Why is Georgia so important? Let us follow the trail to its conclusion. When the self-styled ‘Commander-in-Chief’ of the USA denounced the Russian Rescue operation in Georgia he stammered out that breaching Georgia’s territorial integrity was against ‘International Law’, and rabbited on about the rights of the sovereign State. Of course, this, coming from the head of an army which under the banner of “Shock and Awe†had invaded first, Iraq, and then Afghanistan, simply caused international laughter which covered over the intended indignation. However, this charge in turn raises profound issues of law and justice which the brilliant Russian Foreign Minister immediately saw, thus opening up a wider and deeper issue. He immediately drew comparison with Kosovo. The reaction of the media was to see this as the expected Pan-Slavism out of Russia. His powerful argument went much furth! er. It was not to argue that Serbs had a claim, an ancient claim, to the romantic site of their defeat by the Ottoman army. His case was that Kosovo had been conquered by a mercenary international military entity, one which was above all national laws. Ossetia-Abkhazia had been taken by a national military entity, the Russian Federation.
What was this legal ‘international’ system that could deal justly with both these state-creating interventions? The claim of peoples wanting self-government made a long list. Scotland and a territorially integral Ireland had an ancient historical claim. So did the Navaho, and a broken treaty in modern times. Kashmir. Basque peoples. Corsica (recently championed by the now silent Hungarian president of France). Malaysia can claim Singapore. The Flemish are poised to carve Brussels out of Belgium at the heart of the now geographically ludicrous European Union.
The reality is that statehood is a product of military power. Never a product of ideology. The monarchy of Nepal was cleverly annexed by China under the guise of a conflict between monarchy and republic – but it is, in turn, an anomaly.
Russia restored freedom to Ossetia and Abkhazia by military power. Under the guise of ideology Nato had taken over Ukraine and Georgia. It had moved on Lebanon using the same ‘soft’ technique as in the Caucasus, conquest presented as political evolution from dictatorship to political democracy. The irony being that at the moment these countries imagined they were gaining national independence as sovereign states, they had been transformed into vassals of the Samurai alliance of a non-national army.
Today, the United States of America is in ruins, in economic freefall from its last national adventures, with its so-called democratic system a disaster of its own, and its Presidency a choice between incompetents.
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Salaam
Very good article, but a question comes to mind that why should the Muslim States have trust in joining alliances with Russia? It is after all a Kafir governed state. Who knows if they may betray their trust.
Wa alaikum as-salam,
That is certainly possible. But at present, all these Muslim states have been trusting other kafir states, the United States of America and its allies, and are consistently betrayed by them, and yet continue to be subservient to their interests and to trust them.
It is rather similar to the historical relationship of British Muslims with the Labour Party, who have shown themselves consistently to be the enemies of Islam; who can guarantee that the Conservatives will be our friends? No one, but we do have clear historical proof of the enmity of socialism, which is historically wed to atheism.
Unfortunately history has no guarantees, but it is foolish to be wed to policies that are shown to guarantee failure and defeat.
wa’s-salam,
Abdassamad