|
|
Article: This must not be the start of World War III Putin is using military action to make a political point. A commander who dealt with Russian troops in Kosovo argues that we must make a measured response
- Article from:
- The Sunday Telegraph London
- Article date:
- August 17, 2008
- Author:
-
|
Copyright informationCopyright 2008 The Sunday Telegraph London. Provided by ProQuest LLC. (Hide copyright information)
|
When the Cold War ended, there was a great sense of euphoria in
the West and in the non-Russian republics of the Soviet Union. The
nuclear sword of Damocles had been lifted, democracy had prevailed,
peace dividends could be taken.
The non-Russian republics of the erstwhile union seized the
opportunity to obtain their independence from Russia: the political
map of eastern Europe, the Baltic, central Asia and - particularly -
the Caucasus changed radically.
The end of the Cold War exposed the futility and pretence of the
ideology which had underpinned the Soviet Empire - and also the
falsity and pretence of the allegedly unified political construct
that was the Soviet Union.
In the West, there ...