Making NATO Credible Again
Polish foreign minister Radoslaw Sikorski, speaking at the Atlantic Council today, declared that Russia's justification for invading Georgia, that it was defending its friends abroad, is one that has been used by Russian autocrats for centuries to justify a doctrine of imperialism. Saying that we need "a doctrine for a doctrine," Sikorski declared that, "Any further attempt to redraw borders ...Posted in Outside The Beltway | OTB on November 19, 2008 13:45
Russian Aspirations vs. Operations
I don't know if you've been following it but an interesting story has been unfolding off the coast of Somalia. Last week pirates (who, interestingly, claim legitimacy as a sort of Coast Guard for Somalia) seized an arms-carrying Ukrainian cargo ship off the coast of Somalia and are demanding a $20 million ransom for the release of the crew ...Posted in Outside The Beltway | OTB on September 30, 2008 11:46
Where I’ve Been
As regular readers may have noted, I've been less prolific than normal as of late. After several weeks being bogged down with the technical matters of launching the new Atlantic Council website, I'm now swamped with my editorial responsibilities. Things will hopefully settle down a bit once I've got a steady stream of submissions coming in. I've written two more pieces ...Posted in Outside The Beltway | OTB on September 10, 2008 11:34
Contrasting the U. S. and Russia
The Washington Post explains the difference between the actions of the United States and those of Russia: The United States, Britain and other nations deposed the Iraqi dictator Saddam Hussein because he repeatedly violated his promises to the United Nations, after his earlier invasion of Kuwait, to rid himself of weapons of mass destruction and prove that he had done so. ...Posted in Outside The Beltway | OTB on September 2, 2008 10:15
De-Collectivizing Russia and the Prospects for Agriculture
When I read an article like this one in the New York Times about Russia's collective farms being converted to industrial megafarms: PODLESNY, Russia — The fields around this little farming enclave are among the most fertile on earth. But like tens of million of acres of land in this country, after the collapse of the Soviet Union, they literally went ...Posted in Outside The Beltway | OTB on August 31, 2008 19:03
In Other News: Iran Increases Centrifuges to 4,000
As odd as it may seem there are other things happening in the world outside of the American presidential election. One of these is that it has been reported that Iran has increased the number of centrifuges it has deployed for enriching uranium to 4,000: TEHRAN, Iran - Iran has increased the number of operating centrifuges at its uranium enrichment ...Posted in Outside The Beltway | OTB on August 29, 2008 18:10
Strong Horse/Weak Horse
There's an interesting quote and observation in the New York Times article about the failure of the Shanghai Cooperation Organization, a regional organization consisting of Russia, China, Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan, Tajikistan and Uzbekistan, to support Russia's action in the Caucasus: Although the Central Asian states of Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan, Tajikistan and Uzbekistan fall within what Moscow considers its sphere of influence, and ...Posted in Outside The Beltway | OTB on August 29, 2008 08:49
Russia Not Feeling the Love
Russia hasn't received the support it had hoped for from the members of the Shanghai Cooperation Organization: DUSHANBE, Tajikistan - China and several Central Asian nations rebuffed Russia's hopes of international support for its actions in Georgia, issuing a statement Thursday denouncing the use of force and calling for respect for every country's territorial integrity. A joint declaration from the Shanghai ...Posted in Outside The Beltway | OTB on August 28, 2008 12:33
Georgia Crisis: Who Started It?
Michael Totten has a detailed post on the ongoing crisis in Georgia pushing back against the conventional wisdom: Virtually everyone believes Georgian President Mikheil Saakashvili foolishly provoked a Russian invasion on August 7, 2008, when he sent troops into the breakaway district of South Ossetia. “The warfare began Aug. 7 when Georgia launched a barrage targeting South Ossetia,” the Associated Press ...Posted in Outside The Beltway | OTB on August 26, 2008 11:39
Russian Legislature Recognizes Breakaway Provinces
The Federation Council and the Duma, the upper and lower houses of the legislature of the Russian Federation, have voted in favor of recognizing the independence of Georgia's two breakaway provinces, Abkhazia and South Ossetia, from Georgia: MOSCOW (Reuters) - Russia's parliament unanimously approved on Monday resolutions calling for the recognition of two rebel regions of Georgia as independent states, a ...Posted in Outside The Beltway | OTB on August 25, 2008 09:33
