The 2008 South Ossetia War: A Guide

The 2008 South Ossetia War: A Guide
Memoirs of a Neophyte
Aug 19, 2008

WHO STARTED IT?There are two basic facts to keep in mind about the smokin' little war in Ossetia:

1. The Georgians started it.
2. They lost.

Why I had to recognise Georgia’s breakaway regions
By Dmitry Medvedev
Aug 26, 2008
London Financial Times

<>
On Tuesday Russia recognised the independence of the territories of South Ossetia and Abkhazia. It was not a step taken lightly, or without full consideration of the consequences. But all possible outcomes had to be weighed against a sober understanding of the situation – the histories of the Abkhaz and Ossetian peoples, their freely expressed desire for independence, the tragic events of the past weeks and inter­national precedents for such a move.

Not all of the world’s nations have their own statehood. Many exist happily within boundaries shared with other nations. The Russian Federation is an example of largely harmonious coexistence by many dozens of nations and nationalities. But some nations find it impossible to live under the tutelage of another. Relations between nations living “under one roof” need to be handled with the utmost sensitivity.

After the collapse of communism, Russia reconciled itself to the “loss” of 14 former Soviet republics, which became states in their own right, even though some 25m Russians were left stranded in countries no longer their own. Some of those nations were un­able to treat their own minorities with the respect they deserved. Georgia immediately stripped its “autonomous regions” of Abkhazia and South Ossetia of their autonomy.



How would America feel if the Soviet Union formed a close alliance with Cuba - sending arms to her and trying to ally her with the Eastern republics.

Can you say - "Cuban Missle Crisis"?

..puck

Who Started Cold War II?

Who Started Cold War II?
by Patrick J. Buchanan
Tuesday, August 19, 2008

The American people should be eternally grateful to Old Europe forhaving spiked the Bush-McCain plan to bring Georgia into NATO.

Had Georgia been in NATO when Mikheil Saakashvili invaded South Ossetia, we would be eyeball to eyeball with Russia, facing war inthe Caucasus, where Moscow's superiority is as great as U.S.superiority in the Caribbean during the Cuban missile crisis.

If the Russia-Georgia war proves nothing else, it is the insanityof giving erratic hotheads in volatile nations the power to drag the United States into war.