Victor Davis Hanson: Moscow’s Sinister Brilliance. Who wants to die for Tbilisi?

NRO ^ | August 12, 2008 | Victor Davis Hanson

[Tolik]

    Victor Davis Hanson Ping ! 

       Let me know if you want in or out.

Links:    FR Index of his articles:  http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/keyword?k=victordavishanson
                His website: http://victorhanson.com/
                NRO archive: http://www.nationalreview.com/hanson/hanson-archive.asp
                Pajamasmedia:   http://victordavishanson.pajamasmedia.com/

[Diana in Wisconsin]

I respect this man greatly, and I hate it that he’s correct.

I’d rather hear, “The bombings begin in ten minutes...”

[Obadiah]

The Russians have sized up the moral bankruptcy of the Western Left. They know that half-a-million Europeans would turn out to damn their patron the United States for removing a dictator and fostering democracy, but not more than a half-dozen would do the same to criticize their long-time enemy from bombing a constitutional state.

Where are all the liberals? Where are the liberal activist MSM types denouncing Russia? Oh, how they hate the U.S., and are silent when the bear crushes a democracy. They are fools unworthy of pity.

[Running On Empty]

Bookmark

[Red Badger]

Gori is the birthplace of Josef Stalin. No wonder Putin wants it back...............

[txhurl]

Or five :)

[rhombus]

The Russians rightly expect Westerners to turn on themselves, rather than Moscow — and they won’t be disappointed. Imagine the morally equivalent fodder for liberal lament: We were unilateral in Iraq, so we can’t say Russia can’t do the same to Georgia. (As if removing a genocidal dictator is the same as attacking a democracy). We accepted Kosovo’s independence, so why not Ossetia’s? (As if the recent history of Serbia is analogous to Georgia’s.) We are still captive to neo-con fantasies about democracy, and so encouraged Georgia’s efforts that provoked the otherwise reasonable Russians (As if the problem in Ossetia is our principled support for democracy rather than appeasement of Russian dictatorship).

How very sad but true.

[Diana in Wisconsin]

Oops! I compensated for the inflation on everything these days, LOL! ;)

[1rudeboy]

Solid work by Hanson.

[Ghost of Philip Marlowe]

“The new reality is that a nuclear, cash-rich, and energy-blessed Russia doesn’t really worry too much whether its long-term future is bleak, given problems with Muslim minorities, poor life-expectancy rates, and a declining population. Instead, in the here and now, it has a window of opportunity to reclaim prestige and weaken its adversaries. So why hesitate?”

As I've said for years. A wounded bear is the most dangerous bear. They have nothing to lose at this point.

[mick]

Outstanding article. We need to immediately convene NATO and grant membership to Ukraine. To show Putin that he may have won Georgia but he has lost Ukraine forever.

[Ghost of Philip Marlowe]

The Left is busy planning an anti-W and anti-America protest on Washington, D.C. to accuse us of forcing the Russians to commit this noble act against our foreign aggression (probably).

[hershey]

Let’s hope VDH is wrong and that we have a few more cards up our sleeve.

[GBA]

Nothing to lose, little to fear and everything to gain. Nicely planned operation by Putin and Co.

[ClearCase_guy]

Outstanding article. We need to immediately convene NATO and grant membership to Ukraine. To show Putin that he may have won Georgia but he has lost Ukraine forever.

I agree. One standard view of how WWI started was a that a series of secret alliances helped a small fight in Serbia turn into a major Great Power conflagration. Georgia (sadly) is not in NATO. If western powers rush to defend Georgia as if it were a NATO member, then this is tantamount to a secet alliance (or a post facto alliance). That would be a bad choice.

On the other hand, pushing NATO membership of Ukraine is the opposite. Openly and enthusiaticly bring Ukraine under the umbrella of NATO and make it clear that Russian meddling will have massive consequences -- that's the way to teach Putin some manners.

[Grzegorz 246]

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[ken21]

i wonder when europe’s going to wake up?

angela merkel, the chancellor of germany, opposed georgia’s admission to nato last month, after president bush’s trip.

france had questions about the “balance of power” changing in europe if the ukraine and georgia were allowed to join nato.

so, there you are.

[Tolik]

Right. Where are all the peaceniks? Anybody protesting at the Russian embassy?

[KansasGirl]

There is no doubt that the American left are enemies of this nation and if successful will help foster the destruction of the world’s greatest super power — a house divided against itself cannot stand.

It really puts the Drill Here, Drill now issue in perspective.