Czar Putin and Dictator Bush

Russia is back!!
Czar Putin!!
Unilateral action by Russia!!
Russia attacks a democracy!!

These are some of the statements that I heard/read over the last couple of weeks. While I am not shocked, I have been provoked. Not that I am a fan of what Russia does. Nor do I have a vested interest in anything Russian.

I am still provoked...

I am provoked not because I disagree with those statements, but because I really have no way of making up my mind whether the statements are right or wrong. I am uninformed. So are the most of the people living in the United States.

So, What is the root cause of the Georgian conflict? As I understand it, a part of Georgia wants independence and Russia took sides. It just happens to be the wrong side of America. Is it that simple... probably not. But it is close.

First let me clarify my position on this issue. Though I respect human rights and understand the implications of not holding nations accountable for violating them, in the larger interest of the world, I would rather have individual nations deal with their internal conflicts. It is when an outside nation tries to meddle with someone's internal affair that greater problems arise. If every nation in this world respected Sovereignty, there would be far less war and a lot more peace.

That said, when an outside nation pokes its nose into someone's affairs, the other "responsible" nations need to exercise even more caution. They can condemn the actions, but they need to do it consistently. They should ensure the tensions don't escalate further and at the same time work with both the aggressor and the defender to achieve peace. They should not view this as an opportune moment to instill fear and misinformation amongst its citizens. This is, unfortunately, exactly what the U.S media and U.S government have used the Georgian crisis for.

I believe democracy, while not perfect, is still the best practical form of governance. That, however, doesn't, by itself, make an attack on a communist nation any less criminal. Or on a socialist nation. We, as democratic nations, can be proud of our governments, but at the same time, we need to show respect for other forms of government, especially when we see such forms of government working (like in China).

The second part of the problem is playing on the fears of the cold war era. "Czar Putin", please give me a break... Russia is a democracy and Putin is an elected official. If waging a war to protect his country's interests (whether right or wrong) makes Putin a "Czar", then innumerable Heads of the many nations around the world are no less criminal. The current President of the U.S tops that list with honors.

Russia is in its right to fear the U.S missile defense systems in East Europe. Voicing a strong opposition to what it perceives as a threat to its security (assurances of the U.S notwithstanding) doesn't make it a rogue nation. The government of U.S would probably have done the same thing (and a little more) if it were faced with the same situation. As the leader of his nation, if Putin stands up for its cause, it only makes him a strong leader, not a criminal, as being portrayed in the U.S media.

It is the responsibility of the media and the intelligentsia of a nation to inform and educate the common man. I would prefer a complete factual and neutral report of the history of the crisis and its implications to the rest of the world over the death toll in the current war. Sensationalized headlines that do little but raise the anxiety levels of the common man (who most probably knows zilch about Georgia or Russia) are a shame.