The Russia-Georgia War, the Useless States of America, and a New Foreign Policy

As the Russia-Georgia war continues, I cannot muster any sympathy whatsoever for Georgia. Even as they continue to get annihilated by the Russian army, I cannot sympathize with any country that kills 2,000 civilians. Any military who runs over civilians with tanks and throws hand grenades into basements to kill those hiding from the bombs doesn’t deserve a damn bit of sympathy from anybody. Georgia made an enormous miscalculation and are enjoying the fruits that come with biting off more than one can chew.

I cannot speculate on how the conflict will end or if Russia is fighting to protect the South Ossetians or plans on ousting Georgian President Mikhail Saakashvili and bringing Georgia back into the fold. With the historical complexities of this conflict and both sides fighting to win the propaganda war, we all will simply have to see how this plays out.

However, this conflict does make one fact incredibly clear: the Useless States of America has officially lost the moral ground and military capability to be effective in any capacity in this situation.

Russian Prime Minister Vladimir Putin’s warning to America to stay out of this conflict is the same advice I’d give our leaders. President Bush’s condemnation of Russia invading the sovereign nation of Georgia holds no weight as the US occupation of Iraq continues. Military aggression is out of the question since our hands are tied in Iraq and Afghanistan.

Whatever Putin’s intentions are and regardless of what his next moves may be, his words and actions have given a resounding “f**k you” to the US. He knows that we have been reduced to a tough-talking country with zero influence on the world’s stage. If it comes to light that the US gave encouragement or tacit approval of Georgia’s attack on South Ossetia (especially with the military training given to them by the US in the weeks before)….well, then I’ll be the first to bury my head in the sand.

Now that the consequences of America’s longtime questionable foreign policy practices have come to light for all to see since 9/11, I recommend a change in foreign policy. I mean a serious change, one that is applied to the core of our actions.

My foreign policy proposal is grounded in standing for principles over allies. These principles include peacekeeping efforts, economic engagement, and overall good neighbor practices in the international community. This should trump the concept of a staunch ally. If Country X is showing behavior towards Country Y that contradicts these principles, then there should be no unconditional allegiance and economic and military aid to Country X (Israel, I’m talking to you!). There is much less room for US hypocrisy and much more room for being taken seriously by other countries if we actually mean what we say.

The eradication of the “staunch ally” concept also gets rid of our age-old modus operandi: your friends are my friends, and your enemies are my enemies. No more installing Saddam Hussein in Iraq to get rid of the Iranians. No more arming Osama bin Laden with weapons and money to get rid of the Russians. We see how well those two turned out. This mode of operation encourages war and cements America’s reputation as one of the world’s top purveyors of violence.

Oh, and one more thing: no more alliances based on control of oil. Don’t think for a minute that our alliance with Georgia has nothing to do with the Baku-Tbilisi-Ceyhan pipeline (30% owned by oil company BP). Energy independence using renewable resources could conceivably put an end to the resource-grabbing games that only serve to complicate international relations.

As far as this conflict is concerned, I say we sit this one out and only engage in diplomatic efforts led by the UN and other participating groups. The biggest favor we can do right now is to help solidify the UN as a legitimate organization with actual influence. It’s the least we can do after our handling of Iraq helped relegate the UN to merely a building in New York full of ambassadors and writers of resolutions that are not respected or enforced.

Let’s take care of our business at home and show the world that we care about our citizens. Perhaps that will spread the message that we care about the citizens of other countries as well.