In times like this I’m especially glad my sense of humour encompasses the darkly ironic. It’s funny in a way to see Russia using moves and poses from the NATO playbook: investigating Georgia for war crimes, Medvedev pulling the genocide card and Putin even quoting Reagan, making it difficult for the Americans to criticize Russia without criticizing their own ongoing operations. Meanwhile the Georgian president makes me wonder if the whole thing is a comedic stunt — a cross between Borat and Canadian Bacon… Running away from the imaginary airplanes is comedy gold, and his interview with the BBC is a classic British blend of absurdity and satire (he himself couldn’t keep from laughing throughout). In contrast, Putin continues to rise — not just in Moscow but in global stature. Robert Kagan has suddenly become a major presence on my intellectual radar. Yes, the end of history has officially ended. Funny isn’t it? If you can’t find some humour in that then you can’t take the full scope of it seriously.
