Condoleezza Rice – Talking through her "farce" on Russia again
Ian Brockwell
September 18, 2008
For a woman who claims to have some understanding of Russia, US Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice is either exaggerating these "skills" or chooses to ignore them completely.
Her latest speech, at an event hosted by the German Marshall Fund, seemed to be yet another opportunity to insult Russia and its people, and lecture them on what they have to do to please her and the Bush administration.
Rice accused Russia of being authoritarian at home and aggressive abroad. Just like Dick Cheney, while on a visit to Georgia and Ukraine recently, she seems to be a little confused as to which country is actually guilty of this. To most civilized countries in the world, invading Afghanistan and Iraq illegally is seen as a pretty aggressive action, as is carrying out attacks in Pakistan (which has resulted in the deaths of civilians).
Here are some comments made by Rice in her speech "I am referring, among other things, to Russia's intimidation of its sovereign neighbors, its use of oil and gas as a political weapon, its unilateral suspension of the CFE treaty, its threat to target peaceful nations with nuclear weapons, its arms sales to groups that threaten international security, and its persecution - and worse - of Russian journalists and dissidents, and others"
Russia has a right under international law to defend its citizens, and that is what they did following the attack by Georgia. What right did the US have to attack Afghanistan and Iraq? According to some reports, Israel has threatened Iran with nuclear missiles, but has she criticized them for such talk? And what of selling arms to "groups" that threaten international security, didn´t the US supply Georgia with many of their weapons (and Iraq when Saddam Hussein was in power)? Is it not true that Saakashvili would not have taken military action without these weapons, which many believe have brought us all closer to another world war?
As for the press, yes there are some "limitations" in Russia, but isn´t that true of the US as well? The Mainstream Media have given a very biased account of events concerning the conflict between Georgia and Russia. Are we supposed to believe that they are not controlled by the government? And the "dissidents she mentions are groups financially backed by the US, just as they were in the Ukraine and Georgia (and also in Iran). Does Rice honestly think Russia is stupid enough to allow demonstrations that are designed to benefit the US and promote a regime change? If she really understood Russia, she would know the people do not want this, they do not want to be ruled by people like her, they are happier with the system that exists.
It was amusing that Rice mentioned Russia´s primary "war aim" was to remove the Georgian President (Saakashvili) from power. If this was correct, why did they halt their advance, when they could easily have taken control of the whole country and sent the "tie chewing" Saakashvili back to the US to complete his education? The simple answer is that they did all that was necessary and no more.
The only surprise in her speech was when she included Saakashvili for "mistakes and miscalculations" in the conflict. However, it was no surprise that her tone softened when talking about receiving Russia´s help for "fighting terrorism, denuclearizing the Korean Peninsula, and stopping Iran's rulers from obtaining the world's deadliest weapons" But I think Rice and the Bush administration have got to learn how to give and take more if they seriously want this help to continue.
Rice and the "farcical" Bush administration are under some delusion that they have much greater support in the world than is actually the case, when in reality their only real supporter is Israel (but that´s only because it suits their purpose). It is not Russia that needs to be concerned about "isolation and irrelevance", but the United States. Thanks to the current administration, the American people are seeing their country go down the toilet and have to share the hatred that millions have for their leaders. Instead of insulting other leaders and countries, whose faults are far less than her own, maybe Rice should learn a little respect and try being friendlier?
A Biblical phrase comes to mind that is perhaps appropriate, although maybe not to the Bush administration whose God seems to be oil "let he who is without sin, cast the first stone"
Her latest speech, at an event hosted by the German Marshall Fund, seemed to be yet another opportunity to insult Russia and its people, and lecture them on what they have to do to please her and the Bush administration.
Rice accused Russia of being authoritarian at home and aggressive abroad. Just like Dick Cheney, while on a visit to Georgia and Ukraine recently, she seems to be a little confused as to which country is actually guilty of this. To most civilized countries in the world, invading Afghanistan and Iraq illegally is seen as a pretty aggressive action, as is carrying out attacks in Pakistan (which has resulted in the deaths of civilians).
Here are some comments made by Rice in her speech "I am referring, among other things, to Russia's intimidation of its sovereign neighbors, its use of oil and gas as a political weapon, its unilateral suspension of the CFE treaty, its threat to target peaceful nations with nuclear weapons, its arms sales to groups that threaten international security, and its persecution - and worse - of Russian journalists and dissidents, and others"
Russia has a right under international law to defend its citizens, and that is what they did following the attack by Georgia. What right did the US have to attack Afghanistan and Iraq? According to some reports, Israel has threatened Iran with nuclear missiles, but has she criticized them for such talk? And what of selling arms to "groups" that threaten international security, didn´t the US supply Georgia with many of their weapons (and Iraq when Saddam Hussein was in power)? Is it not true that Saakashvili would not have taken military action without these weapons, which many believe have brought us all closer to another world war?
As for the press, yes there are some "limitations" in Russia, but isn´t that true of the US as well? The Mainstream Media have given a very biased account of events concerning the conflict between Georgia and Russia. Are we supposed to believe that they are not controlled by the government? And the "dissidents she mentions are groups financially backed by the US, just as they were in the Ukraine and Georgia (and also in Iran). Does Rice honestly think Russia is stupid enough to allow demonstrations that are designed to benefit the US and promote a regime change? If she really understood Russia, she would know the people do not want this, they do not want to be ruled by people like her, they are happier with the system that exists.
It was amusing that Rice mentioned Russia´s primary "war aim" was to remove the Georgian President (Saakashvili) from power. If this was correct, why did they halt their advance, when they could easily have taken control of the whole country and sent the "tie chewing" Saakashvili back to the US to complete his education? The simple answer is that they did all that was necessary and no more.
The only surprise in her speech was when she included Saakashvili for "mistakes and miscalculations" in the conflict. However, it was no surprise that her tone softened when talking about receiving Russia´s help for "fighting terrorism, denuclearizing the Korean Peninsula, and stopping Iran's rulers from obtaining the world's deadliest weapons" But I think Rice and the Bush administration have got to learn how to give and take more if they seriously want this help to continue.
Rice and the "farcical" Bush administration are under some delusion that they have much greater support in the world than is actually the case, when in reality their only real supporter is Israel (but that´s only because it suits their purpose). It is not Russia that needs to be concerned about "isolation and irrelevance", but the United States. Thanks to the current administration, the American people are seeing their country go down the toilet and have to share the hatred that millions have for their leaders. Instead of insulting other leaders and countries, whose faults are far less than her own, maybe Rice should learn a little respect and try being friendlier?
A Biblical phrase comes to mind that is perhaps appropriate, although maybe not to the Bush administration whose God seems to be oil "let he who is without sin, cast the first stone"
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