Sunday, November 16, 2008

Sarkozy: "Do you want to end up like Bush?"

This exchange really says everything that needs to be said about the Bush presidency:

Nicolas Sarkozy saved the President of Georgia from being hanged “by the balls” — a threat made last summer by Vladimir Putin, according to an account that emerged yesterday from the Élysée Palace.

With Russian tanks only 30 miles from Tbilisi on August 12, Mr Sarkozy told Mr Putin that the world would not accept the overthrow of Georgia’s Government. According to Mr Levitte, the Russian seemed unconcerned by international reaction. “I am going to hang Saakashvili by the balls,” Mr Putin declared.

Mr Sarkozy thought he had misheard. “Hang him?” — he asked. “Why not?” Mr Putin replied. “The Americans hanged Saddam Hussein.”

Mr Sarkozy, using the familiar tu, tried to reason with him:
“Yes but do you want to end up like [President] Bush?” Mr Putin was briefly lost for words, then said: “Ah — you have scored a point there.”

Sarkozy actually managed to shame Putin by comparing his intended actions with those of Bush and forcing Putin to back down.

Bush is now a figure that other world leaders dread being compared to. So, he has a use after all, who would have predicted that?

Click title for full article.

4 comments:

Ingrid said...

haha! very good! That said, Putin would've had every right to attack Georgia as Georgia has indeed (as I commented on so often during that time) started the whole mess by attacking Ossetia/Ossetia civilians.
BUT..what is not talked about is how there was an int'l military force prepping the Georgian army to do just such a thing. And Bush was, like during 9/11, 'conveniently' elsewhere when it happened..

hmmm..

Ingrid

Kel said...

Ingrid, we both said at the time that it was Saakashvili's aggression which kicked the whole thing off and yet I keep reading articles by people who are astonished to find out, only now, that little Georgia was, in fact, the aggressor.

If we could find that out by simply Googling, why are so many only finding it out now?

Ingrid said...

pablum is easier to digest..you and I can 'stomach' the stronger stuff..

Ingrid

Kel said...

Amen.