If this comes from Slate, is there any reason to think any of it is true?
On the scale from very-very crazy left to normal left - Slate is kind of OK :^)
Christopher Hitchens is more articulate on Iraq war and WOT than administration, and he is Slate’s regular. Plus, I respect Michale Totten (if you’ve never read him, you must - he goes to places MSM won’t and reports how he sees it)- and he recommended this article. It passed my own smell test (for what it worth - having no personal experience with Ossetia, but lots with USSR).
All said, read it and judge by yourself.