Talk about BS. South Ossetia has been under Russian control. There is no “South Ossetia” as an independent area. It is a Russian fiefdom.

At worst, Georgia was attempting to reestablish control over part of its country that was seized by the Russians. It may have been an error but it does not justify the intentional bombing of civilian targets. Just to prove that the Russian bear is back.

Ryan, the fact is that you think the Russians were ok to use force because Georgia is in its “sphere of influence”. Apologist is the most polite word for that view.

South Ossetia has been de-facto independent for 18 years.

The Georgians broke a 1996 agreement and moved troops into the region.

What did you expect the Russians would do?

What do you think the US would do, if Cuba moved troops into Cozumel (which is 400 miles from the US, rather than right on the border)?

I’m not defending the Russians (who are far from innocent in this affair). But your unqualified support for the Georgians is completely laughable.

Jacques: Russian aggresion always gets its apologists in the West. THe Ribbentrop/Molotov Pact, Hungary, Prague in 1968, even Afghanistan.

Its never the Russian’s fault. They always have good reasons for using raw, naked force.

There are several reports to the effect that the US may have “encouraged” our good friend Saakashvili to send troops into South Ossetia, believing that it would all be over in 48 hours, before the Russians could intervene. True or not, this means that the US has very little credibility with the protagonists right now.

Certainly, the ridiculous promise to add Georgia to NATO (Think about it: is there any logistically conceivable way for NATO to militarily guarantee the security of Georgia’s borders? If not, it is the height of foolishness to make such guarantees.), reiterated by Senator McCain, could only have emboldened the Georgians, with tragic consequences.

Also, as a counterpoint to all the Sudetenland comparisons, consider this from the Times of London.

As I said previously, this is a very dangerous precedent for the rest of the former Soviet Republics, for the countries of Eastern Europe and for the world. Russia’s moves into Georgia cast a long shadow. But it is a serious mistake to paint the Georgians as the heroes and the Russians as the exclusive villains in this piece.

I wanted to add:

Is Sweden a well known neocon dominated country? They seem to make the Hitler comparison too.

Swedish foreign minister Carl Bildt has correctly drawn an analogy between Putin’s “justification” for dismembering Georgia — because of the Russians in South Ossetia — to Hitler’s tactics vis a vis Czechoslovakia to “free” the Sudeten Deutsch.