Letter to the Editor 1, 9/4/08

Dear Editor, This letter is in response to Brandon Pfeffer’s Sept. 2 column, ‘Russia has… Dear Editor, This letter is in response to Brandon Pfeffer’s Sept. 2 column, ‘Russia has strategy for Georgia.’ Pfeffer mentions that Russia’s invasion of Georgia is inexcusable. However, do we really know both sides of the story? What really happened in South Ossetia prior to the Russian invasion? Perhaps Russia’s account that Georgian forces were the first to invade South Ossetia in order to reclaim the breakaway region, which triggered the Russian response, is actually true. I think it is a little too convenient to label Russia’s actions as ’empire-building’ and aggressive when all the information that we receive comes from our ally Georgia (via the President Mikhail Saakashvili) and rhetoric from our politicians, which Pfeffer mentions. Russia’s voice in this conflict has simply been smothered, its allegations and accounts labeled as propaganda. In 1956 during the Hungarian Revolution, the Soviet Union invaded Hungary and had control of the capital Budapest within one week. If Russia really was seeking regime change and expanding its ’empire,’ I think that we would have seen Russian troops in the Georgian capital Tbilisi weeks ago and Mikhail Saakashvili would have been deposed. Russia’s limited action shows that it might have been responding to a threat, not trying to annex Georgia. This entire situation reminds me of the United States’ and NATO’s actions in Kosovo in the late ’90s, which were seen as a fight for national self-determination. The United States and NATO went so far as to bomb Serbia to protect Kosovo. However, when Russia tries to protect South Ossetia, the West conveniently labels its actions as aggressive and empire-building. Perhaps this is because Georgia is a U.S. ally and Serbia was not? As for the patriot missile system being placed in Poland, it reminds me of the Cuban Missile Crisis in 1962, when the Soviet Union placed nuclear missiles on Cuba, right on the front porch of the United States (pardon my cliche). What right does the United States have to place missile systems in Poland? I understand that nuclear and patriot missiles are two different animals, but the fact is that the United States is encroaching on Russia’s sphere of influence. What other reaction can one expect other than anger and hostility? Expecting Russia to remain indifferent is just silly. Edward Tselishchev, Class of 2010 Chemistry, History