A key point: Russia is not exporting a totalitarian ideology; it is flexing its military power in its backyard, as it has always done and always will. Since Cheney has exactly the same view about the use of American military power as Putin does about Russian power, I'm not sure what grounds he has to complain. Maybe we should start complaining when as many Georgians have perished as Iraqis - and when Putin throws thousands of innocent Georgians into torture chambers.
After airing some dissatisfied reader emails, Sullivan restates his point in terms that are more difficult to dispute and highlight America's inability to intervene as a powerful negotiator:
If the world - not without reason - suspects that America went to war under false pretense, and has trashed the Geneva Accords, then our capacity to rally world opinion on a matter like Georgia is compromised.
Meanwhile, Spengler writes in the Asia Times that Putin is just the kind of leader the U.S. needs in this time of uncertainty:
America needs leadership, and none of available candidates can provide it. Politicians prevailed during the past generation by flattering American complacency. Precisely the opposite is needed. Putin has the requisite tough-mindedness, with only one important deficiency: he is a nasty piece of work.
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