Did Georgia just become a Russian puppet state

Correct me if I’m wrong, but it looks to me as if what just happened in Georgia brought the place one step closer to a Russian takeover. Putin was angry at Shevardnadze’s friendliness to the West and outraged by Shevardnadze’s refusal to help him wipe out the Chechens, and helped create the chaos that made Shevardnadze unpopular. But while criticizing Shevardnadze’s conduct, he also blamed the new leadership for taking over by force. Now he’s theatening military action unless the new Georgian leader falls into line on the Chechen issue.

Shouldn’t someone be saying something about this? The President of the United States, for example? The suggestion in Jim Hoagland’s column that the Bush Administration helped give Shevardnadze the push because Bush wants Putin’s help against terrorism ought to have all the old anti-Communists outraged, but there’s no evidence of that visible to these tired eyes.

Author: Mark Kleiman

Professor of Public Policy at the NYU Marron Institute for Urban Management and editor of the Journal of Drug Policy Analysis. Teaches about the methods of policy analysis about drug abuse control and crime control policy, working out the implications of two principles: that swift and certain sanctions don't have to be severe to be effective, and that well-designed threats usually don't have to be carried out. Books: Drugs and Drug Policy: What Everyone Needs to Know (with Jonathan Caulkins and Angela Hawken) When Brute Force Fails: How to Have Less Crime and Less Punishment (Princeton, 2009; named one of the "books of the year" by The Economist Against Excess: Drug Policy for Results (Basic, 1993) Marijuana: Costs of Abuse, Costs of Control (Greenwood, 1989) UCLA Homepage Curriculum Vitae Contact: Markarkleiman-at-gmail.com

One thought on “Did Georgia just become a Russian puppet state”

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