Stalin in Virginia

This barely qualifies as a foreign policy topic, but is nonetheless marginally newsworthy.
There is no question that the Soviet Union bore the brunt of Hitler’s war machine and that without them, the war would have gone on for a considerably longer period with it’s outcome in serious doubt. Nevertheless, Stalin was responsible for horrendous acts of terror internally accounting for at least 10 million deaths in Russia and Ukraine alone.

The Soviet Union also was, as is so often overlooked in the former Soviet Union, an ally of Nazi Germany from 1939 until it was attacked in June 1941. The pact with Hitler allowed the Soviets to eliminate the independence of the Baltics and partition Poland with Germany, all part of Stalin’s desire to see the West incinerate so that the Soviet Union would become the most powerful player in Europe. He was not much different from his ally turned enemy in Berlin.
Perhaps a different way could have been found to recognize the significance of the Soviet contribution to defeating Hitler rather than a placing a bust of Stalin at the Virginia memorial.

Georgia and Russia and Investigative Reports

Let's see...what is worse, stupidity or breaking international law? Would the second have occurred without the first or were they mutually exclusive and events would have progressed more or less toward the same conclusion.

In any event, I'm making a judgement call. The breach of international law identified in by those investigating the Russian-Georgian 5 day war is worse because it was a set-up (entrapment, if you wish) by the well armed prosecutor, Russia, taking advantage of the incredibly self-pitying and stupid Saakashvili in Georgia; the Russian's knew he would rise to the bait.

The investigative report was even handed; but, the breach of international law by Russia in, first, distributing citizenship papers and passports widely (as has been done in Crimea) and then seizing territory of the adjoining state during a civil war to "protect" it's "citizens" is only marginally better than Nazi Germany's actions in Czechoslovakia and Austria.

That being said, the inconceivable stupidity of Saakashvili in rising to the bait set out by Russia should disqualify him from running the country.

Russia Legislates Unilateral Intervention

Image by Getty Images via Daylife

The Russian Duma recently passed its first reading of a new amendment to its Law on Defense. Unfortunately, it has nothing to do with defense, but a great deal to do with military intervention in its sphere of influence. If enacted (and there is no doubt that the Duma, as ever, will pull out its rubber stamp) the amendment provides for using its military to "protect" Russian citizens outside its borders. History recalls that the Nazi regime in Germany used exactly that pretext for invasion.

Russia has a proclivity handing out passports to citizens of foreign countries. Guess what the reason was for the invasion of Georgia? Leaving aside the unwise provocations by the Georgian government, this is a dangerous new trend in Russian foreign policy and could easily be applied to Ukraine. Russia has handed out thousands of passports to its supporters in Crimea.

It would be unfortunate if Russia resorted to its military again, particularly against Ukraine which, despite a pathetic military, is no Georgia. Additionally, Russia's military is hardly an efficient fighting force having been embarrassed on the ground and in the air in the Georgia conflict (its navy performed very well).

The passage of this amendment would also be aimed at Estonia and the other Baltic States. It is clear Russia would only use its military against far weaker foes, so Russian "citizens" in Poland, Turkey, China and Finland probably should not hope for salvation from the motherland quite yet.