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The Brian Lehrer Show / August 20, 2008 / Foreign Policy

Foreign Policy

Wednesday, August 20, 2008

Former U.S. Senate Majority Leader George Mitchell who negotiated the Good Friday Agreement in Northern Ireland,talks about diplomatic implications of the Georgian conflict and Musharref's resignation in Pakistan.


Comments

  • [1] RCT from Chappaqua via North Adams, MA August 20, 2008 - 10:11AM

    I think that I previously posted this comment re the wrong segment. I referred to Gorbachav's NYT op-ed column this morning and his reference in that column to "wag the dog," and asked if it were possible that the Bush administration encouraged Saakashvili to assert Georgia's rights in Ossetia in the hopes that the Russians would saber-rattle, and thus permit John McCain a pre-convention photo-op as the foreign policy expert. The plan would have backfired when Saakashvili went too far and Russia overreacted. This scenario would explain what otherwise seems to be an uncharacteristically irrational action by Saakashvili, while not to have anticipated either Saakasvili's zeal or the Russian military response would be typical of the Bush administration's incompetence.

    This scenario would seem unlikely you view what has occurred retrospectively, through the lens of the Russian invasion and its aftermath, because even this administration would not have been so stupid as to deliberately provoke a war between Georgia and Russia. To act based on crass political motives, however, and to totally miscalculate the consequences, would indeed be typical of Bush operatives. They thought they'd have a photo and speech op, and instead got an international crisis.

    [Please delete my previous post; sorry about the typos.]


  • [2] hjs from 11211 August 20, 2008 - 10:33AM

    of course, if georgia was in nato russia won't be so bold. russia is a paper tiger, returning to the dark ages.


  • [3] Mike from nyc August 20, 2008 - 10:37AM

    Thank you Brian for asking the question of self-determination for the people of the region. It's amazing how little it's come up in the discussion.
  • [4] RC August 20, 2008 - 10:38AM

    In the book "Military Inc, Inside Pakistan's Military Economy, author Ayesha Siddiqa documents the extent of the dominance of the Pakistani Military and the ISI in the day-to-day Pakistani economy.

    With these institutions so dominant in Pakistani society, does it really make a difference if Musaraff resigns? It takes a generation to purge the military out of the economy like what happenne in Turkey, China and Latin America
  • [5] Karen from Brooklyn, NY August 20, 2008 - 10:38AM

    Since the 1890 Iran hostage crisis, I am often suspicious that some of these issues are staged to favor one candidate over the other.
  • [6] Sally Forth from Soho August 20, 2008 - 10:38AM

    I don't see any difference both are for unconditional support of ALL Israeli policy even when they are wrong.


  • [7] Paulo from Paterson, New Jersey August 20, 2008 - 10:40AM

    The line is drawn on whether the country being dismantled is a US ally. We support self-determination when the country in question is a hostile or neutral party. If it's an ally, then they're one people with inviolate and indivisible territory! Not shocking... but not based in idealism either.
  • [8] Mike from Inwood August 20, 2008 - 10:40AM

    Brian refered to Ossetians as "ethnically Russian". This is NOT true. Russia recently gave them citizenship, but Ossetians are NOT Russian. The Ossetians were absorbed by Russia in 1801. They speak a language that is closer to Farsi than Russian.
  • [9] chris o from new york city August 20, 2008 - 10:40AM

    The US foreign policy is simple: the world is our oyster, MFers. When me or my friends do it, whatever it is, it is okay. When my enemies or "comptetitors" do, it is not.

    There is an attack on an Israeli military unit near the border by an armed faction of Lebanon. Israel proceeds to bomb the whole country, including the capital. The US defends Israel, the US stands against the whole world in obstructing a cease fire, etc. Compare Russians reaction to a Georgian attack on Russian forces: extremely mild in comparison. Compare US media condemnation of Russia: tools. They take direction so well, I am quite impressed. Give the dog a bone!
  • [10] Paulo from Paterson, New Jersey August 20, 2008 - 10:43AM

    I would not say that the USA was the first "true" meritocracy.. I would say it was the closest approximation of a meritocracy up to that point. Nonetheless an impressive feat and a model that many other countries since have sought to emulate.
  • [11] Jose from Queens August 20, 2008 - 10:43AM

    Brian,

    Could you PLEASE stop saying that Ossetians are ethnic Russians. This is simply NOT true.

    The Ossetian language belongs to the ndo-Iranian language family, and even their looks are closer to Iranians than to Russians.

    Do they ALSO speak Russian? Yes, and so do Georgians. That does not mean they are Russian!

    Ref:

    http://www.ethnologue.com/show_lang_family.asp?code=oss
  • [12] michaelw from INWOOD August 20, 2008 - 10:43AM

    George Mitchell is a fraud.

    He's a part owner of the Red Sox and mysteriously there wasn't one Red Sox player who made the steroid list???!!!
  • [13] seth from Long Island August 20, 2008 - 10:47AM

    Brain, you have Sen. Mitchell on your show to discuss foreign affairs, then at the last second you sandbag him by taking a cheap personal shot to denigrate his report on steroids in baseball. Shame on you, Brian.
  • [14] sam from bklyn August 20, 2008 - 10:48AM

    Just to clarify, South Ossetians and Abkhazians are not Russians. Even their languages are completely unrelated. Ossete is related to Farsi.
  • [15] hjs from 11211 August 20, 2008 - 10:48AM

    georgia to Ossetia : enjoy the dark ages under the authoritarian new russian empire. the rest of the country is going with the EU nato and modernity.
  • [16] Michael from Manhattan August 20, 2008 - 11:34AM

    Fact is no matter what the right wingers say. 911 has nothing to do with National Security, Afghanistan and whatever. It could have been prevented with better Airline security. PERIOD. Planes have been bombed and Hijacked for over 40 years. Ther is no excuse that there were better security systems on a 15K car then on multimillion $ aircraft. IT is the FAA and the Airlines responsibility. If simple procedures and security measures were in place as they should have been , it would have never happened.
  • [17] george from white plains, ny August 20, 2008 - 12:35PM

    Mitchell's reference to American principles is exactly what I was taught, and wholeheartedly believed, in 1965. Bravo.

    We've invested a lot in the int'l. space station. When NASA retires the space shuttle in two years, the only way to get to the space station will be aboard a Russian launch vehicle. But why should we think so far ahead, there's no oil up there, is there??

This thread is closed.


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