MORE LIMP THAN LIMPID….

As in 1994-1996, Western governments and Western media have little to say about Russia’s war. The European Union in a September 30 statement warned that while the conflict “concerns Russia’s own territory,” Russian leaders should not consider that they have a free hand to “apply any rules they like there.” American Deputy Secretary of State Strobe Talbott, in a speech that may have been intended to give the Russians a reputation to live up to, urged Russia to overcome the legacy of hostility that Caucasians feel toward Russia by “showing restraint,” “opening a political dialogue,” providing “basic social services and economic development,” protecting “nascent democracy and civil society” and “moving forward in instituting the rule of law.”