Democracy for Vancouver

You set the table for this one, Dummy. And the Georgians are reaping what you have sown:

Good morning. I’ve just received an update from my national security team on the situation in Georgia. Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice is in Tbilisi. She’s conferring with President Saakashvili and expressing America’s wholehearted support for Georgia’s democracy.
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The United States and our allies stand with the people of Georgia and their democratically elected government. Georgia’s sovereignty and territorial integrity must be respected. Moscow must honor its commitment to withdraw its invading forces from all Georgian territory.
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We hope Russia’s leaders will recognize that a future of cooperation and peace will benefit all parties. The Cold War is over. The days of satellite states and spheres of influence are behind us. A contentious relationship with Russia is not in America’s interest. And a contentious relationship with America is not in Russia’s interest.

With its actions in recent days Russia has damaged its credibility and its relations with the nations of the free world. Bullying and intimidation are not acceptable ways to conduct foreign policy in the 21st century. Only Russia can decide whether it will now put itself back on the path of responsible nations, or continue to pursue a policy that promises only confrontation and isolation. To begin to repair its relations with the United States and Europe and other nations, and to begin restoring its place in the world, Russia must respect the freedom of its neighbors.

Georgia’s sovereignty and territorial integrity must be respected. Moscow must honor its commitment to withdraw its invading forces from all Georgian territory.

Georgia is on the border of Russia and attacked a bordering province with strong ties to Russia. Putin may be a stone cold sonofabitch, and not the least averse to killing tens of thousands to maintain his iron grip, but Georgia started this (with a strong poke in the back from the U.S.). Putin’s move has more legitimacy than either our invasion of Iraq (a country thousands of miles away that had done nothing to threaten us) or Israel’s incursion into Lebanon in 2006.

The days of satellite states and spheres of influence are behind us.

Remember this, from just last year, shithead?

America Has Enduring And Vital Interests In The Middle East. We seek a region of secure democratic states at peace with each other, participating in an open global market and existing as partners in the war on terror.

If that’s not a sphere of influence, what is it? “Be the kind of democracy we want, and open your markets to us, or we’ll ‘liberate’ you just like we did Iraq.”

Bullying and intimidation are not acceptable ways to conduct foreign policy in the 21st century.

If you had a soul, it would implode as those words formed on your lips:

It has also clearly communicated to the international community, to the United Nations Security Council, and, above all, to Iraq’s tyrannical regime a powerful and important message: the days of Iraq flouting the will of the world, brutalizing its own people, and terrorizing its neighbors must — and will — end. Iraq will either comply with all U.N. resolutions, rid itself of weapons of mass destruction, and in its support for terrorists, or it will be compelled to do so.

Argh. I thought I’d be able to avoid going directly at Bush for the last few months of his reign of error, but no such luck. Just when I think I’m out…

But compared to anyone in South Georgia right now, I’m the luckiest woman in the world.

Perhaps McCain, Bush, Cheney and the entire GOP would be less bellicose if these were scenes on our own doorstep. But I doubt it. There kind never tire of sending others into the meatgrinder.