We live in a world in which principles and rules are important – if we are to preserve peace and avoid descending into a “hobbesian” chaos of numerous conflicts.
Evidence point at the recent escalation towards war in the Caucasus was triggered by the separatist leadership in South Ossetia when they launched their offensive Thursday morning. They might have had their own motives for trying to provoke a war between Russia and Georgia.
And then the one step of escalation followed the other – and suddenly there is war.
Russia is now justifying its large-scale aggressive action – including air attacks across the territory of Georgia – with an alleged constitutional duty to protect citizens of Russia wherever they happen to be located.
This is an extremely dangerous argument that runs contrary to key principles of international law as well as to the brutally learnt experience of European history.
Responsibility for the protection of the citizen and inhabitants of any state rests with the state concerned.
Every state has a responsibility to protect. But no state has the right to unilaterally intervene military in another state with the pretext of protecting its citizens.
In this case it should be noted that Russia has been handing out passport rather freely to the inhabitants of both South Ossetia and Abkhazia. There is little doubt that this has been part of a deliberate policy of gradually increasing Russian influence over these parts of Georgia.
The argument now used by the Kremlin to justify its intervention is not new in the history of Europe.
We have seen powers before claiming that the violations of the rights of holders of their passports or their nationality – by a previous Germany in Eastern Europe or a previous Serbia in former Yugoslavia – justify them sending their armies into these countries. We have seen the wars that have followed the application of that principle – and that is why it has repeatedly been made clear that it runs contrary to international law.
There are holders of Russian passport in numerous other European countries today. In many cases this is the result of historical circumstances. But in a Europe of increasingly open borders and accelerating integration – the Europe we seek! – we will increasingly see the holders of one passport living and working in another state.
Their rights should be protected like the rights of all others. With the European Court of Human Rights we have the most comprehensive trans-national system for the protection of human rights of any part of the world. This applies to Russians in other European countries as well to the very many non-Russians living in Russia.
A Europe in which we would accept the right of Russia to intervene in any country where there are holders of Russian passports – or the right of any other nation to intervene in the same way – would be a Europe sinking down again in the chaos and conflicts of the past.
That’s why this conflict now is not only about South Ossetia and Georgia – it is about principles fundamental to the peace and stability of all of Europe. And the defence of these principles should be the duty of each and everyone of us.
Alla Dessa Dagar 
Excellent written Mr Foreign Minister! Its important Russia understand this facts, hope the Russian Foreign department reads this also and get aware of the importance of this principles of international law.
Carl Bildt
Tack för information även på engelska. Skall genast skicka vidare till utländska kontakter.
Very well said/written.
I totally agree specially the part ”it is about principles fundamental to the peace and stability of all of Europe. And the defence of these principles should be the duty of each and everyone of us.”
At the same time it´s quite threatening since you obviously stands at Georgians side.
Are you not suppose to be neutral?
Hmmm…
Illavarslande ?
Kriget verkar sprida sig.
Carl Bildt informerar på Engelska.
Det känns som om det är fler ”överraskningar” på gång…
mrmhalland
Det är mycket oroväckande det som nu sker. Att Bildt dessutom vill sammankalla till ett formellt möte mellan Europas utrikesministrar säger allt om hur alarmerande läget är.
These principles may be of more than theoretical interest for Sweden in wiew of possible areas of conflict in our neighbouring Baltic countries.
Both Estonia and Latvia have large ethnic russian populations – both naturally extremely opressed!?!
For some reason I remember a little red etiquette included in the old Swedish army ammunition packets – ”The Country needs Brass – SAVE THE EMPTIES!!”
Bestofmankind,
This is a matter of principles, dont you understand what Carl Bildt is saying here? If Russia continues with their violence against the International law, its a threat to the international laws principles and will bring unstability to the European Region. Countries as Estonia and Ukraine do also have citizens with Russian passport, will Russia in the future have the right to ”protect” this citizen also and etc. Its fundemental for the whole regions stabilty that Russia follow International laws, to avoid issues like this.
This is not about a matter of being neutral its about fundamental principles.
Dagens kommentar (här ovan 4:40) – om man nu törs skämta i ett allvarligt ämne?!
”Are you not supposed to be neutral”?
mararh,
Ja, jag har nog inte förstått vidden av det som pågår.
Läget ändras verkligen minut för minut.
Någon skrev här i förmiddags att det troligen slutar med ett avväpnat Georgien.
Jag var den första att hoppas att det ”bara” skulle bli så, men nu ser det ju ut att kanna eskalera.
Ryssarna har vad jag förstått ignorerat Georgiens begäran om vapenvila.
Vad är det som händer i Josefs fredliga värld ??
Någon har ställt frågan innan, hur påverkar detta Sverige och vår försvarspolitik ?
Självklart ska våra tankar i första hand gå till de familjer som mist sina oskyldiga annhöriga under detta fasansfulla illdåd, men man måste ju ändå försöka förstå hur det kommer att påverka omvärlden.
Carl Bildt
gott pedagogiskt försök!
men ska ”vi” försvara våra principer med krigshandlingar i ett område som för inte så länge sen tillhörde OSSR och som aldrig haft något större samröre med Europa rent historiskt?
och ska ”vi” försvara våra principer av ”profylaktiska” skäl i Georgien?
Diversity is really our strength, not our weakness. War becomes less and less possible the more you see Individual beings in stead of groups, communities, ideologies or nations to represent them.
Dare I say, EU, AU, NAU?, Mediterranean Union?
(Eastasia, Eurasia, Oceania …)
Niklas,
I perfectly understand what you mean. But I expected more diplomatic tone since both Georgia and Russia blame each other for starting the conflict (war).
It is afterall every Foreign Ministers task to try to mediate.
spanaren m fl har nog inte bara varit ute i ogjort väder när det gäller det som nu verkar eskalera och snart har omfattningen blivit en oroshärd som kan bli svårstoppad! Att skylla på att det finns ryska medborgare i de aktuella ”provinserna” är verkligen långsökt av ryssarna och detta håller givetvis inte. Georgiens terratorium blir nu kränkt och detta kan vi inte acceptera.
