Writing as a long-time admirer of Mikhail Gorbachev, this excellent opinion piece is must reading even if one were to contest one or another point. I agree completely that the disaster in Georgia was caused by the rash and very dangerous actions of an arrogant Georgian president whose country had been armed by the US and Israel, and those arms, and the training for the Georgian armed forces, clearly were intended for application to the secessionist problems in South Ossetia and Abkhazia. To me, the calamity was entirely avoidable, and it came about in large part due to encouragement from American neocons whose larger purpose is "protecting" Israel no matter what the cost to the US taxpayer.

Though heavily pro-Russian, this is an important opinion piece to read. It offers insight into the Russian perspective on this affair, and the larger relationship between Moscow and Washington. Gorbachev is not critical enough of Russia's action- his suggestion that Medvedev is running things is suspect enough. But I can't disagree with his analysis of early American news coverage.

Interesting perspective from former Soviet Union president Gorbachev. Along with several other excellent posts on the Newstrust site such as Link TV's short video, it gives another point of view regarding the situation in the Caucuses. Recommend reading this along with Thomas Friedman's editorial in today's NY Times.

Good opinion journalism. Stated fairly by the Russian in an attempt to present the Russian point of view. What saves it from partisanship and points to Gorbachev as an elderstatesman is his implicit and explicit insistence on negotiation, understanding of the other side, and written agreements intended to AVOID violence. Those of us who are bound in our Western bubble might use this to pay attention to the more rational voices emanating from Russia.

Gorbachev was one of the most thoughtful leaders of the USSR, and his viewpoints are cogently stated. The viewpoint is important to read if all you have seen is the cold war framing by US big media.

I think most of the news coverage of this incident miss the main point. Russia has a long history of neighborly paranoia. The Russian national anthem should be "Don't Fence Me In." Russia sees NATO surrounding them as it admits one former Soviet satellite after another. While we see this as no threat to Russia's sovereignty, we have to understand that paranoia does not have to based on logic. It's an irrational fear. It'll be interesting to see how the West addresses the aspirations of countries like Georgia and Ukraine, without setting the Russian Bear into a frenzy of self-protection.

Who believes anything this character says. He's probably working for Putin. Russia has a motive for doing this - the oil pipeline whey want to control and their desire to throw fear into the former satellites.

This opinion piece has minimal journalistic merit.. It is pure propaganda by a Soviet-era dictator. The only interesting things is what it reveals about the N.Y. Times, which happily publishes this anti-American piece, but won't publish a superbly argued essay by Senator McCain.

This article takes a "party' line - ahem, in that it goes along with a lot of spin that is "balanced" in pointing out western maneuverings yet plays "sensitive" regarding American Domestic Politics. Russia is a big boy and is reminding of us that - which is in a way good. Nowhere here though (and nowhere else) is any mention made of Georgia's serving as a base for the conflict in Chechnya years ago. Payback? Yes, the U.S. is at fault for its hubris and Russia may stumble here. But the point is we are over a barrel of our own making and it is a brilliant tactical move on the part of Russia to exploit this for its own domestic consumption and to assert itself internationally. I think this article misses the point: that Russia is ... More »

This article presents a perspective not only from a Russian insiders point of view but from a former Russian Presisent who has earned a great deal of respect in the West. The article is presented in a dispassionate and thoughtful manner. Viewed in the context of the general US media bias towards Georgia and anti Russia, this article is important with a message that needed to aired , even if for the main part it will not have an impact on the American Psyche.