Flash Point: South Ossetia (9 - 11 August) - Small Wars Journal

Flash Point: South Ossetia (12 August) - Small Wars Journal

Flash Point: South Ossetia (13 August) - Small Wars Journal

NEWS

15,000 Russian Troops in Georgia - CNN

Russia has likely moved additional troops into Georgia and its breakaway provinces over the past several days, several administration officials told CNN on Wednesday. The officials said Russia probably has at least 15,000 troops in the region. The US government had estimated 8,000 to 10,000 Russian troops had moved into Georgia when fighting began last week. A Bush administration official stressed that the scope of Russia's military effort remains unclear. Russia was blasted diplomatically Wednesday by President Bush over reports of ongoing Russian military operations. US Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice also said Russian military action in Georgia "must stop and must stop now." Georgia and Russia accused each other of violating the cease-fire deal agreed Tuesday to end fighting over the breakaway South Ossetia province.

Despite Truce, Russians Take Gori - Bahrampour and Finn, Washington Post

A day after Russia agreed to stop its offensive and pull its troops out of Georgian territory, Russian forces took over the frontline Georgian city of Gori on Wednesday, seized munitions at Georgian military bases and set up positions along the country's main east-west highway. Paramilitary fighters accompanying the troops looted homes and stole cars, witnesses said. The actions far inside undisputed Georgian territory underlined the uncertainties of efforts to end the war and drew a sharp rebuke from President Bush. "Russia must keep its word and act to end this crisis," he said at the White House, announcing that US military planes and ships would begin ferrying humanitarian aid into the beleaguered country.

Russians Begin Georgia Handover - BBC News

Russian troops have begun handing over control of the area around the town of Gori to Georgian security forces. A Russian general in the area said Moscow's troops would remain nearby for several days to remove weaponry and help restore law and order in Gori. However, a BBC correspondent said a series of explosions was heard coming from hills around the town on Thursday. Georgia attacked the rebel region of South Ossetia from Gori a week ago, prompting Russian retaliation. In Moscow, Russian President Dmitry Medvedev met the leaders of South Ossetia and Abkhazia - Georgia's other separatist region - and pledged to support any decision the regions made about their borders.

Georgia Says Russians Pulling Out of Gori - Associated Press

Russian troops began pulling out Thursday from this hub on Georgia's main east-west highway, Georgia's Interior Ministry said, where the soldiers' presence raised fears that Russia would challenge a shaky cease-fire agreement. The strategically located city is 15 miles south of South Ossetia, the separatist region where Russian and Georgian forces fought a brutal five-day battle. Russian troops entered Gori on Wednesday, after the two sides signed the cease-fire that called for their forces to pull back to the positions they held before the fighting started.

Plan Offers Russia a Rationale to Advance - Andrew Kramer, New York Times

It was nearly 2 a.m. on Wednesday when President Nicolas Sarkozy of France announced he had accomplished what seemed virtually impossible: Persuading the leaders of Georgia and Russia to agree to a set of principles that would stop the war. Handshakes and congratulations were offered all around. But by the time the sun was up, Russian tanks were advancing again, this time taking positions around the strategically important city of Gori, in central Georgia. It soon became clear that the six-point deal not only failed to slow the Russian advance, but it also allowed Russia to claim that it could push deeper into Georgia as part of so-called additional security measures it was granted in the agreement. Mr. Sarkozy, according to a senior Georgian official who witnessed the negotiations, also failed to persuade the Russians to agree to any time limit on their military action.

Bush Squares Up to Putin - Tom Baldwin, The Times

President Bush dispatched US military hardware to the heart of the Caucasus yesterday and warned Russia that it could be frozen out of international bodies as punishment for its aggression in Georgia. In his toughest criticism of Russia since becoming President, Mr Bush accused it of breaching the provisional ceasefire agreed with Georgia only 24 hours earlier. He cited intelligence showing that Russian troops had again taken the town of Gori and could threaten the capital, Tbilisi. He insisted that Moscow respect the former Soviet republic’s territorial integrity. There were also reports of Russian-backed militia in South Ossetia looting ethnic Georgian villages and killing inhabitants.

