Nato's Favorite Despot

Georgia's Mikheil Saakashvili

"Mikheil Saakashvili, some have called him NATO’s favorite despot.

I think that’s an accurate characterization of Mr. Saakashvili, yes.

He made some statements that the Russian Empire is about to collapse.

Yes, he’s been making statements along that line for a couple of weeks, maybe longer. It’s a repeated leitmotif for Mr. Saakashvili, that the Empire – I take it that’s a borrowing from a person he no doubt admired greatly, Ronald Reagan, and his - 30 years ago - his reference to the former Soviet Union as being the Evil Empire. I imagine Saakashvili knows what sort of terminology to use to be picked up in the West, but yesterday he made what were quite characteristic comments that, were they to be made by any other head of state, would certainly raise a few eyebrows around the world, but not when it comes from Mr. Saakashvili. For example, speaking again about Russia, Russia was now, and I quote him, “like crazy,” because Georgia survived the war that it provoked with South Ossetia and Russia in August of 2008. Since he came into power on the back of the so-called “rose revolution” in 2003, Mr. Saakashvili, U.S.-educated incidentally, Columbia graduate, he’s clearly modeled himself after a medieval Georgian monarch, one Davit the Builder, and in his speech yesterday Saakashvlili evoked once again King Davit and Queen Tamara. But then at another point, referring to Russia, and I am quoting this from Civil Georgia, an English-language website from the nation, this is in Georgia’s political reality, “Political vampires, mummies and various monsters will not be able to return” and so forth. This sort of lunatic verbiage is what we’ve come to expect from Mr. Saakashvili, notwithstanding which, however, he remains, as I mentioned, the pet despot of NATO countries, and their political darling outside the Euro-Atlantic area.

Why?

He serves their purposes. He and his regime have recently authorized the deployment of another large military unit of Georgian troops to Afghanistan to serve under NATO’s International Security Assistance Force. When they arrive to join their cohorts already there, the Georgian troop contingent in Afghanistan will be the largest of any non-full NATO member, exceeding even the 1,550 troops that Australia currently has in Afghanistan. So they are providing cannon fodder."

The country will be vital for a sustained assault on Iran. Not only will it be a resupply base but will effectively impede Russian help to their Iranian allies.
That's of course if the Russians allow this. And if the Chinese allow this.

You look to comfort food when you walk the razor's edge: