Dive into the archives.
- The Wine or the Sword?
Last year, while talking with several Georgian students outside an Orthodox church, they pointed at the large statue of a woman which towered over Tbilisi. It was “Mother Georgia” they said and in her hands were a bowl (for wine) and a sword. “We greet our friends with wine and our enemies with the sword” [...]
- Russia shows its hand
With the independence of Kosovo, it seemed that Russia had backed down on its threats to recognize other separatist regions and indeed it did. But it was unlikely there would be no reaction which left analysts wondering when the second shoe would fall. It has:
The breakaway Abkhazia region in Georgia has called on the UN [...]
- From Baku to Kars
The Caucasus isn’t just a region of overlapping ethnicity and religion, but one of clashing national interests. It is home to three regional conflicts and cursed by natural resources. Thus it is with great pleasure that we read some positive news from the region, namely the further development of the Baku-Tbilisi-Kars railroad.
When previously discussed, I [...]
- Not that I’m comparing…
According to a recent article in the NY Times, Georgia — population 5m — has more than doubled its troop levels in Iraq from 850 to 2000. And those troops aren’t lollygagging about in a Halliburton pantry in the Green Zone. These boys are patrolling the Iraq-Iran border.
Now, look at Canada — population 34m — [...]
- More Georgians to Iraq
Georgia is doing what few would: sending more troops to Iraq. Like many other members of the Coalition of the Willing, its initial troop commitment was small, around 800 and stayed clear of danger. Yet, Tbilisi is now deploying an additional 1,200 soldiers and this time, for a more high-profile and potentially dangerous mission, patrolling [...]
- First Georgia, then Mongolia, now Albania
A notable characteristic of George W. Bush’s second term diplomacy has been his focus on small, pro-US nations in strategic regions. First was his trip to Georgia in May 2005, reported here and here. Then was his trip to Mongolia in November 2005, reported here and here. Now is his trip to [...]
