Kansas City infoZine, MO
May 10 2005
Bush in Tbilisi: Why Is Georgia on His Mind?
President Bush’s schedule in Tbilisi on Tuesday includes meeting with
Georgian government officials and speaking to a crowd in the city’s
Freedom Square. Why is Bush in Georgia?
Washington, D.C. – Institute for Public Accuracy – infoZine – Ronald
Grigor Suny, a professor of political science and history at the
University of Chicago, is author of “The Soviet Experiment: Russia,
the USSR, and the Successor States” and “The Making of the Georgian
Nation.” He said today: “Bush’s trip to Georgia is more about U.S.
policy toward Russia than about American interest in the South
Caucasus. The timing, the choice of countries to be visited, and the
president’s public statements are all directed at lessening the
impact of the 60th anniversary of the Allied defeat of Nazi Germany,
a dampening of the Russian celebration of a victory that was largely
the result of Soviet efforts and losses. Georgia makes sense as a
place to visit because of the way it is seen in the West as a beacon
of democracy, though in the region the Saakashvili government is not
so universally praised. The alternative sites in the area — Armenia
and Azerbaijan — are more facade democracies than real ones, and
going to one or the other country would be seen as an affront to the
other. America’s interest in Georgia is primarily in keeping Russia
out and limiting Russian influence south of the Caucasus, though the
pipeline from Baku that runs through Georgia is also a real interest
of Washington.”
William Hartung, a senior research fellow at the World Policy
Institute in New York City, said today: “President Bush’s stop in
Georgia is about more than just democracy. From Special Forces in
Georgia to growing military aid to the undemocratic regime in
Uzbekistan, the Bush administration is seeking an expanded military
presence in the Caucasus. The motivation driving that presence goes
beyond terrorism to a strong interest in the region’s oil and gas
resources.”