I think the Russians have declared Cold War II.

But I’m not sure the U.S. is up to its commitments to its allies. No blood for {oil, democracy, allies, ideals, money, whatever} is the refrain of our liberal ‘patriots’, after all. We’re gonna end up leaving everyone who counts on us, from the Iraqi people who are cooperating with us to Georgia, Poland and Taiwan, hanging in the breeze. And thereby encouraging exactly this sort of behavior from Russia and China.

After all, ‘diplomacy’ only encompasses words these days. But hey, give peace a chance, right?

http://news.yahoo.com/story//ap/20080815/ap_on_re_eu/russia_us_missile_defense

But the Russians were not only pissed about Kosovo. They still have some hard feelings about how we in the West — both the U.S. and Europe — left them hanging back in 1991. Indeed, our President dispatched his buddy to Russia to advise Boris on how to achieve “shock therapy” transformation to a capitalist system. Said academician has now changed his tune and is a loud advocate for assistance, but back then he, as our de facto representative, pushed the economic upheaval that Russia embarked upon following the end of the USSR. Now, Russia is economically independent (but the economy is not necessarily sound); Russia holds the cajones of Europe through its massive energy exports. For several years now we have been working with Georgia to develop access to the Caspian oil resources through a non-Russian controlled venue. Russia reportedly bombed hell out of the pipeline, and has occupied the port city at which the pipeline terminates.

You don’t think the Russians are sending us a little message now, do you?

And no, I am not in any way saying it was because of the U.S. that Russia was compelled to do this. Just laying out my understanding of the Russian actions given their POV.

By the way, this has far-reaching implications for foreign policy, as you suggest Mlah. Just as we have been proved incapable of doing anything to stop the annexation of much of Georgia to the Russian empire — leaving a shell of a country which has no economic prospects other than to once again be a satellite of Moscow — our security guarantees to Taiwan have now been thrown into severe doubt.

China is just waiting for the Olympics to be done. Greater China demands the return of Taiwan to the fold. The DPP may just play the role of Saakashvili in the Chinese version of this tale. And we will stand by, bluster and rage, and in the end prove just as unable — and unwilling — to do anything to save Taiwan.