Lifeofthemind — Russian police is already issuing warnings in Russia of impending Georgian terrorist attacks, a Georgian spy was caught in the Russian army, etc. Expect show trials I guess.
So I’ve been thinking along Spengler’s analogy of Americans playing monopoly (or, to give us more credit, Go) — playing for control of wider geographic area by positioning our bases — while Russians are playing chess, assembling disparate pieces for an attack against the heart of its adversary.
Assuming that, and assuming that Russian motivation is that of an criminal organization (rather than driven by some longer-term considerations of national pride, etc.) what sort of endgame is Russia aiming for? Ok, control of production and distribution of hydrocarbons as much as possible, I get that (hence the punishment of Georgia for diverting Caspian oil and Turkmen gas). What else? Is the Iran bomb part of the end game? How? For Iran, does it make sense to first hit the US, say from a boat, with an EMP attack or a direct hit, before hitting Israel? Just thinking.