We'd lose some people and assets too in any confrontation that got serious enough turn into a shooting war...
I think Putin / the people who are in power and run things in Russia have tipped their hand with this incursion into Georgia. At least now we should all be warned as to what the true nature of Russia's intentions are, and we can act accordingly.
No more pretending the Russians are on our side. We knew all along, but now it is an unavoidable fact.
“I think Putin / the people who are in power and run things in Russia have tipped their hand with this incursion into Georgia.”
I believe Putin has been looking to make a statement about resurging Russian power (oil money) for some time, and Georgia was the perfect choice. They are not members of NATO, yet, their military is small and could easily be overrun with a combination of Russian Special Forces, heavy armor and artillery and most importantly by controlling the skies. South Ossetia and Abkhazia were nothing more than an excuse or trap set by the Russians. This is ceratinly not the case with Ukraine, also not a member of NATO, yet, but a country with a much larger and stronger military.