PRUDEN: Burning a path through Georgia

Russia is building the perfect storm. Controlling the Baku-Tbilisi-Ceyhan pipeline in conjunction with a threat from Iran to block the Straits of Hormuz if Israel attacks, acts as a multiplier to strengthen their energy as a weapon tool toward the EU. No missile shields for them. They are also feeding Venezuela's confidence factor to support Iran if Israel does attack. If oil from Chavez is cut off, with a U.S. Congress that would rather drag the country down with it than drill and a potential President whose energy policy is an environmental policy and a foreign policy that relies on "principled diplomacy", Russia is in the eye of the hurricane and controlling it. The dysfunctional multilateralism evolving from the 1990's (global consensus with regional compliance) is falling right in line with Putin's KGB plans.

Bush should bring back the draft in order to support American world supremacy and more importantly our close ally, Georgia, if Bush doesn't, Please Vote McCain 08, because you know he will for sure. The Europeans are too scared to confront the Russians empty rusted shell of military and political corruption and violent economic greed. If Georgia was willing to sacrifice their own soldiers for our own prerogatives in Iraq, Now we should decisively act as if Georgia is like Georgia, U.S, reinstate the draft and help defend our good and reliable friends in Georgia, as if we were attacked ourselves by the dirty Russians.

If war is never the answer (for many in the U.S.), how do you answer the war-makers? While you are confessing your love for every man, and talking about the power of negotiation, they are rolling tanks through our friends' fields, bombing their cities and killing with abandon. I'm sure there is a twisted answer that somehow it's George Bush's fault that the Russians are terrorizing Georgia.

Why don't Dick Cheney and George Bush send their kids off to war for their Jewish "friends" from AIPAC?

It's interesting that when he was President, Putin offered to let the U.S. man a radar site in Georgia to control the ABM system in Poland that the U.S. intends to install. Pres. Bush rejected the offer and insisted on building a new radar site in the Czech Republic. What's the likelihood that Russia's attack in Georgia is intended partly to flank the U.S. ABM system, as well as partly to mitigate the Baku-Tblisi-Ceyhan oil pipeline from Azerbaijan to Turkey?

Don't underestimate the Russian military or Russian energy influence in Europe. These are two weapons systems Putin wields ruthlessly. This is a tactical opportunity of a strategic move by Putin. He knows we are in an election transition period coming of a war in Iraq with our eye on a nuclear Iran. He also knows that the BTC pipeline can be an exploitable EU lever if the Straits of Hormuz are threatened or blocked. One presidential candidate wants to talk about it and the other is making plans on how to deal with it. Tell me which one Putin wants for president.

RWZ, you wrote: "Why don't Dick Cheney and George Bush send their kids off to war for their Jewish "friends" from AIPAC?" Your ignorance is showing. Or, you're just stuck on stupid: the US military has been all volunteer for, oh, decades now.

I'll repeat it again. Teddy R's axiom, talk softly and carry a big stick is right for today. Barack won't do it. McCain will. No contest when it comes to a host of bullies surfacing around the globe.

The Georgians must feel great about Bush and the US now - during his visit Bush told the Georgians he stood with them and their quest for democracy. As usual - Bush is all smoke and mirrors - but it's not like the US is in a position of being able to do anything these days. Some ignorant ideologues will blame all this on congress - when BUSH & CHENEY are the one's who have left our military vulnerable and our nation totally dependent on foreign oil. Where's the famous Cheney energy plan that he created with the likes of Ken Lay from Enron. Give me a friggin break - blaming this on congress.

You could make a very good case for treason against THE NAG (Reid) and THE HAG (Pelosi), but then the only people in the majority now are the Stupid Liberals who think Putin The Terrible is such a NICE GUY..... all he needs is someone to hold his hand..... preferably a STUPID LIBERAL, as only they talk his language...... Yeah SELL OUT and SURRENDER........

Let's never forget the warning from General George S. Patton regarding the Russians, namely the government, "never trust the SOBs."

Bringing back the draft is a really, really bad idea. In today's high tech military it takes longer to train soldiers, sailors and airmen than back in the Viet Nam era. When we had a draft it was for a 2 year hitch. The taxpayers simply wouldn't get their money's worth after paying for all that training. And what successful organization in the world would want to have to force people to work for them? I served with draftees and most weren't worth the trouble. Today's military is the best we've ever had and they don't need a bunch of sulking, bad-attitude draftees infecting unit morale and cohesiveness.

friendlygoldens writes: "when BUSH & CHENEY are the one's who have left our military vulnerable and our nation totally dependent on foreign oil." Excuse me but I could swear that it has been the Democrats that have blocked ANWR, off-shore drilling, oil-shale, clean coal and nuclear power. The Democrats reason that we don't need them when we have the tire pressure guage. And recall Pelosi's recent comment when asked why she has forbidden Congress to even vote on the Republican's drilling legislation: "I'm trying to save the planet. I'm trying to save the planet" (reading her quote is more like the real thing when accompanied by high pitched screeching sounds such as fingernails across a chalk board.) Oh and who was it that cut the military and intelligence budgets drastically while in power claiming he could do so because of the "peace dividend" he sought because the USSR had disintegrated? That would be President Clinton. He campaigned on it against President G.H.W. Bush in 1992. That Bush argued that we had already cut the military to the minimum acceptable level and we should not be lulled into a false sense of security. So Bush and Cheney being weak on defense and weak on energy is laughable. Democrats are both and have been since the days of JFK and LBJ and Americans know it.

The nation of Georgia committed fully 10% of it's nation's armed forces to serve along side of the US in Iraq. That is a huge commitment to make knowing the ever present danger that has been posed by the Russians for years leading up to this conflict. No other nation has mad such a proportionately large commitment of their forces to help the US in Iraq other than the UK. It is with great sadness that I see the US failing to aid a small nation who so boldly stepped up to assist us. If we are to be respected around the world and if we really do believe in the spread of democracy, liberty and human rights, we must respond in securing Georgia from the clutches of the Evil Empire Part II. A contingent of NATO air defense units to Tblisi to help guard the Georgian capitol would send a strong message to Moscow that it would be in their best interest to cease operations or risk a wider escalation they themselves can ill afford to risk.

"Some ignorant ideologues will blame all this on congress - when BUSH & CHENEY are the one's who have left our military vulnerable and our nation totally dependent on foreign oil." from friendly goldens Some smart ideologues recognize that Clinton is the one who made our military vulnerable (by massive cuts)and that Democrats have forced us to be dependent on foreign oil (by severe limits on domestic production). As far as the current crisis in Georgia, Bush nor the US caused it. Russia did.