Friday, September 12, 2008

Crisis in the Caucuses

By Logan Ferrell (’ 11)

On August 7th, Russian tanks crossed the border into the small Caucasian state of Georgia, signaling the beginning of a much larger deployment and global uproar.

The reason announced to the world was that Russia was stepping in to defend the small separatist region of South Ossetia. In the days before the invasion, this region had been the target of vicious crackdown by the Georgian military.

One week later, Russian troops had entered another breakaway region, Abkhazia, and moved forces to within 25 miles of the Georgian capital, Tbilisi. Now, after a month criticism by the nations of Europe and the United States, Moscow has stepped back somewhat, but continues to hold troops throughout Georgia.

Several spokesmen for the federal government, including the president himself, have expressed their outrage at what they seem to find a shocking overstep of international behavior. As much as this sentiment may be shared within the media and the White House, I simply do not see how it is that we could be surprised.

Over the past eight years, the government of the United States has been content with a quiet disinterest when it comes to the actions of Russia, no matter how brazen they may seem.

With the notable exception of our close military and political alliance with Georgia, the general American apathy is even more apparent in the Caucasus. The combustible region, a breeding ground for terrorism and violence, has bred only neglect at home.

For eight years, the Bush administration has supported the Russian “anti-terrorist” operation in Chechnya, an operation criticized by countless human rights organizations for its brutal conduct.

Now, however, the president is “deeply concerned” about the danger presented to Georgian civilians. Where was that concern during the abduction, torture, and execution of countless Chechen civilians? No strong words, no action; the United States remains content to stand by while another “ally” stifles any opposition and ignores human rights.

The August invasion seems to have also awoken the government to the bigger picture; it has responded with strong words and proposed strong action to counter the aggressive Russian regime. This is a regime, whose strategic bomber patrols, the White House dismissed as normal.

The American government did not seem deterred when their “ally” ranked 144th on an international ranking of press freedom, lower than either Afghanistan or the Congo. It would seem that it takes the brute force of Russian armor to make the powers that be awake to the unsavory alliances that they have made.

Personally, I am a strong believer in the power of diplomacy. I think that idea of a “new cold war” could be prevented by dialogue. However, those in power would do best to remember that negotiation without principle is simply talk, and that American talk can affect the lives of thousands.

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