Bush 2000-2008      54 when elected              Education            Yale and Harvard

Clinton 1992-2000            46 when elected              Education            Georgetown, Oxford, and Yale

Reagan 1980-1988            69 when elected              Education            Eureka College

 Carter 1976-1980             52 when elected              Education            Naval Academy, Georgia Tech

Nixon 1968-1974               55 when elected              Education            Whittier College, Duke

LBJ 1963-1968                    55 when appointed         Education            Southwest Texas State

JFK 1960-1963                    43 when elected              Education            Princeton, Harvard, and Stanford

ARLINGTON, VA – Today, in Erie, Pennsylvania, U.S. Senator John McCain delivered the following statement regarding the current conflict between Georgia and Russia:

“Americans wishing to spend August vacationing with their families or watching the Olympics may wonder why their newspapers and television screens are filled with images of war in the small country of Georgia.  Concerns about what occurs there might seem distant and unrelated to the many other interests America has around the world.  And yet Russian aggression against Georgia is both a matter of urgent moral and strategic importance to the United States of America.

“Georgia is an ancient country, at the crossroads of Eastern Europe and Central Asia, and one of the world’s first nations to adopt Christianity as an official religion.  After a brief period of independence following the Russian revolution, the Red Army forced Georgia to join the Soviet Union in 1922.  As the Soviet Union crumbled at the end of the Cold War, Georgia regained its independence in 1991, but its early years were marked by instability, corruption, and economic crises.

“Following fraudulent parliamentary elections in 2003, a peaceful, democratic revolution took place, led by the U.S.-educated lawyer Mikheil Saakashvili.  The Rose Revolution changed things dramatically and, following his election, President Saakashvili embarked on a series of wide-ranging and successful reforms.  I’ve met with President Saakashvili many times, including during several trips to Georgia.

“What the people of Georgia have accomplished – in terms of democratic governance, a Western orientation, and domestic reform – is nothing short of remarkable.  That makes Russia’s recent actions against the Georgians all the more alarming.  In the face of Russian aggression, the very existence of independent Georgia – and the survival of its democratically-elected government – are at stake.

“In recent days Moscow has sent its tanks and troops across the internationally recognized border into the Georgian region of South Ossetia.  Statements by Moscow that it was merely aiding the Ossetians are belied by reports of Russian troops in the region of Abkhazia, repeated Russian bombing raids across Georgia, and reports of a de facto Russian naval blockade of the Georgian coast.  Whatever tensions and hostilities might have existed between Georgians and Ossetians, they in no way justify Moscow’s path of violent aggression.  Russian actions, in clear violation of international law, have no place in 21st century Europe.

“The implications of Russian actions go beyond their threat to the territorial integrity and independence of a democratic Georgia.  Russia is using violence against Georgia, in part, to intimidate other neighbors – such as Ukraine – for choosing to associate with the West and adhering to Western political and economic values.  As such, the fate of Georgia should be of grave concern to Americans and all people who welcomed the end of a divided of Europe, and the independence of former Soviet republics.  The international response to this crisis will determine how Russia manages its relationships with other neighbors.  We have other important strategic interests at stake in Georgia, especially the continued flow of oil through the Baku-Tblisi-Ceyhan pipeline, which Russia attempted to bomb in recent days; the operation of a critical communication and trade route from Georgia through Azerbaijan and Central Asia; and the integrity and influence of NATO, whose members reaffirmed last April the territorial integrity, independence, and sovereignty of Georgia.

“Yesterday Georgia withdrew its troops from South Ossetia and offered a ceasefire.  The Russians responded by bombing the civilian airport in Georgia’s capital, Tblisi, and by stepping up its offensive in Abkhazia.  This pattern of attack appears aimed not at restoring any status quo ante in South Ossetia, but rather at toppling the democratically elected government of Georgia.  This should be unacceptable to all the democratic countries of the world, and should draw us together in universal condemnation of Russian aggression.

“Russian President Medvedev and Prime Minister Putin must understand the severe, long-term negative consequences that their government’s actions will have for Russia’s relationship with the U.S. and Europe.  It is time we moved forward with a number of steps.

“The United States and our allies should continue efforts to bring a resolution before the UN Security Council condemning Russian aggression, noting the withdrawal of Georgian troops from South Ossetia, and calling for an immediate ceasefire and the withdrawal of Russian troops from Georgian territory.  We should move ahead with the resolution despite Russian veto threats, and submit Russia to the court of world public opinion.

“NATO’s North Atlantic Council should convene in emergency session to demand a ceasefire and begin discussions on both the deployment of an international peacekeeping force to South Ossetia and the implications for NATO’s future relationship with Russia, a Partnership for Peace nation.  NATO’s decision to withhold a Membership Action Plan for Georgia might have been viewed as a green light by Russia for its attacks on Georgia, and I urge the NATO allies to revisit the decision.

“The Secretary of State should begin high-level diplomacy, including visiting Europe, to establish a common Euro-Atlantic position aimed at ending the war and supporting the independence of Georgia.  With the same aim, the U.S. should coordinate with our partners in Germany, France, and Britain, to seek an emergency meeting of the G-7 foreign ministers to discuss the current crisis.  The visit of French President Sarkozy to Moscow this week is a welcome expression of transatlantic activism.

