Richard Holbrooke on Russia and Georgia
In today's Washington Post, Richard Holbrooke had this to say about Russia's invasion of Georgia:
Russia's goal is not simply, as it claims, restoring the status quo in South Ossetia. It wants regime change in Georgia.
[...]
But its greatest goal is to replace Saakashvili -- a man Vladimir Putin despises -- with a president who would be more subject to Moscow's influence.
This New York Times article details the history of the Russian/Georgian dynamic, the background to the current crisis, and Georgia's movement toward becoming a full member of NATO. That push toward NATO membership has been encouraged by the US government at every turn; President Bush said these words in Georgia in 2006:
The path of freedom you have chosen is not easy, but you will not travel it alone. Americans respect your courageous choice for liberty. And as you build a free and democratic Georgia, the American people will stand with you.
"Stand with you" apparently means the Pentagon agreeing to airlift Georgia's 2,000 troops from Iraq back home so they can become cannon fodder for the Russians, and the US president watching the carnage in Georgia with one eye, while watching women's volleyball at the Beijing Olympics with the other.