INTERNATIONAL: "A bowl of thin alphabet soup: The Kremlin wants a new security club for Europe and Asia. Can it work? And should it worry America, which is relearning to love its allies?" The Economist, 9 August 2008, p. 55.

Fascinating to read in retrospect.

Given all the tumult in the world, says the article, "it is easy to see why officials in Moscow, Beijing and elsewhere think the security of the Eurasian land mass could be in better hands."

Old alliances, like NATO and OSCE, are viewed as outdated by their roots (anti-Soviet).

High time, so it would seem, for something better.

That, roughly, is the thinking in Moscow, where for the first time in years Russia seems to be offering new ideas rather than old grumbles. Fuller details are promised in September. For now, the plan as outlined by President Dmitry Medvedev, and promoted by Russia's ambassador to NATO, Dmitry Rogozin, is to have a big international conference in Moscow next year, attended by all NATO and EU countries, Russia and its ex-Soviet allies, as well as China and (probably) India, to set up a new security organization to deal with issues such as terrorism and illegal migration. And who could object to that?

So far, the Western response has been muted. Some countries in Europe like the idea of a security structure that would rely less on American hegemony and more on international law. Others are privately sceptical, but think it would be rude to dismiss the plan before hearing it in full.

Makes you wonder what happens if Georgia doesn't start that war, doesn't it?