Great piece in the WSJ today. One doubts he’s seen the Volgi’s latest screed against Putin and our feckless Russian diplomacy, so it’s gratifying to see him making some of the same points. He goes further, however, in presenting evidence … Continue reading →
Are we about to fall victim to one of the classic blunders? The most famous is never get involved in a land war in Asia,and only slightly less well-known is this: never go in against a Sicilian when death is … Continue reading →
Your Volgi is having trouble rousing himself to write about the Obama Administration‘s apparent, asinine gambit of writing to the Russian government and offering to remove the missile-defense systems we’ve worked so hard to get installed in Poland and the … Continue reading →
Great piece by Confucius’s former colleague, Reuben Johnson, on some crazy, crazy goings-on on Aeroflot. What makes it brilliant is Reuben’s tying Aeroflot’s cavalier disregard for international regulations with the Russian government’s general conduct. In a larger sense this episode … Continue reading →
The WaPo editorial page is on fire with foreign-policy goodness today. (I’m giving Ghettoputer’s sister credit.) First, Professor Baktybek Abdrisaev, former ambassador of Kyrgyzstan, writes that U.S. policy towards Kyrgyzstan became reduced to simply maintaining our airbase at Manas. He … Continue reading →
Rule Number One of international politics is to know who your friends are. And Poland has been a great one, participating jointly with the United States in virtually every enterprise they have been asked to do, including NATO and Iraq. … Continue reading →
Read Matthew Kaminski on Russia. And re-read five times this succinct summary of the Fallacy of Foreign-Policy Egocentrism: The conceit is we can win the Kremlin over by modifying our behavior. Great conclusion: Ultimately it’s up to the Russians to … Continue reading →
This is, in theory, technically feasible for the Russians and Chinese, but I’m not sure this isn’t just a probe to see what we’ll say and do (or won’t). Clearly, though, the Russians are feeling a lot more emboldened in … Continue reading →
Or perhaps that should simply be a period. Looks like Russia is pulling another former SSR closer into her orbit. This is neither catastrophic nor irreversible at this point, but it shows how weak the U.S. is (or is perceived … Continue reading →
A commenter (dag, E.K.!) e-mails that we are too hard on President Obama and have whitewashed the enormities and foibles of President Bush. Our position: we started this blog after all the Bush controversies were long settled into obsessive partisan … Continue reading →
Reuben Johnson, with whom the Volgi worked with back in Russia’s old Wild East days, writes a great piece on how Western appeasement of Russia encourages her encroachment on the liberties (and independence) of her neighbors. Read it. Confucius, Œc. … Continue reading →
Stuart Koehl & Martin Feldstein. Sorry for the light posting. Your Volgi is beat and running around like a madman due to various family obligations. But you need to read these items. Confucius, Œc. Vol.Don’t ask impertinent questions like that … Continue reading →
…the Great Omelette Maker. Russia begins sinking back into a miasma of lies. Confucius, Œc. Vol.Don’t ask impertinent questions like that jackass Adept Lu. 3.14.242.153
Continue reading →…Mark Helprin fires off another jeremiad on America’s neglect of her own defenses and her political class’s incompetence in prosecuting the wars in Afghanistan and Iraq. Confucius, Œc. Vol.Don’t ask impertinent questions like that jackass Adept Lu. 3.14.242.153
Continue reading →“One Arab ambassador told me recently that the Iranians are reminding Arab leaders that America didn’t help Fuad Siniora, the prime minister of Lebanon, or Mikheil Saakashvili, the president of Georgia, when they got into trouble—that in fact Washington left … Continue reading →
Great magazine this week. For your delectation: Ethan Gutmann’s cover story on the Chinese organ-harvesting complex will give you nightmares. No one lacerates the French like the French. Great piece on Saakashvili’s visit to Paris. Former Colleague of a Gormogon … Continue reading →
Well, your Volgi hasn’t run much news from the Rodina of late, so just to catch y’all up, here we go. Robert Gates is trying to reassure Ukraine and the Baltic states that we’re with them in the wake of … Continue reading →
Rather than use the terminology by the Obama transition team spokesperson that Obama is ready to “rule”, I’ll stick with the belief that, as President, he will govern the country. To that end, how does his promises of hope, particularly … Continue reading →
Hamas. Iran. Russia. China is on the clock! Mary, patroness of the United States, ora pro nobis. Confucius, Œc. Vol.Don’t ask impertinent questions like that jackass Adept Lu. 3.14.242.153
