Do You Have Any Ideas Or...Oh, Just Forget It

Megan weighs in on the latest example of why humanity should be erased from the planet before it really hurts itself.

Except that she didn't say anything new, or do anything but explain the obvious to us. The quote from hilzoy ("Hilzoy views McCain's desire to allow Georgia into NATO as sheer madness:" Mlle. McA. can't even do a link properly. Miss, this is not your own crummy recipe blog for your galpals, it's supposed to be for the admittedly degenerate web presence of a once important & prestigious American magazine. Try to give two shits about it.) by itself would have provided a public service, but Megan's addition is just nothing.

Another way to look at the question is: are we going to allow Russia to reassemble the old Russian empire? At its heart, that's what this is about. Maybe we should; maybe it's none of our business who Russia decides to invade, or what puppet governments they decide to prop up, so long as they don't share a border with Germany.

I don't mean that sarcastically--I can make all sorts of arguments in favor of this attitude. On the other hand, it has obvious, dramatic costs, including the fact that Russia's imperial ambitions are unlikely to stop at the Georgian border.

Well, if you ask the question, shouldn't you make some attempt to answer it? Guess not.

If this war ends up with Russia occupying Georgia, NATO will probably be worse off than it would have been if it had let Georgia join--though to be sure, the US might still be better off. I don't know how likely such a scenario is. But it's been clear for a long time that Russia's goal is to regain its former imperial borders, effectively if not nominally.

That's it. Although the last time I checked (sometime after the break-up of Czechoslovakia) the United Snakes were part (& a pretty big one) of NATO. How NATO could be "worse off" (ugly, stupid phrase, by the way) but the USofA somehow in better shape is beyond this reporter. Especially as US foreign policy toward Georgia, as toward most of the states in Central Asia that have or are near OIL, is to send the US military to train their militaries, & then to sell them weapons & equipment while promising that the US paper tiger has their backs. The military-industrial complex is going to be losing client-states. Can't have that.

So, Megatron, do you have any ideas or suggestions? Where exactly do you stand on this? Yes, it's been obvious for a while to all but perhaps soul-searcher Bush that Putin & the new Russki P. M. want to be big men on the world stage again, but how are "we" to stop them, if "we" should at all? But Megan "can make all sorts of arguments in favor of this attitude," & apparently any other "attitude," w/o coming to any decision.