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Conflict Is Kosovo Redux

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The Tampa Tribune

Published: August 19, 2008

The news I have seen concerning the Russian invasion of Georgia and what the United States should do about it all seem to miss the point concerning why Moscow could think their actions were acceptable. We wrongly compare the action with the Soviet invasion of Czechoslovakia or Hungary in the bad old days.

Russia is simply acting exactly as the West has done over Kosovo and other new countries that have been extracted out of old Yugoslavia. We invaded Kosovo and attacked Yugoslavian (Serbian) armed forces throughout Kosovo and Serbia in order to "free" a dissident province whose people did not wish to be part of the greater nation. Russia is, in its own mind, doing exactly the same thing in favor of South Ossetia and Abkhazia.

Why should we be surprised? Russia warned us that they did not agree with our actions (NATO actions) with regard to Kosovo. So, now we disagree with their actions with regard to South Ossetia.

IAN MACFARLANE

St. Petersburg

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