Time Magazine's Man of the Year invades Georgia; Yanks watch Atlanta burn...wait.

On December 26th 2007, I put up a post about Vladimir Putin, or as George Bush likes to say, "Pootey Poot". As some of my readers know, Putin was selected as Time's "Man of the Year". So how does our esteemed "Man of the Year" follow up last year's success? He says; "Let's take back Georgia." So Soviet aggression is returning now that America is spread thin.

I didn't know a whole lot about the region so I asked the brother who leads our church for some insight. He lived in Russia, the Ukraine (I think you say "the" Ukraine, kind of like "the" Bronx) and Latvia. Apparently the area of South Ossetia is heavily ethnic Russian. It isn't really surprising though as the Soviets would deport a large portion of the population of the countries they conquered, and import Russians. He (our minister) just returned from a few weeks in Latvia and he said that it is best to speak English first, then speak Russian because even though most Latvians speak Russian, they don't like Russians. I'm sure something similar happened in Georgia, making this "war by proxy" far easier due to the ethnic tension inherent in most former Soviet Republics.

So Putin attacks a region of Georgia, a US ally, that is heavily ethnic Russian. The Kremlin is saying that they were provoked. (Yes Comrade! They shot at us! really? no not really.) I highly doubt that, but if it is true, it is probably only because Russia was putting its troops along the Georgian border. It is a messy situation for the US though, because we don't want to be meddling in a situation that could possibly be perceived similarly to the Kosovo situation in Serbia, but we also don't want to let down our ally, Georgia. I almost wonder if this is payback for the prickly situation that the Russians were put in in Kosovo.

I was in Kosovo immediately after the air war, and the Russians were treated far worse than the Americans. The ethnic Albanians were grateful for the US intervention, and the ethnic Serbs were so irritated at the Russians (who were supposed to be allies of Serbia) that they mostly attacked the Russian peacekeepers instead of messing with the American troops. What America is facing in Georgia is a diplomatic, military and strategic nightmare. We don't really want to provoke Russia as our forces are stretched thin, but neither do we want to abandon our ally, and one of the few capitalist societies remaining on Earth, especially considering its location. Strategically, if Georgia falls, we are losing an allied foothold in the East and a symbol of Freedom, Democracy and Capitalism in the face of 'The Bear'.

Very possibly in response to the Russian action in Georgia, Poland, no doubt remembering its fall at the hands of Hitler's Germany and later at the hands of Stalin's Soviet Union took quick action to allow US defensive missiles into the country. The second Cold War could be brewing, and Poland wants to make sure it is on the right side. But is something even more sinister brewing? Could WW III be on the horizon? Iran, North Korea, and Russia have allied themselves. Are they preparing for war against the West? Is the rest of the world ready? And are we going to send Barack Obama to 'negotiate' with these tyrants. Many conservatives have called Obama "Jimmy Carter II". But I'm even more afraid that he'll be "Neville Chamberlain II".