I Accuse!
Published by DanM August 28th, 2008 in National and International Issues.So says Putin about US involvement in Georgia.
The news reports today are full of an interview in which Prime Minister Vladimir Putin of Russia accuses the United States of provoking the war between Russia and Georgia to benefit “one of the candidates in the American presidential election.” They’re showing around what they say is a U.S. passport to prove their case. (It reminded me of Colin Powell showing around a vial of anthrax at the UN in 2003.)
Now … which candidate could possibly gain from a new, hot war in some distant foreign country?
The White House is appropriately dismissive. White House spokesman, Dana Perino sniffed, “To suggest that the United States orchestrated this on behalf of a political candidate just sounds not rational.”
Leaving aside the fact that Dana’s statement is not a denial, Bush wouldn’t mislead us, his own countrymen, and drag us into a dangerous war in a forgotten corner of the world that would drain our country of lives and treasure just for political gain. Would he?
Well, if Putin says it – I guess that settles it.
Judging from the opinion of the US electorate on the conduct of the war in Iraq and how the US got into that war to begin with, then We The People may well decide to let Obama and Biden try their turn.
Actually, I don’t believe Bush would drag us into war just for political gain. Possible — but I don’t believe it.
However, if that is Bush’s intent then yet again he has shown his incompetence since we haven’t been drawn into a war and it appears highly unlikely we will be.
One thing the Russia / Georgia war has shown is US impotence in defending a client state. I’m not sure how that helps Bush’s heir apparent.
We appear to agree about one thing: Whoever succeeds Bush will have a very deep hole to dig out of.
When I was a wage slave, I was pursuaded to take over a disaster in progress once ‘because the company needed it’. It was the hardest thing I have ever done. There is a case to be made that any candidate should be disqualified on grounds of insanity.