Bush Takes Tougher Stance - Spiegel and Barnes, Los Angeles Times

President Bush escalated the American response Wednesday to Russian military action in Georgia, ordering a humanitarian aid effort and dispatching Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice to the stricken region as Pentagon officials announced plans to rebuild the Georgian military. Speaking in the Rose Garden, Bush accused Russia of seizing territory in Georgia and continuing its military campaign despite agreeing to a cease-fire. The new words and actions from the White House came after sharp criticism from conservatives, including some in Georgia and the Bush administration, that his initial response was ineffectual.

US Has Few Options - Eggen and DeYoung, Washington Post

The Bush administration mixed strong rhetoric with modest action yesterday in response to Russia's continued military incursion in Georgia, warning that Moscow's international aspirations are threatened if it does not honor a negotiated cease-fire in the conflict. President Bush announced the start of a humanitarian aid program for Georgia using US military airplanes and ships, although officials said the effort so far includes only two scheduled flights. One shipment arrived later yesterday and another is to land today. He also dispatched Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice for a diplomatic trip that will take her to Paris and then to Georgia's capital of Tbilisi to show "America's unwavering support."

Bush, Sending Aid, Demands That Moscow Withdraw - New York Times

President Bush sent American troops to Georgia on Wednesday to oversee a “vigorous and ongoing” humanitarian mission, in a direct challenge to Russia’s display of military dominance over the region. His action came after Russian soldiers moved into two strategic Georgian cities in what he and Georgian officials called a violation of the cease-fire Russia agreed to earlier in the day. Mr. Bush demanded that Russia abide by the cease-fire and withdraw its forces or risk its place in “the diplomatic, political, economic and security structures of the 21st century.” It was his strongest warning yet of potential retaliation against Russia over the conflict.

Bush Warns Russia to Honor Cease-Fire - Eggen and Branigin, Washington Post

President Bush today warned Russia to honor a cease-fire agreement in its conflict with Georgia, saying that reports of ongoing military actions by Moscow "raise serious questions about its intentions" and threaten its standing in the world. In a brief statement in the Rose Garden at the White House, Bush said he is sending Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice to Paris for negotiations over the conflict, and then to Tbilisi to "convey America's unwavering support for Georgia's democratic government." A massive humanitarian relief effort is also underway, using US military planes and ships, Bush said.

Bush Sends Aid to Occupied Georgia - Ward and Hearn, Washington Times

President Bush dispatched US military forces Wednesday to the small Caucasus nation of Georgia to deliver "humanitarian aid" to the Western-leaning nation that is partly occupied by Russian troops. Mr. Bush also sent Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice on a diplomatic mission to France and then to Georgia to "rally the free world at the defense of a free Georgia." Miss Rice departed for Paris on Wednesday evening. The president spoke to reporters at the White House with Miss Rice on his right and Defense Secretary Robert M. Gates on his left, and said he had asked Mr. Gates to "begin a humanitarian mission to the people of Georgia headed by the United States military."

Rice Warns Russia of Isolation - Daily Telegraph

Condoleezza Rice, the US Secretary of State, has threatened Russia with international isolation unless it keeps to a peace deal with Georgia brokered by Nicolas Sarkozy, the French President. As she was despatched for Tblisi by George W Bush, in a strong show of US support for Georgia, Ms Rice said Russian troops' violations of the truce since the agreement was reached have "only served to deepen the isolation into which Russia is moving", as Moscow confirmed its troops remain in the state. There is a "very strong, growing sense that Russia is not behaving like the kind of international partner that it has said that it wants to be," said Ms Rice, who will meet Mr Sarkozy before holding talks with Mikheil Saakashvili, the Georgian President. "We expect Russia to meet its commitment to cease all military activities in Georgia."

Georgia, Russia Talks Break Down - Borzou Daragahi, Los Angeles Times

Talks between Georgians and Russians over the handover of Gori suddenly broke down after it appeared Russians were beginning to leave the town. Georgian special forces, with M-16s raised, charged toward the checkpoint at the outskirts of Gori and protected by the Russians. The Russians took up their positions and an intense standoff ensued. Suddenly, a half-dozen Russian tanks pulled up from the city of Gori to the checkpoint and joined in the confrontation. No shots were fired. Russians and allied Ossetian militias retained control of Gori despite the peace agreement that required them to leave the town. Russians also barred United Nations vehicles from entering the town.

