[lbo-talk] The Israel-Georgia connection

[Eric]

I like Abunimah very much, but this article and its melodramatic 
ending are daft. I know he knows that Israel also has close economic, 
diplomatic, and cultural ties with Russia. Even military ties, though 
not nearly to the extent it seems to have with Georgia. Far from 
being a stooge of the U.S. and throwing in its lot with Georgia, 
Israel has played and will continue to "play" both sides. There's 
nothing scary about this, or rather there's nothing *new* and scary 
about this. It's business as usual.

I suppose Abunimah is alarmed that Israel's relationship with 
Georgian is purely militaristic. But its ties with Russia are only 
different in kind, not aim. As Omar Little says, there's not much of 
a difference between a gun and a briefcase.


>Venezuelan president Hugo Chavez recently denounced Colombia - long one of
>the largest recipients of US military aid after Israel -- as the "Israel of
>Latin America." Georgia's government, to the detriment of its people, may
>have tried to play the role of the "Israel of the Caucasus" -- a loyal
>servant of US ambitions in that region -- and lost the gamble. Playing with
>empires is dangerous for a small country.
>
>As for Israel itself, with the Bush Doctrine having failed to give birth to
>the "new Middle East" that the US needs to maintain its power in the region
>against growing resistance, an ever more desperate and rogue Israel must
>look for opportunities to prove its worth elsewhere. That is a dangerous and
>scary thing.