the other side

so last night i was flipping channels and randomly came across a program called Russia Today on MHz. MHz ran a little disclaimer saying that their international news programming was broadcast without editing straight from the source, which in this case is Moscow. but what i realized in watching this was that there was very little coverage of what happened or how it became that Russia went in to South Ossetia and Abkahzia. i couldnt help but pick up that the Russian position, and not that of just the Kremlin, seemed to be that they were rescuing the regions from the oppression of Georgia.

the west, especially here in the US, has seen the Russian action as an invasion of democratic Georgia by a Russia that has suddenly taken on the look of the USSR in the last couple years. little in life is as black and white as we make it out to be. the conclusion i reached last night was that Russia would not have gone into these areas without some sort of reason, because not only would the US respond as it has, but it would be staring down the collective barrel of the EU. you may have noticed that the EU, through president Nicolas Sarkozy, has been pushing the peace process, but not taking a side.

so whats going on over there? did the great Russian Bear invade poor little Georgia because it longs to have its satellites back under its control as the media in the west has characterized? is Mikheil Saakashvili the strong man dictator to be that Moscow has characterized him as who has invaded the de facto independent regions of Abkahzia and South Ossetia? my guess is somewhere between the two. Sakashvili was out of line in invading, and Russia's reaction was probably too strong. Russia's role, however, may play an important foil to the US position and vice versa. Europe is sitting right in the line of fire on all this and has been surprisingly silent on this from what i have heard in the domestic media. even NPR and the Post, both of which i turn to regularly and are typically critical of the Bush administration have been towing the poor little Georgia line. even Barack Obama has condemned the Russians for their actions. it seems that the US can only see this one way, but me thinks that theres more than one side to every coin.

heres what i think. Saakashvili was emboldened by unconditional US support. this isnt the first time that the US has backed a questionable regime. Saakashvili, thinking that the great American military had his back, went head first into the the regions that have never liked him and have in fact acted independent since 1991 in an overzealous nationalist push. Europe and the US never told him to calm down and quit acting like an asshole because they like Georgia being independent of Russia and want them on our side because that pipe line that they have bypasses the Russian on Black Sea energy riches. so power-crazy Saakashvili goes on a little rampage to take back what he believes belongs to Georgia.

those who live in South Ossetia and Abkahzia arent fond of this guy, and in fact align themselves much more closely with their northern neighbors, Russia. so they ask Russia to come to the rescue, and Russia agrees, because, really, it would be like the US fighting El Salvador. they had little to lose. so now the Ossetians and Abkahzians alike are hailing Russia as saviors, while the US decries them as invaders and Europe tries to broker a peace deal to ensure that this idiocy doesnt result in a WW3, the reasons of which would be nearly as stupid as those that sparked WW1.

so the long and short is that Russia and Ossetia and Abkahzia view Russia as the saving protector and guarantor of human rights. the US in general views Russia and the invading, power hungry giant attempting put put Georgia under its thumb. what needs to happen is that both sides need to back off the overly dramatic rhetoric and start real talks. please keep in mind that i dont think Russia is innocent for this. they openly proclaim their beleif that the US humanitarian aid to Georgia is a front for arms deliveries. i dont thing even George Bush is that stupid. i just wish that somewhere else in the world there was another superpower to speak up. Russia has staked its claim, and so has the US, but where is the UK of 60 years ago? where is the great nation that can come in and temper the other two. Sarkozy is attempting to fill this role, but i dont know that it is working. the EU doesnt have the clout that it needs to fulfill this role. the member nations are too divided.

the one thing that we can all agree on is that the fighting that has occurred has been too much and all this needs to come to a peaceful end. to me that peaceful end looks like the status quo. unfortunately, i dont think Georgia gets its break away regions back, but i dont see this as a big problem. as a democratic nation in which we the people are supposed to be pulling the strings, how can you condemn a people for charting their own course? if they want to separate, become independent, and ultimately join with Russia, why should be stop the residents from doing so? Georgia never really had control of these areas, why should they expect to now. lets let the people who live there decide and chart their own course. i think thats the best solution. get Moscow and Washington to step back, let the people who this really affects speak for themselves. the Georgians should be able to speak their piece, but i feel that the real decision lies in the hands of the Abkahzians and Ossetians. i think they have spoken. lets listen up.

another perspective