Bush Gets in Russia’s Face
Today, President Bush sent the first US military C-17 transport aircraft to deliver humanitarian supplies to Tbilisi. Another flight is scheduled for tomorrow.
This is not a good idea.
The Russians are not happy about the US military’s role in training Georgia’s armed forces. Did the US Marines and Army personnel still stationed in Tbilisi participate in Georgia’s initial invasion of South Ossetia? I don’t know the answer to that, but the Russians have already made statements indicating that they are upset about the USA’s role, as well as Israel’s.
South Ossetia is populated by Russian-passport-carrying citizens. Whether or not the “breakaway” region should be part of Georgia or not, the Russians went out of their way to extend their protection to the region.
Georgia did something very foolish. I highly doubt that the US, or the Israeli military contractors who trained and armed the Georgian military encouraged them to invade South Ossetia. If that is correct, then the Georgians should be solely responsible for their plight.
While the Pentagon is informing the Russians when the flights are occurring, and where the US soldiers are stationed in Tbilisi, I can’t imagine that the Russians see this as anything less than a direct challenge.
Georgia is easily reached from Europe. Surely a more neutral power, or the United Nations, has a cargo airplane that can be used for these humanitarian flights. Using an American military aircraft is very provocative.
Leaving US military personnel in Tbilisi serves as a tripwire just like the “peace keepers” that Russia had stationed in South Ossetia. Such a thing should not be done unless you are willing to fight if the Russians trip the wire.
Let’s hope that Bush has negotiated all of this with the Russians behind the scenes as a face-saving maneuver.
August 14th, 2008 at 12:17 am
While I’m no fan of Bush (is anyone nowadays?), I don’t think it is quite as bad as it seems. Georgia was the third largest Iraq coalition member: other than GB, none of the NATO countries showed support. Since we probably have at least ten times the number of military transports in Iraq as anyone else, it makes sense for us to transport our ally to defend their home country.
Plus, Georgia is important for oil and gas, always in the minds of the President and VP of the USO.