And the fact that the Russian forces were massed and waiting doesn’t tell you something about their intentions? The Georgians screwed up by stepping right into the trap, that much is certain. Why our intelligence wasn’t aware of the Russian buildup or tell the Georgians is a failing on our government’s part.
However there is no excusing the Russians. They are the ones who wanted and planed for this to happen. If not for the courage of the presidents of the other former Soviet republics and the diplomatic actions of our government afterward, Georgia would have ceased to exist as a sovereign nation. How someone can excuse this naked Russian aggression I cannot understand.
In my view Russia's response to mass murder of its citizens was quite moderate and does not qualify as an “aggression”.