Georgia Needs U.S. Support

The independent countries formed from the Soviet Union’s debris present a sorry picture. The autocrats who once proudly proclaimed their Communist Party allegiance now claim to rule as democrats, though their corruption and lust for power remain unchanged. In spots like Uzbekistan and Turkmenistan, human rights are absent. Then there’s the nation of Georgia. Many may know it solely because it was Josef Stalin’s birthplace. But late last year, a peaceful, popular revolution with rose-brandishing partisans toppled its ruler. This month, Mikheil Saakashvili, a 36-year-old U.S.-educated reformer, won an overwhelming election as the new president.

He needs help from Washington and an iron resolve to face enormous problems. But Georgia could offer a shining contrast to the other dreary products of the old Soviet empire.

The U.S. will benefit from a friendly, democratic Georgia, not least because of its potential role as a major energy supplier from the Caspian Sea and a link between Asia and Europe.

About the size of Maine, wedged between the Caucasus Mountains and the Black Sea, Georgia has an oil pipeline scheduled to start operations next year and eventually to deliver 1 million barrels of crude oil daily to Western markets. That can help the U.S. diversify its oil supply.

Georgia still has a major problem with Russia, its former master. The Bush administration should encourage Russian President Vladimir V. Putin to stop supporting separatist movements in Georgia’s Abkhazia and South Ossetia regions. Russia also insists on maintaining military bases in Georgia, which along with its electricity and natural gas supplies to the country give it too much of a stranglehold. The U.S. has provided more than $1 billion in foreign aid to Georgia since the country became independent in 1991 and is spending many millions more to train border guards. That training should continue; Chechen rebels easily slip into Georgia after terrorist acts in Russia, making Moscow even more desirous of controlling the country.

The burden of improving Georgia’s economy and rooting out corruption falls on Saakashvili. He must use his electoral support and charisma to persuade other officials to help him get rid of bureaucrats demanding bribes and kickbacks. He needs honest tax collectors and more foreign aid for pay raises for the police and army. Those are tall orders, but Saakashvili should act quickly while he’s still enveloped by the glow of the “rose revolution.”