[Lancey Howard]

Thanks for pointing me to your post.

My own post to that thread was this:

At this point I don’t know who to believe or how much to believe them, but I do know that when it comes to government propaganda and MSM laziness and incompetence, there are always three sides to every coin.

Putin's evil lust for "power" using "naked aggression" versus Georgia's benign and perfectly understandable desire for "self defense" sounds way to cute for me. In any event, from your post it sounds like Russia mounted a stunning military victory using impeccable planning, covert operations, and a dazzling propaganda campaign. I hope our own military is taking notes.

[Jeff Head]

Georgia is not blameless. There is no doubt, as a result of the huge ethinic cleansing that occurred in those provinces in the mid-1990s, where tens and hundreds of thosuands were displaced, that some of the forces exacted revenge.

But the basic facts, IMHO, are that the Russians instigated a reaction by Georgia which they had been planning on and then took abject advantage of it in the ways you just mentioned.

Having said that, I do not believe the Russians accounted for or were prepared for the visit of the five Presidents from Poland, Ukraine, Latvia, Lithuania, and Estonia which placed them in harms way and caused the Russian juggernaught to pause...or for the rapid insertion by Bush of US military personnel and equipment under the humanitarian mission goal.

[MarMema]

And it is a bit simple. At least part of this entire thing is about us, not Georgia. We made the Georgians into our "little brother" and Serbia has long been considered the "little brother" of Russia.

So, this is a symbolic payback for our attack on Serbia. Russia blew up the bridge, has accused the Georgians of genocide, and is operating within Georgia calling themselves "peacemakers". They want to take the president of Georgia to court for crimes against humanity just as we participated in the criminalization of Milosevic.

They are dropping bombs in Georgia that say "For Bush" and "For NATO".

[MarMema]

We’re seeing a replay of Kosovo, except in a more dangerous setting. The role the late Slobodan Milosevic played nine years ago is assumed today by Georgian President Mikheil Saakashvili, while Vladimir Putin is putting on the hat of British prime minister Tony Blair and U.S. President Bill Clinton.

[MarMema]

Oh yes, and I forgot, the power plant. The Russians just blew up a power plant. I remember when we bombed the one in Serbia quite well.