@neolex:
…Bush has caved in, otherwise Gates would not take any US military involvement off the table.

Too early to tell. If we are in a new “cold war” the number one rule is to always claim we won’t be going mano-a-mano with them, & vice versa (sorta). All fighting has to go through proxies because head to head with the Russkies proves you’re madder than I-madhi-nutjob, and THAT is MAD. What, me worry?

Now blasting bloody hell out of Iran is perfectly gentlemanly and proper in a “cold” war. Russkies can support them indirectly, but we get to beat bloody damned hell out of them without fear of DIRECT Russkie intervention.

Indirect Russkie intervention is another thing. Hence, Georgia.

However, Russia cannot possibly deal with all the escapees from their previous incarnation, and having them tied down in Georgia is a lot better strategically than having them tied down in, say, Latvia, for these perverse reasons:

- that the Euro-weenies would make Latvia’s loss certain,

- the Latvians are likely to fight with less ferocity than the Georgians most certainly will,

- Euro-weenies would prevent the Russkies from getting a good beating in the process.

Conversely, there is no way that Russia stays in or gets out of Georgia without being punished severely on the fields of battle and in excruciating detail. Georgians make our Jacksonian traditions look tame, but the comparison is apt.

Just hopeful, I really do hate bloodletting, but…