[mkjessup]

You are wrong. We have the weaponry and the aircraft to deliver it that were designed precisely for stopping these types of armored and infantry column advances. As in completely decimating them. We have aircraft from Northern Iraq who could. I believe we should escort those transport aircraft into Georgia carrying the Georgian Iraq troops with fighter and attack aircraft so that if the Russians so much as sneazed at them that we then used them.

Jeff, you're not thinking here. Such an action would result in U.S. and Russian forces firing on each other (which may yet happen), and that alone could very easily trigger a nuclear confrontation, possibly a nuclear exchange at least at the tactical level.

You want to figure out the logistics here? The Russians are literally next door. You think we can establish and maintain supply lines to essentially fight a war with the Russians on their front doorstep?

Uh uh, you don't want to go there, and Putin would love for you to.

[Jeff Head]

We have the aircraft and the weaponry in northern Iraq, something like 350 miles from there, to effect it if Turke gave us overflight rights...and I believe they would. Our bases in Turkey are even closer and they could well allow us to stage from there. We are not that far away.

I do not believe our air support would trigger a nuclear exchange in the least, but it might blunt and stop the absolute take over of a free, freindly, allied nation that came to our aid when we called for help.

If we do nothing in this early stage of Putin's plans, to help them and they get trodden under, then I believe the impact of that will be something that is much more likely to lead, over time, to a much more severe nuclear risk.

I had initially thought that we could escort those transports in there with armed fighter escorts and dare the Rusians to challenge us. Apparently the troops are already either all there, or mostly there and there was no incident.

But that's my own opinion.

[dschapin]

Originally I thought that we shouldn’t get involved. However, now that Russia has invaded Georgia beyond simply occupying S. Ossetia I don’t believe that we can afford to sit still and let an ally be crushed. We should use the same sort of brinkmanship that we used in the Cold War. Perhaps sending a carrier group into the Black Sea and relocating a fighter wing into Georgia. By doing that we would show the Russians that we are serious without actually attacking them and provoking WWIII.