Russia Invading Georgia, Can You Find A Better Reason, To Be Energy Independent?

we just need to release the National Petroleum Reserves and everything will be great. Come on, get with it. Hey, good post.

The Iraq war has brought us a number of growing problems. First, it has been a drain on our national resources. Second, it has increased the number of terrorist recruits and attacks. Third, it has established a precedent for the strong to do what they can when they want.

It is this last problem that is relevant to the Russian war on Georgia. If Russia had a legitimate complaint against Georgia, they could have taken it to the UN or an international court by why? If the court finds in your favor, you have possibly lost an advantage by delaying your actions. If the court finds against you, then, again, you have possibly lost an advantage because you were delayed by an irrelevant group of people. Thus, in an effort to skip the middleman, Russia invaded Georgia with reasons that only make sense to them.

Our invasion of Iraq has set an international precedent that will demand our resources regardless of where we get our oil. Unless you believe that having the freedom to follow an Amish foreign policy is the Holy Grail, energy independence only buys you so much. It isn't an escape from the problems that are out there.

That has been the lesson

First,the Iraq war may have been a drain but worth the effort.The world is better off without Saddam and we have a potential ally(rare) in the mid east.

Second,increased recruits and attacks? Attacks are down significantly largely because of the surge.The terrorists are either dead or running.

Third,the war has established no such precident for the strong to do what they can when they want.That has been mankinds nature since the beginning.The strong are always tempted to prey on the weaker.

Thank You, The World is a lot better off without Saddam.

Russia is the strongman in this case and Russia being Russia does not need a reason to be greedy and totalitarian, they just are. They want their land back at any costs they want the oil pipeline.
Who knows maybe the Russians are working with AJAD to divert our attention so Iran can make a move on Iraq thinking "Well we can make them(USA) look like idiots either way"
"They will either take the bait try to rescue Georgia and fail miserably and start more wars or not help Georgia and face contempt and look like idiots in the court of international opinion. Either way we gotem"
I know too many spy novels, "What say you"?

How are you my moderate left-wing loonie!
I knew you would pop-up sooner or later.
Let me summarize:

Saddam bad
Iraq in need
Saddam gone
Iraq a hurt child in the wilderness, a beautiful bird with a broken wing needing rescue, and sustainance, growing slowly but steadily, seeing freedom however small for the first time. Needing to take small steps in order to survive survival and growth will come but not if we leave her to flail in the wind.

Russia: totalitarian expansionists and imperialists, may never change, Georgia a delicate democracy needing our help, that we gave our word we would help. Need I say more.
Later Dude

these gnats keep swarming the fruit here at Townhall. Where'd the no-pest strip go?

Too Funny:
Ran out last week, seems one of the ingredients is petroleum. Let me know when Congress gets back to vote on energy policy. Then inform Raid so they can make more NO PEST STRIP. Oh wait I need oil for the car and gasoline oh dear I might need to go green and order the no kill green fruit fly strip. I know i'll order it from the internet.

No reason to be energy independent. Oil makes us sick ane we can't drill our way out of it. Or as davecatbone says, release the reserve. Save the day!!!!!

This is an oustanding reason (among others) to become energy independent. Move away from the red tape and the do nothing Congress and lets move forward.

Lets not sit on our hands and wake-up in five years and Russia is the energy king.

Hi my female Shawn Hannity wannabe good friend. I hope things are going well. I am going through the last weekend of having my son at home before he leaves for college. I will be sad.

I am afraid that the Iraq situation is more complicated than you described. I certainly couldn't disagree with your assessment of either Iraq or Russia. I like to describe Saddamn (note the spelling) as one of those people whom whatever name you call him, it is a euphemism. But Saddamn was not Iraq's only problem. I don't know if I mentioned it but the combination of our attacks on their infrastructure in the first Persian Gulf War and the sanctions, which maintained their infrastructure in a state of disrepair, killed hundreds of thousands of children. Add to that our constant bombing of Iraq, in one year we bombed them every third day, killed hundreds of Iraqis per year. We continued the sanctions though we knew that it was the Iraq people who suffered the most while Saddamn grew strong but only in his own country. Interestingly enough, the countries that he either invaded or threatened were for the removal of the sanctions.

If we add to that that we supported Saddamn up until their invasion of Kuwait which means that we supported Saddamn even after he used WMDs on his own people. then whatever we say about him we must also say about all who were informed accessories.

