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Saturday, September 20, 2008

Polar Bear

After their not-quite-a-victory over Georgia, the Russians are denying that they are isolating themselves. Pay no attention to that little war thing, the Russians protest. It was just a lark. Don't believe the Americans who are trying to isolate us:

"We are in effect being pushed down a path that is founded not on fully-fledged, civilized partnership with other countries, but on autonomous development, behind thick walls, behind an Iron Curtain," Medvedev told a gathering of civil society groups in the Kremlin.

"That is not our path. For us there is no sense going back to the past. We have made our choice."

Really, that path through Gori, Georgia, was just a wrong turn!

Sorry! Sorry! Let's not quibble over who killed who, eh?

Georgia was a tougher nut to crack than the Russians may have anticipated, so instead of looking at Ukraine as the next victim, the Russians are looking north to conquer the territory and seas of the polar bears:

"We are concerned about not just Russia's claims through the international process, but Russia's testing of Canadian airspace and other indications ... (of) some desire to work outside of the international framework," said Prime Minister Stephen Harper.

"That is obviously why we are taking a range of measures, including military measures, to strengthen our sovereignty in the North," he said, highlighting a new sensor net, navy patrols and a military training camp in the Arctic.

But Russia had best be careful over their ambitions in the north.





From AFP

Five countries bordering the Arctic -- Canada, Denmark, Norway, Russia and the United States -- claim overlapping parts of the region, which is estimated to hold 90 billion untapped barrels of oil.

But the Russians seem to forget that unlike Georgia which is at the moment outside of the NATO defensive umbrella, Canada, Denmark, Norway, and America are members of NATO.

If the Russians couldn't conquer Georgia, why do they think they can conquer the Arctic?