Crabtree Falls

Wednesday, February 25, 2015

Cold War Illogic

This is an e-mail I sent to someone on August 17, 2008.  The Beijing Summer Olympics were taking place, or had just concluded.  During the Games, Russia and Georgia started skirmishing (a war) in Central Asia.  And back in the USA, the historic presidential election was approaching. 

Here's just one example (link below) of what's not mentioned by McCain and others when discussing Georgia and Central Asia.  Instead, we fall back on "cold war logic", using simple answers and explanations to describe what's happening.  There's a book that might interest you - The Great Game:  The Struggle for Empire in Central Asia.  It's about the chess board that is Central Asia and world powers who are competing:  the major players historically, Great Britian and Russia; and the newcomers, the USA and China.  At the forefront of the game is NOT human rights and democracy, but energy.  And only the masses back home are carefully conditioned to think it's a moral game that's being played.  It helps people sleep better, but is not reality.  It's funny, we can point that out in other countries (the brainwashing) but we seldom view ourselves in that light. 

(link I e-mailed)

 
Here's an interview Pat Buchanan gave.  Go underneath where it says Scott Horton interviews Pat Buchanan and click the play arrow.  all this does is give a very different perspective from what we hear coming from the Republicans and Democrats.  The Repubs are most die-hard on the subject.  If you listen to McCain, the answer to what happened is as clear as a bell.  All I will say is that my own studies and experiences in Central Asia and the contacts I have there, make it quite obvious to me that we hear only one version...and it's ours.  The idea that we nonchalantly go through the world "helping the little guy" and "liberating people" might make us feel good, but it doesn't make it accurate. http://antiwar.com/radio/2008/08/16/pat-buchanan-5/  "We've got to start seeing ourselves as others see us."   Pat Buchanan


To read what I wrote about the quest for Central Asian oil during World War II, click here.

And to see an e-mail survey I conducted of the 2008 Russia-Georgia War, go here.

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