Tom Clancy's Ghost Recon

This is sad. Number One. You and I know very little. So, stop pretending. The BTC Pipeline is at stake. Ownership of S. Ossetia is at stake. It is nearing election time in the U.S.. Military-Industrial Complex has lead national foreign policy for years. Polls show certain activities will sway the majority vote a certain way. That certain way is in the interests of parties who can sway it from their current position of power (party allegience). We have heard the stories of the BBC in England, Fox news in the U.S., and Georgia's leader. We, in these 3 countries have not heard Russia's stance or S. Ossetia's stance (except through the filter of those other viewpoints which reflect the BTC Pipeline and it's resources supplied to Britain and the United States -1/3 of BP oil is suppplied through the BTC). There is a reason for this one sided reporting: CONTROL OVER YOUR MIND, MONEY, AND FREEDOM from such control. Wake up. Patriotism is not congruent with Nationalism. We DON'T KNOW what is going on in the world, and not for lack of due attention. We DO KNOW we haven't heard the whole story. We know something of what the side we are hearing from stands to lose or gain, but fails to mention (misdirection). Think for yourself, not for your party, and not for your country, but for analytical autonomy -for truth, justice, and the once-American way.

South Ossetia is nothing. Its a sparsely populated mountain region with few resources and no value. Its only value is as a defensive barrier to Russian aggression, and as such its a valuable piece of territory, like the Golan Heights in Israel.

South Ossetians have been quasi independant, but SO is not totally non-Georgian, and there are dozens of villages with Georgian populations, that the Georgian government wants to protect. Naturally, the Russians and Ossetians want to drive those people out.

Towards that end, the Russians have been giving aid and support to South Ossetians in order to keep the area under friendly control. In doing so, it preserves Russian options, and they can steamroll over the Georgians any time they please with few casualties.
Without control of South Ossetia, Russian forces would face a stiff fight to even push through the narrow roads and gorges of SO without taking huge casualties.

Georgia should retain control of SO, its their land. Russia should have a say in how its people are treated, but this is not the way to go about it.

Russia has overplayed its hand here, and it will not be the victory they had hoped for when the US sells Georgia more ATGMs and attack helos.

Hey Mr. Toney Baloney;

Should any region/person be allowed to succeed from a country just because they want to? Look at that idea played out in former Yugoslavia. Yugoslavia used to be a strong country that made awesome cars (jokes), but then the international community decided to allow it to break into a million different pieces.

Speaking from an American standpoint, the USA would not have become as strong as it did if had just allowed the Southern Confederate States succeed. Should the Pacific NW be allowed to succeed? How about the ethnic minority of Caucasians in the USA, should they all be allowed to succeed from the United States because they do not feel their interests are represented?

This is not an issue of right / wrong or self determination. It is simply an issue power. Russia wants more of it. The Georgians rightly realize they can't give up the region w/o loosing some of their own. The west realizes that they need this region to maintain their own power and an oil supply line.

My problem is with the United States. There was a time when we wouldn't have dreamed of letting Russia take a hold of this region. Now we are busy fighting an imaginary 'war on terrorism', while we ignore and even support our real enemies; China and Russia.

It seems like my country has lost its balls. It has no problem invading a country like Iraq, but we ignore China and Russia, mainly because they can fight back.

That is Life.

oh Jonn R.. good conversation and credible sources NEVER start with "if you think 'this' you're just ignorant."

and Darragh.. don't fuel the fire.

in any rate, i don't really know what's going on over there. honestly, i don't care that much (yes, people are dying and it's terrible. i get it). what i DO care about though, is whether or not our fantastic government is gonna make it our problem too-- THEN i will care. because i don't know about you guys, but condi seems to be fired up about all those people she doesn't know, and i'll be damned if we go into another unwarranted war against people we're not even fighting with.

Ignorance is bliss