Decius wrote:

The war in Georgia, therefore, is Russia’s public return to great power status... Russia has been an empire for centuries. The last 15 years or so were not the new reality, but simply an aberration that would be rectified. And now it is being rectified.

Why did the U.S. bless this conflict? Did they intend to provide Russia this opportunity to make a demonstration in exchange for some covert concession?

It occurs to me that perhaps they figured Russia planned invade outright and they wanted to push their hand early.

I am reminded of Saddam announcing his intention to invade Kuwait repeatedly, before doing so. The reply he got was, "The US is against using force of arms to settle border disputes." We're asleep at the wheel.

What the hell were we going to do about it? We probably told Georgia that Russia had forces massed at the border. Georgia ignores it and decides use those guns we've been giving them for something. They were getting shelled across the border. Perhaps a Russian invasion of those regions was preferable to getting shelled by separatists, and they under-estimated the Russian response?

RE: The Russo-Georgian War and the Balance of Power | Stratfor