Sen: @Chicago NATO must "demonstrate, through the formal summit communiqué, some advancement toward the country's ascension to NATO" Georgia
— NATOSource (@NATOSource) May 18, 2012
Shoot me now! Why this rush to get Georgia in? Could someone explain to me the domestic politics, the political imperatives, that causes Senators and others to ask to admit a country into NATO that would erode Article V?
What I mean by that is the challenge posed by this combination: (a) a country willing to provoke conflict with Russia (even if Russia is very much a bad guy in all of this; (b) a country so far away from the rest of NATO that it is HIGHLY UNLIKELY that NATO would come to its defense. In Georgia, you get an ally that is most likely to trigger a crisis that will most likely reveal that the promises made to it are empty, undermining NATO credibility. Oh, and by making these incredible promises, NATO might actually encourage Georgia to provoke more conflict.
So, what is the urgency here with Georgian membership in NATO? I can understand that no Senator has read anything in Alliance Politics, but perhaps one of their aides might have bumped into someone who has read such stuff. Or perhaps just have some common freakin' sense!
Yes, I get why someone from Ohio or other part of the US with a significant Ukrainian diaspora population would want Ukraine to get membership, but is there a Georgian diaspora of note that I am simply overlooking?
I would much rather buy into the hopes and dreams of Smart Defense than consider membership for Georgia (or Ukraine).
Because they want to restart the Cold War with Russia being the reduced Soviet Union. Georgia hates Russia, so Georgia should be in.
ReplyDeleteLet's not forget that by responding with armed military action in S. Ossetia and Abkhazia, Georgia attacked its own citizens. This is not the way to make either break-away republic want to stay a part of Georgia.
ReplyDeleteAs we seem to forget with great frequency (see Afghanistan) you can not bomb someone into liking you. You can, however, create great hatred through bombs.