Stupid Wars

Stupid Wars: A Citizen's Guide to Botched Putsches, Failed Coups, Inane Invasions, and Ridiculous Revolutions by Ed Strosser

My review

rating: 3 of 5 stars
I finished reading this book last night. It covers stupid wars from the Fall of the Roman Empire in AD 377 thru the attempted Soviet Coup against Gorbachev in 1991.



No doubt, a second edition will include the Republic of Georgia's 2008 incursion against South Ossetia. I'll bet President Scharivezi of Georgia wishes he could turn the clock back a week before he foolishly sent his troops into the Autonomous Region of South Ossetia.



Of course, the little, but incredibly brutal and destructive war isn't over yet, despite Russian president Mededev's pronouncement that his country's objectives have been met. These include:



* Protecting Russian citizens in South Ossetia and Russian "peacekeepers that were sent there.



* Destroying Georgia's military capacity to attack and occupy South Ossetia.



* Remove Georgian troops from the two autonomous regions in question.



* Punish Georgia for its agrression against and occupation of Southh Ossetia.



I fear it isn't all over yet. Oh, Mededev has promised to end hostilities and pull his troops out of Georgia but that hasn't happened yet and Russia aircraft and artillery continue their missions in Georgian territory.



With the west's response limited to diplomacy and vague threats against Russia and NATO and the USA's willingness and ability to enforce demands extremely limited, one must wonder what motivation does Russia really have to end hostilities?


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