Georgia Can 'Kiss NATO Goodbye'

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Cotidianul, Romania

Georgia Can 'Kiss NATO Goodbye'

"Russia has found a pretext to demonstrate that it won’t allow interference of any kind in its own backyard ... The Moscow Bear cannot be challenged through the bars of its own cage: Georgia is within Russia's sphere of influence … Tbilisi has no reason to hope for NATO entry anytime soon."

EDITORIAL

Translated By Mircea Ionescu

August 9, 2008

Romania - Cotidianul - Original Article (Romanian)

Prime Minister Vladimir Putin at a cabinet meeting in Moscow, as Russian forces pushed deep into Georgia, Aug. 11

BBC VIDEO: President Vladimir Putin says the West is misguided - calling 'white, black, and black, white' and stuck in the Cold War, Aug. 11, 00:01:47

Georgian President Mihail Saakshvili tried to force President Bush's hand by declaring on CNN that, "it's in the interest of America to intervene; this isn't just about Georgia, it's about American principles." Nevertheless, it's hard to believe that George W. Bush will do more than seek an end to the violence and express a willingness to mediate talks between the parties. In no case will he jump to defend the territorial integrity of Georgia with weapon in hand, even though there are still 100 American soldiers there training Georgian troops. The times when Russia was a weak state and that the U.S. could build a bridge to Georgia are over.

Moreover, now, with the once-frozen conflict in South Ossetia on the boil, it appears that Franco-German reservations (especially German) about including Georgia and Ukraine in the Alliance's Military Action Plan [MAP] at the last NATO summit in Bucharest were well-founded .

Let's say hypothetically that the tiny state had joined NATO and that the issues between Georgia and Russia over South Osettia and Abkhazia hadn't been resolved.

In a situation similar to today's, in which Russia had sent tanks into South Osettia - Georgian territory - Tbilisi could have invoked Article 5 of the NATO Charter : If one member state is attacked, it's considered an attack on all. In this case, all members, with weapons and luggage in hand (according to each member's means, it is true) would have had to declare war on Russia. No one could find such an apocalyptic scenario desirable.

Posted by WORLDMEETS.US

After it shouted and threatened the Alliance and U.S. military about extending NATO too close to its border and installing an anti-missile shield in Central Europe, Russia has found a pretext to demonstrate that it won’t allow interference of any kind in its own backyard.

And recall that the two pipelines which connect Caspian Sea oil to the West, bypass Russian territory by going through Georgia. After toying with Europe's gas spigot two years ago and insuring that Germany's friendship remained fretful, Russia is now demonstrating in terms of controlling energy resources, its hand reaches even further. The Moscow Bear cannot be challenged through the bars of its own cage: Georgia is within Russia's sphere of influence, which is why Tbilisi has no reason to hope for NATO entry anytime soon.