The problem is, every time Russia has moved an armored column for the past two days, the news services pick it up as “HUNDREDS OF TANKS ON THE MARCH TOWARD TBLISI!!!!” Generally, they move the column a few miles one way or the other and then park.
I’m not defending what the Russians did. I’d like nothing better than to see Georgia be able to throw them out. I’m just having a very hard time believing that Putin and his sockpuppet Medvedev would be stupid enough to march on the rest of Georgia when they’ve already achieved a complete victory for their Motherland.
Think about it. They have South Ossetia and Abkhazia firmly under Russian control; they have Georgia prostrate at the point of a bayonet in front of them; they’ve severely damaged the Georgian military; they’ve weakened Saakashvili politically, perhaps fatally; they’ve shown their former client states that Russia is back and won’t be trifled with; and they’ve demonstrated the utter impotence of the West to stop them. Why escalate? They’ve won already!
Putin is an evil bastard, but one thing he’s always demonstrated is an ice-cold clarity of thought. If there was ever a time for him to cash out of the game and call off the dogs, this would be it.
}:-)4
Ping us all when you figure out you’re wrong