Answering Russia

IBD Editorials ^ | August 13, 2008

[Kaslin]

Energy: Russia's bloody invasion of a smaller neighbor whose territory includes a vital oil pipeline has left many people wondering: What can we do? Plenty, it turns out — including some things right here at home.

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Russian President Dmitri Medvedev announced he was halting Russia's air and ground attack on Georgia, but someone forgot to tell Russia's military.

It has continued its brutal assault, with news reports that Russian troops have started looting, raping and savagely attacking Georgian civilians.

It's clear former President Vladimir Putin, not his handpicked successor Medvedev, is calling the shots. Putin's made no secret of the fact that he wants to depose Georgian President Mikheil Saakashvili and set up a pliant puppet regime, giving him de facto control of Georgia's oil pipeline — the main conduit to Europe from the oil-rich Caspian Sea that's not on Russian soil.

Why would Russia do this? As we note elsewhere on this page, roughly a quarter of Europe's energy comes from Russia. This tightens Putin's stranglehold on Europe's economy and gives him all the diplomatic leverage he needs.

[Fee]

I agree with you. However the US and EU was part of the world movement to interfere in the internal affairs of sovereign states. It is one thing if a third world leader came to the US for advice, and we recommend democracy, but it is another to start berating them over their shortfalls. This opens the door for other nations to use the same justifications to interfere or as a cover to commit naked aggression. Tough for us to complain about looting and killing when US looked the other way as Croatian and Bosnian forces exact revenge on the Serbs living in their breakwaway republics as Yugoslavia dissolved during the civil war. By the way we backed the Albanian Kosovars move to independence after they used thugs to attack Serbian villages and police stations. All this was funded and armed by neighboring Albania who supported their Albanian brethens in Kosovar. Now these same Albanians are funding and arming Albanians in Macedonia and Greece. Where is the US/FR outrage of violating the national integrity of Yugoslavia???!!!!!!