That Was No Small War in Georgia -- It Was the Beginning of the End of the American Empire

[kpete]

That Was No Small War in Georgia -- It Was the Beginning of the End of the American Empire

By Mark Ames, Radar. Posted December 13, 2008.

The war in Georgia will be remembered as the place where the American Empire fell on its face.

(This article was published in the final issue of Radar magazine, which was bought out and shuttered just as this issue went to print. This is the first online publication of this article. It has been updated by the author.)

........................

....I started to realize that I was looking at something much bigger than the current debate about Russian aggression or who was more guilty of what -- pulling the camera much farther back on this scene, I understood that I was looking at the first ruins of America's imperial decline. It's not an easy thing to spot. It took years after the real collapse for Russians to finally accept that awful reality, and to adjust accordingly, first by retrenching, not overplaying an empty hand, slowly building up without making any loud noises while America ran wild around the world bankrupting itself and bleeding dry.

And now it's over for us. That's clear on the ground. But it will be years before America's political elite even begins to grasp this fact. In the meantime, Russia is drunk on its victory and the possibilities that it might imply, sending its recently-independent neighbors into a kind of frenzied animal panic. Experience has taught them that it's moments like these when Russia's near abroad becomes, once again, a blood-soaked doormat in the violent epochal shifts -- history never stopped here, it just froze up for a decade or so. And now it's thawing, bringing with it the familiar stench of bloated bodies, burned rubble, and the sour sweat of Russian infantry.

We have entered a dangerous moment in history -- America in decline is reacting hysterically, woofing and screeching and throwing a tantrum, desperate to prove that it still has teeth. Which it does -- but not in the old dominant way that America wants or believes itself to be. History shows that it's at this moment, tipping into decline and humiliation, when the worst decisions are made, so idiotically destructive that they'll make the Iraq campaign look like a mere training exercise fender-bender by comparison.

Russia, meanwhile, is as high as a Hollywood speedballer from its victory. Putting the two together in the same room -- speedballing Russia and violently bad-tripping America -- is a recipe for serious disaster. If we're lucky, we'll survive the humiliating decline and settle into the new reality without causing too much damage to ourselves or the rest of the world. But when that awful moment arrives where the cognitive dissonance snaps hard, it will be an epic struggle to come to our senses in time to prevent the William Kristols, Max Boots and Robert Kagans from leading us into a nuclear holocaust which, they will assure us, we can win against Russia, thanks to our technological superiority. If only we have the will, they'll tell us, we can win once and for all.

more at:
http://www.alternet.org/story/112457/that_was_no_small_war_in_georgia_--_it_was_the_beginning_of_the_end_of_the_american_empire/?page=entire

[The Magistrate]

1. An Excellent Article, Ma'am: Thank You for Sharing It

[truedelphi]

2. yes, several TV Talking heads did make this point at the time...

Maybe Olbermann? We are so over extended in Iraq, that we cannot militarily control the pawn pieces on the board any more.

Also, with our fianncial situation, we HAVE to as a nation keep cozy with China, THis means China has Carte Blanche with regards to stealing water from other nations. And it means we can never as a nation do anything constructive about Tibet.

But hey - at least, we will still have cheap-melamine containing baby formula over at WalMarts!!

Anyway, K & R this great article.

[GrizzlyMan]

3. Fascinating perspective

I found the comments from the Russian officers most interesting. However, it wasn't all that long ago that Russia was up to their eyeballs in blood and guts in Chechnya before they achieved a pyrrhic victory of sorts earlier this decade. There is still a simmering insurgency there. I think what they will find in Georgia will be similar to what they/we found in Afghanistan and Iraq. A sweeping victory followed by a bloody occupation.

But to the larger point, the Russians have achieved a victory in Georgia. I don't know that we would have ever directly engaged them there had we not been involved in a two front war of our own, but they have definitely taken advantage of our distractions.

I've said it before and I'll say it again, the most dangerous men on the planet are W and Putin. All the others -- Bin Laden, Kim Jong Ill, Chavez -- are dinner theater bit players. W will be gone soon, but Putin will remain and as bat shit crazy as ever.

[bvar22]

7. Why did you include Chavez in your little group of Terrorists?

Chavez was elected and re-elected in fair and transparent democratic elections by an overwhelming majority of Venezuelans. He has made no threats against the US.

[L0oniX]

9. Agreed. He is only a threat to imperial capitalist corporate pigs.

[judasdisney]

11. That's why corporate pigs call him a "terrorist" or "dictator"

For a real terrorist or dictator, look next door to Venezuela:

Colombia's Alvaro Uribe, a right-wing Neocon fascist ally of Bush, has DEATH SQUADS and MASS GRAVES. Chavez doesn't. Uribe is trying to get Presidential term limits thrown out, exactly like Chavez is, but you only hear about Chavez.

Why would that be?

[eridani]

10. Depends on whether Russia has the sense to stop after guaranteeing minority independence

The Ossetians want the Russians there, but the rest of Georgia most certainly does not. Imperial hubris does seem to make countries stupid, though, so unfortunately you can't rule out an attempt to go after all of Georgia.

[fla nocount]

4. That wasn't America dying, it was J.P. Morgan's ghost.

It needs to die and take all the modern acolytes of it's failed and self-serving policies with it.

[enough]

5. Very interesting article, but the first place where the American Empire fell on it's face was IRAQ.

Reading this article makes me even more relieved that we will not have John McCain for our next president.

[hunter]

6. And then Putin used our head as a footstep.

We thought we were dancing until somebody stepped on our hands.

The life and times of George W. Bush

[Thothmes]

8. I would have said Vietnam.