Saakashvili: US Ties as ‘Turning Point’ - Chivers and Kulish, New York Times

On Monday, President Mikheil Saakashvili, his army in retreat and his Western allies still surprised by the intensity of the Russian attack, was the very picture of vulnerability, dodging Russian military jets. By Wednesday he seemed an almost preternaturally reinvigorated man, once again raising the temperature in Georgia’s bitter disagreements with Russia, and invoking special ties with American democracy and freedom. Moments after President Bush appeared at the Rose Garden to say that the Pentagon would begin a humanitarian aid mission to support Georgia, Mr. Saakashvili was on the phone with a Western reporter, talking fast. “This is a turning point,” he said. Soon he appeared on national television, his tousled hair combed back flat and wearing a freshly pressed suit, assuring his country that the worst had passed. No matter that Russian troops were 30 miles away, milling on the road outside the capital, meeting no resistance.

Georgians, Bewildered and Broken - Megan Stack, Los Angeles Times

The first Russian tanks rumbled past in the morning, witnesses said, startling the townspeople and then drifting away as casually as they had arrived. By afternoon, the tanks were back in a haze of smoke and dust. Russian soldiers lounged on top, sprawled in their fatigues, shutting down the roads out of the city. Russia and Georgia had signed a cease-fire agreement the night before, but it already seemed like an illusion. Wednesday was an ordeal of lawlessness, random violence and fear for exhausted Georgians. Bandits and militiamen roamed the streets of Gori and nearby villages, stopping cars at gunpoint and stripping passersby of their possessions. Russian tanks creaked off toward the Georgian capital of Tbilisi, violating the truce, before turning back. The smell of fire and rumors of atrocities drifted into town from Russian-controlled farmlands to the north.

Gori: Rumors of Plunder - Tara Bahrampour, Washington Post

Near a sign reading "J. Stalin's Home Country," Russian military vehicles lumbered along the highway, rifles pointing out from drivers' windows. Most of the soldiers inside looked stony-eyed at the civilian cars going past. But a few nodded and gave casual waves, as if their presence there were no big deal. It was a big deal for Alexander Lomaia, secretary of Georgia's National Security Council. Along with Estonian Ambassador Toomas Lukk, French philosopher Bernard-Henri Levy and a group of Georgian and foreign journalists, he had come hoping to see for himself the place where hostile troops were said to be ravaging what was left of the city of Gori.

NEWS ANALYSIS / COMMENTARY

Russia Takes Gori - New York Times editorial

President Dmitri Medvedev promised European negotiators early Wednesday morning that Russia would halt its attacks on Georgia and begin withdrawing its troops. A few hours later, Russian tanks rolled into the strategic crossroads town of Gori - just 40 miles from Georgia’s capital, Tbilisi. We’re not sure if that means Mr. Medvedev isn’t in charge or that he was lying to buy more time to push for the overthrow of Georgia’s democratically elected government. Either explanation is chilling.

Blaming Democracy - Washington Post editorial

You might think, at a moment such as this, that the moral calculus would be pretty well understood. Russian troops are occupying large swaths of Georgia, a tiny neighboring country, and sacking its military bases. Russian jets have roamed Georgian skies, bombing civilian and military targets alike. Russian ships are said to be controlling Georgia's port of Poti, while militia under Russia's control reportedly massacre Georgian civilians. Russian officials openly seek to depose Georgia's elected government. Yet, in Washington, the foreign policy sophisticates cluck and murmur that, after all, the Georgians should have known better than to chart an independent course -- and what was the Bush administration thinking when it encouraged them in their dangerous delusions? If the criticism is correct, a fundamental and generations-old tenet of American foreign policy is wrong, so we should be clear about what is at stake.

Bush Toughens Up - Wall Street Journal editorial

President Bush strengthened his response to Russia's invasion of Georgia yesterday, sending his Secretary of State to Paris and then on to Tbilisi, and dispatching C-17 transport aircraft with medicine and other humanitarian supplies to the besieged Georgian capital. We're delighted to hear it, as no doubt are the Georgians. With Russian tanks having taken the city of Gori and poised on the highway only an hour's drive from Tbilisi, even a humanitarian US presence will make Prime Minister Vladimir Putin think twice about a further escalation. Mr. Bush also toughened his rhetoric, warning that the US "and the world expect Russia to honor" its promise to stand down and withdraw. We should add that White House officials let us know they were less than delighted - the actual words were a tad more colorful - about our editorial yesterday suggesting that the Administration had been slow to respond to Russia's aggression. We'll let our readers decide if we gave US officials too little credit for their phone calls and other behind-the-scenes work.

