Posted by David Adrian
on 7/8/2009, 1:59 pm, in reply to "Re: Why Russia invaded Georgia: Payback Time from the Orthodox World to the West"
Al:
It was less a case of Bush trying to build a wall around Russia than the former Soviet satellites themselves actively seeking membership in NATO and bilateral relationships with the U.S. to protect themselves from Putin's efforts to reestablish Russian control over the "Near Abroad".
Unfortunately, Obama, trapped in a time warp from his radical student days at Columbia, is playing into Putin's hands (see Ralph Peters' latest column in the New York Post at http://www.nypost.com/seven/07072009/postopinion/opedcolumnists/desperate_deal_177977.htm?page=0).
Yes, unfortunately, the Church has been cooperating too closely with the State in Russia. As I recall, however, much to my surprise Patriarch Alexy II did criticize Putin for invading Georgia and expressed solidarity with the Georgian Orthodox Church. There's also reason to believe that Patriarch Kirill will be less deferential toward Putin than +Alexy.
David
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