Big Bad Russia versus Sweet Little Dainty Georgia

The way America’s “media” has covered this issue, you'd think Ward and June Cleaver were getting pistolwhipped and gangraped by the Crips and Bloods. I'm not pushing any conspiracy theories, but the White House and their legions of secretaries (formerly known as “the media”) seem to have some sort of agenda here.

With just a basic knowledge of this region’s history, it becomes crystal clear why the Russians did what they did. I'm not saying it’s right, but…if you're at all interested in this powder keg and how it might affect the rest of us, check out these two articles. (Here and here.)

Like the Middle East and Eastern Europe, the Caucasus region has ethnic feuds and grudges that go back centuries. There aren't any guardian angels here. Russians, Georgians, Chechens, Ossetians — they're all ruthless if there's any sort of conflict, and they all carry grudges for eternity.

There is NOTHING black and white, David and Goliath or good-guys-and-bad-guys about any of this. Actually, the closest thing to a David and Goliath analogy would be Goliath (Georgia) hitting David (South Ossetia) with a slingshot.

Yes, Georgia is smaller than Russia; they have about 4½ million people. But their army has received lots of training and equipment from Israel and the U.S. Tskhinval, the capital city of South Ossetia, was practically leveled by Georgian troops. About two thousand Tskhinval residents — mostly civilians — were killed during Georgia’s invasion.

Mark Ames says:

“But you don't hear about this story from the Western media. Indeed, you hear little if anything about the Ossetians, who seem to hardly exist in the West’s eyes, even though their grievance is the root cause of this war.”

Another way the media is slanting this issue is by their choice of photos. You can't open a newspaper without seeing pictures of Georgian women shrieking and wailing in the streets as Russian tanks roll by. Seen any pictures of grieving South Ossetians?

In terms of the larger picture, Ames says:

“At the root of this conflict is a clash of two twentieth-century guiding principles in international relations. Georgia, backed by the West, is claiming its right as a sovereign nation to control the territory within its borders, a guiding principle since World War II. The Ossetians are claiming their right to self-determination, a guiding principle since World War I.”

OK, got a simple solution? Who are the good guys and the bad guys? If you called in the United States Cavalry, who would you want them to rescue?

cross-posted at Bring It On!