I wondered when I read that remark reported by Totten whether it meant that the Russians fully anticipated they would be meeting up sooner or later with real Americans carrying real guns and shooting real bullets back at them.

Considering at that point they had had a pretty free rein with just retreating Georgian soldiers and unarmed farmers trying to protect their cows and vodka, it seems like a real leap to me for a Russian to ask if someone is going to the “American side” … when I think America wasn’t even involved yet, even in the newspapers.

And if that was the Russian assumption, doesn’t that mean they’re feeling guilty about what they’re doing, and fully anticipate that Big Daddy is just about to come stomping in to paddle their misbehaving little butts?