Continue reading →But the military’s getting screwed. Thanks, Congress. Thanks, banks. Thanks, Fannie & Freddie. Thanks, real-estate speculators. You’ve made us all less safe. Thanks. Thanks so much. UPDATE: On the other hand, at least the same thing is happening in Russia. … Continue reading →
No, your Œcumenical Volgi’s true identity is not John Bolton, but you couldn’t tell that from this op-ed, could you? Ultimately, what most risks “provoking” Moscow is not Western resolve but Western weakness. This is where the real weight of … Continue reading →
Gordon Chang relates that RAND says the Chinese are very close to absolute air superiority in a potential Taiwan invasion. This is very bad news on a number of fronts. First, peace in East Asia has generally been stable due … Continue reading →
Ivanov confirms the $50B* we told you about before. Translated to Ghettoputerese: $5XXXXXXXX. Confucius, Œc. Vol.Don’t ask impertinent questions like that jackass Adept Lu. 3.14.242.153
Continue reading →With the current economic crisis hitting all over the world and the sabre rattling from Russia, Germany has been placed into a keystone role with how NATO can operate. There is interest to allow Ukraine and Georgia membership into NATO … Continue reading →
…but sick, says Stuart Koehl. Worth reading for a clear-eyed view of Russia’s military capabilities. It’s worth noting, though, that Russia still significantly overmatches any of its neighbors save China.* *And they’re not dumb enough to invade Finland again. As … Continue reading →
Once again, aggression recedes before the fearsome arsenal of negotiation the EU deploys. And the world is safer for it! Or, wait, did I get that backwards? Check out their effort to “counter” Russia—we’ll have to outbid them to give … Continue reading →
…pushes new security pact with mice.” Confucius, Œc. Vol.Don’t ask impertinent questions like that jackass Adept Lu. 3.14.242.153
Continue reading →Oh, so closing Keflavík AFB was a little premature? Come on, what’s the worst that could happen, the Russians would buy refueling and landing rights? Uh oh. Oh, and check this out: UPDATE: Sources in Reykjavik, who’ve now read our … Continue reading →
SWJ has an excellent post today tying together the long WaPo piece on Russia and the car-bombing in South Ossetia. The Volgi has been thinking about the car-bombing for a while, and although he hopes it doesn’t come to such … Continue reading →
So Bad Vlad is raising the temperature on their “Ukraine sold arms to Georgia” claim. Now the claim seems to be either that they were selling arms into a war zone or that they sold arms “in the run-up” to … Continue reading →
The Gormogons would like to extend a honorary membership to former Swedish PM and MFA Carl Bildt (r.), for “speaking truth to power” as the hippies say, and potentially getting declared persona non grata by a Russian government clearly high … Continue reading →
Via Kathryn Lopez. Casus belli, Melvin Belli, what’s the difference? Confucius, Œc. Vol.Don’t ask impertinent questions like that jackass Adept Lu. 3.14.242.153
Continue reading →So, what’s up with the медведь today? Breaking the Sarkozy agreement and keeping the Europeans out of South Ossetia, schmoozing the Germans, modernizing their nuclear forces (unlike us), spying on the Czechs, monkeying with their democratic window-dressing, and venerating Stalin. … Continue reading →
So what’s going on in Georgia? Hmm. The poor, oppressed South Ossetians whom the Russians had to save from Great Georgian Imperialism are ethnically cleansing South Ossetia. I’m sure they don’t have Russian permission to do this. Their army must … Continue reading →
Far be it from your Œcumenical Volgi to disagree with the estimable Kathy Shaidle, Canada’s angriest and sharpest bloggeuse, but apropos her argument here that United Russia is looking increasingly like the old KPSU, Confucius* says respectfully that Russia under … Continue reading →
Strong statement by Condi contra Russian demands: “We will not permit Russia to veto the future of NATO, neither the countries offered membership nor their decision to accept it…We and our European allies will give our help to Georgia…. The … Continue reading →
Doubtless all the Gormogons’ readers saw through Russia’s silly “Kosovo” pretext for invading Georgia. If, however, you were worried about the details of the claim, Noel Malcolm (who literally wrote the [ok, a] book on Kosovo) goes through the historical … Continue reading →
So, let’s see what’s going on. Rattling sabres, or just flexing, Russia claims it’s going to build a space-based missile-defense system and upgrade its nuclear submarines. And laughing at the U.S. and defiling the grave of James Monroe, she’s giving … Continue reading →
