China Confidential
Foreign Reporting and Analysis Since April 2005
Wednesday, August 13, 2008
Lessons from Georgia
1. Weakness invites aggression. Russia was weak after the breakup of the Soviet Union. The United States took advantage of Russia's weakness by expanding and strengthening NATO and seeking to isolate and further weaken Russia. Today, the United States is weak--or is perceived as being weak by much of the world. So Russia is taking advantage of the opportunity to hit back.
2. Politics is about power, not public relations. Russia has the power to crush and intimidate its adversaries if they cross certain red lines, and is not afraid of using it--in sharp contrast with Washington, which seeks to accommodate and appease its worst enemies (e.g. nuclear-armed, Stalinist North Korea and nuclear-arming, Islamist Iran).
3. Oil and gas matter more than carbon credits. The world runs on real energy, not on alternative energy dreams, schemes and scams. Russia, unlike the US, has a national energy policy and is not afraid to produce its way to prosperity ... while the US, in the grip of environmental extremists and global warming zealots and charlatans led by former Vice President Al Gore and House Speaker Nancy Pelosi, worries about "saving the planet."
Wednesday, 13 August 2008
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