The thing many don't want to admit is these areas of Georgia are pro-Russia. They've always been pro-Russia. It's the Georgia government that started the killing of these pro-Russia people.
Debatable. You need to examine the history before this took place. I posted on it earlier, I will go back and try to find it.
Turn it around. If Mexico started KILLING pro American Mexicans just across the border from Texas and we went in to protect them and beat back that government we'd be flying flags and trumpeting how we saved lives.
This issue is not as black & white as many would like to have us believe.
It is not as black and white no, but the situation the described would cause an outrage. It would generate the same response that we are seeing in Iraq. People would view it an unjustified, the UN would never agree, etc etc.
We really need to get away from all this sticking a finger in everyones eye saying you'll do whatever we say because we have the best military. That means absolutely nothing when either side has enough nukes to completely wipe out the other.
I do not think it is a valid comparison to compare Iraq to Georgia. The Iraq War involved months of build up at the UN, putting together many other countries to support it etc etc.
We are not going to war with Russia. What this situation has done however, is pushed much of Eastern Europe more towards the West a lot quicker than it might otherwise would have.
We side with Georgia and even want to push them into NATO because it's right there on the Russian border. We make a deal with Poland to place missile batteries there just 100 or so miles from the Russian border on the other side. Humm... now why would that be any issue whatsoever for the Russians and their National Security. I just can't understand it.
Part of the problem is, the missile defense that we put in Poland is worthless against the amount of missiles Russia has. It is effective against something like Iran, who could not simply overwhelm the defense.
I can completely understand why it is a problem for Russia, but their invasion of Georgia is only quickening the response in places like Poland and the Ukraine.
I'm telling ya this Bush type (and it would be accelerated under McBush) saber rattling is going to push somebody like a Russia or a China into putting missiles into Cuba or Venezuela or God knows where else. Hell maybe they'll just buy some island a couple hundred miles off our coast and they'll call it a "counter balance" move. It's their "Missile Defense System"!
And we'll have not a leg to stand on.
I do not agree with this assessment. China is certainly not going to put missiles anywhere.
Russia on the other hand, if they wanted to antagonize the US could attempt to put them down with Chavez (they would not be put in Cuba), however this would be a problem as Chavez has been more cozy with the Chinese (not really friends of the Russians) and Russia is not the in the market for giving away their missiles to China. Also, a move such as that would potentially push much of Latin American back to the US corner, and if Russia was trying to deepen the divide, putting missiles in theater is not the correct move.
