For more of Dave Brown's cartoon work, click here.
Bruce Anderson: The West must share the blame for war in Georgia
Tskhinvali is not Sarejevo in 1914. South Ossetia will not be the start-line of the Third World War. But it is a ghastly mess, all the more depressing because the West is partly to blame. In diplomacy, strategy and geopolitics, our political leaders have been guilty of multiple failures over many years.
First, diplomacy. President Mikheil Saakashvili of Georgia is a headstrong fellow. Reference has been made to his Harvard education as if that should ensure sound judgement. Alas, however, the President's tutor was not the greatest of Harvard diplomatists, Henry Kissinger – but Anthony Eden at Suez. Mr Saakashvili has only one defence against the charge of criminal irresponsibility: a plea of insanity.
I still do not comprehend what is happening there in Georgia.
ReplyDeleteOne problem of our "connected-world" is, that news travels fast, but emotions and reasons don't.
Often I experience the urge to be there locally, wherever the trouble spot is, to more understand what peoples issues really are, on both sides of the coin...
it goes back to Kosovo but that whole break up of Yugoslavia was a mess and naturally, the US made sure it was right in there. Not just to undermine Russia.. ultimately, let's just say it's all about oi... as tacky and 'boring' as that sounds..
ReplyDeleteIngrid