Despite the fact that the worst of this crisis seems to be over and a peace plan has been signed, there US / British rhetoric seems to be getting increasingly hard line, rather than at least vaguely welcoming peace and a (all be it slow) return to the pre-conflict positions.
There still seems to be no acknowledgement that Georgia kicked this off, and in fact they seem to be being held up as a shining light of democracy, and a completely innocent party in all this. George Bush is adamant that the disputed boundaries of Georgia will remain, (regardless it seems of the wishes of the people within those boundaries) and David Cameron is wading in with claims of attrocities (has there been any proof of this at all??) and calls for Russian expulsion from the G8.
I just can't help thinking the West has perhaps been looking for an excuse to stamp on Russia, and that regardless of the circumstances, they've just found one. I also can't help thinking that our governments have just proved their hypocracy and inconsistency, in that its OK if the US/UK does it, but not if anyone else does it, especially people we historically don't like. Whether or not we need Russia, I dont know, however I certainly don't think we particularly want to actively encourage hostility with them, and that almost seems to be what the politicians are doing. Is this electioneering on the US part perhaps??
Its like poking a bear with a sharp stick - only we seem to be surrounding it and using lots of sticks (this, NATO expansion, missile defence shield, etc) - at some point the bear is going to get scared and angry and bite back, and we're actively encouraging it.
just found this:
West Must Stop Poking The Bear With A Stick (from The Herald )