Somewhat interesting right now to come up with critics against Russia’s presence in Georgia’s Ossetian province, officially called peace-keeping troops. :-)
First time I heard this it sounded funny. One could really ask if other scenarios than U.N. presence should be allowed to be called peace-keeping.
bloggranskaren
FN godtog ryska trupper som fredsbevarare företrädare i Abchazien
Very well said, Mr Foreign Minister. T
his is the most dramatic situation in Europe since the Balkan wars 10 years ago. It is of crucial importance to make sure the Russians don´t get away with this revolting act of agression, disguised (as usual) as a ”peace-keeping operation”. The Russian propaganda offensive is massive and unfortunately quite successful in many countries in Europe. The Russian special services have prepared this scenario for quite a long time. Only swift an extremely firm international action can stop this aggression.
yeah, that was my point hillary2, too. :-)
A diplomatic tone something like these:
”We urge restraint on all sides — that violence would be curtailed and that direct dialogue could ensue in order to help resolve their differences,” White House spokeswoman Dana Perino told reporters.”
http://www.iht.com/articles/ap/2008/08/08/news/Bush-Georgia.php
Carl, the principles has been at stake since 9/11. That event is the fundamental reason for what has happened in the world since then. Reinvestigate 9/11 before anything else. Demand that the hidden agendas of USA and Russia are on the diplomatic table for everyone to see.
And Pres Bush:
”This situation can be resolved peacefully. We’ve been in contact with leaders in both Georgia and Russia at all levels of government. Georgia is a sovereign nation and its territorial integrity must be respected. We have urged an immediate halt to the violence and a stand-down by all troops. We call for an end to the Russian bombings, and a return by the parties to the status quo of August the 6th. ”
http://www.whitehouse.gov/news/releases/2008/08/20080809-2.html
South Ossetia has been de facto independent for 20 years and it is not up to Carl Bildt to deny Ossetians their freedom. The countries which claim Georgia’s territorial integrity now are the very same countries that recognized the unilateral independence declaration of Kosovo which violates the territorial integrity of Serbia. The territorial integrity argument is hollow these days and the anticipated domino effect has begun.
I fully support this excellent summary of the events leading up to this tragedy. Personally I am glad to see Carl Bildts engagement in this conflict, because too many leaders are occupied with justifying their lack of ability to take a stand against Russia, the worst threat since Hitlers Germany, and a true malice on par with AlQueda. Stop those Russian murderers!
Writer’n 6:35
To what you said I might add the following question.
– Is there any other leader in the world that gives his countrymen and women such immediate updates and insights as Mr Bildt?
Regards
Visionara
[…] om den rysk-georgiska konflikten. Det skiljer sig ganska rejält från de verklighetsfrämmande analyser som svenska ‘utrikesexperter’ kommer […]
Bäste Carl
De principer du åberopar används numera som dasspapper i Kosovo.
Det är bara att gilla läget. Putin/Medvedev har sagt sitt och jag tror inte att NATO/USA har något att sätta emot. USA får inse att imperiet gungar och att de inte är ämnade att vara världshärskare.
INTERNATIONAL PRINCIPLES VS. NATIONAL SECURITY
Nobody including Carl Bildt comment on why Russia may have decided to invade South Ossetia, a break-away pro-Russia province that got de facto independence from Georgia in the late 1990s (with Abkhazia).
Since 2004, President Mikheil Saakashvili of Georgia has steady compromised Russia’s security in the very sensitive Caucasus region through a national unification agenda, a flirt with USA, and aspirations to join NATO and EU. On the background of the bilateral U.S. missile projects in Poland and the Czech Republic and the let-down on Kosovo, Georgia was apparently the last drop, with fewer constraints for military action by Russia (ref. also USA’s response to the Cuba crisis in 1962).
Did the EU, USA and NATO mislead Georgia? Has Sweden played a helpful role through SIDA and other channels (”Samarbetet syftar till att landet ska närma sig EU”)? What role has Carl Bildt earlier played at the Organization for Security and Co-operation in Europe to anticipate and discourage the conflict? Will Georgia be a lesson if not a warning for Ukraine’s NATO and EU ambitions?
Promoting democracy in Georgia with SIDA allocations is fine, but much bigger forces have been in play and will determine the future of Georgia.
[…] kommentator nedan. Om det är någon som fölorar anseende så är det Carl Bildt med sina något verklighetsfrämmande uttalanden. Som de flesta utrikesobvervatörer vet har lite kontakt med verkligheten eller realpolitik. Även […]
Mr. Bildt says that we live in a world where principles are important. I agree.
But what exactly are those principles Mr. Bildt?
You mentioned Yugoslavia. Fine. Let’s look at that example. When the separatist Albanians of Kosovo–an ancient Serbian province–started waging a war for independence, the West came out and fought a war on their behalf, bombing all of Serbia and killing hundreds of innocents.
Subsequently the West went ahead and has recognized this artificial state–alone it should be pointed out, not even a sinlge Arab country has recognized Kosovo, nor have any major powers.
Now you have Georgia launching a massive military strike on a city, killing hundreds of innocent civilians, in its brutal effort retake this separatist province.
Why, if we are talking about principles, does not the US and the West come out and support hte South Ossetians like they did the Kosovo Albanians? Do they not have the right for self-determination?
And let’s look at another example in Yugoslavia. Right after the collapse of the Soviet Union, the West started its project of dismembering Yugoslavia.
This was done by granting immediate recognition to the separatist Yugoslav republics of Croatia and Bosnia, without bothering to take into account the considerable minority ethnicities–mainly Serb– in those republics.
Again, the West created two artificial states, but when the Serbs of Croatia decided they did not want to be ruled by the same Croats whose Nazi-allied regime exterminated hunfdreds of thousands of htem in WW2, did the West responded by arming the Croats and helping htem to launch an ethnic cleansing campaign that annihilited the Ancient Serbian territory of Krajina.
In Bosnia, the story is the same. Why, if Bosnia, could split off from Yugoslavia, why not the Bosnian Serbs from Bosnia?
the only principle that is plainly evident is hypocrisy. And behind that is the neocolonial ambitions of the West. The West has been running roughshod over most of the planet for close to 500 years now.
In North America, European conquerors annihilated almost the entire indigenous population over the course of more than two centuries of concerted genocide.
At the same time the African continent was being raped by the same European colonialists, the African people enslaved in chains and tranported to the ”New World” as slaves to work the white man’s plantations.
