By Walt Zlotow
Not satisfied with destroying Ukraine to weaken Russia, the U.S. House passed a deranged bill to set the stage for an Ukraine redo, this time in tiny former Soviet republic, Georgia.
It overwhelmingly passed the Mobilizing and Enhancing Georgia’s Options for Building Accountability, Resilience, and Independence Act (MEGOBARI Act) by a vote of 349 to 42.
MEGOBARI may be the stupidest acronym ever. But its intent is even more stupid.
The bill is simply an Ukraine-style regime change ploy to kick Russia out of its neighbour Georgia’s polity so Georgia can join NATO and the EU.
MEGOBARI doesn’t mince niceties:
“[T]he consolidation of democracy in Georgia is critical for regional stability and United States national interests… (so it is) the policy of the United States to support the constitutionally stated aspirations of Georgia to become a member of the European Union and NATO,” to “continue supporting the capacity of the Government of Georgia to protect its sovereignty and territorial integrity… (and) to combat Russian aggression, including through sanctions on trade with Russia and the implementation and enforcement of worldwide sanctions on Russia.”
The US regime change party, including all but 34 Republican and 8 Democrats, can’t tolerate the duly elected Russian-aligned Georgian Dream Party ruling Georgia, claiming this tiny spec of a country with just 3.8 million souls and a ‘miniscule’ US$30.8 billion GEP is essential to US national security interests is preposterous.
Georgia has suffered thru senseless U.S. intervention for 22 years beginning with the 2003 U.S. aided Rose Revolution that eventually installed pro U.S. puppet Mikheil Saakashviili as president, ousting pro Russian Eduard Shevardnadze. Hear echoes of Ukraine there?
Five years later, goaded by the U.S., Saakashvili tried to reclaim two breakaway Georgian provinces aligned with Russia. Big mistake. His attack provoked a Russian pushback that crushed the Georgian intervention. At the start, U.S. Sen. John McCain shouted; “Today we are all Georgians.” When Georgia caved so did McCain, likely channeling SNL’s Roseanne Roseannadanna’s; ‘Oh, never mind.’
But here we are 17 years on and US war lovers are at it again in the ‘Weaken Russia’ game with patsy Georgia. MEGOBARI even includes the ominous directive that allows Congress:
“…in consultation with the Secretary of Defense… to expand military co-operation with Georgia, including by providing further security and defense equipment ideally suited for territorial defense against Russian aggression and related training, maintenance, and operations support elements.”
Might be time for all 349 clueless congresspersons supporting MEGOBARI to be flown to Ukraine’s eastern war front to see just how glorious their ‘Weaken Russia’ campaign is going with our hapless Ukrainians.
Walt Zlotow, West Suburban Peace Coalition, Glen Ellyn IL
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Support for Ukraine and now it appears Georgia, is more about America consolidating it’s position as the Worlds leader, than anything else.
In reality, Russia should have been part of NATO (afterall it was a victorious allie), but both GB and America saw Russia usurping their power.
I’m surprised that Walt Zlotow did not mention that the antagonism of the US towards Georgia has arisen from the government legislating to restrict the activities of (mainly) foreign NGOs. The new law will hamper US efforts to interfere in local politics.
Coming into force on August 1, the law requires NGOs that receive 20 percent or more of their funding from abroad to officially register themselves as “pursuing the interests of a foreign power.”
The US has a similar Act which requires periodic disclosure of all activities and finances by: people and organizations that are under control of a foreign government, or of organizations or of persons outside of the United States (“foreign principal”), if they act “at the order, request, or under the direction or control” (“agents”) of this principal or of persons who are “controlled or subsidized in major part” by this principal.
The Moscow Times has a lengthy article on this.
The Moscow Times is not, as its name suggests, aligned with Moscow.
From the article — “today, more than 25,000 NGOs are registered in Georgia. (Pop. 3.7 million) According to the Georgian authorities, 90% of their funding comes from abroad.”
