Quote:
Originally Posted by Brother None  <snip>
Georgia will not enter NATO now, and its candidacy for a pipeline has taken a hit. If that was all Russia wanted, they've got it, but perhaps they will not stop there.
That said, it was a mistake of the US to do what they did in involving itself with Georgia and arming/training its military forces. The end to that folly is at least a positive footnote to this. |
I doubt anybody would have thought Georgia would be included as a full member into NATO soon anyway, the pipeline issue is in my view an important one and I think you are correct in that.
It'll halt further development of new investments in Georgia from companies because of the volatile nature of the powder keg.
I certainly think that is part of Russia's goals, because it makes Georgia more dependent on Russia again and serves as a "lesson" for other similar regions/nations.
However I'm not so certain that it'll indeed work quite as intended, because both EU nations, the US and East European countries have all expressed "moral" (worthless) and "diplomatic" (also worthless) support.
But there are also starting to provide humanitarian support and in this country our government is saying "we" must continue to support the democracies "we" help create. Currently it looks as if these nations select Georgia over Russia to the degree that they do not want to go to war with Russia (which Russia of course counted on when they performed as they did)
Where I think Russia have had most success in their mission, was with creating a disappointment with the US within Georgia itself. From news reports and blog reports/forum reports etc - they feel abandoned by the US and the West. That could easily cause internal issues now.
However because the US was only trying to expand its sphere of influence and contain Russia's, it is understandable that they'll try to keep good relations with Georgia.