Similar conquest, plunder and genocide in South America, Australia, the Carribean, Asia and eslewhere.
Are these the ”principles” of the West Mr. Bildt? Because that is the history.
The fact is that what has happened in the Balkans is the recolonization of the peninsula by the same European powers who exercised hegemony there for centuires. It was the collapse of the Soviet Union that opened the door to the West’s project for dismembering Yugoslavia and absorbing the the resulting statelets into some kind of European colonialist enterprise.
Now the West is crying foul because Russia has responded by helping the Ossetians resist an invasion by a Georgian regime that is backed by the imperialist US, which has the blood of more than one million innocent Iraqis on its hands.
I ask you Mr. Bildt, is it not time that the Western imperialism, colonialism, hegemony and global agression adn exploitation stop?
The people of hte West should open their eyes–if htey still can, which will be difficult because their media is exercising very effective mind control–and see that the wo5rld has had enough.
Look at today’s event in China, where a Chinese man attacked and killed the relatives of an American Olympic coach. That is a sign of the times. America and the West and the unbridled aggression for which it stands, is hated everywhere throughout the world.
It is time to try a human and fair approach. Forget about colonialim and exercising power. Nobody likes to be ruled by a foreign tyrant.
Kumbayaga: Maybe it’s better that you spend time reading about the conflicts, than writing about them. Claescrantz..I would think the same thing to a fair extinct apply to you. First start with Kosovo, then compare the realities you find there with the Abkhazian conflict. Then, like all others bothering to gather some knowledge before filling up reply-fields around the blogs, you just might be able to see the big difference between those conflicts, and also see that Russia uses a rather infantile interpretation that suits their needs.
Okay, my friend. What specifically am I wrong about?
Please educate me on Kosovo, Ossetia, etc.
I’m listening.
Karl Bildt competes for the title of most outrageous liar and hypocrit in recent history. The man who pushed and lobbied for the independence of Kosovo not so long ago, blatantly against the international law, now gives a speech on its importance.
The ”realities” some commentators mention here, are just a whitewash. The decision of the West to recognize Kosovo’s independence had NO legal basis, except the argument of power to suit their (NATO) needs.
Snälla Carl Bildt,
Medvedev, som beordrar bombning av civila lägenheter i ett annat land, bör omedelbart inkallas till krigsförbrytartribunalen i Haag. – Ellet gäller den bara svarta Hottentotter?
Utrikesminister Carl Bildt – det kan inte vara lätt att vara alla till lags. Det verkar på många här som det är lilla Sverige som styr utvecklingen i Georgien!
Lycka till i Ditt värv att medverka till en fredlig lösning – explosivt är ordet!
Dear Swedish government,
When Medvedev talk about giving Georgia a lesson he expresses himself like a mobbing boy in highskool. Please stop immediately all exploration about the oil-pipeline near Gotland, planed by this bully. Next time it vill perhaps be Est-, Let- Fin- and Got-land.
[…] että Ruotsin ulkoministeri Carl Bildt esittää englanninkielisessä blogipostituksessaan hyvin samanlaisia ajatuksia kuin presidentit Ilves, Zatlers, Adamkus ja Kaczyński. Lisäksi hän […]
Medvedev and Putin says Georgia only needs to redraw their positions to the same place they were at August 6 before the Georgian aggression began. This is a very reasonable position. I don’t understand all the hate against Russia. What ill have Russia done to Sweden lately? None. Russia has driven a respectable foreign policy the last 10 years. During that period ”neutral” Sweden leans more and more towards the U.S. even though the U.S. foreign policy have been anything but respectable during that period. A sound policy for Sweden and Europe would be to establish better relations with Russia. That would be a good investment for the future. Russia, India and China are the upcoming super powers. The U.S. empire is history and they need to transform themselves to a normal country in the world community.
Rulle has an intresting notice above.
”Please stop immediately all exploration about the oil-pipeline near Gotland”.
I fully agree with this statement, and look right now all speculation, including yourself, about Russias grasping around in Georgia for own profit.
If this new energy politics is really the truth today, it wouldn’t be much of use a gas-pipeline, would it?
Invest more money on research and development of solar technology that can produce gasoline directly from water and sun energy.
Even if EU and Russia can agree on a gasoiline pipeline, we can’t neglect the fact the the mining make negative impact on other peoples, especially indigenious peoples, in Russia.
Let’s look a little more closely at what Mr. Bildt has put forward in his commentary.
Some here have called him a hypocrite and a liar.
Another commentator, Lars, has said he does not understand the “hate” shown toward Russia—and adds that the Russian foreign policy has been much more respectable in the recent history than that of the aggressive US, towards which Sweden is increasingly leaning.
That is a very reasonable comment.
But the reaction from the US and its Nato and EU allies has been anything but reasonable. It is identical to that put forth here by Mr. Bildt—blaming Russia, while ignoring the aggression of the US protégé Georgia.
Let’s look at the facts on the ground in Ossetia first. Mr. Bildt says in his opening sentence that he is concerned with “peace,” and avoiding a descent into “chaos.”
Yet he has no words of blame on the party that has broken the peace in Ossetia, the Georgians.
The news reports coming out of the South Ossetian capital, Tskhinvali, paint a grim picture of an entire city of 70,000 residents almost completely destroyed by a massive barrage of rocket and artillery fire.
Almost no building in the city, residential or otherwise, has escaped untouched. Reports tell of hundreds of dead civilians in the streets and in the ruins of their homes. More than 30,000 have been evacuated.
By any reasonable, human standard, this kind of massive, unprovoked attack on a civilian population center represents a clear war crime.
Sources say over 1,500 civilians have been killed. That is more than two percent of South Ossetia’s entire population of 70,000. Annihilited overnight, while they slept in their homes or went about their daily business.
To put that into perspective, that would be like 200,000 Swedes being killed in one fell swoop of foreign aggression. How would Mr. Bildt react then?
Yet Mr. Bildt, who is concerned about “principles,” does not have a single word of sympathy to spare for these Ossetian victims?
How can you explain that Mr. Bildt? Do these lives—men, women, children—count for nothing in your political calculus?
Instead, Mr. Bildt heaps blame on the Russians, comparing them to Hitler’s Germany and to the Western media-invented devils of the present day, Serbia.