Then add to that that the Bush Administration was warned, before the invasion, by our intelligence agencies about the violent insurgency that would result, the humanitarian crisis an invasion would cause, and the rise in world terrorism that followed.

Finally, our invasion of Iraq set a precedent for others to follow--Israel attacking Lebanon and Columbia invading Ecuador. So it appears that Russia's only error was that they did not ask Washington for permission for their crimes against Georgia.

Also consider, and the Bush Administration was

Personnaly,I don't think this is a Russian diversion to take our mind off Iran.They know and we know there is little we can do about Georgia except respond diplomatically(wrist slap).As usual there is probably alot going on behind scenes we don't know about.Bottom line for Russia is energy and the control of it.

Oh and,I don't think for a minute we're taking our eye off Iran.They're a bigger threat by far.

To be compared with Sean Hannity, wow I am honored.

You must be a great parent, no really this is an actual compliment. That you say you will actually miss your son says alot about your parental gifts and character. I will pray for your sons growth, protection, peace and joy.

I can't imagine what it is like to be a parent. I was constantly seeking ways to escape alive from my parents.

I used to want kids especially while the broken biological clock was ticking. Now I am thankful to God I didn't have any as I would have been really clueless on how to care for them without inflicting my damaged psyche on them. I guess I really am quite narcissistic. I am looking forward to God delivering me from this sin soon.

I need to make the dbear lunch so don't think for one minute I will leave your comments unaddressed unscathed. Trust me I have lots to say.

I warned you, I have read to many spy novels.

It still makes one wonder who is in the tank with whom. I know the old wrist slap thing keeps us from escalating to a whole nuther plane one that can't be stopped.

I just wonder though if we can't come to a fellow democracy's aid even after we promised protection how good is our word or our ability to defend said country and (this is really going to sound unchristian of me, Should we even bother or attempt to help someone if we fail to consider the costs first and/or may be unable or God Forbid unwilling to live up to our promises? Do I sound cold-hearted? What say you?

Cold hearted? Nah....you've raised questions I think we all have.

However,as I posted above,there are other ways can come to a fellow democracys aid than brute force.In Russias case,boycotting the 2014 olympics comes to mind and there are lots of economic weapons at our disposal.But as we've seen with Iran,those take cooperation from our other allies and they can't always be depended on.

Also from what I've read,Georgia may not exactly be an innocent party in this.I'll read more on that over the weekend.But we as a nation must live up to our promises and I think for the most part we do(and not always by going to war).Vietnam was one instance we became unwilling and look what a tragedy that was.

You're title says it all. We are in a weak position and the Putinites know it. Mexico is a huge supplier of petroleum and we cant afford to alienate them. Dittos with Chavez in Venezuela. The irony is that all three of those countries would be in a very bad situation with oil at $60 a barrel. that should be our national goal.

Thanks for stopping by: What really ticks me off is how Dubbya could be so dense, How do you trust Putin of all people. Little red flags should go off in your head when you talk to some of these leaders. As President of the USA, you should be on constant guard against being hoodwinked.
How many times have the Russians agreed to get out of Georgia?
Yes, I know the old political line don't start a fight you can't finish. I'm sorry I need to go watch an old movie classic like "Fail Safe" or "Dr. Strangelove"

It is not that Bush was dense in trusting Putin, it is that Bush was augmenting what Clinton started. When Gorbachev and Bush (41) worked an agreement for the reunification of Germany, Bush promised not to move NATO Eastward. The first President to break that agreement was Clinton. Bush furthered what Clinton started not just by getting more of Russia's close neighbors into joining NATO, but by getting these nations to agree to accepting ballistic interceptor missile bases and equipment. When Russia offered to allow the US to use their radar to monitor what was going on in Iran, Bush refused and insisted on placing the radar in Czechoslovakia. The significance there is that radar would allow us to see what was going on in Russia. Combined with the ballistic interceptor bases, this system is seen as part of a possible first strike on Russia.

Considering Russia's past when they were invaded by the West in the 19th and 20th centuries, this became intolerable. I guess you could say that Hitler's invasion of the Russia which took millions and millions of lives changed everything for Russia just like 9-11 changed everything for us. Russia could no longer permit a potential threat to become reality.

Haven't see ya, hope all is ok! Lots been going on in last week, huh? the Russian Invasion, The Saddleback Forum and McCain's re-awakening, Veep announcements this week and TS Fay, Lots of news!