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Article: The United States Shares the Blame for the Russia-Georgia Crisis; American blunders fostered the situation, and now the United States will pay a high global price.
- Article from:
- U.S. News & World Report
- Article date:
- August 12, 2008
- Author:
CopyrightCOPYRIGHT 2008 All rights reserved. This material is published under license from the publisher through the Gale Group, Farmington Hills, Michigan. All inquiries regarding rights should be directed to the Gale Group. (Hide copyright information)
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Byline: Paul J. Saunders
War became unavoidable in the Caucasus when Georgian President Mikheil Saakashvili sent the country's military to "liberate" the autonomous region of South Ossetia from its Moscow-backed local authorities. While Georgia and Russia bear principal responsibility for a conflict that both have been courting for years, the United States also shares the blame. And now America's interests will suffer, not only in Georgia and the former Soviet Union but around the world.
America contributed to the war in Georgia in two important ways. First, together with its European allies, Washington established two precedents: use of force without ...