Thursday, August 14, 2008

The Cold War is over?

I remember as a child, growing up in the early eighties, a sense of fear brought on by the uncertain relationship that existed between the United States and the USSR. The Cold War. The threat of nuclear attack hung in the air—not so much that in consumed my life, but enough so that I experienced a fair amount of anxiety over it. The United States emerged from the Cold War as the victor (I suppose) with the dissolution of the USSR. The new Russia was going to give Democracy a try it seemed.

Fast forward twenty-somewhat odd years where Russia is being led by a behind-the-curtains-leader, former Russian president Vladimir Putin. Putin was a former member of the KGB—an organization of the former Soviet government akin to the CIA. Within the past week, Russian troops invaded the state of Georgia. I don’t really understand all that precipitated the move—it involved two Georgian separatist provinces, Abkhazia and South Ossetia, which (if I understand things correctly) have loyalties to Russia, but Georgia wants to hold on to.

Anyways, here we go again it seems with the two “Super Powers” up in each other’s faces, as it were, talking smack and waiting for the other to do something stupid.

Why do I feel a bit anxious all of a sudden?

And where's that fallout shelter?

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