Volley of Fire - The Times editorial

You have to strain quite hard to place women's beach volleyball in a context any more curious than the one it already inhabits, given that this is a sport played by four sleek women wearing bikinis the size of postage stamps (the maximum dimensions being ordained in the rules. Really). But yesterday's Olympic match between Russia and Georgia in Beijing may have managed it. Even as a Russian military convoy was trundling around Georgia, and as Georgia's leaders were wailing about the outrage of Russia's entry into a neighbouring sovereign state, the Russian team, kitted out in blue-and-white bikinis, were being knocked out of the tournament by the team representing Georgia, dressed in lipstick red. What words do you use to describe such a contrast - two nations at war on one side of the world, while simultaneously in sporting combat on the other? Odd? Absurd? Ironic? Or maybe rather heartening, providing evidence of the noble power of sport to heal bloody wounds created by headstrong warmongers? Possibly all of these.

How to Keep the Bear in its Cage - Daily Telegraph editorial

The most telling support for the beleaguered Georgian government has come from Poland, Ukraine, Estonia, Latvia and Lithuania. They, after all, have first-hand experience of living under the Russian boot. Elsewhere, America has taken the lead in denouncing the annexation by Moscow of South Ossetia and Abkhazia. George W. Bush, who visited Tbilisi in 2005, said he was dispatching his Secretary of State, Condoleezza Rice, to the Georgian capital, and yesterday saw the landing of the first American military aircraft, carrying humanitarian aid. Washington, along with Britain and France, had already cancelled joint military exercises with the Russians. The West must now spell out the cost to Vladimir Putin of his revanchism in former "Soviet space". The talks between the EU and Moscow on a new "strategic partnership" and meetings of the Nato-Russia Council should be put on hold. Russia should be expelled from the G8 and denied entry to the World Trade Organisation.

Does American Foreign Policy Have Teeth? - Washington Times editorial

The conflict in Georgia is raising troubling questions about American foreign policy in the region. Following the collapse of the Soviet Union, America championed the transformation of the former nations within the Soviet Empire into independent, democratic republics. President Bush has gone further than any of his predecessors in seeking to overturn the long-held "spheres of influence" that had been established during the Cold War. The Bush administration has supported the integration of Georgia and Ukraine into NATO and has promoted the establishment of a missile defense system in the Czech Republic and Poland. These measures have been rightly championed as a means of establishing a new world order in which the nations that have been historically subjugated by Russia could embark on a path of self-determination and could enter the Western orbit. But are American good intentions enough? Mr. Bush now faces the supreme test of his policy, as Russia throws down the gauntlet.

Refresh Georgia's 'Rose Revolution' - Christian Science Monitor editorial

Moscow's announcement Tuesday that it would halt its five-day invasion of Georgia came within 24 hours of President Bush's demand for an end to this "brutal" Russian offensive. Did an implied US threat make the difference? There's one way to find out. In his statement Monday, Mr. Bush drew a bright line around what matters most to the US in Georgia – and it's not the oil pipeline that runs through this strategic nation. Nor is it Georgia's claim to the disputed territories of South Ossetia and Abkhazia, which are the size of Puerto Rico. Neither is it forcing Russia to accept yet another country near its border as a NATO member. No, it was with poignant symbolism that Bush made his main point in the Rose Garden of the White House. He insisted that Georgia's 2003 "rose revolution" not be overthrown and a Russian puppet installed either by force or coercion. He warned against the apparent Russian attempt to depose Georgia's "duly elected government." Bush wasn't just guessing. The US envoy to the United Nations, Zalmay Khalilzad, told the Security Council on Sunday that Russia's UN ambassador said that Georgian President Mikheil Saakashvili "must go."

