“Some foreign policy experts warn that an overly strong American response to Russia’s invasion of Georgia will ‘isolate’ Russia. … Sorry, this argument is backwards. If anybody isolates Russia, it will be the Russians themselves. Nobody forced Moscow to invade Georgia. They knew full well it would antagonize Americans and Europeans, and they did it anyway. Indeed, one of their main purposes was to show the West that they don’t much care what Washington, Paris or London thinks. This is not the attitude of a country that wants to work with others to ’solve problems.’ Yes, Russia’s economy is more fully integrated with the West than the Soviet Union’s ever was. But this ‘integration’ works to Europe’s disadvantage. Its dependence on Russian energy is muting Europe’s response to the invasion, and thus is playing into Moscow’s bid for influence and power.” (09/05/08)