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February 13, 2012
Binyamin Rose: Back to the Bunker: How a life-risking act by a Christian family during the Holocaust saved a family and built a thriving community a world away
Menachem Wecker: Business Schools Teach Real Estate Despite Troubled Housing Market
February 10, 2012
Lisa M. Krieger: Man with defibrillator demands access to his own heart's information
David G. Savage: Why activists may not be in a hurry to have High Court rule on alternative marriage
February 9, 2012
Laura McMullen: 10 Least Expensive Public Schools for Out-of-State Students
Kimberly Palmer: How to actually enjoy -- relaxing, financially -- your vacation
February 8, 2012
Warren Richey: Why momentous Prop. 8 ruling might not satisfy gay-rights groups
Menachem Wecker: Though Controversial, LL.M.'s Can Lead to Specialized Legal Jobs
The Kosher Gourmet byDana Velden: Going to the bother of making soup? You know it better be good. This CREAM OF TOMATO SOUP certainly is! And it's a cinch to make, too (Includes techinques and serving secrets)
February 7, 2012
Frank J. Gaffney, Jr.: Caught off-guard? President's Super Bowl interview with Matt Lauer gives those who need a reason not to vote for him, a darn good one
Suzanne Bohan: Leaping lizards! Tiny reptiles advancing robot design
February 6, 2012
Jonathan Tobin: Iran Threatens Israel With Destruction, But the New York Times Doesn't Hear It
Jeffrey Fleishman: In newly democratic Egypt, tens of democracy activists jailed, to stand trial; their groups are 'threatening the stability of the homeland'
Julie Deardorff : Researchers say antioxidants may not be that effective and could do more harm than good
Mark Clayton: How did Anonymous hackers eavesdrop on FBI and Scotland Yard?
February 3, 2012
Edmund Sanders : Israeli official says Iran is creating missile that could reach East Coast of US
Victoria Kim: Immigrant-smuggling ring used black drivers to avoid racial profiling
February 2, 2012
Jim Carney: Wrong number call may have saved her life
Reza Kahlili : Ex-CIA spy in Iran's Revolutionary Guard: What Obama doesn't grasp about striking deals with Tehran
Tina Susman: For woodchuck rescuer, every day is Groundhog Day
February 1, 2012
Brian Bennett: US officials see increasing threat of domestic attack from Iran
Emily Brandon: How to Take Advantage of New 401(k) Fee Disclosures
January 31, 2012
January 30, 2012
Paul Richter and Ramin Mostaghim: Misreading Teheran's limits -- deadly and economically devastating as they may be -- is a risk administration, Europe seem willing to take
Suzanne Bohan: Warning: Nap-deprived tots missing more than sleep, study finds
Meg Handley: Banks Revamping Rewards Programs to Woo Customers
January 27, 2012
Caroline B. Glick: Obama: Of course I intend to prevent a nuclear holocaust . . . in a few months
Yochonon Donn: In liberal New York City, fervently-Orthodox Jews may soon be getting a district to call their own
Jeannine Stein: An inflated ego and thinking you're 'all that' doesn't just make others sick of you, it can make you ill
Katy Hopkins: New budget rules may affect how much money you get for college
January 26, 2012
Ed Koch: To the New York Times, calling for the murder of Jews by those capable of having their incitement taken seriously isn't news
Jeannine Stein: Mental illness struck one in five U.S. adults in 2010: Report
January 25, 2012
Richard Simon: House passes two bills endorsing the use of religious symbols at military memorials
Fred Weir: Putin: Multiethnic Russia cannot survive as a US-style 'melting pot'; must find its own way
Susan Johnston: 5 Sneaky Coupon Strategies Consumers Should Watch Out For
January 24, 2012
Carol Clark: The price of your soul: How your brain decides whether to 'sell out'
Caroline B. Glick: America lost most in 'Arab Spring'. Sadly, many voters still don't grasp the extent
Warren Richey: Drug criminal scores win in GPS ruling from conservative-leaning high court
Erika Bolstad: Black conservatives gather to talk about gaining strength
January 23, 2012
Melissa Dribben: Jewish voters to play a key role in Florida's Republican primary
Jordan Rau: In quest to grow, Catholic hospital system will announce this morning its break from church
Ali Safi: U.S. envoy gives Taliban terms for peace talks
January 19, 2012
January 18, 2012
January 17, 2012
Frank J. Gaffney Jr.: No-kidding red lines: U.S. response to an Iranian nuke may be bluster, but Israel's won't be
David G. Savage: They sued their principals after slandering them online --- now the cases are headed to the Supreme Court
David Francis: Where to Invest in 2012: With stocks expected to rebound, opportunity abounds for investors
January 13, 2012
Ben Lynfield: Israeli lawmakers move to annex Jewish Judea, one museum at a time
Alexia Elejalde-Ruiz: Thriving through touch: Gentle massage helps older people with low mobility improve in mind and body
January 12, 2012
Warren Richey: Landmark Supreme Court ruling a 'resounding win' for religious groups
Warren Richey: Supreme Court says no to new rule on eyewitness testimony
John Fauber : Statins found to raise diabetes risk in postmenopausal women
Katy Hopkins : Consider This Before You Pay for an Online Degree
The Kosher Gourmet by Joseph Erdos: This mushroom and barley soup has an intense -- almost nutty -- flavor that mixes robust with Middle East. It has creaminess without cream
January 11, 2012
Shari Roan: Millions of atrial fibrillation sufferers at risk for devastating, but preventable, stroke
