Russia Fumbles, and Former Sphere of Influence Deflates

An interesting push piece smack in the middle of the front
page of the LA Times today. If you want to know what the Bushites
think they are accomplishing in Central Asia, get it straight
from the horse's ass here. Notice the complete lack of any sense
of irony about the "crumbling empire" meme.

MOSCOW — The revolt in Kyrgyzstan that toppled Russia's strongest ally in Central Asia was the result of the latest in what analysts say is an astonishing and painful series of diplomatic missteps by Moscow.

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The sudden collapse of Kyrgyz President Askar A. Akayev's regime, after the overthrow of governments in Georgia and Ukraine, highlights the fundamental frailty of corrupt, unpopular post-Soviet regimes across the region — most seriously, potentially, in Russia itself.

As a result, the once-formidable power wielded by the Kremlin in the three former Soviet capitals has given way to an increasingly influential diplomatic role for the United States and Europe — in part, analysts say, because of Russia's failure to successfully manage foreign policy in a region it has declared vital to its own strategic interests.

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"Over all these years, Russia has failed to realize that all the empires collapsed in the last century, while Russia stubbornly continues to pretend that its empire is still alive," he said. "Russia is isolating itself from its own neighbors, and it is doing this with its own hands."

LA Times

or ohio, or tennesse etc...to bushmediawhore LA Times the cup's 1/2 empty....goddamit- mt! understand!
'the media is the message' = 'a liar is the messenger'

Yes you are right there is a complete lack of irony. Pretty incredible level of delusion, I'd say.

I think it was last week, I read some statement by Charles Krauthammer (newspaper columnist, hard-core member of the PNAC). He mentioned that "the US is now the undisputed leader of the world" (after the USSR's fall in 1992). He used adjectives like "forever", and "superior" and things like that to convey that OUR Golden Moment has truly arrived.

I was so amazed that he even brought up Rome. Here it comes,I thought. But Krauthammer brought up Rome because we are not like that failed empire.

A new prase, coined by Cliss: "Those who do not learn from history's mistakes will not get a second chance".

You can imagine the ghosts of Victorians saying the same thing about the British Empire.

I often find that history will punish hyperbole and exaggerations like that.

Never occurs to them that they could be suckered.
Krauthammer is a loon, he makes Pat Buchanan look like a sane
human being.

I seem to recall some mid 20th century dictator that favored that sort of imagery too.

When one points their finger, there are three pointing right back.