Anyone, anyone?
Ummm,.... actually, that would be the Russians and the French.
The Russians dictated the terms, the French pretended to be the midwives, the Georgians suffered what they must and Condi Rice, voice quivering, stood around as window dressing.
Georgia agrees to Russian-French plan to settle conflict
If I were you, I would not bring up the Georgia "ceasefire" as an example of a stunning triumph for Condi Rice.
First of all, Condi Rice had little to do with it and, secondly, it was a resounding Russian victory that has given a legal fig leaf to Russian aggression while the European Union, with a population almost three times larger than Russia, cowers in fear of making the Russians "angry".
It was a Profile in Weakness.
"As the world goes, right is only in question between equals in power, while the strong do what they can and the weak suffer what they must" ..... Melian Dialogue, Thucydides
Look, you all know I’m as conservative as any of you out there.
I’m just looking at November and what could be the best way for us to win, considering the silly-putty nature of the general electorate.
If you think “conservative only” will solidify the vote, cool. However, the liberal press and “change” voters I fear won’t be as accommodating.
Saakashvilli foolishly walked into a well laid KGB trap. It was Rice’s job to extricate him, and the Georgian state, from that trap. She did so in a praiseworthy manner.
Russia enjoys absolute strategic supremacy in the Near Abroad theater. No one is going to go to war for Georgia. This is reality. Putin baited Saakashvili into responding to South Ossettian provocations, and now the Georgians have paid with the loss of two of their provinces.
There will be long-term political consequences for Russia’s actions, primarily in the Middle East and in Europe, but for now, Russia wins a small victory. This is Russia’s backyard. Rice’s wisdom was to recognize it as such, and compel Saakashvilli to act accordingly.
We have larger fish to fry, in Iran and elsewhere.
Be Seeing You,
Chris