MOSCOW RULES

While Eric was at the wedding, I bought Daniel Silva's new book--Moscow Rules. He's a really good writer and it's a splendid summertime back yard read. I admit I thought he was being a little tough on the Russians. After all, the cold war is supposed to be over--dead and buried.

Then, Russia invaded Georgia with tanks and bombed their cities to smithers. Georgia is about the size of South Carolina with a population the size of Alabama. The entire action is as absurd as the United States invading South Carolina and South Carolina calling out it's National Guard to defend itself. Georgia has no hope of defending itself and unfortunately there does not seem to be a thing any of the more civilized governments can do about it.

But, I think Russia's behavior speaks to its character. Old dogs don't learn new tricks. Leopards don't change their spots. We need to keep our friends close and our enemies even closer. Moscow Rules is a cautionary tale, but Russia's behavior speaks loud and clear to its desire and plans to return to the olden days. It's behavior is clearly a cautionary tale written brutally with tanks and bombs and death.