He indicts Russia for the “crime” of issuing passports to citizens of Ossetia and Abkhazia. Is the issuing of passports not an internal matter for any sovereign state, Mr. Bildt?
Maybe we should blame another historical figure who issued passports freely at one time, the Swedish diplomat Raoul Wallenberg, who saved 15,000 Jews from Hitler by issuing them Swedish passports.
How very ironic that a Swedish diplomat of the present era has a very different approach to handing out passports to innocents who running for their lives.
And yes, Georgia’s massive war crime has proved that it is indeed fortunate that Russia has been ready to protect the Ossetians. How many more lives would have been snuffed out, had the Russians not been there to come to the Ossetians’ aid?
Ossetians remember well the plundering of the Georgian troops back in 1992 and have said, “never again.”
And since you brought up Hitler’s Germany and Yugoslavia, Mr. Bildt, why don’t we examine those two examples a little more closely to see how well your analogy holds up?
You appear to be drawing a parallel between Russia’s position of offering security for its citizens in South Ossetia an d Abkhazia, to Hitler’s similar demand for the German populations of the Sudetenland, Silesia and Pomerania, all of them former German territories lost to Czechoslovakia and Poland after WW1.
Those territories did indeed have majority German populations—over three million people in Czechoslvakia alone—who did not want to be part of Czechoslovakia or Poland.
This was noted by none other than the US during the peace talks following WW1:
“To grant to the Czechoslovaks all the territory they demand would be not only an injustice to millions of people unwilling to come under Czech rule, but it would also be dangerous and perhaps fatal to the future of the new state … the blood shed on March 3rd when Czech soldiers in several towns fired on German crowds … was shed in a manner that is not easily forgiven… For the Bohemia of the future to contain within its limits great numbers of deeply discontented inhabitants who will have behind them across the border tens of millions of sympathizers of their own race will be a perilous experiment and one which can hardly promise success in the long run.”
But the Czechs dug in their heels at the Paris Peace Conference and would not take less than all of the disputed territories.
This never sat well with either the Germans in Germany proper, nor with the Germans in the disputed territories. It was seed of another conflict that became WW2.
We can see very clearly that the Germans did indeed have legitimate claims on those territories. It was an unwise decision by the victors of WW1 to carve Germany up and thus create problems for the next generation.
What happened in the 1930s though, was that Hitler took a quite aggressive stand toward the disputed territories. This cannot be compared in any way to Russia’s actions with respect to the disputed Georgian territories.
Hitler was intent on seizing them, there can be no question about that—regardless of the legitimacy of Germany’s claim.
Russia has shown no such inclination. It could have recognized the breakaway republics illegally, as the US and most of the EU have done with Serbia’s Kosovo and Metohija province. But it has not. There is no question that Russia is seeking a solution within the framework of diplomacy and international law.
Furthermore, the Germans in the disputed territories never cam under military attack, nor any other violence.
This is where Mr. Bildt’s analogy breaks down completely. The historical facts regarding Germany were just the opposite. It was Hitler who launched an offensive against the Czech, while pretending to seek a dimplomatic settlement.
That is exactly parallel to Georgia’s actions today. It has launched a blitzkrieg against a civilian population while the ink on its most recent diplomatic agreement was not even dry.
Mr. Bildt talks about a “Sout Ossetian Offensive.” Please explain to all of us what offensive you are referring to Mr. Bildt.
I would be happy to concede your point if you can show just one legitimate news report about a South Ossetian “offensive” preceding the Georgian assault.
Of course there is no such news report, because such an “offensive” never happened. It is pure fiction cut from whole cloth.
In fact it is quite shameful to be coming from such a prominent figure—and is an insult to the memory of the hundreds of innocents whose lives have been brutally taken from them.
The only hostilities that preceded the Georgian assault was sporadic skirmishing and exchange of fire across existing lines. Moreover, most of this can be blamed on the Georgian side, which started shooting more in recent days—while at the same time “engaging” in peace talks.
But exchange of fire over existing lines is not an “offensive” by any stretch of the imagination Mr. Bildt. In fact it is a thoroughly dishonest misuse of a term which has a very precise military meaning.
So we can see that in total, Mr. Bildt’s commentary more closely resembles a tissue of clever fabrications than an honest commentary that is supposedly concerned with international principles.
Please rebut me if I am wrong.
Pop goes the weasel
said Mr Barnum´s cousin, the great kumbayaga
Kumbayaga! Most likely the principles Bildt are refering to, are those mechanism of international principles and norms to sustain economy and international relationship.Or what do you think yourself? :-)
Thank you kumbayaga for two very interesting comments. I never thought about this in such a big perspective. Bildt usually knows what he is talking about and most blog entries are thoughtful and sometimes even witty. But on the Georgia theme kumbayaga is spot on.
.:agitpr0p:.
Taken from one commentators link:
”World urges Russia to curb onslaught”
http://www.turkishpress.com/news.asp?id=246105
”US President George W. Bush led western calls Saturday for Russia to end its military onslaught against Georgia and Poland demanded an emergency European Union summit to discuss the conflict over South Ossetia.
”Sweden’s foreign minister compared Russian policy to that of Adolf Hitler and Slobodan Milosevic.”
”In Stockholm, Swedish Foreign Minister Carl Bildt said EU foreign ministers could gather Monday in Paris, ahead of a possible summit in Brussels later in the week.”
”Bildt evoked memories of the German and Serbian wartime leaders in his condemnation of Russia, saying the protection of Russian nationals on Georgian soil did not justify the assault.”
”Attempts to apply such a doctrine have plunged Europe into war in the past… And we have reason to remember how Hitler used this very doctrine little more than half a century ago to undermine and attack substantial parts of central Europe,” Bildt said.
”We did not accept military intervention by Milosevic’s Serbia in other Yugoslav states on the grounds of protecting Serbian passport holders,” he added.”
”But German’s deputy foreign minister, Gernot Erler, said Georgia had breached a 1992 South Ossetia ceasefire agreement, monitored essentially by Russian peacekeepers.”
Look at both sides of the situation Carl Bildt!
Bloggranskaren,
My impression is that Mr. Bildt is squarely on the wrong side and is making propaganda hay through his blog.
Let me explain. On one side we have the clearly imperialist US and its client states within Nato and the EU.
The stated goal of the US is to be the world’s sole hegemon—it will brook no challenge to its power anywhere in the world.
