Tag Archive 'peacekeepers'

The Belligerent Peacekeeper

Lee on Aug 15 2008 | Filed under: Around the Web

Robert Amsterdam speaks with Geert Jan Alexander Knoops, an expert on international law governing peacekeeping missions, who concludes the Russian claims of acting as belligerent peacekeepers, have no legal foundation in international law. Amsterdam further observes that by citing the right of self-defense under the UN Charter as justification, Russia seems to be confessing to an assumption that South Ossetia is a part of Russia’s territory already. Which brings us back the oddness of Russia arguing that Georgia had illegally invaded its own territory. Perhaps this only makes sense in the Russian state imagination, because there exists the tacit imputation that this land is theirs, not even by declaration, but by collective assumption.

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QandO Podcast

Lance on Aug 10 2008 | Filed under: Foreign affairs, Lance's Page

McQ, Dale and I discuss the Russian campaign against Georgia over South Ossetia.

Generally I feel that our support should belong to Georgia. However, Georgia has severely miscalculated in this matter, and frankly our options are limited. At best, we get a negotiated settlement with Russia that retains Georgian sovereignty with the loss of Abkhazia and South Ossetia. The US and NATO allowed to save face with some show of protecting Georgian airspace after the fact, with Russia suffering a black eye in international opinion. Maybe.

I am not sure I agree with Lee that we may get Nato peacekeepers in South Ossetia and this turns out negatively in the short term for Russia, but we can hope.

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Glimpse of a Better Outcome for Georgia

Lee on Aug 10 2008 | Filed under: Foreign affairs, Lee's Page

When it seemed like escalation was the modal reality, outcomes looked bleak for Georgia. Dynamics change. Thus Georgia’s ceasefire in South Ossetia cannot be a bad thing under the circumstances. By putting up an initial fight, they drew the attention of the world and now in can come the international community, which is as firmly opposed to Russia’s behavior on an issue since the Afghanistan invasion in 1979.

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