wretchard –

“If Georgia or the West had been ready to exploit the informational value of the Russian move Putin would be in real trouble.”

This may seem a bit over-optimistic, but I think Saakashvili did the best he could with his over-the-top rhetoric. At the least, he wasn’t silent, and at the best, seemed to realize that it was, at the very core, an information battle. Compare with Lebanon, or jeez, even Bush with Iraq. Saak got his opinions heard — the media had to give him space, even if some sneered.