PIRCHNER: Russia vs. Georgia

If the European nations voted a compromise on Georgia's entrance into NATO, I would't expect any further backbone now. This is going to be strictly a U.S. decision and looking toward the Congress, a weak one at that. To draw the red lines in today's complexity requires not just a military superpower, but an energy superpower (the economy is tied to energy). We only have one qualification and a high risk of uncertainty in the other (energy) which detracts from the military superpower. Russia may have only a military power but they are an energy superpower, not just because of resources but because of energy independence. Energy has now become a political weapon of choice. With regard to energy, we can't even build a Maginot Line to defend ourselves much less draw red lines in the Russian region of primacy. If Congress doesn't act immediately, our region of influence, our red line drawing capability, will be limited to the North American continent. We have energy but we do not have energy independence. Alternative source infrastructure is not there and besides it won't be able to overcome the current threat in time to put it in place. Before we vote, we really need to look at the production rates energy of the two presidential candidates. Immediate Energy Independence is becoming our biggest national security issue. Think about it, Russia really doesn't care about global warming or climate change or whatever snake oil the global governance crowd is selling today.

Russia is not run by a bunch of dummies, they know the political situation in the US. You have to be able to enforce those "red lines" on the map with military backbone. After being actively involved in 2 wars since 2003, the US population will be reluctant to support involvement in another potential conflict on another continent.