Conservative Casual Friday--Belarus, Russia, and the West

In the face of brutal police crackdowns, protests have broken out in Minsk, the capital of Belarus, as well as other cities nationwide following the August 9 presidential election.  The official results confirmed the rule of Alexander Lukashenko, the strongman who has ruled Belarus as president since 1994, with 80 percent of the vote, but most voters and international observers consider the election a rigged foregone conclusion.  Situated between Russia, Ukraine, and the NATO members Estonia, Latvia, Lithuania, and Poland, Belarus has a central position in an East European security environment increasingly unsettled by Russia under its similarly autocratic President Vladimir Putin.   Aaron Korewa, an expert on Nordic and East European security with the McCain Institute, will join show host Andrew E. Harrod to discuss the future of Belarus, a country long dominated by Russia since the two countries emerged from the Soviet Union's 1991 breakup.