Toothless Tiger Roars At Russia

Over the past few weeks I've noticed something about the UnitedStates that scares the bejeezus out of me. It concerns the Russian invasion of the soverign state of Georgia, and the tepid response from America. I believe I know why the US response was as it is, and the answer relates to the military deployments in Iraq and Afghanistan.

Russia is no longer the large player in world affairs that it was during the Cold War years, but that's not to say that they're the weakest kid on the block, either. But the US is supposed to be the strongest kid on the block. You just wouldn't know it from the lukewarm response the Russian military misadventure earned.

Look to the more recent past...Ronald Reagan's military intervention in Grenada, or even George H. W. Bush [Bush41]'s response to the Iraqi invasion of Kuwait. American troops were sent in to restore things as they had been, and the message delivered to the world was that the US was ready, willing, and able to defend smaller countries from aggressive neighbors.

Now contrast this with our response to the Russian invasion of Georgia: Secretary of State Condaleeza Rice has protested Russia's actions, but that's as far as it's going to go. Why? Because the US military is already overextended in Iraq and Afghanistan, and there aren't enough troops available to enforce what's right.

So the US can't be the world's policeman. Maybe we shouldn't have tried to assume that role to begin with, because it's simply too big a pair of shoes to be filled by any one country. Apparently NATO is content to sit back and watch what happens as well. In the meantime, Russia is allowed to destroy the Republic of Georgia piecemeal, splitting away two regions on either side of Georgia, while continuing a military presence in Georgia's primary port city.

What all this reveals to the world about America's military vulnerability should scare the hell out of Americans. We have units of the National Guard and the Army Reserve and the Marines on their fifth and sixth deployments to the Iraq and Afghanistan conflicts, and lots of equipment that is being worn out there and not being replaced at home when the units return stateside. And troops are getting burned out and not reenlisting, having had enough of being shipped out over and over again as full-time soldiers for what they understood would be a part-time committment when they originally signed up for the Guard and Reserves.

Truth be told, the next US president is going to be faced with some politically suicidal choices. Tax revenues neeed to increase to start working toward elimination of the annual budget deficit, a move that would go a long, long way toward strengthening the dollar. [And if we can't get the annual budgets under control, there's no use even thinking about the national debt, which is also burdening the beleaguered buck.] Another area that will pose a political hazard is the beefing up and staffing of the weary US military. A draft might become necessary, simply to put enough "warm bodies" into uniform to keep our nation safe. [While I don't advocate reinstatement of a military draft, if I'm going to be honest I must consider the fact that we may not have a choice in the next few years.]

But for now, all the US can do with Russia is to tell them they've been bad, and they shouldn't have gone into Georgia, and they need to stop it. And Russia, recognizing the US as the toothless tiger that we've become, will ignore us and do whatever they want to their neighbors.