Russia's Shock And Awe

August 11, 2008

For the past four days, the nation of Georgia has been pummeled by a Russian reaction that has left at least 2,000 people dead, many more wounded and displaced. Early reports are that despite the long-brewing clashes between ethnic Russians living in Southern Ossetia and the rest of the Georgian population, (where the fighting has been limited to small arms skirmishes for the past two years), the Russians decided that the global timing was right to mount a prolonged incursion into Georgia, using as an excuse one of the many random instances of Russian military forces claiming they needed to intervene to protect the beleagured renegade enclave. [and that "enclave" is a sizeable population of agitated citizens who often shoot weapons at the Georgian police, army]

Is this the same declaration of authority that Stalin and Kruschev showed in Eastern Europe? As Prime Minister Putin flexes his muscle through the proxy of his hand-picked sucessor, President Dmitry Medvedev, is the Iron Curtain far behind? Time will tell. One thing is sure: the Soviet Bear still lives.

I wonder if President Bush is seeing into his soul at this point:

With Soviet era-like grip, the BTC Pipeline (BP operated) is attacked in Georgia:
Read about it here. The article highlights the fact that the BTC pipe is the only major pipeline for Central Asian resources in the Eastern European region not under Russian control.

But wait! I thought that Russia was only bombing civilians in an effort to protect those renegade enclaves?
You can read the Pravda-like party line recited in this official-sounding blog, called russianblog.org, then see for yourself: the pipeline barely skirts into southern Georgia, yet the premise for this entire "intervention" was a humanitarian rescue effort involving the northern region of South Ossetia. Uri has been drinking too much vodka if he expects me to believe that Russia and Putin are galloping into Georgia for the sake of some villagers.

Russia's new attempt at empire may be less built on the 20th-century practice of land grab, and more on the consolidation of an ever-increasingly precious commodity: fuel. Just last year then-President Putin repeated his claim of north pole territory that, according to the UN, is international.

In fact, let's take a look at the citizens caught in the crosshairs of the Russian peacekeepers in Georgia for the past four days:

Shall I call the UN to deal with this, or will you?