wretchard -

There can be NOTHING clandestine about U.S. force being brought to bear.

Europe should be given a chance – entreated to participate in a meaningful manner, meaning deploying troops, ships, aircraft, and equipment to the theater – but that ring should be offered with an unambiguous time line, and on a “you are in or you are out” basis.

This next week may make Cuba in ’62 look like a walk in the Park. It will certainly draw lines across Europe for years to come.

With respect, in my opinion the tactical objective is to cow Georgia into surrendering enough territory to make its continued existence as a sovereign nation a sham.

The strategic objective is a no brainer: to define the United States as worthless as an ally.

That NATO and the U.N. aren’t even considered worth addressing tells you all you need to know about those organizations and where they fall in the pecking order.