Remember that mantra "Democracies don't fight wars against one another"? If the Israel-Lebanon war of last year didn't uproot such ahistorical sentiments, then perhaps the Russia-Georgia conflict will. The Russia-Georgia conflict also reminds how idiotic George W. Bush's airy second inaugural address truly was. Remember the lofty rhetoric of "ending tyranny," democracy being "the urgent requirement of our nation's security," and how the "survival of liberty in our land increasingly depends on the success of liberty in other lands"? The words have aged as well as raw hamburger at the beach. How do you suppose a thinking Georgian reacts to a replay of President Bush announcing, "the United States will not ignore your oppression, or excuse your oppressors. When you stand for your liberty, we will stand with you"? Should America fight a war with Russia to protect a fledgling democracy in Georgia? If one follows the logic of Bush's second inaugural address, then the answer is yes. If one follows logic, then the answer can only be no. President Bush didn't even believe the words he spoke, and that is a good thing.

Commenting on this would be above my pay grade.

Above my paygrade, too - though I am in substantial agreement as far as I can figure.

Someone who can knowledgeably comment on this is Pat Buchanan. Dan, I wonder what your thoughts are on his article, "Is Not Western Hypocrisy Astonishing?" - found here: http://tinyurl.com/6pjdbc

I agree with Pat that there is a lot of hypocrisy here. That was the jist of the original "Georgia on My Mind" post below. I would stress the hypocrisy of the Russians, too, though. How did they deal with the Chechnyans? Certainly not more humanely than Georgia dealt with its separatists. Did they support Kosovo's breakaway from Serbia?

I think Pat's strongest argument is not so much on the hypocrisy angle but what comes after that regarding this country's government's odd sense of what is in the national interest.

It is our provocations that make no sense to me. We are paying Poland to let us put ABM's there to provoke Russia for what good reason? The claim that it is b/c of Iran is simnply fatuous. Same with that pipeline that the US supported and pushed through with the Turks. Seriously, why would we get involved in such an adventure? One angle I don't get is our willingness to aid Muslim countries to such an extent over ones with deeper Christian and european connections (Serbia and Russia).

The alternative to these actions isn't doing nothing as regards Russia but I see these choices as terribly misguided and counter-productive. It would be easier to deal with strategic challenges Russia may pose if we didn't continuously undermine our ability to act and influence w/ needless provocations that serve no national interest.

And on the homefront? Panem et circenses, bread and circuses.