Georgia: The Military Option
Expelling Russia from the G-8 and suspending new partnership talks between the EU and Russia, along with support for Georgia in whatever political settlement is fashioned after the shooting stops were our first thoughts, and our second. President Bush called on Russia to “reverse the course that it appears to be on as a first step toward resolving this conflict.”
What? No military option?
Expelling Russia from the G-8 and suspending new partnership talks between the EU and Russia, along with support for Georgia in whatever political settlement is fashioned after the shooting stops were our first thoughts, and our second. President Bush called on Russia to “reverse the course that it appears to be on as a first step toward resolving this conflict.”
What? No military option?
Viscerally satisfying as it would be to suggest sending in the Marines and Special Forces to help the Georgians in their quest to expel the Russians, it isn’t a viable option. Even having the US Air Force fly a “no-go zone” above Georgia is unrealistic.
The United States – for all that we are called “cowboys” and denounced for “going it alone” – cannot and does not operate abroad without support from countries in the region. Saudi Arabia was our staging ground for the expulsion of Iraqi forces from Kuwait. Kuwait is our staging ground for operations in Iraq now. CENTCOM operates out of Qatar. Uzbekistan, Kazakhstan and Turkey are essential partners in the region.
In Europe, of course, we have NATO. And NATO was, in fact, designed to counter Soviet aggression – Russian aggression is its successor. Except that Georgia is not a NATO country and it isn’t at all clear that the Europeans can or want to be party to a war with Russia. Russia currently controls 25% of the oil imported by European countries and an even higher percentage of imported natural gas. It is August now, but it will be December soon. Russia’s ability to cut off supplies changes the equation for them as a Saudi cutoff would for us.
It is ironic that with the primary countries of Europe governed by basically pro-American and fairly conservative leaders – Italy, France, Germany and Britain – the mortgaging of Europe’s energy policy to Russia has made the Atlantic alliance impotent in the face of Russian subversion of Georgia. Aside from the obvious tragedy for Georgia and the growing threat to Ukraine, the revelation of the political implications of European dependence on Russia bodes ill for other areas struggling to democratize under threat. Even the Baltic States must be shuddering as Russia widens its sphere of influence.
It is also a serious impediment to America’s ability to protect and defend friends abroad.
We have gone more than the extra mile and paid in blood to build an Iraq that can stand as a stable, modern and moderate Arab country in the very heart of the Arab world. Jordan’s King Abdullah visited Baghdad yesterday for meetings with Prime Minister al Maliki. He announced the return of a Jordanian Ambassador to Baghdad and called on other Arab states to reinstate full relations with Iraq. Bravo.
But just as we prove we can stay the course and watch the tide turn in our favor in Iraq, the Georgian debacle is a reminder of our limitations if our friends can’t or won’t defend their own region.