The Greatest Game
by Jorge Vargas
The 'West' looked on in horror and dismay as Russian forces responded to the invasion of South Ossetia, a region that has long since declared her thus far unrecognized independence from a nation that has too often turned to militarism: Georgia.
The 'West' looked at the war and its public, in general, saw only what it is trained to see: Big, mighty Russia is picking on the little guy-again. Never mind when the big, mighty United States does the same exact thing and without an actual provocation - keep in mind, the Georgians started the shooting.
Ms. Condoleeza Rice, an inept individual in the craft of politics if ever there was one, protested the loudest and she warned the Russians that the days in which one could invade a country and take over its capital and replace its leader-in clear allusion to the events of the 1960s in Prague-are over. She obviously forgot about 2003 when the United States did the exact same thing in Iraq. But hold the criticism: That was in defense of the freedom of the Iraqis; I nearly forgot that only the U.S. is allowed to wage war and then claim it was the benefit of other people - how nice.
Thus came the first act of hypocrisy from the West.
But the second would be even more awe-inspiring.
Russia, which can perhaps be blamed for having over-reacted just a bit in the Georgian conflict, though that was a risk taken when the Georgians rolled the dice, recently recognized the independence of South Ossetia and Abzhakia, two territories that once upon a time belonged to Georgia though always only in name. Other nations may likely follow suit in a show of support for Russia-Cuba and Venezuela, for instance-but all the same, the United States and her NATO followers have condemned the Russian reply to the Georgian offensive and, moreover, the almighty U.S., taking up the Cold War language again, has complained about Russia's recognition of those two territories. How dare Russia interfere in the internal affairs of her neighbours?
Hypocrisy number two from the 'West.' Or have they already forgotten all about the declaration of independence by Kosovo, a Serbian region that has long since desired independence? The rest of the world does not suffer from amnesia, and the rest of the world sees nothing particularly wrong with Russia's response to the original Western response to the Serbian issue earlier this year, back when the governments of the 'West' considered themselves almighty and untouchable.
Who wants to bet that they're just a little embarrassed by how quickly Russia gave them a message that, outside of the world of diplomacy, essentially means this: "Yeah? Well, fuck you, too."
That is the short version of what just happened.
Of course, there now remain certain individuals who, lacking creativity, imagination, and genuine intelligence to speak of, insist on asking: Is this a new cold war? Most of these concerns come from the Western side of the Atlantic though there are some in Europe who have taken up this question as well. The journalists are genuinely concerned about it, which makes one genuinely concerned with their childish insistence on simplifying something that complex because that's the only way they can understand it.
And then there are the politicians who are asking that question: Is this a new Cold War?
They are not stupid, so they know the answer, but they also know that they have kept their public badly misinformed regarding affairs with Russia and, thus, they know that they can still harp on those old Cold War fears, especially on the Western side of an Atlantic Ocean that seems over-polluted with hypocrisy and lies. The U.S. leaders, like Ms. Rice-an inept individual if ever one existed-are able to say 'cold war' and suddenly visions of the 'evil empire' reappear in the minds of the public, unifying the public behind the government. For those who don't believe that hypothesis: Read up on the war on terror language from 9/11/2001 to 3/15/2003.
And all of this hides our very human need to reiterate and recreate those experiences that we know in order to understand our new experiences, so it's almost understandable that so few people are thinking that this should be linked not to the Cold War but rather to the Western recognition of a Serbian province and a Russian reassertion of what is Russia's geographical sphere of influence in the only language that Russia has ever understood: Crudeness.
But for a 'Western' society that has always held its nose high over the rest of the world and that calls itself the cradle of civilization, it's a bit embarrassing that that's about as far as they've come in their understanding of the world and in their general reaction to global affairs. A true pity.
In the meantime, while the Westerners ramble on about Cold Wars, the politicians heard Russia's message loud and clear, despite their weak attempt of a counter-stroke in Poland. Who will throw the next punch remains unknown, but what is clear is that this great game of politics, which the West seems to think a 'cold war,' continues onward and everyone will be a loser because total victory is absolutely impossible. But some can be more victorious than others, right, Prime Minister Putin?
