The Hill: America Needs Reliable Allies Like Georgia
An American news agency based in Washington DC wrote a comprehensive article about Georgia, and what it means for the US. The Hill issued an article authored by Janusz Bugajski, a Senior Fellow at the Center for European Policy Analysis. The commentary of the article seems to be data-based and impartial, with clear examples given as to why Georgia is so appealing for large key political players, such as the US and Russia.
Mr. Bugajski notes the geographical importance of Georgia, its being at the center of many of today's geopolitical disputes. “It is the key state in the South Caucasus and sits astride the Black Sea, which Moscow uses as a launchpad to project military power toward the Balkans and the Eastern Mediterranean.” writes Bugajski.
The Russian dominion over the Black Sea and the Caucasus would contest the safety of NATO members Romania and Bulgaria and NATO applicants Georgia and Ukraine. “It also threatens energy supplies to Europe from the Caspian Basin and transportation and trade routes between Europe and Asia that bypass Russian territory. Some of the major energy pipelines and rail links transit Georgia to European markets.” writes Bugajski as he highlights Georgia’s practicality as a ‘hallway’ of streaming energy resources to Europe.
The article rightfully mentions Georgia’s contributions to the global ‘crusade’ against terrorism, and particularly the outlawed ‘caliphate’ of ISIS/ISIL. Moreover, it purposefully remarks on the ISAF (International Security Assistance Force) mission in Afghanistan to aid the Afghan governmental forces to suppress Taliban. ISAF is the NATO mission in which Georgia “was the largest non-NATO troop contributor”, and, correspondingly, “Georgia suffered the most casualties among Allied troops in Afghanistan on a per capita basis”, reads the article. On top of this, the country offered its territory for placement and transit of NATO forces, in addition to modernizing its airports and seaports to accommodate the Alliances’ militaries.
Bugajski makes a very interesting observation, where he equates Georgia’s example as an US ally, to the regional powerhouses of anti-Russian and pro-Western leaning nation-states. The author emphasizes on the “dependable allies” which the US has to augment their interests. In the list of allies, Bugajski mentions Poland, Israel and ultimately Georgia. The article also underlines US appreciation of Georgia’s democratic and Western associated ways of regional and international diplomacy. “The [US] administration underscored its appreciation for Georgia's pro-American foreign policy and major contributions to global security, while condemning Russia's occupation of 20 percent of Georgia's territory.” reads the article.
The article could not comment on Georgia’s aspiring ambitions without referring to NATO-Georgian relations. At the 2008 NATO summit, Georgia was promised membership, although without a clear timetable. Given that the country spends 2% of its GDP on defense, and its internal military infrastructure and capabilities are more than exemplary, this offers the NATO Secretary-General Jens Stoltenberg the opportunity to say that Georgia “possesses all the necessary instruments to qualify for membership.”
Although a number of NATO countries are concerned about Georgia’s accession to the Alliance, because of its occupied territories, which is a potential hot-spot for a new war, they must still adhere to the 2008 assurances. Bugajski thoughtfully comments on this paradox and gives examples of how and why this integration would work. “Moreover, Russia will not risk a direct confrontation with a militarily more powerful multi-national organization, and NATO itself acts as a deterrent to renewed conflict, as we have witnessed in the Baltic states.” writes Bugajski, who is irrefutably realistic and factual.
The author of the article also mentions that NATO membership may take some time, and it might as well be a long-term process since Georgia will be a full-fledged member of the Alliance. Yet, meanwhile the United States has given a special status to Georgia, an MNNA (Major Non-NATO Ally). Only a minority of nations have this official status granted them by the US, and Georgia's co-ranking republics in the group include Australia, Japan and South Korea.
Janusz Bugajski concludes his article with high praises of Georgia’s political orientation and its foreign policy vector. Just like the author, the society of Georgia knows its Euro-Atlantic integration is a long-set objective which cannot be altered, and it will not be distorted. Bugajski once more reiterates Georgia’s strategic partnership and association with the West, as he completes his article. “In addition to its pivotal strategic role, its staunch Trans-Atlanticism and its resistance to Russian imperialism, Georgia serves as a regional political role model and an alternative to Muscovite authoritarianism.”
By Beka Alexishvili