Tag Archives: invasion

Georgia’s Tapes

Who jumped first in South Ossetia has become a bit of a information war between Georgia and Russia. Today, the Georgian government went a ways toward resolving it by releasing recordings of intercepted radio traffic preceding the Russian invasion. The … Continue reading

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The New Russian Diplomacy of Profanity

Russian FM Sergei Lavrov reportedly went berserk on David Miliband in phone discussions over the Georgia war. Apparently he was raving, shouting obscenities, and ridiculing Miliband’s knowledge of history. There’s something incredibly deranged about that government. They’ve taken the traditional … Continue reading

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Anders Aslund on the Russian Economy

After forcefully savaging the Russian invasion of Georgia, controversial Swedish economist Anders Aslund lays out ten reasons he expects an impending economic collapse in Russia. Each point is sound, although some are more problematic than others. Particularly cogent are the … Continue reading

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Russian Imperialism and the Election

(photo: Chris Dunn) John Bolton argues that the future of Russian imperialism in Eurasia rides on the outcome of the US presidential election. Unsurprisingly, he pitches McCain: “First reactions, before the campaigns’ pollsters and consultants get involved are always the … Continue reading

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The Pirate Army

CCTV video capture of Russian soldiers robbing a Gori bank at gunpoint. While plunder has a bit of an enduring tradition in the Russian army even in modern times, this is pretty extreme. I’d be abusing the event as metaphor, … Continue reading

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Blameless are the Bellicose?

(photo: Pavel Trebukov | blog) From the gang who brought you the “because Georgia has invaded its own country we had to attack” rationale for the South Ossetian War, Poland has now apparently “made itself a target” for Russian nuclear … Continue reading

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Deny, Deny, Legitimize.

It seems Russia is increasingly leaning toward dismembering the Republic of Georgia, something previously denied, now legitimized. The predominant characteristic of Russian policy in Georgia up to this point actually. In the same vein, Russia is finally admitting to being … Continue reading

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Russian Hacker Mob Takes Over Georgian Web During Invasion

As if the physical invasion of territory isn’t enough, it looks like it was preceded by a cyber-attack.

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The Invasion of Western Georgia

Russia has invaded Western Georgia (proper) and captured Senaki, far from Abkhazia. It’s being billed by a Russian official as a preventive move against Georgian troop concentration. This being yet another new rationale invented on the fly to justify further … Continue reading

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Georgia vs Finland

Zbigniew Brzezinski strikes a note from our discussion on tonights podcast and compares the invasion of Georgia with Stalin’s assault on Finland. If Georgia can hold up the military end of that analogy it would be quite impressive. I am … Continue reading

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Policy Recommendations for the Demented

One can always count on the New York Times for publishing pernicious editorial advice on foreign policy. To duty, Helene Cooper is eager for the US to seize the opportunity of the South Ossetia invasion to…throw Georgia under the bus … Continue reading

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Appetites of the Empire

(image: Marcelus G. Zalotti)

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A Doves Eyes Opened

(Listening notes: Dedicated to cussed Irish beekeepers everywhere: The Pogues, The Specials, The Fall, U2, and The Chieftains) Over at Captains Quarters I noticed this: Every time war footage from Lebanon flickers across the flat screen television in my apartment … Continue reading

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