Article

2008-08-11 Caucasus/Russia/Central Asia

In Georgia Clash, a Lesson on U.S. Need for Russia

Archived material is restricted to Rantburg regulars and members. If you need access email fred.pruitt=at=gmail.com with your nick to be added to the members list. There is no charge to join Rantburg as a member.

Posted by john frum 2008-08-11 00:00|| || Front Page|| [1 views ] Top

#1 We don't need another Cold War, with surrogate battles throughout the world. We need to take a second look at the word "freedom." The Saudis are free to behead starving thieves. Pashtos are free to peddle heroin. Georgians are free to worship Stalin. Kosovans are free to control the Euro drug trade. Turkey is free to suppress teaching of evolution. Mexico is free to control elections and put elected officials and bureaucrats above the law. Iran is free to call for the annihilation of the US. Somalia is free to indulge sea piracy. Maybe US, China and Russia should create a tripartite security apparatus, in regard to Euro moral depravity and Third World tribalist warlordism.

Posted by McZoid 2008-08-11 01:21|| 2008-08-11 01:21|| Front Page Top

#2 TOPIX/SPACEWAR > America is presently losing the WAR OF THE ICEBREAKERS [US ranked 5th, Russ = #1] as per ARCTIC RESEARCH & DISCOVERY???

* INSTAPUNDIT > ZBIGNIEW BREZINSKI [Ziggy] - describes the Russo-Georgian Conflict in South Ossetia as akin to Uncle Joe Stalin's war wid FINLAND.

Posted by JosephMendiola 2008-08-11 01:30|| 2008-08-11 01:30|| Front Page Top

#3 McZoid, the last time I checked, you're the one overlooking fifteen years or so of the "ex" Soviets supplying nuclear technology to the government of Iran.

China, aside from its problems in Xinjiang, has also been a major conduit for nuclear technology to Pakistan; guess where their nuclear bomb designs came from.

Now the question that comes to mind to me is, are you really that stupid and willfully blind, or do you think we are?

Are you a useful idiot or do you read this site and see nothing but potential useful idiots?

Posted by Abdominal Snowman 2008-08-11 01:40|| 2008-08-11 01:40|| Front Page Top

#4 McZerobrain is a fuckwit that apparently knows nothing, and proves it daily here.

McDickhead I am getting completely tired of your stupid idotic racist bigoted harted fiulled diateribes here evfery time you post.

You always have something hateful and race-based to say about Saudis, et al. And 99.9% of the time its not germane tothe topic, and its nto soruce, not credible and not true.

You are a lying pice of bigoted shit. You've shown it in your posts and I'm calling you out everywhere you go here. You are my personal punk. I'm going to verbally whip your ass everywhere your putrid posts show up here.

"Georgians are free to worship Stalin"

Thats a fucking LIE boy (one among the multitudes you spew here) - either retract it and apologize or I'll continue to hound you, you bigoted ignorant asshole.

Posted by OldSpook 2008-08-11 01:46|| 2008-08-11 01:46|| Front Page Top

#5 In Georgia Clash, a Lesson on U.S. Need for Russia

Should read.... a "Need to keep an closer eye on Putin and Russia." Once again, where were are our Russian experts? Who was monitoring the RU order of battle in the border areas? Where is the predictive analysis from the intelligence community (IC). What happened to the coms links btwn the IC and the State Department. When the shooting stops I hope somebody on our end publishes some lessons learned on this one and our leadership comes up with a new way to deal with an ever present threat.

Posted by Besoeker 2008-08-11 07:45|| 2008-08-11 07:45|| Front Page Top

#6 Once again, where were are our Russian experts?

Persona non grata. There aren't many of them left. The focus shifted away from Russia.

As for the State Department, I suspect the few that are there are still sulking.

Posted by Pappy 2008-08-11 09:26|| 2008-08-11 09:26|| Front Page Top

#7 Persona non grata. There aren't many of them left. The focus shifted away from Russia.

Yah, among other things we disbanded the ASA because the Cold War Was Over! and we wouldn't need experts in Russian or in such cold war concepts as Traffic Analysis ever again. It was time for the Peace Dividend!

Posted by Abdominal Snowman 2008-08-11 09:54|| 2008-08-11 09:54|| Front Page Top

#8 Secretary of State Rice was a Russia expert, although I imagine she's not been keeping personal track of Russian troop movements in its near abroad lately.

Posted by trailing wife ">trailing wife 2008-08-11 10:04|| 2008-08-11 10:04|| Front Page Top

#9 One senior administration official, when told of that quote, laughed. "Well, maybe we're learning to shut up now,"

Any chance you're start shuting up on "Palestine"?

Posted by g(r)omgoru 2008-08-11 10:19|| 2008-08-11 10:19|| Front Page Top

#10 I can't believe that Oil and Gold aren't going through the F-ing roof this morning. The pirates on Wall street must really have their eye on the next big swindle to miss an opportunity like this.