In the economic sphere, the dominance of this Western bloc is largely unchallenged. What used to be colonialist exploitation of the underdeveloped parts of the world in previous centuries has continued even more strongly in the post-WW2 period.
This is achieved through various means—political, financial, diplomatic, military and covert.
For example, the largest banks and corporations of the West make most of their profits and growth through exploitation of this system—they call it “globalization,” which is just a new name for colonialism.
A little bit of historical perspective. At the end of WW2, with Britain and Europe in ruins and the US empire rising, the US forced Britain to sign an agreement in Breton Woods New Hampshire that established the International Monetary Fund, The World Bank and the forerunner of the World Trade Organization.
This is the economic regime that has controlled trade throughout most of the world—much to the advantage of the Western capitalist elite. And much to the detriment of the under-developed world.
It is important to realize that this is a global empire that we are talking about, that is a direct successor of hundreds of years of European colonialism and imperialism. The result has been that much of humanity has never had a fair deal.
The recent sharp increase in food prices worldwide is just one example of how this tyrannical regime crushes poor people around the world. For decades the US and Europe have subsidized the production of the most important food commodities, grain and oilseeds.
The goal has been to keep grain prices artificially low worldwide in order to drive into bankruptcy the millions of small farmers in the developing world. Why? To eliminate competition and make the populations dependent on US (and European food commodities.).
The US and Europe flooded the Third World for many years with cheap or even free grain—often in the guise of “aid.”
This drove the local farmers out of business, many of them starving to death in Africa, particularly.
In recent months we have seen massive increases in the price of wheat, oil and other food staples. In poor countries like Haiti, which no longer have their own rice and grain farmers, but now imports all of their grain from the US, this is a disaster. People are hungry and will soon be starving.
This will become a catastrophe in Africa and other parts of the world too. Meanwhile the “agribusiness” sector in the US is the darling of the stock market. Of course. It has now cornered the world market in key foodstuffs.
This is just an example of how this empire works.
Many other examples can be easily examined by doing a little research on the internet. For example, many of the African and South American client states are put in place by direct assistance from the US and its covert agencies like the CIA.
Do you remember in Chile in the 1970s who overthrew the democratically elected reformer Allende and replaced him with the criminal Pinochet. Ask Henry Kissinger—he still brags about that one.
Same thing in Indonesia in the 1960s when the left-leaning Sukharno was eliminated and the US puppet Suharto installed.
And in Congo, with the democrat Lumumba knocked off and the tyrant Mobutu installed. The list is endless. We can include in that list the genocidal maniac Shakaashvili in Georgia, installed by a CIA-orchestrated coup in 2003.
Once these regimes are in place, they become good clients of the IMF, borrow lots of money and impoverish their own people, while enriching themselves and a small class of kleptocratic elites.
But the biggest riches from these giant criminal enterprises go to the Western Capitalist elites.
Consider what happens when one of these tinpot dictatorships blessed by the USA takes out a loan of one billion dollars, for example. Let’s say it is to build a hydro-electric station.
That sounds great—on the surface anyway. The reality behind the deal is that the corrupt local regime immediately skims at least 20 percent off the top, using the money often to buy guns the better to kill its starving people with, if any dare object.
What happens to the other 800 million? Guess where that ends up? Right in the coffers of big Western companies.
You see every such deal comes with conditions that the “contractors” must be certain Western companies. General Electric will supply the turbines, the Swedish-Swiss ABB the power transmission infrastructure, others the engineering, construction, etc.
These are very sweet deals from which these Western companies make lots of pure cream profit. In fact, it can be argued—and some very smart people do—that without the real profits coming from this kind of “global” business, the corporate sector would not have any growth at all. It would be an economic collapse.
So we can see that what is at stake here is the survival of this very economic system. The job of the Western political elites is to make the world safe for Western economic hegemony. If something happens to knock this system down, it is the end of this civilization as we know it.
That is the real issue in the world today and the fault lines in the world political system are a result of the West’s determination to continue with an unsustainable system of neocolonial exploitation of the rest of the world.
This is the context in which we must view political events. The only real danger to this Western economic hegemony is the ascent of Russia and China—and to a lesser extent, India.
Technologically, Russia has been a superpower for a long time. It has a huge population of highly educated scientists and engineers, who produce some of the most sophisticated and effective weapons known to man. Its space program is still unrivalled in terms of scope, reach and sophistication.
In terms of pure economic output, China is probably very close to surpassing the US, especially if measured in purchase power parity. It too is starting to develop into a technological giant.
If I am one of the Western elites who is interested in seeing my system of world economic dominance stay alive and prosper, then I am very worried by what I see. Because here are all the pieces for a real emerging colossus that is going to throw my system on the scrapheap and redraw the rules.
That is the what this conflict is all about. The US has been very aggressive in trying to encircle Russia with satellite states, some of which used to be part of the Soviet Union.
It could be argued that this is a self-defeating strategy as it has only succeeded to ignite the pride of a great nation and people.
All of which brings us back to Mr. Bildt’s commentary. It is no secret that Mr. Bildt is working a long time in the service of the US imperial interests. The US and European elites are one. His work in the Balkans shows that quite clearly.
It is too bad because Sweden was quite wise to keep a neutral position in the past. That veneer of neutrality is now gone.
It is not surprising though, because the people of the West are coming increasingly under a very uniform and single-minded message from the media. All of it is designed to keep people ignorant of the real facts of the world situation, while inflaming some kind of faux patriotic feelings.
The constant posture of the media message is always “Us” against “Them.” They being foremost Russia and China.
The result is that people are not informed and clever manipulators like Mr. Bildt can get away with blatantly false essays about international principles—while defending those who are clearly guilty of aggression.
We have seen the power of the media working on behalf of false messages in the ability to convince the US and many in Europe of blatant lies used to launch American invasions of Iraq and Afghanistan.
It is important to remember that this is not a “conspiracy” of the media. It is simply that the people who make up the “media” are not working for you and me. As Israeli writer Uri Avnery put it simply, today’s media is the modern version of the “Court Poets,” and “Court Jesters,” of another era.
In other words they are not interested in serving the people, but the power on the throne.
This is important to keep in mind.
I think the Swedish people should ask Mr. Bildt who exactly he is serving with his misinformation about “South Ossetian offensives,” and non-existent “principles.”
