#WTH Russia Eyes Georgia Next. David Kramer Explains

Georgia’s parliament in Tbilisi recently overrode a presidential
veto on a “foreign agents” law that sparked an uproar
domestically and from the country’s Western allies. Critics
decried the legislation—which requires any organization receiving
more than 20% of its funding from foreign sources to register as
an “agent of foreign influence”—as yet another element in the
Russian takeover of the small South Caucasian nation. Russia
still occupies 20% of Georgia’s territory. Why should Americans
care about Russian games in a country of 3 million people?
Because for Vladimir Putin, Georgia is just the beginning of his
ambitions in Europe. And the Georgian people are among the most
pro-American in the region, at one point the second largest troop
contributor to our war on al Qaeda. Standing up for Georgia now
means avoiding conflict later.


David Kramer serves as the Executive Director of the George W.
Bush Institute. Prior to joining the Bush Institute, he taught at
Florida International University’s Steven J. Green School of
International and Public Affairs, and served as an Assistant
Secretary of State for Europe and Eurasian Affairs. David chairs
the board of the Free Russia Foundation and serves on the board
of the International Republican Institute.


Read the transcript here.