Posted by bigjim-ky 2008-08-11 10:33|| 2008-08-11 10:33|| Front Page Top

#11 Not a swindle. What did you THINK was gonna happen to the price of oil, since we've exported the industry to the likes of the House of Saud and Tsar Pooty?

Posted by Abdominal Snowman 2008-08-11 11:10|| 2008-08-11 11:10|| Front Page Top

#12 if we're going to give Russia a pass cause of their help in Iran, shouldnt they actually, you know, help us on Iran? Have they? Does Friedman think they have, or that they will? Does the nameless DoS official?

If they ARE trying to get us to go along and make a deal with them, their rhetoric has been rather on the odd side. As have their actions in going BEYOND S Ossetia, and shoving what they are doing in our noses.

Maybe it would be better to let Iran have nukes, and let the Russians stand surety for them - IE if Iran uses nuke, Moscow gets bombed.

Posted by superstitiousGalitizianer 2008-08-11 11:19|| 2008-08-11 11:19|| Front Page Top

#13 I still have my "ASA Lives" coin.

And yes, many of us were let go.

Posted by OldSpook 2008-08-11 13:51|| 2008-08-11 13:51|| Front Page Top

#14 Robert Gates, now DoD secretary, was a Russian expert, too.

Posted by mrp 2008-08-11 14:01|| 2008-08-11 14:01|| Front Page Top

#15 big jim: I can't believe that Oil and Gold aren't going through the F-ing roof this morning. The pirates on Wall street must really have their eye on the next big swindle to miss an opportunity like this.

Demand is down. Stratospheric commodity prices have lowered demand.

Posted by Zhang Fei 2008-08-11 15:22|| http://timurileng.blogspot.com]">[http://timurileng.blogspot.com] 2008-08-11 15:22|| Front Page Top

#16 The National Security Agency is a forum for shortsighted jackasses. Their work product is: garbage. Too bad it trickles into the minds of Rantburg liberals. Or should I say: Obamites.

C-O-N-T-E-X-T P-L-E-A-S-E

Posted by Beldar Elmoger1345 2008-08-11 17:21|| 2008-08-11 17:21|| Front Page Top

#17 First rule for NYT "analysis" - assume it's completely wrong, read all conclusions in reverse, question all "facts", challenge all the assumptions no matter how well hidden or wispily implied.

Actually quite optimistic considering the rule.

Posted by Spoper B. Hayes7914 2008-08-11 17:47|| 2008-08-11 17:47|| Front Page Top

#18 The Georgia move is a response to NATO's move into the Warsaw Pact pull out. We asked for it. Putin is laughing at our touchy-feely, Alice in Wonderland rhetoric about civilians dying in air raids. Knee jerkism and historical myopia are in season.

Re. oil price crises. In the Fall session, the US Congress will have the Oil Futures market on the front burner. Pig farmers, etc need a future's market because it guarantees revenue should there be a producer' supply crisis. There is no such need in the oil business. Clinton bragged about not having an energy policy. It was in that context that the NYMEX sought to sandbag Chicago, with that market from hell. I am optimist that realism will prevail.

How are oil prices set? Platts Group - and other related firms - gather price and pay data from oil vendors, and post trends. Vendor costs are now closely tied to NYMEX. Any excuse to raise the price of Futures is jumped on. Supply and Demand have little to do with what we pay at the pumps. Note: half of Gulf of Mexico rigs are capped; prospective yield estimates are NOT recorded in cumulative oil reserves.

Posted by McZoid 2008-08-11 21:25|| 2008-08-11 21:25|| Front Page Top

#19 Fred:

Re #4: the use of profanity and pseudo authority - 'you lie because I say you lie' - takes your blog beyond opinionated rant. Everyone else merely states disagreements; that character insults for its own sake. Even if he does have an intelligence background, that hardly means he gets it right. I read each and every report of the Federation of American Scientists. A lack of objectivity is apparent in much of same. Knee jerkism is in season.

I'll put up a post on the Gamsakhurdia-Shevardnadze feud this evening. The material should diminish all the shouting here.

Posted by McZoid 2008-08-11 21:35|| 2008-08-11 21:35|| Front Page Top

23:57 Zhang Fei
23:55 Halliburton - Asymmetrical Reply Division
23:54 Zhang Fei
23:53 blimpity_blimpity_bla
23:49 Spike Uniter
23:47 Legolas
23:47 Legolas
23:47 blimpity_blimpity_bla
23:46 Legolas
23:46 Legolas
23:45 Legolas
23:45 Zhang Fei
23:44 Zhang Fei
23:43 blimpity_blimpity_bla
23:40 blimpity_blimpity_bla
23:38 JosephMendiola
23:37 Halliburton - Asymmetrical Reply Division
23:34 3dc
23:33 JosephMendiola
23:27 blimpity_blimpity_bla
23:26 mrp
23:20 DanNY
23:14 JosephMendiola
23:10 Plastic Snoopy