It's very unclear what Russia is doing here. I don't doubt that they'd like to annex some of these little countries….but the fact is, the South Ossetians do NOT want to be part of Georgia and have declared their independence. They would like to unify with their ethnic kin in North Ossetia (which is in Russia).

Once the Georgian president launched a surprise attack (during a ceasefire) against the South Ossetian rebels, the Russians had a “peacekeeping” responsibility under the CIS agreement.

I am surprised that people are buying into the “Russia as oppressor” argument. Georgia is trying to force South Ossetia (which has had de facto independence since the nineties and voted for independence in a referendum) to reunify with it.

I don't know who is most in the wrong here, and I certainly can easily believe that Russia would LIKE to have an excuse to retrieve lost territory (and was helping to stir things up)….but that's NOT why this whole thing started.

These oversimplifications in the media are really worrying me. A complex situation requires a complex response.

It's an uglier game Russia is playing than anything you could sanely envision about the neo-cons and their conceit. It's not just striking back at a pro-western government as part of a descent into the sewer that Russia has been engaged in for years now. It's not necessarily a way to cow Ukraine and Belarus and other nations closer to Russia that Russia resents no longer controlling at the level of slavery, of _true_ empire (anti-US lefties take note even if you probably won't learn yet, either). It could well involve some regression to “defensive annexation.”

As for Bruno's latest romping range…

http://www.american.edu/ted/ice/ossetia.htm

Who but who could restore real american world allies?

Meanwhile, where's the cartoon that precedes the one above? You know, the eagle descending on Iraq..?

You DO realize we cannot criticize Russia's invasion of Georgia under false pretenses, when really it's about controlling oil, when we ourselves have done the EXACT SAME THING….FIRST….

I want to criticize Russia, really I do. But I'm finding it very hard to do without looking like a jackass hypocrite.

Europe will do nothing.

The USA has its hands full already and this is a European problem. (Not applicable here is that Russia also has a Muslim terrorism problem and occasionally appeals to those who want us to leave Russia because of that.)

The USA will do next to nothing.

Bruno continues his ugly ways.