Just because Dick Cheney ain't getting much attention on the TV don't mean he ain't been busy. Rather than speak in St. Paul, the Veep is in Central Asia. There's been a coupla diaries today about a billion in relief funds in Georgia. But that's not the main story. It's just Cheney's ticket in the door.
Upcoming October surprise? As it happens, Georgia wasn't Cheney's first stop. He went to Azerbaijan first. According to CNN:
The United States wants to ensure a diversity of energy supplies and supply routes to Europe ... and countries like Azerbaijan are key to developing additional resources.
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The United States wants to ensure a diversity of energy supplies and supply routes to Europe, the administration official said, and countries like Azerbaijan are key to developing additional resources.
Cheney's modus operandi doesn't typically include peace and reconciliation. The Great Game is on.
I became aware of the term The Great Game just after 9/11.
The title "Great Game" is a term that originates from the struggle between Britain and Czarist Russia to control significant portions of Eurasia. The term is attributed to Arthur Conolly. A romanticized British novel, Kim, written by Rudyard Kipling and published in 1901 arguably immortalized the concept and term. This Victorian novel was a suspenseful story about the competition between Czarist Russia and Britain to control the vast geographic stretch that included Central Asia, India, and Tibet. In reality the "Great Game" was a struggle for control of a vast geographic area that not only included Tibet, the Indian sub-continent, and Central Asia, but also included the Caucasus and Iran. Additionally, it was London that was the primary antagonist, because of British attempts to enter Russian Central Asia. In fact the British had spying networks and facilities in Khorason, Iran and in Afghanistan that would operate against the interests of St. Petersburg in Russian Central Asia.
I was away from home, looking after my uncle whose life was unravelling due to Alzheimer's. With only a few broadcast TV stations, and no internet access, I read some books on Afghanistan to get some background on the situation there. Turns out there's been a lot of wrangling over that part of the world all the way back to Alexander the Great. (Kandahar, in fact, draws its name from him.) In the 1900s, it was the Brits & the Russians in contention. During WWII, oddly, the Germans decided Afghanistan was the ancient origin of the Aryan race that they were so big on.
Worship of Fire
The world's first monotheistic religion, Zoroastreanism, originated in ancient proto-Persia (Iran). As it happens, it involved the worship of fire, too. Naturally burning cauldrons of fire at natural seeps in that oil & gas rich region. Funny, in some ways, millennia into the future, a lot of dynamics are still being driven by worship of One God, and worship of/fixation on oil. And it could well be the ruin of us all yet. Though certain varieties of monotheists (of various stripes) seem almost to yearn for their various versions of Armagedden and Rapture. Others give only as much attention as minimally necessary to further their profound attachment (addiction?) to fossil energy.
So Cheney's negotiating about energy in Azerbaijan. It kinda cracks me up that the CNN article is entitled "Cheney: US wants stability for Georgia region". Yeah right. So far as I know, the only place Cheney looks for peace is in Wyoming.
It's looking like something's been going with Germany, too. Asia Times Online:
Theoretically, with Germany dropping its opposition to Georgia's bid to join NATO, as it did at the recent NATO summit in Bucharest, nothing stands in the way of NATO's expansion to the South Caucasus, or Ukraine for that matter, also on Cheney's travel itinerary. There is, though, the geopolitical reality of a stern Russian reaction that could further complicate the now-frozen NATO-Russia relations, given Moscow's decision this week to suspend all cooperation with NATO, including planned joint exercises.
And, again, the visit ain't mainly about humanitarian aid. (At least not how the Asian time online sees it (the whole article is definitely worth a look:
The US-backed Baku-Tbilisi-Ceyhan pipeline passes through Georgian territory and letting Russia dictate events in Georgia has a definite implication in terms of energy security, given the fierce pipeline geopolitics in the Eurasian landmass, Europe's heavy energy dependency on Russia and Moscow's willingness to rely on the energy card for security bargaining with Europe.
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From Russia's point of view, carving out Georgia into separate territories is the proper antidote to NATO's planned expansion, to offset the US's growing encroachment, and a clear warning to neighboring states, such as Azerbaijan and Ukraine, to refrain from cozying up to US or NATO.
I kinda doubt that Cheney does much hunting or fishing. Maybe he did as a kid in Wyoming? But unlike Dubya, he's not afraid to get on a horse. Though I'm betting he ended up sore consequent to this little exercise, and I'd love to see a video of what it took to get him on that horse. (Maybe just a step ladder?) At any rate, were likely just photo ops. Cheney's aspens "connected by the roots" are all, to my thinking, metaphorical ones.
Anyhow, that Asian times article contemplates a future that our domestic media have apparently not contemplated:
n a worst-case scenario, should the US pile up the pressure on Moscow in the Caucasus (Ukraine has already expressed an interest in a US-installed anti-missile system), Moscow may resort to backing anti-NATO forces in the region, including the Taliban in Afghanistan.
As Cheney heads to Georgia to pledge firm American support for the combative Tbilisi government, he and other White House officials may want to think twice before taking steps that could have such dire consequences. These include Moscow possibly substantially increasing its naval presence in the Black Sea.
It wouldn't be the first time there'd been such a turnaround in alliances in The Great Game.
I can't help but wondering how Sarah Palin would do at naming the countries that border Afghanistan. Iran? You can be friggin' well sure that Vladimir Putin does! Nevermind asking her what kind of alliances could move towards some kind of peaceful stability in that complex and often ruthless and brutal corner of the world. (I recommend Unitary Moonbat's diary series on Persia and on Afghanistan for more background.)
Mind you, hockey is a rough sport. Maybe being a "hockey mom" would make you ready to deal with this kinda stuff. Frankly, I'm not so sure about that. I trust Obama (and Biden) to deal with this stuff way better than those reckless Republicans. Russians are big on chess, and Go is a traditional game in Asia. I dunno 'bout Mister 894th out of 899 in his US Naval Academy 1958 graduating class. Sarah Barracuda graduated from the University of Idaho, dreaming of a career as a sportscaster. I'm guessing that journalism degree didn't include a lot of attention to international history and politics. Probably nothing on military matters. From her wiki page:
She helped the team win the Alaska small-school basketball championship in 1982, hitting a critical free throw in the last seconds of the game, despite having an ankle stress fracture. She earned the nickname "Sarah Barracuda" because of her intense play and was the leader of the team prayer before games.
Being able to perform under pressure like this, and being intensely competitive, might serve her well this evening, but I don't think it's enough to enable her to engage intelligently with Vladimir Putin and his ilk.
So, I'll have to keep putting in time, every day, working on the voter rolls in my area. The better to find the voters and get them to the polls. We really can't afford to have global warming-denier McCain (since actions speak louder than words) and Petroleum Princess Palin having the run of the White House.
We've got work to do folks. As much of a mess as the world is in now? It could definitely get worse with four more years of NeoCon rule.
Four More Months!!!