by Colman
Thu Aug 14th, 2008 at 05:47:11 AM EST
Did you hear that loud collective sigh from capitals across Europe and the US? From newsrooms and journalists, academics and pundits? It was a sigh of relief: the Cold War is back, and it's better than ever.
No more cognitive dissonance when we have to call the Russians friends or allies. No more having to learn new narratives, no more grey areas, no more goddamn nuance.
We can show the old Cold War movies again in good conscience, safe in the knowledge that the Russians - apart from their beautiful ice-maidens, who can easily be seduced by our manly Western™ hero - are again the enemy of all freedom and democracy. Them and us. NATO vs the Ruskies. Good vs evil.
We've finally finished squandering the opportunities that arose after the collapse of the USSR. Aren't we clever?