The American Spectator

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8.12.08 @ 12:01AM

(Page 6 of 7)

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:

Letter to the Editor

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Education, Trade, Vladimir Putin, Television, Business, Sports, Law, Military, Iraq, Iran, Russia, United Nations, NATO, Africa, Oil