Kumbayaga,
THANK YOU!
That was a well detailed information, not really shocking but excellently explained.
”I think the Swedish people should ask Mr. Bildt who exactly he is serving with his misinformation about ”Sout Ossetian offensives,” and non-existent ”principles”.
As far as I am concerned, most Swedes in fact can see, read and judged themselves the ”truth” behind these ”principles”.
But I am very pleased that you are alertly reminding us of the truth!
It seems Serb and Russian warnings about Kosovo opening Pandoras box has become true. Immediately after the Kosovo UDI in february the Basque ETA organization began spreading videos on youtube calling for independence. Yesterday thousands of Basques marched the streets of San Sebastián demanding self determination. The same tendencies have been observed in other ”unique” regions, even Scotland. Most ”unique” of them all is the Serb Republic in Bosnia which might just become a topic after the latest developments. Don’t forget the Karadzic trial is about to start where Karadzic certainly knows a thing or two about the western meddling in the Bosnian war that have remained secret until this day. Florence Hartman from the ICTY said in an interview with BLIC magazine that the Karadzic trial ”is a bigger problem for the west than for Serbia”… Even if it wasn’t for the Karadzic trial the west knows it has done wrong in Kosovo. To compensate for the damage done they could hand over Republika Srpska instead. It may still be possible to turn the clock back and restore international law (reverting Kosovo), but it might also be too late. When Pandoras box is open it is not so easy to close it again.
Also thank you kumbayaga for a great history lesson. You won’t see that on CNN ;-)
kumbayaga,
Your word-diarrhea indicates that you are far from logical in your assessments. The fact, that corrupt peoples, benefits from Uncle Sam’s generosity is hard to deny. However, the ugliest lot are in Russia. It is also veracious that media are a strong force in the world. With 80 % of all journalists working for the left side of the politics it is amazing how Swedish people can see through the propaganda. Where do we get the information from?
When now, Medvedev order the Russian air-force to bomb civilian apartment buildings it is a clear violation of human rights. The Georgians have not sent any rocket in over Russia towards Moskva.
Bildt sätter gränser, utmärkt skrivet!
Nu Carl visa den fördömda ryska björnen vem som bestämmer och säg till Rysslands regering att lämna över den Sovjetiska kaxighetsrollen och istället försöka skapa en ljusare framtid.
Jadu rulle, när rätt sida bombar civila bostäder,….är det nödvändigt.
rulle: It was Georgia who started a cruel attack on S.Ossetia. This attack is already being described as genocide. Even more, there are plans to set up an international criminal tribunal to persecute the people responsible. And you are defending this genocide? It is truly amazing.
What bothers me most is that the west (through it’s proxy Saakasvhili) have manipulated Christians to go to war against Christians. This is sad beyond description and the people responsible for these horrible crimes must be sent to trial ASAP!
Pravoslavac,
Only the imbecile can describe the terrorist attack that Russian forces made in Georgia for anything but terrorism. Medvedev is formally responsible and should a.s.a.p. be called to the international criminal tribunal in Haag.
When USA dad a president that took more interested in having the right aroma on his cigar than helping some Tutsier in Rwanda the great country in the east allowed one million people to be slaughtered without lifting a finger. Why?
Are 10 Russians more worth then 1.000.000 Tutsier?
What have religion “Christians to go to war against Christians” with the Russian terrorist attack to do? Russian out of Georgia NOW!
rulle: Even the biased western media admits Georgia attacked S.Ossetia. Russia had nothing to do with it. Russia went in afterwards and has responded with reasonable force to make a peace treaty come true. This whole operation was a carefully set up bear-trap orchestrated by foreign advisors in Tbilisi. Russia has nothing to gain from a conflict and are now trying to minimize the damage from stepping into the trap.
Mr. Bildt,
If you say that ”Every state has a responsibility to protect. But no state has the right to unilaterally intervene military in another state with the pretext of protecting its citizens.”, how would you explain the NATO response against Serbia in 1999 when it tried the very same thing that Georgia is doing right now, which is establish control over its own borders? Why is the”West” using differnent (i.e. double) standards as it fits its own agenda?
Thank you and cheers from Quebec,
Benoit
Jag är ledsen herr BILDT men det är helt uppenbart att din upprördhet över att Ryssland försvarar landsmän utanför sina gränser, med eller utan vad de har för avsikt, är ett påhittat skådespel som saknar motstycke för vad en svensk utrikespolitiker bör göra. Du har som en nitisk advokat hittat ett hål i lagen och tror att du är förbaskat smart. Men det är ett svepskäl för du har helt andra motiv till varför du här tar parti.
Kom inte här och snacka om fred i Europa för du vet inte vad du snackar om. Din agressiva hållning är inte bra för Sverige och du påminner mer om en diplomat som förkorat sin saklighet, sin stil och sitt orubbliga lugn. Allt jag tidigare beundrat dig för.
Så en stat ska äger bara rätt att försvara sina medborgare inom sitt eget land?
Tala då om för mig vad amerikanska soldater gör i Irak?
[…] det engelska översättningen handlar motivet, enligt Bildt, om att Ryssland rättfärdigar sitt eget […]
Rulla,
Stop trying to play with the truth.
Georgia, whose criminal leader Saakashvili was installed by a US-orchestrated coup in 2003 is guilty of a massive war crime in its unprovoked and indiscriminate bombardment of a civilian population centre.
Hundreds of innocent civilians have been killed, representing perhaps two percent of the entire population of the South Ossetian people. This certainly qualifies as genocide.
Since you are one of the reactionary screamers who use foul language and insults to make up for your lack of coherent arguments, let me refresh your memory on what constitutes a war crime, as established in international law by the Nuremburg Principles.
The most serious war crime of all is the crime against peace because it makes possible all the other crimes that follow. This is logical because if an aggressor did not start a war without reason then none of the bad things that follow would ever have happened.
Crimes against peace are defined as follows:
(i) Planning, preparation, initiation or waging of a war of aggression or a war in violation of international treaties, agreements or assurances;
(ii) Participation in a common plan or conspiracy for the accomplishment of any of the acts mentioned under (i).
Clearly the Georgian attack is in violation of this international law is unquestionably a crime against peace.
