Russia, Georgia and Russophile Americans

Something is seriously troubling me and I have to write about this. I am starting to see Americans who speak gushingly about Russia and its empire and actually support Putin and Medvedev in their actions in invading the Republic of Georgia and bombing Georgian cities.

Some clear-headed thinking is required here about these matters. I frankly cannot believe any American who loves liberty can seriously be in favor of an invasion of one nation into the territory of another sovereign nation which has not attacked it. Or of despotic leaders like Putin or Medvedev.

Many Ukrainians are now afraid that Russia is planning to invade Ukraine as well. The Russian public is already being prepared for it, just like it was prepared for the Georgian conflict. Russians typically see the United States as their main enemy, but in the recent months they were manipulated by the largely state-controlled Russian media into believeing that Georgia is the #1 enemy of Russia. Russians are also being trained to see Ukrainians as their enemies. Today, 50% of Russians already consider Ukraine to be the enemy of Russia. Russia is the #2 world exporter of oil after Saudi Arabia and their economy is booming because of the record high prices of oil and the weak dollar. This is making them confident and reckless. They are repeating the American hubris in recklessly throwing their weight around to bend weaker nations to their will. (Since Georgia's military is 20 times smaller than Russia's, that was easy to do.)

Some Russophile Americans are anti-war people who seem to think that since Russia often opposes the United States in its imperial ambitions, then Russia must be good and peaceniks should support Russia. Well, the reason the Russian Federation opposes the American Empire is because it wants to build its own empire. The Russian leaders seriously believe that if they don't attack their neighbors, their existing empire will fall apart. They really think if they are not expanding, then they are contracting. Believe it or not, in spite of having a giant nation and one of the most powerful militaries, they seriously think they are fighting for the survival of their nation by attacking weaker nations.

The Russian Empire is much older than the American Empire. The Russian conflict with Georgia had started before the United States even existed. It's preposterous to suggest that Russia's imperial war of aggression against Georgia is only a proxy war with the United States.

I am against the Russian Empire just as much as I am against the American Empire, and so should be all lovers of liberty. American lovers of liberty need to learn to apply their principles equally to all nations, across the board, instead of selectively opposing their own American Empire while throwing their support behind other empires.

Let us work for a world without empires. All people deserve to have liberty and sovereignity by virtue of their birth, if they choose to seek it. And all leaders who choose to use force to abrogate the liberty or sovereignity of the people of other nations or their own are the enemies of liberty.