Gordon Chang reports the Russian foreign-policy establishment is saying with one voice, “Look, we’re not playing ball. Punish us for Georgia, and we’ll upset your precious little multilateral applecart.” This is about as blunt as diplomats get. So, what now, … Continue reading →
…those crafty Georgians must have forced forced the simple, good-hearted Russian soldiers to destroy their country’s cultural patrimony. They’re tricky bastards, those Georgians. This reminds the Volgi of the kind of crimes against history and culture that the Serbs perpetrated … Continue reading →
Nice gesture by Medvedev; let’s hope he does more. Too bad Stalin’s the “strong Russia” model Putin is going for. The Russia Lobby continues to press Washington. Matlock’s arguments about the effects of admitting Georgia and Ukraine aren’t trivial, but … Continue reading →
Well, nationalism and attacking an unbeloved ethnic group is apparently popular in Russia, boding ill for any sort of domestic check on revanchist nationalism and, indeed, likely stoking public anger at the first sign of push-back by the West. Not … Continue reading →
Max Boot says: The Wall Street Journal reports on the sharp boost in Russian military spending, which is due to rise by over 25% to more than $50 billion next year. That may appear insignificant compared with U.S. defense spending(more … Continue reading →
Condi: Georgian invasion leaves Russia isolated. Well, except for Europe. (I mean, a three-month delay is enough for invading a tiny neighbor, right?) Confucius, Œc. Vol.Don’t ask impertinent questions like that jackass Adept Lu. 3.14.242.153
Continue reading →Has Russia just set itself up to lose territory by justifying their invasion of Georgia in terms of South Ossetian self-determination? Because now, Gordon Chang reports, the South Ossetians are mumbling about reunifying with North Ossetia. Which is part of … Continue reading →
Moving ahead with Eastern European missile defense. God love the Czechs. Thank you. Or as I hear you say, “Moje vznášedlo je plné úhořů.”* By the way, Russian objections to NATO expansion and deepening on its borders—like the Polish-Czech missile … Continue reading →
…by Ralph Peters here. I don’t know much about Putin the man, but Peters seems pretty on-target. Jumping off from that piece, Abe Greenwald here discusses just how alien the cultural and psychological premises of our principal adversaries are, and … Continue reading →
And somewhere, Vlad is smiling. Confucius, Œc. Vol.Don’t ask impertinent questions like that jackass Adept Lu. 3.14.242.153
Continue reading →Now this, on the other hand, is delicious. Here’s a list of the twenty-one “republics” in Russia (twenty-one out of eighty-four administrative units). You’ll note (or let me inform you) that all of those except Dagestan are named for ethnic … Continue reading →
M.A. O’Grady is doing her typically excellent work on Latin America in the WSJ today, with an excellent piece on Chávez and his comrade Evo Morales (she didn’t mention the Hondurans’ snide move this week, though), which contains this gem … Continue reading →
The Volgi has tried to restrain himself from going foreign-policy berserk, but it’s too tough today, especially with all my excess anxiety about the Redskins game. (Though they just got what could be the game-winning interception!) So, looks like the … Continue reading →
Thus writes Ian Buruma (of Occidentalism fame) in the Los Angeles Times. His article is very much worth reading, but your Volgi would take exception to one assertion: The prospect of joining the European Union has strengthened the democracies of … Continue reading →
Great Congressional testimony here at the Standard‘s blog. Read it all. And hmm, he sounds a little like the Volgi… Confucius, Œc. Vol.Don’t ask impertinent questions like that jackass Adept Lu. 3.14.242.153
Continue reading →Hope we give these guys a couple of good fly-bys over international waters. This is, of course, part a pattern. Chávez gets to flip us off, and Putin is testing our reactions. Of course, were we a traditional power, we’d … Continue reading →
…not going our way? Maybe when the Russians are in Sevastopol, Odessa, Poti, Batumi, and Sukhumi… Confucius, Œc. Vol.Don’t ask impertinent questions like that jackass Adept Lu. 3.14.242.153
Continue reading →Leon Aron, who has forgotten more about Russia than the faculties of many universities know, predicts that Russia might skip the Moldovan preliminaries the Volgi has predicted and been monitoring (here, here, here, here) and go straight to the main … Continue reading →
A low card. But since the Volgi’s been complaining, he notes this with an iota of approval. Confucius, Œc. Vol.Don’t ask impertinent questions like that jackass Adept Lu. 3.14.242.153
