Posted on 06/06/2006 11:22:15 PM PDT by vertolet
Relations between the US and Russia are deteriorating badly and there is a danger of conflict in the flashpoints of the south Caucasus, according to senior former officials and corporate leaders advising the EastWest Institute (EWI).
EWI board members at the think-tank's annual meeting in Charleston were almost unanimous in calling for moves to prevent what one called an emerging "cold peace" between the US and Russia.
John Mroz, founder and president of EWI, called the deterioration worrisome. He placed the trend in the context of growing distrust between the major powers, including China, with the world in a state of transition between globalised and marginalised societies "no longer on automatic pilot moving towards a market-centric world".
This had resulted in the rise of ethnic and nationalist identities, with growing numbers seeing globalisation threatening their cultures and religion.
Western societies were also losing their moral authority, he said, citing the example of the reported massacre of Iraqi civilians by US troops in Haditha which would inflict "enormous damage" on the US.
Several speakers - who under EWU guidelines spoke on condition of anonymity - expressed concerns that "populist" presidents in Taiwan and Georgia risked overplaying their nationalist hands and triggering military incidents or conflict between the US and China, and the US and Russia.
With Montenegro newly independent, and Kosovo on the way to statehood, the dangers of domino-style conflict were rising in the breakaway, Russian-backed enclaves of Abkhazia and South Ossetia in Georgia.
"Georgia is an alarming situation and worse than thought," said one former official.
"The mood is ugly and getting uglier," said a corporate executive on the state of US-Russia ties.
Noting that every declared US presidential candidate was "bashing Russia", one speaker predicted a worsening trend as both countries headed towards elections in 2008.
Established in 1980, EWI describes itself as a "do-tank", working mostly behind the scenes directly with governments to address global security concerns. In the mid-80s it arranged "non-meetings" of senior US and Soviet defence officials in Budapest to discuss confidence-building measures.
Under a new initiative, Germany has seconded Ortwin Hennig, a senior official dealing in conflict prevention, to EWI to head a task force on US-Russia relations. Washington and Moscow are also each appointing a senior diplomat to focus on the south Caucasus. EWI is working with diplomats from all sides preparing for the G8 summit in St Petersburg next month.
This almost isn't worth responding to. A group of high hats overcome with concern and worries and the sky falling take it upon themselves to wedge in-between world powers... wait no.
A group of high hats wedge in-between a world power and a country with rusting weapons to keep us from upsetting the little guy.
Sorry, I don't buy any of it. Sounds like more whining from the "I'm concerned" crowd.
On second thought...
What do you do when you're losing the legislature, courts, mayors, governors, presidency, talk radio, the media, and so forth?
You form special interest groups that no one ever hears nor cares about.
What? Russia is not our friend?? I am shocked, shocked, I tell you!
Now is as good a time as any over the past 50 years. Advantage is America's.
anymore it seems these geo-political commentators are nothing more than celebrated gossips on the phone all day with their girlfriends.
More "sky is falling" crap from another "independent" non-profit?
What's this guy's political affiliation and to whom has he donated moolah?
The only thing Russia exports to the U.S. is slutty, manipulative ex-prostitutes who find a sucker to marry them and bring them into the country.
Russia was never our friend. Cheney just called a spade a spade and the Russkies had a hissy-fit. What, did they expect the U.S. to be all lovey-dovey with them after the Cold War?
Financial Times aka Chicken Little : "The sky is falling..The Sky is falling"
Who writes this rubbish anyway?
Now, now...Russian & Ukraine women are beautiful and will give American women a run for their money.
the world is changing no matter what the politicos mess up.....
who ever thought back in 1945 that we would be close allies with Japan and have Japanese baseball players in star roles.....
"I think Americans genuinely like Russians and I think Russians genuinely like Americans...."
Yep.
But try telling that to the moronic Financial Times.
For these suckers, anything to bash President Bush will do.
Ukranian women aren't as evil as Russian women. Both, however, DO NOT AGE WELL.
LOL! Have you been drinking?
I'm sure most American women are pure as the driven snow too, right?
Excellent analysis. More Chicken Little crap from the handwringers. We should be wary of both the Russians and China, but these are for the most part civilized societies. The most eminent threats lie in the radical islamist states that have oil and are now obtaining nuclear weapons. The concept of mutually assured destruction is null and void with these madmen.
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