NahnCee –

I am an American realist, politically, and understand GWB’s real limits within the system.

You seem to think that Presidents exist outside a political vacuum. They do not. Congress can and will impeach those they don’t like. Even Clinton found that out.

GWB is lazy and unwilling to fight for his goals, politically. His weak response, even weaker than OBAMA’S (second effort) shows how lame-duck and hamstrung he is. Within the limits of American politics, GWB can do nothing but be a caretaker President, handing over policy to Condi and Gates who are willing to do whatever it takes to make Putin happy.

This is reality.

Georgia is ALREADY lost. Period. Russian troops should be mopping up in about two weeks or so. Running the place under permanent occupation. This is reality. [The Turks are not going to fight or be in conflict with Russia, they are allied in Islamic extremism with Iran and secularism/Kemalism is dead in Turkey.]

Another reality is that NATO is dead, and most of Europe will be forced to reach an accomodation with Russia, as a satellite, due to dependence on oil and gas and military disparities. Russia has a military, and Europe just doesn’t. This is also reality.

The way forward for America is long and hard and alone. We won’t have allies, since we’re seen as weak and unreliable. There are no real military forces in the world anyway besides China and Japan anyway, outside Russia and regional powers like Iran. This means lots of military spending, rebuilding, and so on to strike independently around the Globe. With lots more nukes.

But it’s NOT the Cold War. Putin does not want or need a communist empire. Instead he wants a global price of oil at north of $145 a barrel or more. China is our ally on this since they need cheap oil and face Russia’s allies in high oil prices, demanding separatist aims. More explosions and attacks in XianXing by Uighur separatists today.

[A strong President would have ordered a tit-for-tat attack on Iran, now, labeling the Iranians as conspiring with the Russians on nukes, calling them a threat, and completely crippling Iran's economy: targeting transport, electricity, water, everything else. Bush cannot do this because of his political weakness. However that response would have avoided direct US-Russian confrontation and taken out tit-for-tat Russia's ally and America's direct and avowed enemy.]