“Foreign aid agencies and their local NGO contractors have long colonized most areas of public policy and services”
“Instead of the Georgian people voting for lawmakers to represent their interests, unelected NGOs get their mandate from international bodies, which draw up and pay for checklists of policy reforms in Georgia. Local NGOs lack an incentive to consider the impact of the projects they implement because they are not accountable to the citizens in whose lives they play such an outsized role. This constellation of forces has eroded Georgian citizens’ agency and the country’s sovereignty and democracy.”
“Because on top of the major problem at the heart of Georgia’s political economy lies another, much trickier problem:the small but powerful clique of NGOs with annual budgets of up to millions of dollars from foreign donors — some of them close to the previous government of Saakashvili’s United National Movement — who openly engage in partisan politics. For about five years, they have denied the government’s legitimacy and called for its ouster — and not just by supporting the opposition in elections, which already crosses ethical red lines for NGOs (especially when they are funded by foreign states). They agitate for a revolutionary change of power outside democratic, constitutional processes. Previously, they demanded to take over as a technocratic government. But since no one — certainly not the Georgian electorate — followed them up on that offer, these groups have fanned the flames of mass protests in front of parliament and other government buildings.”
“Behind closed doors, Western diplomats admit that the conduct of the partisan NGOs they finance crosses many lines and that something needs to change, but they get defensive when pressed on what they will do about it.”
“Worst and most irresponsibly, EU officials have joined in, repeating one after the other that such a law is incompatible with “EU norms and values.” Language like this is conveniently vague, unlike actual EU laws, which do not prohibit regulating NGO funding.”
The NGO issue in Georgia is a real mess if the Moscow Times article is accurate.
https://www.themoscowtimes.com/2024/05/03/georgias-foreign-influence-law-isnt-what-you-think-a85029
I meant to post this comment here…
An alternative way of looking at such questions is to ask- why do so many of Russia’s neighbours seek to look to a future free of Russian domination?
Like the alcoholic and steadily dementing uncle who can’t help but paw every female in his vicinity, the American government (of either stripes) is of the firm belief that it has the right to interfere in the affairs of any other country on the planet, limited exceptions excepted. As has been noted of the current POTUS, the governments, historically, appear incapable of learning from their mistakes. It beggars belief that they’re also incapable of comprehending why it is that they generate so much hostility and antagonism directed towards them on the basis of those behaviours. Looking forward to the Big Crunch, in whatever form it may be, as long as Uncle Sam’s balloon is punctured and the air taken out of their sails (mixed metaphors, apols.)
Mixed metaphors?
Canga, I luv it when pandora’s box let’s the cat out of the bag after the horse has bolted and the train’s left the station.
“they’re also incapable of comprehending why it is that they generate so much hostility and antagonism directed towards them on the basis of those behaviours.”
Exactly.
It’s worked for them in the past, but an empire in decline can’t see the writing on the wall. (I tried to mix another one in there, but came up with nought!)
If USA continues to push Georgia towards NATO membership then Putin will have no option than to order another “Special Military Operation”. Thus Georgia may not be occupied by Russia but it will be materially, economically and ethnically destroyed. Georgians must look to Ukraine to see the proof of this prediction. USA must withdraw.
Speaking of declining empires and the writing on the wall.
“When the (Red Sea) blockade began in November 14, 2023. It had initially only targeted ships bound for Israel. From the outset, the Houthis were committed to ending the genocide in Gaza by placing economic pressure on Israel. The United States responded with Operation Prosperity Guardian, a twenty-nation coalition — a number of whose members refused to be named publicly — meant to secure Red Sea trade.”
“Yet Ansar Allah’s blockade continued. Its strategy exposed a fundamental shift in naval warfare: a nonstate actor, using cheap and domestically produced technology, had outmaneuvered the most powerful military alliance in history.”
If Australia cannot see a lesson in this with regard to our military planning and expenditure, then we might well see some writing on the wall intended for us.