Comments on: Bear in the backyard

By: David Williams

David Williams — Mon, 20 Oct 2008 22:39:31 +0000

Narciso- Cold War is a tough one. In retrospect, probably inevitable, given Stalin’s paranoia, and that Russia was going to insist on Eastern Europe as a buffer zone as a hedge against German resurgence. There was no way we were going to acquiese in that, and I think Roosevelt would have eventually run out of maneuvering room. Then again, we definitely heated things up with Hiroshima, which was a fairly non-subtle warning against Russia. (read Alperovitz’s Decision to Use the Atomic Bomb for more, or Atomic Diplomacy; there’s no question we linked the A-bomb to negotiations at Potsdam, which is one reason why that conference achieved zippo.)

With regards to Georgia, I just think a Russian containment strategy is going to be a lot more successful/more economical if we give them some buffer room and try to cut a deal. In fact, we’re going to have to, given that we’ve run out of money.

By: narciso

narciso — Sat, 18 Oct 2008 23:12:27 +0000

Who should we back Dave, Putin, who’s rebuilding the Syrian arsenals and building up the Bushehr reactor; for that moment when we see a flash out of the Zagros mountains, Georgia has a unique ethnic identity that even Peter the Great,
recognized more than three centuries ago. same for Azerbaijan. Aliev jr, sponsors a Salafi free regime, without the collateral damage that Volodya the Czar has propounded in the Greater Caucasus. The US and Russia had cordial relations back in the day, before the latter turned into a hermetical police state, and won the prize for pogroms before 1939. You’re not really a student of the revisionists who saw that we provoked the Cold War are you.

By: David Williams

David Williams — Fri, 17 Oct 2008 16:06:29 +0000

I would entirely agree that they will face some kind of reaction. Strategically/technologically the picture has changed since 1962, though, given that Russian subs off the eastern seaboard could deep-fry D.C. in under five minutes. But symbolically the Russians would be really pushing their luck. Then again, there’s always Caracas. . . .

And yeah, you’re right: roof/hub of the world is getting interesting these days.

By: narciso

narciso — Thu, 16 Oct 2008 05:29:13 +0000

That maybe what they’re going for, David, but are you sure that Putin/
Manilov/Shamanov will not face a major reaction if they try to put a missile
installation there. That and a confrontation on the roof of the world; is a likely
future hot spot.