Lessons from Russia & Georgia

Teddy Roosevelt was right: "Speak softly and carry a big stick":
Georgia isn't the only former vassal state discomfited by Ivan's gaze. The Stans and other regions with names unfamiliar to us have been building their own economies, cooperating on energy and making deals with other neighbors, but they've been doing it quietly. Georgia impetuously jumped into Russia's carefully planned trap, setting back their heady post-Soviet progress.

Speak softly and carry a big stick, Pt 2:
A corollary to President Roosevelt's maxim is don't write checks you're not prepared to cash, even if you're a superpower. President Bush made a wonderful speech in Tbilisi back in 2005 extolling Georgians' virtues. He assured them the American people stand with them. It was beautiful and inspiring, but now it's all just so many scattered words... His administration is now trying to make good on those words. I pray they succeed.

Doing something poorly is often worse than doing nothing at all:
Leftist here and abroad have won the propaganda war against the US. They had plenty of help from their fellow travelers in the press who trumpeted our every mistake. Our credibility is shot, we have no moral authority. It's not right, but that's where things stand. What affect will this naked aggression have on our already shaky "Freedom and Democracy" agenda? Will other states teetering on the brink be more likely to throw in with us, or will they decide it's easier to bow and scrape to regional thugs and local potentates?

Military might matters. International organizations don't.
"If you build it, they will come" is from that Kevin Costner movie, Field of Dreams. In the real world it's more like, "If you build it, someone bigger will take it away from you." Despite what the "citizens of the world" say, it's still a Hobbesean world where life is nasty, brutish and short. Can the UN help? No. Russia, as a permanent member of the UN Security Council, has veto power over any resolution, which really doesn't matter anyway since UN resolutions have the value of toilet paper. If you have something worth keeping, you better have the means and the will to defend it.

We can't count on Europe
A weak collection of pacifistic states who depend on a ruthless military power for its energy needs have no influence over that ruthless military power. Russia will be rewarded for this aggression. Who will punish them? The Western Europeans? Remember how they dithered while Bosnia burned? They can't scrape together enough arms and willing men to organize a hunting party. Besides, Vlad the Impaler will pinch the gas pipe off, and winter is on the way. Mustn't anger the bear.

If you're not upset about this you need to dig a little deeper...