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2008-08-14 Caucasus/Russia/Central Asia

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Posted by john frum 2008-08-14 09:51|| || Front Page|| [2 views ] Top

#1 Those would be good first round steps, the EUnicks are little more than a trade cartel these days, and if it had the potential to cost them 1 euro in the coming years I think you could count on them going limp on us. To do without plentiful russian energy for a year would be unimaginable to them, not for the likes of swarthy brown eyed people in a far off place like Georgia. No, I think whatever is done will be done by us, unilaterally, so to speak. I wouldn't even look for the French to get involved any more than they have.

Posted by bigjim-ky 2008-08-14 10:38|| 2008-08-14 10:38|| Front Page Top

#2 Maybe they could find away to addict his elastic girlfriend to meth. She could probably kill him in about two weeks...

Posted by tu3031 2008-08-14 10:52|| 2008-08-14 10:52|| Front Page Top

#3 I like these steps. Add to this a suspension of all export credits and the like, suspension of 'most favored nation' status in trade, and a shunning of all Russian diplomatic initiatives at the U.N.

And then make clear that we can cause trouble in other ways. F'r instance, we might have to agree with China that Siberia is under-populated and under-utilized.

Posted by Steve White 2008-08-14 11:24|| 2008-08-14 11:24|| Front Page Top

#4 Jeeze, not another Jimmy Carteresque Olympic boycott. Is Krauthammer expecting Obama to win?

Posted by ed 2008-08-14 11:45|| 2008-08-14 11:45|| Front Page Top

#5 Charles Krauthammer. Soo gonna be ignored by Putin, because isolation increases his power, not decreases it.

The russians are directly challenging the US. Will the US help its allies or not? They know we don't want WW III. We need to bet they don't want it either.

We should declare a no-fly zone for beligerants over georgia and use Iraqi bases to enforce it. That puts their military in a precarious position, plus we can provide non-humanitarian aid to Georgia.

If Putin objects, we run it through the UN. Since the UN doesn't have planes, it will be or planes doing what we want.

Posted by flash91 2008-08-14 12:17|| 2008-08-14 12:17|| Front Page Top

#6 Numbers 2 and 3 are already happening.

I would suggest rather than boycotting the Sochi olympics, announce that under the circumstances we are concerned about the safety of civilian athletes in a neighborhood populated by the likes of Ossetian and Abkhazian irregulars. Mention the experience of the Israeli competitors in Munich, when the German rescue attempt was as dangerous to the remaining athletes as was the original PLO attack... and the Russian response to the terror attack on the theater in Moscow. Thoughtful analysis of the lack of Russian experience in successful counterinsurgency efforts would be apposite as well.

Posted by trailing wife ">trailing wife 2008-08-14 12:49|| 2008-08-14 12:49|| Front Page Top

#7 I think you may be right, the russian psyche seems to similar to the oriental mindset. Saving face is very important to the russians for what I'm sure are cultural reasons. Embarrassing them that way would be a powerful weapon to use against them.

Posted by bigjim-ky 2008-08-14 17:08|| 2008-08-14 17:08|| Front Page Top

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