“War is God's way of teaching Americans geography.”—Ambrose Bierce
(Not only our wars, Bierce might have added, but so do other people’s conflicts, from which we turn in bafflement, anger and shame. Consider this: On this date in 1968, the good citizens of Czechoslovakia awoke to find tanks manned by their fraternal brothers in Communism, the Soviets, as well as those of four other Warsaw Pact countries, invading their country. The move—taking advantage of an America mired in Vietnam, beset by takeovers of college campuses, and disorder in city streets—brought a premature end to the “Prague Spring” of careful experimentation with market and political reforms, one that would not be repeated until Communism fell in the Eastern bloc countries in 1989.
Fast forward 40 years. The media this week are filled with the reports of Russian strongman Vladimir Putin’s invasion of Georgia. Just like his Soviet predecessors, he cannot abide dissent in his “sphere of influence.” Well, what else do you expect from a former KGB goon? And isn’t “KGB goon” a redundancy?)
The Correct Way to Drink on Election Night
2 hours ago
3 comments:
My brother was in Prauge that very day. I remember hiding the newspaper from my Mother.
Remember that Putin is no longer the President.
As for "goons",lets be fair. Our own CIA has more than their fair share.
1) Please notice the term I use: "strongman," not President. The fact that Putin is no longer President is meaningless. Within hours after he "stepped down" in that office, his hand-picked successor, Medvedev, named him Prime Minister--an office, incidentally, whose powers Putin had conveniently bolstered before leaving office.
Putin also leads United Russia, the dominant political party. This is hardly a situation similar to the United States, where Bill Clinton, George H.W. Bush, and Jimmy Carter no longer hold electoral or party office and leaders of their party are free to criticize them or not. (And all of them have come in for dissing at one time or another.)
As for the CIA: I'm not going to defend every action they've taken over 60 years. On the other hand,you are free to leave comments about them on this blog and elsewhere as you wish. You would not have that freedom under the old KGB nor, I hasten to add, in the current Russia about their police or intelligence apparatus --not without being poisoned (as was Putin critic Alexander Litvinenko in a London restaurant)or endlessly harassed (like Gary Kasparov).
Very interesting about your brother and your mom, by the way.
You would not have that freedom under the old KGB nor, I hasten to add, in the current Russia about their police or intelligence apparatus
Freedom as in our current shredder of civil liberties, the so called "patriot act".?!
The CIA has an awful lot to be held accountable for. The "rendition" plane has actually been seen using Teterboro airport! I cannot defend much of what they do.
Post a Comment