[Bokababe]

"Of course not. IMHO, that’s like saying we bombed the Towers to start a war with Iraq.

Sorry, nothing personal but that's like comparing apples and oranges.

Facts are that S. Ossetia has been relatively stable since the early 1990's until the last few years when there have been clashes. But Georgia was the one launch the attack on S. Ossetia that spurred Russia to act in response -- and that was completely predictable -- like a Chihuahua set loose on a Rottweiler, everyone knew what the outcome would be.

Georgia is so far into our pocket that doesn't burp without US permission, so why would we allow (or encourage) such a move, knowing that it would mean one of our allies getting mauled?

I know that Russia is militarily a real bastard. That's not a question mark. It's one of the few things about them that is predictable. But I have yet to figure out why Georgia would throw itself in front of the Russian bus, for no good reason -- because S. Ossetia and Abkhasia doesn't really mean that much to Georgia, socially, religiously or economically. So why would Georgia subject itself to such punishment for no good reason?

[FreeAtlanta]

Come on dude. The rebels in S. Ossertia shelled the Georgians. They did this at Putin/Moscows order. The way Russia attacked, this has been planned and setup for some time. The Olympics might actually had been part of the plan to help divert attention from Putehead.

[SJackson]

Georgia is so far into our pocket that doesn't burp without US permission, so why would we allow (or encourage) such a move, knowing that it would mean one of our allies getting mauled?

It could be nothing more than poor communication and poor intelligence.

[aegiscg47]

From what I've recently read Georgia was shelled for three days by the separatists, then Georgian forces moved in to take care of it once and for all. However, Russia was ready for this and used it as a pretense to invade Georgia. Sounds to me that Putin set a trap and the Georgians walked right into it. The Russians had a lot of assets in place in that area that they normally would not have.

[Sal]

Check back a few incidents earlier than you started with. The Russian "community activists" were busy for a loooong time riling up the S. Ossetians and Georgians were being fired upon from S. Ossetia until it became necessary to do something about it.

Check back on your own and find out so you're not just taking the word of one person you don't know. Get several accounts, they're all over the place including FR, and weigh for yourself which accounts you find more believable.

[snippy_about_it]

Please site your source that Georgia started it. I’m not buying.