Russo-Georgian War & Balance of Power - George Friedman, Stratfor

The Russian invasion of Georgia has not changed the balance of power in Eurasia. It simply announced that the balance of power had already shifted. The United States has been absorbed in its wars in Iraq and Afghanistan, as well as potential conflict with Iran and a destabilizing situation in Pakistan. It has no strategic ground forces in reserve and is in no position to intervene on the Russian periphery. This, as we have argued, has opened a window of opportunity for the Russians to reassert their influence in the former Soviet sphere. Moscow did not have to concern itself with the potential response of the United States or Europe; hence, the invasion did not shift the balance of power. The balance of power had already shifted, and it was up to the Russians when to make this public. They did that Aug. 8.

We Are All Georgians - John McCain, Wall Street Journal

For anyone who thought that stark international aggression was a thing of the past, the last week must have come as a startling wake-up call. After clashes in the Georgian region of South Ossetia, Russia invaded its neighbor, launching attacks that threaten its very existence. Some Americans may wonder why events in this part of the world are any concern of ours. After all, Georgia is a small, remote and obscure place. But history is often made in remote, obscure places. As Russian tanks and troops moved through the Roki Tunnel and across the internationally recognized border into Georgia, the Russian government stated that it was acting only to protect Ossetians. Yet regime change in Georgia appears to be the true Russian objective.

Russian Nationalism on the March - Alvaro Vargas Llosa, Real Clear Politics

In "Rebuilding Russia," published as the Soviet Union was on the verge of collapse, Alexander Solzhenitsyn wrote that the "awakening Russian national self-awareness has to a large extent been unable to free itself of great-power thinking and of imperial delusions ... it has taken over from the communists the fraudulent and contrived notion of Soviet patriotism." As all prescient statements, it was a shrewd reading of the present, not the future. The Russian invasion of Georgia is a powerful confirmation of Solzhenitsyn's words. Of course, one could reverse his argument: Soviet imperialism was a continuation, not an antecedent, of Russian nationalism. Vladimir Putin and his stooge, President Dmitry Medvedev, have revived a tradition of Russian expansionism that dates back to Ivan the Terrible. The invasion of Georgia echoes Russia's annexation of that country in 1801 and again in 1921, when the Soviets crushed a short-lived Georgian independence.

Why Russia's Response Was Right - Sergei Lavrov, Financial Times

For some of those witnessing the fighting in the Caucasus over the past few days, the narrative is straightforward and easy. The plucky republic of Georgia, with just a few million citizens, was attacked by its giant eastern neighbour, Russia. Add to this all the stereotypes of the cold war era, and you are presented with a truly David and Goliath interpretation – with all its accompanying connotations of good and evil. While this version of events is being written in much of the western media, the facts present a different picture. Let me be absolutely clear. This is not a conflict of Russia’s making; this is not a conflict of Russia’s choosing. There are no winners from this conflict. Hours before the Georgian invasion, Russia had been working to secure a United Nations Security Council statement calling for a renunciation of force by both Georgia and South Ossetians. The statement that could have averted bloodshed was blocked by western countries.

Winners and Losers after Georgia Conflict - Paul Reynolds, BBC News

There are some clear winners and losers in the conflict over South Ossetia - and the crisis has shown the need for a fresh start in relations between Russia and the West.

Savvy Foresight and Insight - Donald Lambro, Washington Times

When President Bush first met Russian President Vladimir Putin, he looked into his eyes and said he could trust him. About the same time, John McCain said, "when I look into his eyes, I see a K, a G and a B" - the acronym of the Soviet Union's Stalinist secret police for whom torture and murder was a form of recreation. Mr. McCain never trusted Mr. Putin. He believed the former KGB agent neither supported nor accepted the independence movement that swept Eastern Europe when the Evil Empire fell apart and ended up on the ash heap of history. When others were supporting Mr. Putin's bid for membership in the exclusive G-8 club of economic powers, Mr. McCain opposed it. Events have proven Mr. McCain right from the beginning. Mr. Putin has crushed dissent in Russia, dismantled a free press, thrown corporate executives in prison on trumped-up state charges, took control of the country's oil and gas industry, and eliminated anyone who got in his way. Now he seems bent on reconstructing the old Soviet Union through military might.