(Similarly America’s illegal and unprovoked aggression against Iraq and Afghanistan are two massive crimes against peace that have resulted in untold death and suffering for a huge number of innocent human beings. Likewise America and Nato aggression against Serbia in 1999, whose only goal was to wrest away Serbian territory.)
As for the Georgian crime against peace, the Russians who are the guarantors of the peace in South Ossetia, have a right and an obligation to make sure that this Georgian aggression is never repeated again.
Do you think they should just go home now and allow the maniac Saakashvili to do the same thing a few weeks or months from now?
Are you at all concerned about the Ossetian people? Do you not believe they need protection.
Quite clearly the Russian have an obligation to bring the criminal Saakashvili to justice. Your idiotic bleating about Medvedev’s “war crimes” is an insult to the truth.
Also your previous comment about Uncle Sam’s ”generosity” is quite laughable.
Oh yes, American generosity is legendary. That is why more than 50 million ordinary working Americans have no access to medical care whatsoever.
If you get sick, god help you, because no one else will. You have a good chance of going bankrupt, becoming homeless and living on the street, like many thousands before you.
I should also mention the American “generosity” in Iraq, where their Army pays $50 compensation to relatives for every innocent man woman or child that their stormtroopers gun down at checkpoints in Baghdad or in people’s homes.
Now isn’t that generous? Sometimes they even pay $100.
And the Bush regime is so generous with Iraq, that it is refusing to pay back the $20 billion in Iraqi money that it is holding in the US. It is using this money to blackmail the Iraqis into signing over access to their oil fields to American petrochemical companies.
What a generous guy that Uncle Sam.
[…] Bildt, Swedish Foreign Minister and former EU special envoy to the Former Yugoslavia, states on his blog Alla dessa dagar that the conflict in South Ossetia has put basic principles of the […]
[…] intervention is by no means brazen aggression (although Swedish foreign minister Carl Bildt is screaming loud and clear that it is). Not only does she after all have a large body of expatriates who desire her armed protection in […]
kumbayaga,
America and its allied’s necessary operation against Iraq was one of the best peace-keeping action since WW2. That have sawed the death and suffering for a huge number of innocent human beings.
Saddam’s regime had made one million of Iraqian soldiers to ghosts, 350.000 civilian were killed, mostly by torture, and he had driven 5.000.000 of the people in Iraq in exile. Most of us were asking why can’t anyone do something? You know who did sabotage the demand on the devils rep. on earth.
Take a look on the map and you will find that South Ossetian belongs to Georgia. All other artificial bordering is part of the Russian imperialism. To teach another country a lesson is a bully statement not worthy one what want to be seen as civilized.
There is no reason for Russians to unprovoked bomb inside in Georgia. Take notis to your sence.
Rulle,
If you can call unprovoked war of conquest and the biggest war crime since WW2 a ”peacekeeping action,” then you are not normal.
The invasion of Iraq was launched on the basis of the US government convincing its own people of a huge and complete lie–that Iraq supposedly posessed chemical and bilogical weapons, as well as an atomic weapons program.
This has of course been shown to be a complete lie and most of the US people have long ago withdrawn their support for this dirty war.
You condemn Saddam for the deaths of one million soldiers. Presumably you are referring to the Iran-Iraq war. But you have conveniently forgotten that it was the US that supported Iraq in that war.
Maybe you don’t remember the famlous embrace of the two buddies, Reagan’s ddefense secretary Donald Rumsfeld and Saddam? It was your buddy Uncle Sam pulling the strings, with Saddam the willing marionette.
Yes, it is tragic that one million soldiers died for no good reason. But the US invasion has caused one million innocent civilians to die. How much worse is that?
As for your other numbers, that is pure USA baloney. Yes Saddam ruled harshly and killed a lot of people, perhaps in the thousands. But certainly not in the hundreds of thousands.
And we must not forget that under his rule, right up until the US aggression in 2003, Iraq was a normal country. You or I or anyone could go there on vacation and be perfectly safe and have a good time.
What does that country resemble now? A Hell hole on Earth, that’s what.
Under Saddam Iraq was one of the few Arab countries to offer progressive social agends, including higher education for all, rights for women, a secular government, etc.
Now the US has had to install a Shiite government, which, as soon as the US leaves, will become a mini-Iran, with very few rights for women.
No honest or decent person could possibly try to justify what the US has done in Iraq. It is a textbook example of naked imperialist aggression that has destroyed millions of lives.
History will remember. You can be sure of that.
Even now the entire world is disgusted. In a way, this is good because the mask is off. The entire world is seeing America for the rapacious monster that it is.
And besides, the writing is on the wall for the American Monster Empire. That rotten ship is already listing and will soon be going under.
That is why reactionaries are screaming at Russia so much now.
They are screaming loud but they cannot do anything. They see that Russia has said ”enough is enough.”
Russia is not going to take any more crap from tinpot dictators installed by the criminal Americans on their doorstep.
Do you think Russia is afraid of the US and its Nato puppets? Russia and all the Russian people would like nothing better than a direct confrontation.
I would like to see that too. Then we will see how strong this paper tiger is, when it has to fight a real opponent.
America has in the last 50 years been beating up only on small, nearly defenseless mini-countries. Serbia, Panama, Grenada, Iraq after 15 years of blockade brought the country to starvation. Somalia.
Even Vietnam was notyhing but a jungle with almost nothing, yet the people managed to wipe the ground with the lazy and discipline-less Americans. Of course the Americans exterminated at least 10 million Vietnamese lives, spraying bombs and poisons on villages from the air.
Cowardice is the way they fight. We see that today in Iraq and Afghanistan as they bomb wedding parties from the air, break into people’s homes and massacres babies, women and children.
Where is the honor in this kind of behavior? Why don’t they go ahead and start a war with Russia?
Oh, but I think I know the answer to that. Let’s wait and see what happens.
kumbayaga,
How dumb are you?
The liberation of Iraq was made despite the lack of support by the General Assembly in United Nations. All know that the cause that Iraq supposedly possessed chemical and biological weapons, as well as an atomic weapons program was made up as an attempt to obtain the support from UN. Remember that the majority of the 183 members in UN are non democratic countries.
The real reason was to remove the worst dictator after WW2. How could that be achieved with the 55 Arabic states and some 50 other dependent and illiterate formations in UN? Only Fools could believe that.
Yes, US initial believed in Saddam until it was proven what a bad man he was.
