PUNDITS and politicians have blamed both Georgia and Russia over the recent explosion of violence in the contested Georgian province of South Ossetia. Regardless of which country is really to blame for the hostilities, it is clear that the policies of the Bush administration made it easier for Russia to escalate the crisis and damaged America's moral authority to stop the crisis once it started. Particularly, the invasion of Iraq by the United States in 2003 falsely legitimized the use of force as a credible way to resolve international disputes and damaged American prestige around the world.\nAs a result, Russian Prime Minister Vladimir Putin was able to justify the invasion of Georgia as a legitimate military action simply following in the model of the United States. The loss of American credibility at the international level also prevented America from being able to diffuse the crisis quickly. In order for the world community to confront possible aggressor states such as Russia and Iran in the coming years, the United States must regain its moral authority in the world and lead by its own actions at the international level.\nThe current crisis started on August 7 when Georgian President Mikheil Saakashvilli sent Georgian troops to regain authority over the pro-Russian breakaway Georgian province of South Ossetia. Russia claimed that Georgia was committing atrocities against the South Ossetians and sent its own troops to defend the population. Russia went further by sending troops deep into undisputed Georgian territory and bombing cities including the Georgian capital. Almost all American politicians from both parties denounced this action as a disproportionate response and some went as far as to say that this was the first step in Russia reestablishing its former empire by bullying its neighbors.\nHowever, American supporters of the invasion of Iraq seem hypocritical when they criticize Russia over the invasion of Georgia and this hypocrisy hampers American and global efforts to stop Russian aggression. For example, John McCain criticized Russian actions by stating, "in the 21st century, nations don't invade other nations." President Bush also chided Russia when he declared, "bullying and intimidation are not acceptable ways to conduct foreign policy in the 21st century."\nSupporters of the Iraq war either don't realize or don't want to admit that many of these same criticisms were leveled against the United States during the Iraq war. These kinds of statements denouncing Russian action comes five years after the near-unilateral invasion of Iraq. They do not seem credible and limit the effectiveness of American calls for Russia to stop hostilities.\nPutin specifically mentioned the American invasion of Iraq and overthrow of Saddam Hussein as a reason why Russia could invade Georgia. He went so far as to mock American support of Georgia against Russian aggression. "Of course, Saddam Hussein ought to have been hanged for destroying several Shiite villages," he said. "And the incumbent Georgian leaders who razed ten Ossetian villages at once ... these leaders must be taken under protection."\nThe inability of the Bush administration to control the crisis became apparent when French President Nicholas Sarkozy had to broker the first ceasefire between Georgia and Russia. The United States could do little more than verbally support Georgia and had little legitimacy in trying to broker a peace.\nThe United States, by not living up to its own ideals in international relations, allows other countries such as Russia to break the rules of appropriate international behavior also. America cannot lead the international order under the mantras of "do what I say; not what I do" and "might makes right." The United States must return to principles that have guided American foreign policies for decades such as working closely with all of our allies and confronting hostile nations through the legitimacy of international organizations such as the United Nations and NATO.\nThe recent American experience in dealing with the crisis between Russia and Georgia demonstrates the importance of America regaining its moral footing in the world. It will be up to the next President to deal with various crises around the world such as the reemergence of an aggressive Russia and the development of nuclear technology in Iran. The only way the United States can effectively deal with these and other crises around the world is to rebuild its prestige in the world community and once again lead by example on the international stage.\nSam Shirazi's column usually appears Mondays in The Cavalier Daily. He can be reached at sshirazi@cavalierdaily.com.
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