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Abstract
The Russo-Georgian War of 2008 had profoundly negative consequences for European security, which were exacerbated by the inability of the US and Europe, either individually or collectively, to offer any resistance to this aggression. Thus this war and its aftermath showed the effects of incoherent policy-making, enfeebled political will and disunity in the Western alliance. For Washington it also represented a harvest of a misconceived policy towards Georgia that lost control over Georgian policy and may have contributed to Tbilisi's recklessness.
Notes
The views expressed here do not represent those of the US Army, Defense Department or the US Government.
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60. Though the literature on intelligence failures is immense and there was one here, it is clear that the failure was not only in failing to deploy sufficient intelligence assets in this area, but also in failing to grasp what was happening and its importance.
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66. Secretary of State Rice's interview with National Public Radio, 9 December 2008. http://www.npr.org.
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78. CitationTom Baldwin, ‘Bush Squares up To Putin’.
79. CitationEllen Barry and Graham Bolwley, ‘Rice Presses For Pullout as Georgia Sings Cease-Fire’.
80. CitationSteven Lee Myers and Thom Shanker, ‘Aides To Bush Say Offensive Jeopardizes Ties’.
81. CitationJosh Meyer, ‘Risks Seen for US as it Freezes out Russia’; CitationSteven Lee Myers and Brian Knowlton, ‘US Backs off Civilian Nuclear Pact With Russia’.
82. CitationBryza, ‘Russia Georgia, and the Return to Power Politics’, 44. Bryza was the Deputy Assistant Secretary of State for Eurasia and the point man of the Bush Administration for Georgia. This is a published version of his testimony to the US Congressional Commission on Security and Cooperation in Europe (the Helsinki Commission) in September 2008; Fried, Testimony Before the House Committee on Foreign Affairs, 9 September 2008; William J. Burns, Testimony Before the Senate Committee on Foreign Relations, 17 September 2008.
83. Burns, Testimony Before the Senate Committee on Foreign Relations.
84. ‘US Demands Russia Leave Georgia “Now”’, Reuters and the New York Times, 21 August 2008.
85. CitationHelene Cooper, ‘NATO Ministers Warn Russia, No “Business As Usual”’.
86. CitationBurns, Testimony; Field, Testimony; Bryza, ‘Russia Georgia, and the Return to Power Politics’, 45; CitationDavid Brunnstrom, ‘US Expects To Rebuild Georgian Army’.
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90. CitationWalter Pincus, ‘Gates Suggests New Arms Deal With Russia’.
91. Speech at a Meeting with German Political, Parliamentary, and Civic Leaders, Berlin, 5 June 2008, http://www.kremlin.ru/eng/speeches/2008/06/05/2203_type82912type82914type84779_202153.shtml.
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93. CitationWalter Pincus, ‘Pentagon Chief Sees Opportunity in Russia and the War on Terrorism’.
94. CitationDesmond Butler, ‘US Advises EU To Tread Carefully With Russia’; Judy Dempsey, ‘US Presses NATO On Georgia and Ukraine’; CitationAndrei Mohammed and Susan Cromwell, ‘US Studies Another Path For Georgia To Join NATO’; ‘Russia, US Agree To Continue Cooperation Despite Disagreements’, RIA Novosti, 24 November 2008. http://en.rian.ru.
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96. CitationDavid L. Phillips, Post-Conflict Georgia, 9–10.
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99. Tully, ‘Georgian Foreign Minister Hopeful About Accord With US’; The charter text is available at http://www.civil.ge, 9 January 2009 in English, FBIS SOV, 9 January 2009.
100. Whitmore, ‘US-Georgian Security Pact Said To Be In The Works’; Tbilisi Imedi TV, in Georgian, 28 December 2008, FBIS SOV, 28 December 2008.
101. Bureau of European and Eurasian Affairs, US Department of State, ‘United States-Ukraine Charter on Strategic Partnership’, 19 December 2008, http://www.state.gov; FBIS SOV, 9 January 2009.
102. CitationHeather Maher, ‘US and Ukraine Strengthen Ties With New Security Agreement’.
103. Tully, ‘Georgian Foreign Minister Hopeful About Accord With US’.
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105. Tully, ‘Georgian Foreign Minister Hopeful About Accord With US’.
106. CitationWendell Stevenson, ‘Marching Through Georgia’.