George Bush arrived in Romania for a Nato summit this week backing applications from Ukraine and Georgia to join the US-led military alliance. The expansion of Nato to Russia’s borders has been key to the “new Cold War” between the US and Russia.
Nato membership commits member states to defending the borders of any member. Abkhazia and South Ossetia have broken away from Georgia, with Russia’s support, and there is a strong independence movement in Ajaria.
Georgia’s regime will be keen to secure US and European backing for its border wars.
When the Berlin Wall came down, the West promised democracy and economic well-being to the peoples of Eastern Europe and former Soviet republics. They’ve seen little of either.
Bulgaria had to commit to a policy of privatisation to secure Nato membership while Lithuania had to spend $240 million a year on buying US arms. Georgia, which has hundreds of troops in Iraq, offered 500 more for service in Afghanistan prior to the summit. Nato expansion comes at a very high price and increases the chances of wars. No wonder Bush supports it.
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