A great country brought back to life through a small country... Is everything really as it seems? Let’s develop some conspiracy theories! You must be wondering about the title of the article. I can almost hear you asking, “What is this ‘B.K.P’?” No, no, it isn’t a newly established political party! It’s just an abbreviation for something you’ll understand much better by the end of the article…
You have been following developments in the Caucasus closely in recent days. Whichever mass medium you use to follow the news (TV, radio, newspapers, the internet, etc.), you are being subjected to a barrage of “information,” as the technical term goes: “Russian President Medvedev said this…” “Georgian President Saakashvili said that…” “US President Bush issued a warning,” and so on… And some people are telling you that the “Cold War” has begun!
Have you ever asked yourself, “Could some people want the Cold War to start up again?” To put it more plainly: could the US and Russia be nostalgic for the Cold War?
Let’s recall what happened:
Georgia, a US puppet, launched a military operation against Russian-controlled South Ossetia without warning, knowing full well that it would face a major backlash. Everything actually went as Georgia expected: Russia reacted very harshly, and while Georgian troops were forced to leave Ossetia, Saakashvili, whom the US had installed as Georgia’s leader, was branded “mad” by the world media. Then the world media moved on from reports about Saakashvili being mad to reports about the backlash against Russia. As reactions against Russia came in from all over the world, commentators began saying things like, “Russia is back,” “Russia has demonstrated its power,” and “Russia has sent the message to the US that you’re not the only power.” The US, which had been the world’s sole superpower just two months earlier, suddenly lost its claim to being the “only” one. And commentators began saying that, with the Caucasus tensions, “The US tested Russia, but things didn’t go as expected. Russia showed its strength, and the US shot itself in the foot.” Would the US shoot itself in the foot?
At first glance, this may seem to work against the US, but if we consider its current situation, that isn’t really the case! We have a US wondering how it will get out of Iraq… A US grappling with a banking crisis at home, while also fully deserving its status as the world’s most disliked country—and whose film industry (Hollywood) is nearly on the brink of a major crisis because it is running out of stories. Don’t you think the US in this situation needed a partner? That partner could be none other than Russia. What changed in the world after the crisis in the Caucasus? Following the September 11, 2001 attacks, whose anniversary is today, the US adopted an aggressive stance and became a disliked country. It is gone, and a new aggressive country, Russia, has taken its place. In the latest crisis, the Russians (in my view, deliberately) both played into the US’s hands and demonstrated their power.
Yes, I admit it: in August 2008, the Cold War started up again around the world. However, this was a transition to a fictional and artificial Cold War, both in terms of its media coverage and the events that were staged. In other words, our world witnessed the US’s short-term, direct-to-the-point and, this time, successful “Great Caucasus Project” (B.K.P). In the end, both the US and Russia got what they wanted. The ones who paid the price were the people who died in South Ossetia and Georgia.
Until we meet again… Please be courteous in traffic!