If the question is 'who lost Georgia?' is the answer Dick Cheney?

The question of who lost Georgia has been generating comment and debate almost since the moment the crisis flared a week ago.

Misha Glenny, a British journalist writing in the Globe and Mail of Toronto, has pointed the finger at Vice President Dick Cheney -- or at least "Cheney's people" -- working with "considerable support from Israeli weapons manufacturers and military trainers."

His reasoning goes like this: Influenced by "an energetic neo-con lobby in Washington" with the Israeli support, Georgian President Mikheil Saakashvili and company believed "the farcical proposition that Georgia's armed forces could take on [Russia's] military might" and win.

"So," he writes, "the Russians set a trap, and prodded by U.S. Vice President Dick Cheney's people, Georgia walked right in."

The argument, of course, is open to challenge by the neoconservative faction. And a key figure among neocons, Richard Perle, responding earlier this week to a question from Countdown to Crawford, said President Bush, in facing the Russians, may know how Jimmy Carter felt in 1979 when the former Soviet Union invaded Afghanistan.

So much for the past.

As for the future, Glenny suggests, for the Bush administration and John McCain's presidential  campaign, Russia's success in Georgia is not a total loss.

Noting that Cheney produced the toughest response in the administration, saying Russia's invasion could not go "unanswered," he said:

Mr. Cheney has been spoiling for a fight with the Russians for a couple of years, and he and his allies have seized upon Georgia's and Ukraine's stated aims to join NATO as a way of riling Moscow. By cranking up the dispute with Russia over NATO, Mr. Cheney is also shifting the political debate in the United States away from the state of the economy and toward the issue of national security.

And if the presidential election hinges on national security, Glenny observes, "John McCain has to be the favorite."

So, he asks: "Who set the trap in Georgia? Mr. [Vladimir] Putin and his thuggish security service pals or Mr. Cheney and his equally unflappable neo-con friends?"

The bottom line question, then, might not be who is responsible for losing Georgia, but, rather, has the loss of Georgia been John McCain's gain?

"It sounds diabolical," writes our former Los Angeles Times colleague Robert Scheer in a post on Truthout.com, but making the case, he notes: "That may be the most accurate way to assess the designs of the McCain campaign in matters of war and peace."

-- James Gerstenzang

Photos: President Bush and Vice President Dick Cheney. Credit: Evan Vucci / Associated Press; John McCain. Credit: Bill Pugliano / Getty Images

Comments

[Jeffrey Allen Miller NY]

All of this is misdirected.

Maybe the plan calls for this administration to invade Russia (and Iran) after Bush finishes his two-month vacation period.... It is our flag-waving motto to invade in the name of "preemptive" cause even though we'd lose.

Nonetheless, where is the outrage from editorial journalists, and the voters, condemning these responses? Got that right - I'm pissed off these morons are addressing Russia instead of seriously pressing issues at home. Our weekly unemployment numbers of 450,000 (up 100,000 from 1 year ago,) and carefree borders continue to permit illegals entry. No worry, Russia is more important. We have a federal debt of $10T and no desire to reduce it - no worry, blame Russia.

We have one man running for president attacking his opponent for having "no experience." And yet the sitting quack dictator president had no experience either... but no worry, just blame Russia. No one seems outraged by this except for me... yet again... the lone enraged, middle-aged, cynical, white man against 300 million.

[Gator-ron]

There is no way for an ordinary person to know what happened. The only thing I can tell is that Georgia struck first and Russia gave an excessive response. The fact that they are not abiding by a cease fire suggests that Russian objectives are to interfere with Georgia's politics. Our only role should be to support Georgia as an independent entity but we should not be a participant in the intrigue.

For all I know the US is the aggressor and Georgia was the dupe and it was all done to create a crisis to win our election. It is not good when we people do not trust the integrity or wisdom of our government.

[Mary Porter]

We are somewhat in the position of Plato's prisoners in the cave, watching shadows flicker across our computer screens. Cheney's comments drew my suspicion also. The Georgian attack was launched while Bush and Putin were both literally visible, live from Beijing, on my TV screen. Would either of them have planned it that way? I do think the idea was to ramp up another arms race, but Israel must have mixed feelings about throwing away the attempt to enlist Russia in countering Iran. Here's an interesting link about that:
http://www.metimes.com/Politics/2008/08/10/israel_mulls_halting_arms_shipments_to_georgia_report/afp/

[Seven]

We were ready to go to war when Russia and Cuba struck a deal. But the US can strike a deal with GA and make it legal? Sound like the return of the Sith to me.

[Mary Porter]

"Seven" says, "It sounds like the Return of the Sith to me."

Let's see... my Star Wars lore is out of date, but I think that makes Dick Cheney the soon-to-be-emporer (rather than Darth Vader, as previously speculated). So help me out here: who gets to be Jar-Jar Binks? I'm going for Bush, just on his ability to deliver the performance, but the analogies start to break down. I have to agree with Paris Hilton and take McCain for Yoda. He also is kind of a Muppet, got taken in by the emperor, and could deliver two of Yoda's most memorable Sith lines.
1. "Clouded my mind is."
2. "Around the survivors a perimeter form."

[Dan Bryant]

This has been the typical Bush administration cowardliness. Mr. Bush, Mr. Cheney and Mrs Rice have never once been in combat themselves. Yet they don't mind sending brave people into combat to support they paramours in the business world. They get great joy in seeing other people's children being killed, maimed or mentally ruined from combat. All for the profist of these military suppliers. These big three, as they like to refer to themselves are cowards.

They have hurt the people of this country by selling them a bill of goods They have hired there spin Dr's on Madison Ave. to sell the American people a bill of goods. They themselves will reap the profits after they are out office by building libraries dedicated to themselves that these corporations can donate too, with no obligation to reveal why they are donating or the amount of money they are donating.
That is how Mr.Clinton who may have had a Million dollars to his name as he went into office. Now with his library he has accumulated over a hundred million dollars. Not bad savings on a four hundred thousand dollar a year salary. Yes the people of this country are being swindle by there governmental leaders. Please do some research and quit listening to the sound bites on the TV. Don't think by listening to these radio talk show host is doing research, they all have there own agenda. And it is not to help you.

People wake up.

[George]

There are two questions that need to be answered. The first is "what did we tell the Georgians that made them think that they could go up against the Russians?" The second is "why on earth did they believe us?" I doubt that any more countries are going to make the mistake of believing the United States any time soon.

[John Hunt]

This is an incredibly biased piece. It's full of inuendos but rather short on facts.