Wasn't the worry that the Russian invasion of Georgia would BECOME a pivotal historical event. If Russia did not back down, if it took Georgia, if America did not respond forthrightly, if all the ifs along those lines took place, then we had an awful lot to worry about.

As it is, this event has changed life for me. My fourth son has decided to enter the Marines when he finishes college in December. He's worried about Russia, China, Al Qaeda and would not be left out of his generation's version of the Great Game.

If this wasn’t some World Historical moment,it ought to signal some pivot in America's thinking about Russia and the Eastern European nations. Is the Ukraine at less risk, now? Is Georgia truly secure today? Something has changed in the world.

Kate, true enough.

Peter, I think it is could be a moment that haunts us and damns us, but it depends on what we do in the next 72 hours. We forget how horrible GWB was for the first few days after 9-11. It took him going to NYC and that scene with the Firemen to get us to believe he 'got it' and then he delivered. But then he had Rummy, which I have come to think was very much the real brains, as well as the spine, after 9-11.




Here Michael Ledeen at NRO make the case why Georgia IS VERY IMPORTANT. Among tribal people honor is a big thing and once you lost your honor in their eyes, forget it. This can end up costing us the loyalty and bonds of trust we worked so hard to gain in Iraq and elsewhere. So Georgia is not over-hyped... careening about Edwards is over-hyped!!

What this reveals about Russia has not changed the world. Everyone knew Putin was a ruthless thug (well maybe not President Bush). What this reveals about America has changed the world for the forseeable future. There are American allied states all over the world whose security depends on tacit American commitments (Jordan and Taiwan come right to mind). All of them have to be doubting the American capability to defend them if any of the world's predator states (Iran, Syria, Russia, potentially China) attacked them. At the very least this will encourage the predator states to intimidate other state, the intimidation will be more likely to succeed, and getting international support for American operations will become more difficult.

Thats the best case scenario. A worse case is that wars of predation (some carried out by Russia on its border, but also ones by China or Syria) will be more likely now that the threat of American military intervention seems to be a sham. Reaquiring the respect (actually fear of the world's predators is likely to be a slow and probably bloody job. Some of that blood will be American. Thats not even including the likely cost of the War on Terror. So yeah, things have changed.

Update, today the Polish gov't (the Parliamentary gov't) signed on to the Missile Defense agreement with the US. Here is the VOA report. The US gov't with egg on face apparently gave into the demands of the Polish PM. But public opinion is still not so clearly firm in support and two the radical opposition parties who are not in parliament but are represented in the EU parliament are openly hostile to any support.

The question is not what Russia wants just now, but what will they want once they get that. It is rare for either people or nations to be content with what they have.

https://www.mindfully.org/Reform/2004/FEMA-Concentration-Camps3sep04.htm

Will you all find martial law a prudent a course of action if another false flag event were take place in the next six months.