The Scorpion and the Frog

The movie The Crying Game used the fable of the Scorpion and the Frog to illustrate the inevitable actions of bad people:

A scorpion asks a frog for help crossing a river. Intimidated by the scorpion's prominent stinger, the frog demurs.
``Don't be scared,'' the scorpion says. ``If something happens to you, I'll drown.'' Moved by this logic, the frog puts the scorpion on his back and wades into the river. Half way across, the scorpion stings the frog.
The dying frog croaks, ``How could you -- you know that you'll drown?''
``It's my nature,'' gasps the sinking scorpion.

Politicians are well served to heed this parable and treat with skepticism past scorpions. In that light, the recent actions of the Russians in the Palestinian/Hamas situation should not surprise anyone. Many are upset at the Russians and their duplicitous behavior in regard to Iran's nuclear ambitions but were willing to reason that they were merely supporting their economic interests. Were that the case, we might have no reason to worry. However, the Russians know very well that the money they may make off the Iranians will in no way compensate for the instability the Iranians bring to their muslim provinces. The attractive feature for the Russians is that the Iranians can present an even bigger drain on the West, especially the United States. Even while the Arabs are pushing Hamas toward peace, Russia is holding out hope for continued conflict.

The short sighted scorpion would view a regional conflict in the Middle East as a good thing. Russia has its own supply of energy. A war might give them the opportunity to revive the empire. Don't scoff. More than half of the Russians recently polled think that Stalin was a good leader and even more regret the loss of their rule over neighboring republics. Spend time in the Baltics to understand how the Russian's chaffe at the audacity of these former soviet dominions acting independently. That Stalin killed tens of millions of his own people is inconsequential to the scorpion.

And just because Communism no longer exists in Russia does not mean that the imperialistic tendencies of the Eastern Bear have vanished. Russia has a long history of imposing the empire on her neighbors long before Lenin was born. Destabilizing the West, especially Europe, was always a way of keeping their competitors weak and ripe for takeover. Moreover, Russia has shown a tendency to deal with her own scorpions for the chance of stinging in the future. Stalin's bargain with Hitler started World War II, a conflict Stalin knew would leave a vacuum of power in eastern Europe that he could walk into. A similar desire led the Russians to mobilize and help start the first World War. They've never minded conflict even to the point of their own ruin.