South Ossetia and Abkhazia are “strategic” to Georgia in that they control the invasion routes into the country, as you probably know by now. However, their retention in Georgia’s hands is worthless against such a powerful enemy as Russia. The Russians can eventually force their way through. So Georgia’s security must lie elsewhere. The only alternative is collective security — alliance.

Should NATO acquire a country with such geographic liabilities? Well any nation bordering Russia has a geographic liability, whether it is Ukraine or Poland. NATO is an alliance of geographically challenged countries. Sad, but that why alliances form in the first place.