There were times I missed Cedarford, because he’s got such a clear track record. And Teresita? I would just figure she’s trying to get voted off the island. But all that passion for the South Ossetian cause kind of, well, surprised. Because when the bear attacks the goat, sometimes the innocent butterflies get trampled. The fact that there was so much sympathy and so few butterflies was a tip off.

Of course the Soviet Union left a sloppy map behind. But trying to straighten it out with armored columns is not the way to go — unless, of course, your aim is to put it back together.

Personally, I think the Georgians saw the Russian offensive coming (infiltration of special ops dressed as civilians, followed by the massing of armored formations might be a tip off — but I’m not a military man). From the size, there was no reason to suppose they planned on stopping short of taking the Tbilisi. Perhaps the Georgians went into South Ossetia to grab some choke points to slow the advance. Just a guess. But what’s the old saying? Defense is to offense as four is to one. But they maybe needed another 12 hours to pull it off. Oh well.