Continue reading →Which isn’t a nice phrase. Google at your own risk. More seriously, this incident, in which Russian forces seem to have ripped off more U.S. military equipment than the previously-reported Humvees. For all the idiotic commentary following the Russian characterization … Continue reading →
As my mother used to say. U.S. passivity continues to embolden Russia. (And Iran, and maybe China.) Good post by Abe Greenwald: A strange and counterproductive psychology continues to prevent the U.S. from taking bold action against Russia’s move to … Continue reading →
Ukraine seriously considering rebuilding a nuclear arsenal? Confucius, Œc. Vol.Don’t ask impertinent questions like that jackass Adept Lu. 3.14.242.153
Continue reading →Maybe, according to this rumor. Confucius, Œc. Vol.Don’t ask impertinent questions like that jackass Adept Lu. 3.14.242.153
Continue reading →Here. As I think I’ve argued somewhere (oh yeah, here, though sketchily), the West has a fair number of cards to play against a revanchist, expansion-minded Russia. NATO membership is one. If it’s as transparently a bluff as Fukuyama says, … Continue reading →
Tick tick tick. Michael Radu (and apparently the Moldovans and Romanians) share the Volgi’s foreboding on Moldova as Russia’s next target. (Cf. here and here.) Confucius, Œc. Vol.Don’t ask impertinent questions like that jackass Adept Lu. 3.14.242.153
Continue reading →Sounds like the British government is getting its head around Putin’s revanchism. Confucius, Œc. Vol.Don’t ask impertinent questions like that jackass Adept Lu. 3.14.242.153
Continue reading →The Post gets it. And Russia taunts NATO. Confucius, Œc. Vol.Don’t ask impertinent questions like that jackass Adept Lu. 3.14.242.153
Continue reading →Is the West prone or supine before Russian aggression? Discuss among yourselves. Confucius, Œc. Vol.Don’t ask impertinent questions like that jackass Adept Lu. 3.14.242.153
Continue reading →Article 1The Purposes of the United Nations are: To maintain international peace and security, and to that end: to take effective collective measures for the prevention and removal of threats to the peace, and for the suppression of acts of … Continue reading →
…as a key to Caucasian stability and freedom from Russian hegemony, presented very well here at MESH. The author’s correct to cite Atatürk’s policy of neutrality (“Yurtta sulh, cihanda sulh.”) as a long-standing guidepost of Turkish diplomacy, but in the … Continue reading →
…they could help the Turks out here with nuclear power expertise. Which would reduce Turkish dependence on Russian natural gas. Which helps everyone. (Except Putin.) Confucius, Œc. Vol.Don’t ask impertinent questions like that jackass Adept Lu. 3.14.242.153
Continue reading →These days. My own sense is that, however vivid Turkish anti-Americanism is at the moment, serious Turks understand that it’s a whim they can indulge only in the absence of external threats. And for all Turkey’s dependence on Russian natural … Continue reading →
Once again, Russia is rattling sabers at Moldova. Don’t say I didn’t warn you. Because I did. Transdnistria is the new South Ossetia. Confucius, Œc. Vol.Don’t ask impertinent questions like that jackass Adept Lu. 3.14.242.153
Continue reading →…the Russians say, “Bah, we are not intimidated by your puny warships. Behold our making-stuff-blow-up skills!“ Confucius, Œc. Vol.Don’t ask impertinent questions like that jackass Adept Lu. 3.14.242.153
Continue reading →This columnist provides more evidence that Russian aggression in Georgia may be producing a re-thinking of foreign policy in Turkey that can only be welcome to NATO, America, and the West. Turkey is potentially one of the few large, capable … Continue reading →
…Putin’s brutal new Russia and worries the West isn’t up to it. Confucius, Œc. Vol.Don’t ask impertinent questions like that jackass Adept Lu. 3.14.242.153
Continue reading →Some reasonable speculations from Robert Freedman at MESH on the Middle Eastern repercussions of Russia’s invading Georgia. Confucius, Œc. Vol.Don’t ask impertinent questions like that jackass Adept Lu. 3.14.242.153
Continue reading →Your Œcumenical Volgi has been trying to go easy on the foreign policy, as he knows that Russia’s invasion of Georgia has driven him mad and he’s gone a bit berserk in hijacking this fun little blog. However, if you … Continue reading →
Must-read from the great Sebag. Confucius, Œc. Vol.Don’t ask impertinent questions like that jackass Adept Lu. 3.14.242.153
Continue reading →…says Dima Medvedev? I wouldn’t be surprised. But of course, you know that, as you read it here first. Confucius, Œc. Vol.Don’t ask impertinent questions like that jackass Adept Lu. 3.14.242.153
Continue reading →…but this is lapidary. Here’s a taste, but read it all. We Europeans seem to have forgotten our history. There were other times when we have stood by while a militaristic European power insisted that it had the right to … Continue reading →
