By Spengler
ICH
08/19/08 “Asia Times”
On the night of November 22, 2004, then-Russian president – now premier – Vladimir Putin watched the television news in his dacha near Moscow. People who were with Putin that night report his anger and disbelief at the unfolding “Orange” revolution in Ukraine. “They lied to me,” Putin said bitterly of the United States. “I’ll never trust them again.” The Russians still can’t fathom why the West threw over a potential strategic alliance for Ukraine. They underestimate the stupidity of the West.
American hardliners are the first to say that they feel stupid next to Putin. Victor Davis Hanson wrote on August 12 [1] of Moscow’s “sheer diabolic brilliance” in Georgia, while Colonel Ralph Peters, a columnist and television commentator, marveled on August 14 [2], “The Russians are alcohol-sodden barbarians, but now and
then they vomit up a genius … the empire of the czars hasn’t produced such a frightening genius since [Joseph] Stalin.” The superlatives recall an old observation about why the plots of American comic books need clever super-villains and stupid super-heroes to even the playing field. Evidently the same thing applies to superpowers.
The fact is that all Russian politicians are clever. The stupid ones are all dead. By contrast, America in its complacency promotes dullards. A deadly miscommunication arises from this asymmetry. The Russians cannot believe that the Americans are as stupid as they look, and conclude that Washington wants to destroy them. That is what the informed Russian public believes, judging from last week’s postings on web forums, including this writer’s own.
Americans play Monopoly, Russians chess : Information Clearing House – ICH.
see
Aprés la deluge — wracking up the fear quotient By William Bowles
Beat The Dead Horse Or Putin’s Revenge By Gaither Stewart
Margolis: Dems onside with Bush on Georgia
Evidence of Georgian tanks + Poland Signs Missile Defense Shield Deal + NATO warns Russia
Crisis in the Caucasus. What Were They Smoking in the White House?
The Force Be With Us But Not With You by Bruce Gagnon
Pingback: NATO suspends contact with Russia over Georgia « Dandelion Salad
Pingback: The Eurasian Corridor: Pipeline Geopolitics & the New Cold War by Michel Chossudovsky « Dandelion Salad
Pingback: Ron Paul: DNC Camps & NATO + Tour of Gitmo on the Platte « Dandelion Salad
Pingback: Andrew Bacevich: The end of American Exceptionalism « Dandelion Salad
Pingback: Bush to Putin, “Get out now!” Putin to Bush, “Nyet!” By Mike Whitney « Dandelion Salad
Pingback: The Puppet Masters Behind Georgia President Saakashvili « Dandelion Salad
Pingback: A newer world order by Lee Sustar « Dandelion Salad
Pingback: OSCE observers knew about Georgia’s attack + Jewish Quarter targeted in Georgian offensive « Dandelion Salad