Like many Americans I wasn’t immersed in the history of Russia and Georgia to clearly evaluate what was going on other than the dangerous Russian bear was waking up. The break away Georgian republics have been getting Russian protection since the Stalinist years (Stalin was a Georgian from Gori).
Both parties are blaming Russia, but it is not that simple. Georgia treats the breakaways with as much contempt as Russia treats it. Georgia practices early democracy, asks for NATO protection, and assumed, wrongly as it turned out, that the West would come to its aid.
Mikheil Saakashvili has overplayed his hand and will be gone as soon as Georgians realize they have been humiliated. There is nothing the US can do. I know John McCain wants to go all Rambo, but that is a joke. The whole world knows we are overextended- way to go George- and Russia is working from a position of strength, economically (oil and gas) and militarily (troops amnd missles in the region). I know they signed the truce, but they will be slow to leave so they can stick their thumb in the eye of Georgia and the West.
George Bush brought us here, and McCain’s machismo could throw gasoline on the fire. The United States has few options, but having the cranky old man threatening the Russian bear on his lawn risks a far deeper conflagration. And it only makes the US look weak.
http://www.boston.com/bigpicture/2008/08/war_in_south_ossetia.html
