He will probably go along with that to begin with...and if he doesn;t than it just advances our plan to support Georgia.
Once we establish a defacto and large CAP ober Tiblisi for the initial transport purpose, then we maintain it, reinforce it, and then start a 24X7 air lift into Tiblisi of all the material the Georgians could ever hope for.
At that point, if Putin tries to stop it, which he would almost have to try and do, then we unleash our air power on Russian air units, and ground units inside of Georgia proper and stop the invasion and take over, then caloling for a cease fire in Georgia and a return to talks.
In order to do anything remotely similar, the plans have to already be in progress with those transports and their escorts in the air.
Putin thinks we are too weak willed to do something like that...that is where he needs to get his first surprize.
I support that plan. I think you’ve outlined a reasoned approach to conventionally opposing Russian action in Georgia. At the very least, it limits what actions they will be allowed to take.
If Russia wants to escalate beyond that, then it’s their choice. Then we mop the floor with them.
I have kept my eye on some of our munitions. Some of them are simply magical in their scope. They can level a whole section of armored vehicles with one drop. I don’t think Putin has anything like that at his disposal.
At the very least, it would make him have to pay a very heavy price for attaining any goal he may have. I’m convinced we could stop him in his tracks if we wanted to.
I sure hope you are right... I’ll be praying for those making the decisions right now - that’s for sure... This is a tricky and dangerous game Russia is playing (dangerous for us as well). I think things are definitely going to get worse before they get better...
I agree we need to keep the Russians from taking Tblisi. This is going to turn out ugly no matter what we do. Putin has already decided that.