Tuesday, August 12, 2008

Strength and weakness in international policy

The strength of a party doesn’t consist just in the means it has but in the successful tactics it can use. The US huge army in Iraq was disastrously faced by suicide attacks from the insurgents. Hamas despite its relatively primitive missiles is causing concern to Israel which has one of the most modern army in the world.

Wars as it seems aren’t the ultimate means to solve conflicts as they lead just to more disasters without radically solving standing issues. It’s better to engage in negotiations that can lead to enduring peaceful settlements. Using one’s strength to wipe out one’s enemy is a futile attempt, especially if the enemy has the means to resurrect and the problems just lay dormant before erupting with huge intensity.

Also, as long as there are divisions between (strong) nations, factions/ militias will be used to start new conflicts. The skirmishes and wars in southern Lebanon between Israel and Hezbullah were just proxy wars to avoid direct confrontations between Syria and Israel.
In the case of Georgia, Russia is sending a signal to the USA in case it seeks to include it in NATO. So the situation in Georgia is a test for Russia to confront US planned military expansion in the Caucasus region.

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