Is Georgia the new Sudetenland?

This war Russia has started in Georgia is very scary. Mostly because it is being allowed to happen.

I really hate it when history is allowed to repeat itself... especially the really ugly parts of history, like wars and the misery they inevitably inflict on people. And the apathy (if not cooperation) of the masses that inevitably allows it to happen.

Does anyone remember that the two world wars of the 20th century began in Eastern Europe ... you know, that part of the planet that the "west" considers (to its obvious detriment) insignificant?

Or how Russian communist and German Nazi leaders promoted popular Marxist tenets to win over enough of the populace to seize power ... and then once they did, proceeded to massacre millions who saw them for what they were? (And, btw, the western world has still not held them all accountable and still flatly refuses to. But, that's another story for another post.)

Sadly, with this Russian invasion of Georgia, it looks like déja vue all over again.

For anyone who believes that the Cold War ended with the collapse of the Iron Curtain way back in 1989, I suggest heading over to Wikipedia and checking out the entry on Sudetenland. You'll find some astonishingly clear parallels between what Nazi Germany did to a new country called Czechoslovakia and what Russia is currently doing to a new country called Georgia.

Which leads me to my concern about the future of my ancestral homeland.

Will US president Bush become the 21st century's Neville Chamberlain? And will Ukraine be Russia's next target, with the Black Sea fleet skirmish as an excuse to follow the historical precendent set in Poland in 1939 and take over the eastern, supposedly "pro-Russian" half of Ukraine... for starters?

And, the $64k question: Will the rest of the western world knuckle under to this new group of thugs that has set up base in Russia, the way the Nazis took over Germany?

At least I'm not the only one asking the question. Beth Shaw over at Right Pundits has a pretty insightful analysis of the Russia Georgia war, as has Alan Philips in his article "Russia knew the west wouldn't dare help Georgia."

So I guess a few of us do remember how past world wars started. Too bad the appeasers can't recognize themselves ... but what do they care about the future consequences for others of their spinelessness? They're not the ones who will die on the battlefield, get raped and/or tortured, or lose loved ones in the ugliness of the war they allowed to happen.

And all for the sake of oil. As Beth asks, why aren't the "blood for oil" screamers on a plane heading for a protest at the Kremlin, hmm?? Especially since the Georgian president is waving a white flag, to which the Kremlin has responded with more bombing. Nice.