Plastic Snoopy:
“I’m not so sure that the S. Ossetians would have acted so boldly had they not known that the Russians were willing to back them with substantial force.”
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I am sure that the expectation of Russian support emboldened the Ossetians. That does not prove, however, that the Ossetians were not acting largely on their own initiative and it does not prove that Russia was causing all the Ossetians’ actions.

I am sure that the expectation of US support emboldened the Georgians. That does not prove, however, the the Georgians were not acting largely on their own initiative and it does not prove that the USA was causing all the Georgians’ actions.