace. Obama's history of
incredible rhetoric hides his true beliefs. Or as Joseph Joubert
said it so eloquently, "How many people make themselves abstract to
appear profound. The most useful part of abstract terms are the
shadows they create to hide a vacuum."
-- Ira M. Kessel
Rochester, New York
Bobby Jindal will never be taken seriously outside of Louisiana
until he ditches his embrace of the so-called Intelligent Design.
Kinda hard to have confidence in his decision making skills if he
can't keep his private religious beliefs out of the public policy
arena.
-- Craig M.
TALK TO THE BUILDERS FIRST
Re: Erin Wildermuth's Nation
Building 101:
If one takes Erin Wildermuth's hypothesis to it "logical" conclusions, Iraq would still be run by a psychopath with the ability to re-start his WMD program (unless one thinks 550 tons of yellowcake recently sent to Canada was "no big deal"), and Afghanistan by would still be run by a horde of psychopaths -- but that's all OK, because most Muslim countries would "love" us more.
Sometimes, love stinks.
-- Arnold Ahlert
Boca Raton, Florida
There is nothing more irritating than some greenhorn calling to the grizzled cowpoke breaking in a particularly troublesome spitfire, "You're doin' it wrong! That's not how you're s'posed to do it!" But the really galling part comes later, when the greenhorn finds himself atop a similarly difficult critter and cries for help, "This is too hard."
If you don't have any good ideas, better to keep yer trap shut.
Less is more.
-- Dan Hirsch
Paris, Wisconsin
America's successful nation building in post WWII Germany, Japan, Italy and South Korea was in nations with histories of violence and aggression (excluding South Korea that experienced the violence of Japan for centuries). While polls weren't taken in these nations at the time we were imposing democracy on them I would dare say if free to speak the former fascist of the original Axis of Evil would have had a poor opinion of the US too. Hitler's offspring have consistently trashed our country when conservatives have been in the White House even though they've kept the Germans free and prosperous.
In Iraq one only has to look to the Kurdish lands to see the potential for progress in the Middle East. Our hope in Iraq isn't in the current generation, who we'll need shepherded like the Japanese on the road to democracy, but in the children who daily enthusiastically wave at the American liberators who are helping to build a new and better Iraq.
When the majority of Americans thought we could never defeat the Soviet Union Ronald Reagan the idealist did the unthinkable. While we must think strategically in our nation building we shouldn't cavalierly ignore the potential it has for securing our safety.
Nation building in defense of the U.S. is not only a wise
investment it is cheap when one considers how disastrous bearing
our heads in the sand and hoping things will somehow get better has
been illustrated by the Carter and Clinton administrations failed
foreign policies that created our current crisis.
-- Michael Tomlinson
Habbniyah, Iraq
GUEST LECTURE
Re: RiShawn Biddle's Trade
School:
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