…that Russia’s invasion of Georgia was a punitive expedition for their applying to NATO rather than a humanitarian gesture on behalf of their beloved South Ossetians, here’s a good bit of analysis from Pavel Felgenhauer (via David Frum @ NRO). … Continue reading →
‘Puter thinks so. Russia’s lease on the Ukrainian port of Sebastopol on the Black Sea is up in 2017. Ukraine and Russia are about as friendly as fire and gasoline. ‘Puter’s betting Ukraine finds a way to not renew the … Continue reading →
Not to obsess on the trumped-up nature of Russia’s invasion of Georgia, but this picture on Drudge caught my eye (I can’t figure out whom to credit—it’s hosted on Yahoo’s news servers, but I can’t find it in their index). … Continue reading →
…by a professor of Russian and Georgian of a new history of the Caucasus. Via aldaily.com. Confucius, Œc. Vol.Don’t ask impertinent questions like that jackass Adept Lu. 3.14.242.153
Continue reading →What has the Volgi been telling you? Does it sound better à la française? The current crisis in the Caucasus does not mark the return of the Cold War, nor is it likely to mark the start of open warfare … Continue reading →
Right? Confucius, Œc. Vol.Don’t ask impertinent questions like that jackass Adept Lu. 3.14.242.153
Continue reading →Putin: “Beginning immediately, my attorney will be explaining my Georgia policy, Frau Merkel.” (Title: Flawless Friendship—literally “friendship as clear as a loupe”) (That’s Gerhard Schröder, Putin’s Gazprom catamite, holding the phone.) Confucius, Œc. Vol.Don’t ask impertinent questions like that jackass … Continue reading →
While I admire the Poles’ realism and bravery, I doubt our resolve. Any bets on who’ll be the first to unironically revive “to die for Danzig?” Pat Buchanan? MoveOn? Also, what the hell is the supposed problem with missile defense … Continue reading →
Interesting points from Fred Kagan via John McCormack at the Weekly Standard. Sounds like a fairly clear victory for Russia at this point. Victor Davis Hanson on the West’s instinct to turn on itself first. A Cato Institute writer blaming … Continue reading →
More good first-person reportage from le BHL. Confucius, Œc. Vol.Don’t ask impertinent questions like that jackass Adept Lu. 3.14.242.153
Continue reading →‘Puter stands with the Czech and Slovak peoples as they remember the fortieth anniversary of the brutal Soviet invasion of then Czechoslovakia. The Soviets believed emerging freedoms granted by First Secretary Dubček in what was called Prague Spring threatened the … Continue reading →
Great first-person reportage from Georgia by the estimable Michael Totten in City Journal. “They are burning the houses. From most of the houses they are taking everything. They are stealing everything, even such things as toothbrushes and toilets. They are … Continue reading →
So, Russia’s got a substantially larger inventory of tactical nukes than we, and have been increasingly cavalier about brandishing them. That can’t be good. Gabriel Schoenfeld writes fairly persuasively on the topic in today’s WSJ: Yet matters are very different … Continue reading →
…NATO that she’s suspending cooperation? Confucius, Œc. Vol.Don’t ask impertinent questions like that jackass Adept Lu. 3.14.242.153
Continue reading →Translation of this: “we’re fucking useless”. Not that the U.S. has been better; argubly, we’ve been even worse. Chimpy McHilterburton doesn’t exactly look like a world-despoiling warmongering tyrant now, does he, kids? I mean, there’s an oil pipeline there. Aren’t … Continue reading →
Because with the Russians holding Gori and now taking Poti, it looks like they’re planning on staying a bit. Also, notice that they stole a bunch of American equipment, as a ёб твою мать собакым хуй. Laugh it up, Vovochka. … Continue reading →
Like Peter Pham at NRO’s Tank, the Œcumenical Volgi has long had an eye on the Shanghai Cooperation Organization, stemming from his long interest in Central Asian affairs (which interest led to one of the most painful incidents in his … Continue reading →
Stuart Koehl takes a very Steynian look at Russia’s demographic death spiral and its consequences for its future as a power. Worth reading. Confucius, Œc. Vol.Don’t ask impertinent questions like that jackass Adept Lu. 3.14.242.153
Continue reading →The great Anne Applebaum gets it right: The critical question now is whether the West is prepared to behave like the West, to speak with one voice and create a common transatlantic policy. Confucius, Œc. Vol.Don’t ask impertinent questions like … Continue reading →
Very possibly. From “The Return of Authoritarian Great Powers,” by Azar Gat in Foreign Affairs. (Via Shmuel Rosner at Contentions). Capitalism’s ascendancy appears to be deeply entrenched, but the current predominance of democracy could be far less secure. … the … Continue reading →
