Monday, August 11, 2008

Is The Cold War With Russia Heating Up?


The fighting in Georgia has pitted Russia against the west in a confrontation reminiscent of the Cold War with the Soviet Union. Tuesday, on the To the Point radio program the following was discussed: what's the extent of US commitment to an emerging democracy? Is Russia testing American resolve? Does the United Nations have the resources to resolve the conflict?

Host Warren Olney, considered by many the dean of broadcast journalists, delves into those question and more on his daily program. Tune in daily via KCRW-FM 89.9 in the Los Angeles area, or www.kcrw.com or through Bosco Radio News and Entertainment in our sidebar. The show starts each day at 12 Noon PST/ 3 PM EST. An archive of the mentioned show can be found at www.kcrw.com

2 comments:

Anonymous said...

Great, just what we need another cold war with Russia.

Onanite

Doug Vehle said...

What? You're pretending you DIDN'T have fun with the last cold war? I remember how giddy with it you were in high school.

But what would this fighting have to do with any cold war? That's like accusing Iraq of instigating Bush to commit treason. If there had been no Iraq, Bush would have found some other reason to earn his place at the front of a firing squad.

So how many of you can name the date of the FIRST U.S. invasion of Russia? If you answered that this Friday will mark the 90th anniversary of American troops taking Vladivostok, YOU WIN! While a good many of the 189 U.S. soldiers that died in Siberia were indeed froze to death, Operation Arkhangelsk (Archangel) would cost 235 American lives largely from fighting.

Americans may have forgotten 19 months of the U.S. toppling the local Russian civic governments and printing occupation money to replace the national ruble, but the Russians have long memories. They also remember the threats of a second invasion after WWII, the nonstop spy planes flying overhead, and the proxy wars that they saw as keeping the foreign troops off their own soil. Look at the cold war for what it really was, the U.S. obsessing over what was essentially a collection of third world countries called the U.S.S.R. With a 'Potemkin Village' for a military. Americans are always amazed that other countries remember the past; but it's because they have bitter memories.

As well, they are remembering the Golden Era that was hardly so cold to them. As the U.S. gave away military hardware for countries to protect themselves from the USSR, Moscow SOLD hardware to the other half of the world, to protect from the U.S. It was the greatest economic boom in the history of that land of vodka and poverty.

If you think they were a mess under the communists, check up on the place BEFORE the Bolshevik revolution. At least the communists were able to fool the world into thinking they were a superpower. They learned well from Potemkin. Do you think anyone would have tolerated that guy banging his damn shoe on the table if they knew what wussies the Russian military really were? I'll bet he had a hole in his sock. He got so excited with that ear of corn in his hand because he was thinking 'Food! I could feed my family for a WEEK on this!' Oh, those fearsome Ruskies.

Shortly after all that, alzheimers Ronnie gave his dramatic speech about the 'Red Menace,' all the while the U.S. fighters were shooting down 12 Russian fighters to every American plane lost in Vietnam. And of course the Russian leaders were giggling that Americans were so STUPID as to fall for it all, while they were STILL nibbling off that one ear of corn brought back years ago. And terrifying the world by operating a larger fleet of submarines that anyone else, even if most were left over from WWII and often sank on their own.

And no, Mark, don't act like you had such a bad time with that last cold war, avowed anticommunist that you were. You were having a great time, and good for you. Who would you have had to so passionately oppose if not for the pinkos?

Well, your---uh, PRAYERS were answered. (Couldn't resist) The commies are gone, and the Russians are behaving like Americans now. Organized crime, prostitution, and invading other countries. At least they wait until the OTHER GUY shoots first. At least the commies kept their own damn criminals at HOME; we get them over here, now.

The Dave Ross commentary today said it all: "The American Ambassador said you can't invade EUROPEAN countries, he didn't say anything about. . . ."

http://daveross.com/index.html

So stop worrying about what the U.S. can say or do about the Russians fighting back after Georgia attacked them. As John Kerry said while Dubya was getting ready to invade Iraq: 'The U.S. has squandered the good will of the world and lost our moral imperative.' At this point, we don't have a leg to stand on telling the rest of the world how to behave. Just as well, the U.S. hasn't known how to behave for about the whole 21st Century.

The Russians, on the other hand, might be looking forward to the return of the Glory Days, when their leader is thought of as 'He who must be listened to and tolerated,' (Maybe even given an occasional ear of corn) and the whole country will squeal with delight as the next shoe hits the table.

But whatever you do, don't give those Russians the satisfaction of making you pray over all this. That would be letting them bring you to your knees.