How a Spat Became a Showdown

http://www.nytimes.com/2008/08/18/washington/18diplo.html?_r=1&sq=spat%20became%20a%20showdown&st=cse&adxnnl=1&oref=slogin&scp=1&adxnnlx=1219082925-Ydcn4QyN8c7Qt3eIw0mStQ- Hide quoted text -

---------- Forwarded message ----------From: barry levine <levinebar@gmail.com>Date: Mon, Aug 18, 2008 at 11:15 AMSubject: How a Spat Became a ShowdownTo: letters@nytimes.com

To the Editor: The first president Bush famously incited the Iraqis to revolt after the first gulf war, then stood by while a resurgent Saddam Hussein massacred them. The current president Bush led the Georgians to believe that their troops in a second Iraq war had bought them an ally; now he makes outraged noises as a resurgent Russia re-establishes its influence if not its empire in the Caucasus. In president Bush's second term, Americans should be embarrassed at our own failure to learn. We must hope that the rest of the world doesn't learn that we are an unreliable ally.Barry Levine1142 Brown AveLafayette, CA 94549