As the American web site Stratfor (which has close ties with US intelligence) recognized on November 19 of last year in an article called "America Unplugged," when it comes to Russia, "the United States is playing for keeps." "The Soviet Union was one of only three states that have ever directly threatened the United States the other two being the British Empire and Mexico. The Soviet Union also came as close as any power ever has to uniting Eurasia into a single integrated, continental power the only external development that might be able to end the United States' superpowership. These little factoids are items that policymakers neither forget nor take lightly. So while U.S. policy toward China is to delay its rise, and U.S. policy toward Venezuela is geared toward containment, U.S. policy toward Russia is as simple as it is final: dissolution."
"The Soviet Union was one of only three states that have ever directly threatened the United States the other two being the British Empire and Mexico. The Soviet Union also came as close as any power ever has to uniting Eurasia into a single integrated, continental power the only external development that might be able to end the United States' superpowership. These little factoids are items that policymakers neither forget nor take lightly. So while U.S. policy toward China is to delay its rise, and U.S. policy toward Venezuela is geared toward containment, U.S. policy toward Russia is as simple as it is final: dissolution."
For us here, Iraq debacle is just that - a debacle. For many Iraqis, it's a catastrophe as they are on the receiving end of a misguided policy. The stuff these guys write might put myself, my family and friends, and my country, into another disaster. I've lived through one, and it was one too many for me. So, I cannot help noticing similarities between Lugar's thinking and the paragraph I quoted.
Small country has popular terrorist group. Terrorist group commits act against big country. Big country puts an ultimatum to small country regarding the terrorist group. Small country does not totally comply. Big country attacks.
If anything I think Afghanistan was more compliant then Serbia. Guess time will tell what history books will be written.
Britains part then, hmm. I guess if they had been hell-bent on avoiding war, they could have stayed out. In neither of the two was Britain the attacked party but brittish allies were. And I guess there is a pretty strict limit on how many allies you can leave hanging in the wind if you want to uphold a world empire. A vote for PES is a vote for EPP! A vote for EPP is a vote for PES! Support the coalition, vote EPP-PES in 2009!