The West's Challenge - Mikheil Saakashvili, Washington Post

Russia's invasion of Georgia strikes at the heart of Western values and our 21st-century system of security. If the international community allows Russia to crush our democratic, independent state, it will be giving carte blanche to authoritarian governments everywhere. Russia intends to destroy not just a country but an idea. For too long, we all underestimated the ruthlessness of the regime in Moscow. Yesterday brought further evidence of its duplicity: Within 24 hours of Russia agreeing to a cease-fire, its forces were rampaging through Gori; blocking the port of Poti; sinking Georgian vessels; and - worst of all - brutally purging Georgian villages in South Ossetia, raping women and executing men. The Russian leadership cannot be trusted - and this hard reality should guide the West's response. Only Western peacekeepers can end the war.

Conflict Makes Clear Who Rules in Russia - Frederick Kunkle, Washington Post

There was little doubt about who was ruling Russia even before its armed incursion into Georgia this week. But the events of the past five days wiped away any pretense that President Dmitry Medvedev runs the country. The violence between Russia and the former Soviet republic, nearly coinciding with Medvedev's 100th day in office, has demonstrated how much control remains in the hands of his predecessor, Prime Minister Vladimir Putin, analysts say.

Putin's Rules, or Ours - Daniel Henninger, Wall Street Journal

Is it only a coincidence that Vladimir Putin launched a tank invasion of Georgia inside the week that Alexander Solzhenitsyn died? It was said countless times that Solzhenitsyn's truth-telling began the collapse of Soviet communism. As Vladimir Putin watched his tanks threaten Tbilisi yesterday, he must have thought that the post-Solzhenitsyn world is fine with him. He and the men in his orbit are unimaginably rich for seeing the world through the bloodless eyes of a Saudi prince. Unburdened of the exhausting task of enforcing Soviet ideology, Putin's Russia got its hands around the energy-needy throats of Germans, the French, Italians and many other Europeans. London's clubs and the sunshiny resorts of Europe make for pleasant Russian playgrounds. Europe's natural-gas users will pay the tab forever.

How to Stop Putin - Charles Krauthammer, Washington Post

The Russia-Georgia cease-fire brokered by France's president is less than meets the eye. Its terms keep moving as the Russian army keeps moving. Russia has since occupied Gori (appropriately, Stalin's birthplace), effectively cutting Georgia in two. The road to the capital, Tbilisi, is open, but apparently Prime Minister Vladimir Putin has temporarily chosen to seek his objectives through military pressure and Western acquiescence rather than by naked occupation. His objectives are clear. They go beyond detaching South Ossetia and Abkhazia from Georgia and absorbing them into Russia. They go beyond destroying the Georgian army, leaving the country at Russia's mercy.

Russia's Big Caucasus Win - Marquand and Weir, Christian Science Monitor

In less than a week of military operations sparked by Georgia's assault on its breakaway province of South Ossetia, Moscow is emerging as the immediate winner. A still-stunned West is looking for ways to censure Russia for its "disproportionate" incursion into Georgia that has reshaped the strategic game in the Caucasus and beyond to Russia's great advantage. "If the Russians stop hostilities now, they will have redrawn the whole strategic situation in the Caucasus, to the detriment of the Americans," says François Heisbourg, special adviser to the Foundation for Strategic Research in Paris. "No one will invest in Georgia, in oil pipelines, in new ventures [there] now.... The game is over. In the new version of the Great Game, the Russians can cash in." The scope of the "victory" is substantial: Moscow controls territory and leverage, has incapacitated the Georgian military, denied Tblisi its much-hoped-for NATO status, and put the Georgian leader it despises - Mikheil Saakashvili - into a tough position.

Putin Knows Exactly What He Is Doing - Ralph Peters, New York Post

The Russians are alcohol-sodden bar barians, but now and then they vomit up a genius. Prime Minister - and now generalissimo - Vladimir Putin is Mother Russia's latest world-class wonder. Let's be honest: Putin's the most effective leader in the world today. That doesn't mean he's good news for anybody - not even for the Russians, in the long run. His ruthless ambition and gambler's audacity may end terribly. But, for now, give the devil his due: After a long string of successes, from his personal mastery of Russia's government and media to his coldblooded energy brinkmanship, Putin has capped his performance with a stunning success in Georgia. Not a single free-world leader currently in office can measure up to Czar Vladimir the Great. Following his turnaround of Russia from bankrupt kleptocracy to flush-with-cash autocracy, he's now openly determined to restore Moscow's old empire.