“Working with allied partners, the U.S. should immediately consult with the Ukrainian government and other concerned countries on steps to secure their continued independence.  This is particularly important as a number of Russian Black Sea fleet vessels currently in Georgian territorial waters are stationed at Russia’s base in the Ukrainian Crimea.

“The U.S. should work with Azerbaijan and Turkey, and other interested friends, to develop plans to strengthen the security of the Baku-Tbilisi-Ceyhan oil pipeline.

“The U.S. should send immediate economic and humanitarian assistance to help mitigate the impact the invasion has had on the people of Georgia.

Our united purpose should be to persuade the Russian government to cease its attacks, withdraw its troops, and enter into negotiations with Georgia. We must remind Russia’s leaders that the benefits they enjoy from being part of the civilized world require their respect for the values, stability and peace of that world.  World history is often made in remote, obscure countries.  It is being made in Georgia today. It is the responsibility of the leading nations of the world to ensure that history continues to be a record of humanity’s progress toward respecting the values and security of free people.

 
The Caucasus is the mountainous region between the Black Sea and the Caspian Sea. The Russian Federations states of Dagestan and Chechnya, and the independent nations of Armenia, Georgia, and Azerbaijan make up this region between Iran and Turkey to the south and Russia to the north. Being in a gateway region such as they are, the people of this region have been conquered a number of times. The Russians under the czars conquered some of them in 1864, adding them to the Russian Empire. This region became more important than a geographical gateway when Oil became important around the turn on the 20^th century. When the Russians took over, many of the Circassians and others fled into Ottoman Turkey, while others stayed and fought, and still others accepted Russian rule. After the Soviet revolution in 1917, the region was briefly autonomous, then later was divided into Republics after being reconquered in 1921. These Republics were simply administrative states. Soviet policy was to mix 2 or more ethnic groups into an administrative area so that they would distrust each other and be less likely to rebel against Soviet authority.

As you can see from the map below, the state boundaries really do not tell the whole story. From my research, I have been able to find about 50 differentiated ethnic groups split into three linguistic families, many of whom were ancient enemies. Most of these enmities were accentuated under Russian rule.

One of the reasons for this accentuation of enmities was the Russian and especially Soviet policy of transporting people into areas where their ancient enemies are and then forcing them to live there, as well as drawing boundaries to include 2 or more ethnic groups. Notice the pockets of Armenians in Azerbaijan and the Azeris within Armenia. This was done on purpose and these people have lived where they are since the 1920’s, making it unrealistic to ask them to simply leave their homes of the last 4-5 generations. 

The three dominant ethnicities of the south Caucasus are the Armenians, Azeris, and Georgians. Each have their own language, culture, and history of resistance to Russians and to each other. According to the website cornellcaspian.com , there are three unresolved conflicts in the region. First is a fight between Armenians living in Azerbaijan against their rule. Second is Abkhazia declaring independence from Georgia in 1992.   This is the region on the Black Sea coast, with pink and yellow. According to the website, about 240,000 Georgians were ethnically cleansed out of Abkhazia in 1993, and Russia, the only country to recognize Abkhazia as an independent state has “peacekeepers” there while Georgia still attempts to maintain control with paramilitary groups. The third conflict is the one that has just recently flared up, the de facto independence of South Ossetia which also declared independence from Georgia in 1992. Notice on the map above the Ossetians (dark green, number 19) also are the majority in a region further south, and if united could cut Georgia in half. There also is an Ossetian region in Russia, North Ossetia, which some in the south desire reunification with. Of course reunification would mean this region becomes part of the Russian federation again.

Georgia is a nation of 4.4 million, and 84% of its people are ethnically Georgian. It was a Kingdom in medieval times, but submitted voluntarily to Russian rule in about 1800. It had a brief period of independence from 1918 -1921 after the breakup of Tsarist Russia, then was invaded and assimilated into The Soviet Union in 1921. Since 1991, it has been independent but mostly a mess. In1995, Eduard Shevardnadze, a former Soviet leader of Georgian descent, stepped into the messy civil war and was elected President. He was reelected in 2000, but in 2003, the Rose Revolution established overthrew him because of charges of corruption and election fraud. Since 2003, a representative democracy that is much more respected by the outside world has been in place. In 2004, Mikhail Shaakashvili was elected president. He has been responsible for cleaning out much of the corruption, removing state control of land and allowing private ownership, and trying to resolve the two conflicts listed above. Russia has granted citizenship to many in the two breakaway region since 2004, and now considers them citizens it must protect. That leads us to yesterday, when Georgia after months of restraining itself, responded to provocations from its separatists and the Russian peacekeepers it says are inciting rebellion. To “protect its citizens”, Russia sent in tanks and jets and the war looks almost inevitable.

This is a summary of what I could find on the region. I cannot say whether Georgia is the “good guy” and Russia the “bad guy” or visa versa. All I know is that this war could have very serious consequences for the US. In my next post, I’ll try to explain why.