Washington Post Editorials

My opinon regarding Hiatt's editorial is that the west has made so many inroads into eastern eruope that the leadersihip of the west doesn't really care about what is happening in Georgia except to make the right pronouncements for domestic comsuption. The Russian action is also for its own domestic comsumption.

The western public and news media are up in arms and finger pointing while the leadership of the west does a collective yawn. It looks serious but, really, they think its too little too late for Russia. But for appearances sake no one wants to embarrass the Russian leadership by saying it.

Unfortuantely when a large country like Russia throws an infantile tempertantrum it can have unpleasant consequences for small countires.

Check

Robert Kagan, History's Back, Weekly Standard website.

Frederick Kagan, What is to be Done?, Weekly Standard Website.

Strafor, Russo-Georgian War and the Balance of Power, Real Clear World Web site at

http://www.realclearworld.com/articles/2008/08/russogeorgian_war_and_balance.html

These three pieces are about the best presentation of facts concerning the recent conflict and the best analysis of those facts that I have seen.

Doug Santo
Pasadena, CA

Excellent articles, both of them. What statist economic tinkerers-- found on both sides of the aisle but far more prevalent on the port rather than the starboard-- can never seem to figure out is that they want to impose static solutions on dynamic problems. Market economies are not immune from ups and downs but are much better at absorbing them. In the free market you might get high gas prices, for readily understood reasons, but the market will find a way to supply the demand. In a planned or tinkered-with economy, you'd get high prices and rationing.