Russia's Big Lie

By INVESTOR'S BUSINESS DAILY, 15/08/2008

After hearing the hard, cold facts of Russia's brutal occupation of Georgia, the West has no choice but to respond harshly to Vladimir Putin's regime. Failure to do so would only invite further attacks.

Apologists for Russia say it really had no choice: Because of "genocide" in South Ossetia and Abkhazia, Russia had to intervene. It was an "emergency." It wasn't.

This is the kind of big lie for which Hitler was famous — as when he suggested his interest in Czechoslovakia was really to rescue the Sudeten Germans, then gobbled up the entire country.

In Russia's case, this was a carefully planned operation. Once in place, Russia's leaders knew full well they weren't going to simply occupy the disputed territories, but rather fully invade Georgia — and, hopefully, topple its humiliated government.

The reason is clear: Russia wants to control the Baku-Tbilisi-Ceyhan pipeline, the only non-Russian conduit that brings oil from the Caspian Sea to Europe's thirsty market. To do so would give it unparalleled control over Europe's economy.

In a riveting speech Friday, Georgian President Mikheil Saakashvili, with U.S. Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice at his side, revealed in graphic detail how Russia had gone about subjugating his country. The entire speech can be found on our Web site.

Russia systematically built up the rail infrastructure in Abkhazia to make it easier to send in troops, Saakashvili said. They began building tank bases in South Ossetia and Abkhazia.

"They started to bring in lots of military specialists, reconnaissance," he said. "They brought in paratroopers. We screamed to the world, stop it! And there were some statements from Washington, but I have to tell you that for most of the European countries . . . there was pretty muted and quiet reaction to all this."

The trouble started when Europe balked at letting Georgia join NATO last spring. At the time, Saakashvili complained. Then, when Russian planes repeatedly violated Georgian airspace, he complained again. Though the signs were clear, he was ignored.

Now we see what Russia was preparing. The brutality and lack of humanitarian concern shown by Russia's poorly disciplined troops in attacking Georgia are shocking.

• Russia used SS-21 missiles, one of the deadliest weapons in its military's arsenal, on areas they knew contained civilians.

• Russian aircraft dropped incendiary devices on Georgian forests to create fires, panic and terror.

• Putin's forces also dropped cluster bombs on civilian populations, knowing full well those munitions' main use is to kill and maim people, not destroy buildings or damage property.

• Troops have looted, robbed banks, stolen goods, murdered, burned towns and raped women as part of a terror campaign.

Putin prepared the Russian public for this by using the cowed Russian media to whip up nationalistic hysteria, suggesting Russia was under siege and encircled by enemies ready to do NATO's bidding.

Russia planned for months, watching and learning from our response to Iran. The West told Iran to halt the enrichment of uranium and its nuclear weapons program. It hasn't, and we've done nothing. Now, our lack of resolve has come back to haunt us.

Knowing this, Russia executed its plan with brutal precision.

Our weakness invited an attack — and will invite more if we don't respond now. But the U.S. can do even more than just isolating Russia in diplomacy, or issuing pleas. We can also neutralize Putin's use of the "oil weapon" — his implicit threat to cut off oil sales to the West — by drilling for more oil ourselves.

To help, the Democrat-led Congress could immediately approve drilling on all federal lands containing oil — a move that would send crude prices tumbling and slash Russia's hard currency earnings from energy. We hope they will — but won't hold our breath.