Filibuster Cartoons
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So Russia invaded the Republic of Georgia earlier this week. They currently control about a third of the country.
The causes of the conflict are complex, of course, but basically Georgia has a few disputed border territories which the Georgians say should be part of Georgia and the Russians say should be part of Russia. Putin invaded primarily on the pretext of defending the Russians who live there, but long-term occupation and annexation is quite obviously the goal.
The west has, by and large, backed the Georgian government largely on the basis that it’s democratic and Mr. Putin is not, though really, when you examine it closely, the Georgian case for themselves is not terribly convincing by western standards.
Regardless of the blame, or justness of either side, the most relevant thing about this war is that it shows Russia is prepared to use military force against its neighbouring countries to get what it wants. During the 1990’s it was very fashionable to regard traditional state-to-state war and invasion as ancient, barbaric relics of the past.
But no longer.
