Special Extra — EDITORIAL: Poland Signs On!

EDITORIAL

Poland Signs On!

Glorious news!

Thanks to Vladimir Putin’s insane adventure in Georgia, Poland has just signed on to the U.S. missile defense plan for Europe.  It’s obvious, of course, that Poland has only taken this step (until now it had been ambivalent) out of terror at seeing Russian tanks rolling into Georgia and fear that it will be next.  The Putin regime obviously failed, utterly, to give Poland any reassurances, and has obviously poisoned its relations with its neighbor beyond hope of repair.

Russia is fuming.  It does not seem to have realized that there are dire consequences to suffer in antagonizing the world’s most powerful nation, one supported by a wide array of allies united by a common belief in democratic government.

Vladimir Putin, just like Stalin before him, has sold his nation down the river.  This is only the beginning of a tidal wave of repercussions Russia will bear because of its insane imperialistic greed for territory and its egomania to restore the Soviet regime.

So much for the idea that Russia could intimidate and cower Eastern Europe with this show of criminal violance. The bravery of the proud and mighty people of Poland shines through. Bravo Poles! You will not regret your decision.

August 15, 2008 — Contents

FRIDAY AUGUST 15 CONTENTS

(1)  EDITORIAL:  Russia, Getting to Know You

(2)  EDITORIAL:  Leaving Home

(3)  Georgia Sues Russia for Ethnic Cleansing

(4)  Russia Puts Nukes in Ossetia!

(5)  Have our leaders failed us on the Georgia test?

NOTE:  Georgian president Mikheil Saakashvili speaks out again, this time in the Washington Post.  On the same op-ed page columnist Charles Krauthhammer calls for evicting Russia from the G-8 and boycotting the Sochi olympics, saying:  “President Bush could cash in on his close personal relationship with Putin by sending him a copy of the highly entertaining (and highly fictionalized) film ‘Charlie Wilson’s War’ to remind Vlad of our capacity to make Russia bleed. Putin would need no reminders of the Georgians’ capacity and long history of doing likewise to invaders.”

NOTE:  We want to extend our warmest thanks to the reader who promptly answered our call for a redesigned logo and provided it by e-mail. The expertly rendered work now appears proudly above.

NOTE:  We are delighted with our new home here on WordPress.  As you may have noticed, our home page loads much faster into the browser than it did at Blogger, we can divide posts for much easier scanning, we can publish photographs with captions

NOTE:  After only a week here on WordPress, as we drive our Blogger traffic to this blog and receive more attention as things heat up in Georgia, on August 14th La Russophobe has made the top 75 of all WordPress blogs in existence (3.8 million total)!  Another achievement of you, the reader. Congratulations!  As previously noted, earlier this week we have rolled passed the 350,000 visit and 500,000 page view milestones.

EDITORIAL: Russia, Getting to Know You

EDITORIAL

Russia, Getting to Know You

Even though Russia has been engaged in cyber warfare against the nations of Eastern Europe who dare to oppose Russian imperialism for years now — most notably against Estonia — for three reasons the nature of its recent cyber attacks were very surprising.

EDITORIAL: Leaving Home

EDITORIAL

Leaving Home

During a stellar floor exercise of the silver medalists at the women’s gymnastics event in Beijing this week, the classic Russian tune “Dark Eyes” reverberated through the stadium.

Team America was on the floor.

Georgia Sues Russia for Ethnic Cleansing

Georgian Daily reports:

The Government of Georgia has today filed a complaint at the International Criminal Court in The Hague, against the Russian Federation for alleged acts of ethnic cleansing, conducted on Georgian sovereign territory between 1993 and 2008.

Russia Puts Nuclear Weapons in Ossetia

Free & Independent reports:

Col. Sam Gardiner notes, in an interview with Amy Goodman on Democracy Now, Russia has deployed tactical nuclear weapons to South Ossetia. The SS-21 Missile launchers are relatively weak compared to bombs that have already been used against Georgia by the Russian air force. However, this move does indicate Russia is potentially upping the game from a conventional weapons war to a tactical nuclear weapons war. Gardiner notes that at a news conference on Sunday, the US Deputy National Security advisor has noted these weapons arriving in South Ossetia.

Business Wire confirms the subject matter of the news briefing in Beijing. Link

Have Our Leaders Failed us on the Georgia Test?

Writing in Commentary magazine Max Boot, senior fellow in national-security studies at the Council on Foreign Relations and the author of War Made New: Weapons, Warriors, and the Making of the Modern  World calls the West to task on Georgia, starting at the top.

President Bush’s reaction to the invasion of a pro-Western, democratic nation isn’t going to cut it. This is what he had to say today:

I said this violence is unacceptable — I not only said it to Vladimir Putin, I’ve said it to the President of the country, Dmitriy Medvedev. And my administration has been engaged with both sides in this, trying to get a cease-fire, and saying that the status quo ante for all troops should be August 6th. And, look, I expressed my grave concern about the disproportionate response of Russia and that we strongly condemn bombing outside of South Ossetia.

Disproportionate? Was there some level of aggression that would have been more “proportionate” and hence more acceptable? Strongly condemn bombing outside South Ossetia? Is, then, bombing in South Ossetia OK?