Russia's Apologists

I started this post a week ago and just realized that I never finished it. I finish it today because of something I read. It makes both Friedman and Gorbachev seem ever less persuasive.
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I read Thomas Friedman's The World is Flat. I liked the first part, and found his analysis of the way the world was changing to be persuasive. I hated the last part, with Friedman's prescriptions on how to deal with it, mostly because I thought they were unduly critical of the role the United States has played.

Since Friedman persists in his blame America methodology, I now find myself perturbed by something else he has written (surely not the last time that will happen). He is blaming Russia's aggression in Georgia on U.S. provocation stemming back to the fall of the Soviet Union. I'm not going to excerpt it here. Life is too short. Here also is ol Gorby chiming in on the splendid way Russia has dealt with Georgia's brazen attempt to rule its separatist provinces.

Michael Totten is a self- and reader-financed journalist. He's been everywhere, most recentely Georgia. This post is an outstanding look at the origins of the current crisis, and it repudiates the statements of Friedman and Gorbachev. If anything we have been too cozy with Russia of late. If you only read one thing today, read this post.


The Russians are not to be trusted.