Tom Hussain: Pakistan -- recipient of more than $21 billion in civilian and military aid -- speeds pursuit of Iranian pipeline, defying US
David G. Savage: High court signals it won't be loosening TV's 'indecency' rules
Stephen Ceasar: Oklahoma's Islamic law amendment can't go into effect, court rules
January 10, 2012
Reza Kahlili: From an ex-CIA spy: US must exploit new split in Iran's Revolutionary Guard
Karen Kaplan: Study: Nicotine replacement products ineffective when used in real-life situations
January 9, 2012
Michael Doyle: Put through legal hell over dream home, couple fought back hard --- all the way to Supreme Court
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Jewish World Review
August 19, 2008
18 Menachem-Av 5768
Russian invasion of Georgia illustrates threat to U.S. global role
By
Michael Goodwin
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http://www.JewishWorldReview.com |
No sooner had Russia taken a page out of its Soviet playbook to carve up Georgia than Washington responded by turning back its calendar. Seizing on advice to re-create Harry Truman's Berlin air lift, President Bush dispatched military cargo planes to the beleaguered Georgian capital of Tbilisi with food, medicine and other supplies.
In quick order, the administration and presidential candidates John McCain and Barack Obama raced to update the moves and rhetoric of every President through Ronald Reagan in a bid to show spine against Russia without actually provoking a military conflict.
The Cold War is back, right down to references to the "Evil Empire" and fearful talk of nuclear strikes. But before we rush back into our dusty air raid shelters and teach schoolchildren to duck and cover under their desks, we would do well to remember this is 2008, not 1948.
Just as generals tend to make the mistake of fighting the last hot war, many politicians and pundits are gearing up to fight the last Cold War. By all means, we must stand firm - and demand that Europe do the same - against Russia's brutal land grab and naked threats.
But America also needs to get its own act together if we have any hope of rallying the world against the new rise of totalitarian regimes. Russia was clearly emboldened not only by its newfound oil and gas wealth, but also by our obvious weakness.
We are hobbled in the world and divided at home, dependent on others for our energy, much of our food, manufacturing, and even for our financing.
We are going deeper into debt with each passing day, our future mortgaged with commitments we cannot possibly keep. And yet the solutions our leaders offer are no match for the scale of the problems. We don't even demand that Obama and McCain offer honest ideas that would halt our alarming decline, let alone put us on the path to security and prosperity.
One result is that, if this is the start of a new Cold War, we're in no position to fight it with even the same commitment and resources we used to win the last one.
Meanwhile, the new world order we face is worse than the old one. From the rise of Islamic terrorism to the spread of nuclear weapons, the planet is a far more lethal place. It is made more complicated by new powers that, like Russia, are fueled by petrodollars and grievances.
Worst of all, America is sagging just when the free world needs our leadership again. Even our military might has been sapped by the long slog in Iraq.
Take the most obvious example of how the world has changed - the Russian invasion of Georgia came as the Olympics were being held in China. That would be the same China that was sealed against the West until Richard Nixon's visit "opened" it in 1972.
Now China is wowing the world with its rapid industrialization and spectacular growth. Yet because it is one of our most important bankers and trading partners, we cannot afford to offend it, even though it protects Iran and North Korea.
Our weakness ties our hands with others, too. Bookstores are filled with accounts of the staggering wealth produced by what Wall Street calls the BRIC economies: Brazil, Russia, India and China. "The rise of the rest," as author Fareed Zakaria calls it, has scrambled all the assumptions and rules that shaped the last Cold War. Even India felt strong enough to scuttle world trade talks.
If there is nostalgia for a Cold War, perhaps it's because we won that showdown so convincingly. Most of the old Soviet-controlled states are capitalist democracies or are on their way. A handful, such as Poland and Latvia, are members of NATO.
With Georgia and Ukraine hoping to join, Russia increasingly saw itself being surrounded by our allies. Its pushback was, in hindsight, utterly predictable, but Bush failed to connect the dots.
Fortunately, the wakeup call has been heard and the West is at least momentarily united in the alarming realization that Vladimir Putin is determined to reestablish Russia's global prominence, if not the Soviet Union itself.
We must worry about the next move of this would-be czar. But even more, we must worry about whether America can again summon the will and the skill to lead in such perilous times.
For if not us, who?
Every weekday JewishWorldReview.com publishes what many in Washington and the media consider "must-reading". Sign up for the daily JWR update. It's free. Just click here.
Michael Goodwin is a Pulitzer Prize-winning columnist for the New York Daily News. Comment by clicking here.
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