Finally using that dissertation

MANIFESTO

I've got to think that Condi Rice has waited for this moment for a long time.

In scathing criticism of Moscow, US Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice warned Russia today that its policies have put it on a path to isolation and irrelevance.

Rice called on the West to stand up to Russian aggression after its invasion of Georgia last month.

"The attack on Georgia has crystallized the course that Russia's leaders are taking and brought us to a critical moment for Russia and the world," she said in a speech at a German Marshall Fund event.

After years of waiting for the shoes to fall, the erstwhile Soviet specialist can now talk tough about something she actually knows about. All those years of her boss looking into Vlad the Impaler's soul and getting a sense of a "man deeply committed to his country and the best interests of his country" can be pushed aside now that the invasion of Georgia has occurred. One can almost hear a sense of relief in the Secretary of State's words as she treads familiar ground.

Of course, nothing will come of this tough talk directed at a new enemy, but at least it gives Condi a few stories in the papers, which is more than can be said for her boss.