Putin's Mastery Checkmates the West - Michael Binyon, The Times

The cartoon images have shown Russia as an angry bear, stretching out a claw to maul Georgia. Russia is certainly angry, and, like a beast provoked, has bared its teeth. But it is the wrong stereotype. What the world has seen last week is a brilliant and brutal display of Russia's national game, chess. And Moscow has just declared checkmate. Chess is a slow game. One has to be ready to ignore provocations, lose a few pawns and turn the hubris of others into their own entrapment. For years there has been rising resentment within Russia. Some of this is inevitable: the loss of empire, a burning sense of grievance and the fear that in the 1990s, amid domestic chaos and economic collapse, Russia's views no longer mattered.

On the Road to Tbilisi - Denis Boyles, National Review

Georgia’s error was tactical in taking the Russian bait and moving into South Ossetia. Georgia’s sin, however, was wanting to be a part of the West, something Russia won’t easily permit. Putin obviously has been watching what was once American strength in Iraq has turned to weakness everywhere else on the planet, including especially in the US itself where polarization is now so complete that a Republican president couldn’t declare war on litter without eliciting a pacifist response from Nancy Pelosi and Harry Reid. The Russians didn’t kill everybody in Georgia, as they could have if they’d wished. So that’s a victory. And Georgia still stands, although now more as an example to the rest of Eastern Europe what an alliance with a paralyzed US really means. So as cynical as all the posturing on Georgia’s behalf in Europe may be, it’s a lot more inspiring than Condoleezza Rice’s waif-like “statements” about Russia’s reputation and W’s brow-furrowing utterances of the obvious.

Russia vs. Georgia - Herman Pirchner Jr., Washington Times

Russia chose to fight American-armed Georgia over the territory of South Ossetia - a piece of land the size of Rhode Island and containing only 70,000 people. Why? And what are the implications for the United States and Russia's neighbors? In past centuries, South Ossetia has been part of both the Russian and Georgian empires. And both countries still covet its territory. Although the dust has not yet settled, Russia won and once again controls South Ossetia. It won because it is stronger and because no outside force would seriously contemplate sending troops to help Georgia fight Russia. Russia's onslaught has shattered any illusions that Georgia may have harbored about the military and diplomatic benefits of its friendship with the West. Also gone is the notion that NATO could offer full membership to Georgia without risking confrontation with Russia. For both these reasons, Georgia is now less likely to become a member of the Atlantic alliance.

Confronting the Aggression - David Phillips, Washington Times

Russia's insidious provocations of Georgia were calculated to create a conflict that would advance Russia's goals: undermine Georgia's pro-Western President Mikhail Saakashvili, scuttle Georgia's NATO prospects and control energy exports from the Caspian Sea to Western markets. Now Russian Prime Minister Vladimir Putin wants Mr. Saakashvili to stand trial for war crimes. Rather than settling scores, the first order of business is to provide for Georgia's war victims. Georgia's crisis was driven as much by personalities as policy differences. Mr. Putin detested Mr. Saakashvili from the start. Immediately following the 2003 Rose Revolution, Mr. Putin launched a propaganda and harassment campaign that sought to destabilize Georgia and delegitimize Mr. Saakashvili. To this end, Russia imposed sanctions suspending imports of Georgian wine, water, fruits and vegetables. Russia also cut off transport links, suspended postal service, and expelled thousands of ethnic Georgians working as labor migrants. Russia undermined Georgia's sovereignty by inciting separatists from Abkhazia and South Ossetia and providing diplomatic and military support.

Conflict Narrows Oil Options for West - Jad Mouawad, New York Times

When the main pipeline that carries oil through Georgia was completed in 2005, it was hailed as a major success in the United States policy to diversify its energy supply. Not only did the pipeline transport oil produced in Central Asia, helping move the West away from its dependence on the Middle East, but it also accomplished another American goal: it bypassed Russia. American policy makers hoped that diverting oil around Russia would keep the country from reasserting control over Central Asia and its enormous oil and gas wealth and would provide a safer alternative to Moscow’s control over export routes that it had inherited from Soviet days. The tug-of-war with Moscow was the latest version of the Great Game, the 19th-century contest for dominance in the region.

