When George Bush went into Afghanistan, he started a war that one could reasonably understand. When he then parlayed the war on terror into the vengeful taking down of the man who fought his pa, Bush established a new paradigm for aggressive and powerful countries. It appears as though Putin has learned the lessons of American foreign policy far too well, and he may now have his eyes turned on the Ukraine. Neocon policies have been learned well in Russia. Putin would have no difficulty telling anyone what the Bush Doctrine is.
The following has been taken from http://www.msnbc.msn.com/... after originally reading a shorter Canadian story at ctvnews.ca.ctvnews.ca
Putin is ratcheting up the rhetoric against Ukraine. Perhaps it is only in an attempt to convince the Ukrainian people to vote for a more pro-Russian leader. Perhaps it is because Putin aspires to invade Ukraine. The language he is using is eerily reminiscent of Bush prior to 2003.
In order to properly establish that one has a new foe, one must first convince the world of the danger of the foe.
Prime Minister Vladimir Putin of Russia angrily accused Ukraine on Thursday of sending weapons and military personnel to help Georgia fight its war with Russia.
One must also make the world aware that the foe is a criminal state:
"When people and military systems are used to kill Russian soldiers, it's a crime," Putin told reporters
And one must pull at the heart-strings of Russian nationals by making sure there is no doubt who is a threat to their safety:
"The weapons could have been supplied during the military action, and it was operated by Ukrainian specialists," Putin said. "That is a crime. That's an attempt to set Russian and Ukrainian people against each other."
One can only hope and pray (if one does pray) that Russia will not bring war to the Ukraine.