Attaboy, Dubya!
Filed under: Georgia
We've had no hesitation on this blog in letting George "Dubya" Bush have it when he fell short of the mark in carrying through on America's democratic promise.
But let's be clear: This president has done many wonderful things for the country during his tenure, though of course he's made mistakes like all presidents do. Above all, he's kept this country 100% free of incidents of domestic terrorism since the 9/11 atrocity. That's no small thing.
And his response to Georgia's recent emergency has been right on the mark. Matt Bryza, assistant secretary of state for European affairs and the top U.S. official for the Caucasus laid out that policy clearly and simply over the weekend: "The president of Georgia has shown remarkable leadership. We trust in Georgia, the people of Georgia, the leadership of Georgia."
Russia denies seeking to upend the Georgian democracy and retake the country as a slave state just as in Soviet times. So what. Does anyone believe that the Kremlin would admit it if it were doing so? Russia evinces a pathological desire to restore the Soviet empire by any means possible. What we see in Georgia today is no different that what we saw in Czechoslovakia during the first cold war, and it appears the Bush administration understands this.
Pushing Russia out of Georgia can be one of the lasting positive historical legacies of the Bush administration. It's clear that Bush has not done enough to make it clear to Russia it will not be allowed to threaten Georgia's sovereignty, and this is the reason Russia has tried to do so (the same holds true in regard to Ukraine). That's another black mark on the Bush foreign policy record regarding Russia, but it's not too late to remove it. The administration must not squander the opportunity to salvage both democracy and its own reputation by drawing a line in the sand between Georgia and Russia.