To Not Help Our Allies is to Help Our Enemies

Little reported in the main-stream media was a recent decision by the Obama administration to not sell new weapons to Georgia, a small country that resides on the southern Russian border and was in a war with Russia August of last year. If you don't remember the war broke out over the breakaway region of South Ossetia and devastated the small US ally, who at the time, even had troops committed to US mission in Iraq.

The Georgian military was practically run over by the Russian war machine that invaded it, leaving Georgia with practically no military equipment what-so-ever. Early this year the Greogian government, in an attempt to rebuild some of it's military, put in a request to purchase weapons from the US. A request that was recently denied:

Posted by www.janes.com (a international defense information company) July 31st:

"US says no to Georgian arms request
The United States will not provide Georgia with the weapons it has requested and which it says would deter Russia from starting another war, a Pentagon official has said. In advance of US Vice President Joe Biden's visit to Tbilisi in mid-July, Georgian President Mikheil Saakashvili publicly called on Washington to provide it with "defensive" weapons, in particular anti-tank and anti-aircraft systems."

Mind you that while Russia outnumber Georgia greatly in the number of troops, Georgia at the beginning of the war had a total of four combat aircraft and only a hand full of armored vehicles. While troops can set up defensive positions to slow or stop invading infantry, it's nearly impossible for them to stop waves of aircraft and tanks without proper weaponry.

While I'm sure that many will say that it's good that we don't do anything to antagonize the Russian bear we are about to be taught another lesson in how showing weakness just emboldens those who are just clearly not on our side. Despite the Obama administraion's request to "hit the reset button" on US - Russian relations, Russia has made it's own point clear.

From www.bbc.com August 12th:

"Russians to boost Abkhazia bases
Russia is to spend almost $500m (£300m) next year reinforcing its military bases in Georgia's breakaway region of Abkhazia, the prime minister says. Vladimir Putin's announcement came as he visited the region for talks. He said Russia was committed to defending and financing the small strip of land in Georgia's north-west corner. Georgia reacted angrily to the visit, calling it "yet another provocation" and an attempt to "escalate tensions in the Caucasus region".

The UK also condemned Mr Putin's announcement, saying it ran contrary to wider international efforts to support a negotiated solution in the region. Moscow officially recognised the independence of Abkhazia and South Ossetia following the war a year ago between Russia and Georgia. The only other country recognising the regions' independence is Nicaragua; both areas are still widely considered to be part of Georgia."

Does it take an pie chart to explain this? Less then two weeks after the US denies the Georgians weapons to rebuild some resemblance of a military, a cash strapped Russia dedicates 1/2 a billion dollars to building permanent bases in one of the one of the two break away regions.

Considering that Georgia was willing to back us in an internationally unpopular confrontation in Iraq and dedicate troops our cause you think that the least we could show to them is some help after getting stomped on by a neighbor that is so much larger that it would be the equivalent of the whole of America declaring war on South Carolina. Sorry, South Carolina.

This is a prime example of leaving allies out to dry, and should be brought back up as a point that if sometime in the near future Israel takes it upon itself to try to rid Iran of nuclear weapons and technology through the use of military force. After this falter I don't think I would wait around the US help either, since in that war there wouldn't be an Israel to not sell new weapons to.