Why should Russia be afraid of the US and the Nato members? All the Russian people are not stupid and would hate a direct confrontation with the west. But you would like to see that! Therefore I take it that you are not normal and have many loose screws.
The big looser in the terrorist attack on a small, weak and new democratic neighboring nation is Russia. The junta in Moscow, are afraid of that democracy is contagious and might come into the harts or the peoples.
[…] Georgia The swedish foreign minister Carl Bildt has a blog that he utpdates frequently. Usually in swedish, but in connection with the situation in Georgia he has also an entry in english – here […]
Sweden is energy self-sufficient with more than enough custom water- and nuclear power. Hence Sweden has nothing to gain from choosing side and participating in the current anti-russian propaganda. Carl Bildt is putting the Swedish nation in danger on behalf of his personal interests, which do not match the interests of the nation. Further more he is violating the Swedish constitution by sidestepping the Swedish neutrality and taking active part in this conflict. Bildt will surely be tried before the Committee on the Constitution (KU) where he will answer for his actions.
Bravo, Mr. Bild! I applaud your position on this matter because I am Ukrainian and we fear that we will be the next box on the Russia’s checklist of ”accomplishments”. Handing out Russian passports – in clear violation of not only International but its own domestic law – Moscow has created what it calls ”reason” to invade other countries. I can only imagine what Russians would say if somebody began handing out Georgian or any other passports to Chechens during 1990s.
The same tactics has been employed by Moscow in our country, I mean the Crimea and Ukraine’s east. But perhaps something that you and your colleagues might want to think about in the future is the fact that we don’t place our hopes on the European Union. The EU has clearly shown us it does NOT want us, Europeans, to become a part of ”unified Europe”. Ridiculously enough, it only wants to call us ”neighbors”. And it’s a great pity, particularly to me because I used to be one of the loudest advocates of Ukraine’s integration into the EU.
Now our hopes in the area of security are almost entirely placed on the United States.
Zaxidny Ukrainecj,
You speak only for a small fraction of the Ukrainian people.
What about the will of more than half the people of Ukraine who are Russian-speaking and want close relations with Russia?
Do you not think they have a right to decide who will rule them? What gives you the right to ignore them?
The Crimea was historically part of Russia. It was given to Ukraine during the Soviet era. If Russia decides to take it back, it will have a good right to do so.
You should be lucky that the EU does not want Ukraine–although that is not actually the case.
What do you think is waiting for you in the EU? A seat at a rich feast?
What is waiting for you is a broom and a shovel.
What do you the think the EU needs? Some kind of new partner to share in the riches? Or new territory for economic colonization?
Look what has happened in all the countries of the former East Bloc that have ”joined” the EU.
Massive unemployment or underemployment, especially for professionals like scientists and engineers.
Why? Because all of the good industry has been picked over by capitalist vultures. Everything that is good has been bought for pennies.
And what happens to those industries? Mostly they are shut down, so they don’t create competition for Western Europe.
I’m a Canadian Aerospace engineer. I am very familiar with the Czech aerospace industry–as well as Russian and Ukrainian. It was a good vibrant industry in Soviet times.
In Russia and Ukraine, the industry is again roaring back to a leading postion.
In Czech there is nothing left now but empty shells. The Czech engine manufacturer Walter was recently acquired by GE for peanuts. Most of the engineers are long gone. The company is a shadow of what it once was.
It will be the same story in the Ukraine, which has some very significant aerospace industry, including the fabled Antonov heavy-lift aircraft.
This will all be picked apart by Beoing and Lockheed Martin and other corporate vultures who will put most of the intellectuals on the street.
Then my Ukrainina colleages can look forward to pushing a broom, rather than designing a rocket or an aircraft.
Be careful what you wish for. You just might get it.
Bravo Lars.
I know the Swedes are serious people and they don’t appreciate being pulled by the nose.
I think Mr. Bildt has a lot to answer for with his blatant misinformation about nonexistent ”Ossetian Offensives” and duplicitous language about principles.
This is the same Carl Bildt, who previously urged the the United States and Nato to trample international law and invade a Soverign Serbia, ont he pretext of protecting a mnority.
He talks now about international law, while being a long-time apparatchik of the US imperialists who have trampled international law for more than 15 years now with illegal armed aggression–Bosnia, Kosovo, Iraq, Afghanistan.
Now they have the whole world on edge with their planned war of aggression against Iran, a peaceful country which has threatened no one.
I have just one question. Why is Mr. Bildt trying to fool his own people?
Does he care more about his status in the imperial court than his duty to his country and countrymen?
Then why is he in the service of his people’s government?
[…] Mr. Frattini’s are bound to turn things upside down. The Swedish Foreign Minister Carl Bildt compared the Russian attack with Hitler’s argumetation for annexing the Czechoslovakian Sudetes before […]
[…] Austria Anschlussiga, millega Saksamaa ta alla neelas. Rootsi välisminister Carl Bildt omakorda juhib tähelepanu paralleelile Hitleri argumentatsiooniga seoses Tsehhoslovakkia sudeetsakslaste piirkonna […]
After the dismembering Yugoslavia and snatching Kosovo from Serbia, the current crop of Eurpoean and US political elites (and Bildt porminently among them) have gambled away their right to talk about principles and international law.
Having shown that significant bodies of international law (like sovereignty, inviolability of borders) are not worth the paper they are printed on, they should not be surprised by Russia adjusting its behavior to the ”new reality on the ground.”
It is very sad to have diplomat like Bildt writting rubbish without checking the facts.
Quote;
Every state has a responsibility to protect. But no state has the right to unilaterally intervene military in another state with the pretext of protecting its citizens.
So why NATO bombed Serbia.
Quote;
We have seen powers before claiming that the violations of the rights of holders of their passports or their nationality – by a previous Germany in Eastern Europe or a previous Serbia in former Yugoslavia – justify them sending their armies into these countries. We have seen the wars that have followed the application of that principle – and that is why it has repeatedly been made clear that it runs contrary to international law.
Serbia did not send armies in those ex Yugoslav republics as army was there when country fell apart.But don`t you think Serbia had right to destroy KLA who is officially recognised as terrorist organisation.
Talking about international law what about US invasion of Iraq or Israels bombing of Lebanon or that is ok because they are not Russia or Serbia.