Fly, Tigers - John Barnes, National Review

An American ally is under brutal attack from the air by a militarily superior aggressor. But the ally is physically distant from the United States and, in some ways, politically problematic. A complicating factor is that the United States is and wants to remain - officially at least - at peace with the aggressor. Aside from offering its sympathy, what can the United States do? We’ve been here before. In 1940, the American ally under assault wasn’t Georgia, but nationalist China, and the aggressor wasn’t Russia, but imperial Japan. Prodded by Claire Chennault, a retired US Army aviator who was employed by Nationalist Chinese leader Chiang Kai-shek as an air adviser, President Franklin D. Roosevelt in early 1941 authorized the formation of the 1st American Volunteer Group (AVG). Its three squadrons were intended to keep the Japanese army air force at bay until sufficient numbers of Chinese pilots could be trained and equipped to take on the task themselves.

Strike Shows The Power Of the Pipeline - Steven Pearlstein, Washington Post

It was surely not lost on Russia's bully in chief, Vladimir Putin, that the oil giant BP decided to shut down the pipeline that runs through parts of Georgia controlled by Russian troops. Indeed, that was one of the aims of the cross-border incursion. Putin understands better than anyone that oil and gas are the source of Russia's resurgence as a military and economic power and his own control over the Russian government and key sectors of its economy. It is oil and gas that provide the money to maintain Russia's powerful military, along with a vast internal security apparatus and network of government-controlled enterprises that allow the president-turned-premier to maintain his iron grip on the levers of political and economic power.

Echo of Cold War - Richard Beeston, The Times

Sending US forces into Georgia, albeit to deliver humanitarian supplies, represents the most serious military escalation between Washington and Moscow since the end of the Cold War. Not since British paratroopers came nose to nose with Russian soldiers at Pristina airport in 1999 have the old East-West rivalries resurfaced in such explosive form. Back then, the situation was defused by General Sir Mike Jackson, the British commander, who refused to confront the Russians and “start World War III”. It is to be hoped that the commanders of the US Navy and Air Force now leading their forces to Georgia will be equipped with the same diplomatic skills. Nevertheless, entering a new war zone is fraught with dangers. The US Navy’s task force will be challenging the Russian naval blockade of Georgia’s ports, while the giant US military cargo planes will be landing close to areas recently bombed by Russian warplanes. The Georgians tried to exploit the move last night by declaring that their ports and airports would be put under US military control, an offer the Pentagon quickly declined.

Georgia and the American Cowboy - Claudia Rosett, National Review

With Russia’s military blasting its way into neighboring Georgia, this sure seems like a moment when the world could use a democratic super-cop. Good luck. Right now, we don’t have one. America effectively resigned from the much-reviled role of lone superpower five years ago, after toppling the Taliban in Afghanistan in 2002, and defying the Oil-for-Food devotees at the United Nations to overthrow the tyranny of Saddam Hussein in Iraq in 2003. Since then, President Bush, to his credit, has stuck with the fight in Afghanistan and Iraq - a display of determination and firepower which goes far to explain why almost seven years have passed since September 11 without another major attack on US shores.

BACKGROUND / QUICKLOOKS

Peace Accord Sarkozy Gave to Georgians - New York Times transcript
Timeline: Key Events in Russian-Georgian Relations - Associated Press
Day-by-Day: South Ossetia Crisis - BBC News
Q&A on Georgia - New York Times
How Russian and Georgian Forces Stack Up - Reuters
South Ossetia Picture Gallery (1) - Washington Post
South Ossetia Picture Gallery (2) - Washington Post
Factbox: International Reaction to South Ossetia Conflict - Reuters
Georgia - Library of Congress Country Study
Russia - Library of Congress Country Study
Georgia - CIA World Factbook
Russia - CIA World Factbook
Georgia - US State Department Background Note
Russia - US State Department Background Note
Georgia - BBC Country Page
Russia - BBC Country Page
South Ossetia - New York Times background and related news
South Ossetia - BBC background

DISCUSS

Small Wars Council - Discussion and study / background links