Russian invasion of Georgia: The first war of the post-post-9/11 era?

Barry, please tag your story with only one channel.  Thanks.  Michael.

This was most certainly a premeditated move. Calculated, planned, and awaiting a sufficiently credible pretext. The coincidence of events to occur with the Olympic distraction was also no accident. The onslaught of propaganda to the  contrary, and the denial of involvement in the preceeding cyber attacks that were monitored world wide, are not convicing.

I am ashamed to be an American right now.. An Idiot with no balls runs this nation..So easily we fight those who can not fight back (just or unjust) and yet we are nothing but cowardly pussies when we cant even help rescue an ally under attack that has backed us in every way. Pretty damn pathetic to turn your back on your friends.. We should have bombed the russian advance and cleared gorgian skies.. To say there is nothing the US can do is utter BS!.. All the US has to do is force the Russians out and maintain borders.. Russians would dare risk open war with the US..We are so afraid that we have no balls to call their bluff? Cuban crisis ought to teach you what putin has in mind for the west..another cold war looms if not already in action..

some say we cant..losers cant..winners bite the bullet in the face of failure to gain success or victory.. Especially if they are your god damn allies!

I am from Russia and I completely disagree with the message of the article and the comments. The majority of Russians do not want to return to communism, Russians also don't wan't to establish any 'new world order'. There is no 'iron curtain' - I may freely exchange messages with you, for example. Even if Putin wanted this (he never claimed the return to the USSR or Russian world hegemony), he would posess not enough power to convince the population in that. There are no expansionary plans in the moods of Russian people at all. 

American mass media created the myth of Russian agressiveness which is completely false.

What happended in Osetia? You claim that Russia invaded a sovereign state.

Let me remind then that Georgian border was drawn in USSR without taking into account that it will become independent some day, its territory contains huge Osetian and Abhasian minorities, which are very different from Georgians. Georgians hate them and started to fight them immediately after gaining independence (in 1991-92). Only Russian participation stopped the bloodshed at that time.
Next, the 'Russian invasion', as you call it, started AFTER Russia waited for 15 hours observing how Georgian heavy artillery bombed Tshinvali and other Osetian towns and requesting international support. Russia showed to the world community that Saakashvilly initiated the conflict and he was guilty in ethnic cleansing - about 1500-2000 Osetians were killed (not to mention Russian peacekeepers) BEFORE Russia interfered into the conflict. All of tens of thousands of Osetian refugees fleed to Russia, not Georgia!
By calling Russian peacekeeping mission 'invasion' you support the nazi rule of Saakashvilly!

Is it democratic to give indepenence to Osetians, 99% of which want this indepenence and after Georgian troops bombed Tshinvaly to the ground, so Russia had to interfere? Or there remain no moral principles when American interests are involved?  

Well said... Gocha!

Now, those are the words of a freedom loving man!  A person who understands and knows first-hand what Russia really stands for -- death, destruction, and anything NOT related to democracy. 

It seems my previous posting was moderated i.e. deleted. i will put it short, Russians should stop or should be stopped bluffing the whole world and killing-destroying Georgia. You will never win.

Thank you ballyZaca for the words of support. The world should act now Russia continues distruction of the country and killing the innocent people even after the cease fire....

Now Russia is threatening to attack Poland.. Missle defense systems are not the same thing as placing nukes in cuba ppl.. And Russia is basically saing there is a 100% chance of attack.. I think Russia would make a big mistake attacking Poland... Russia is clearly after taking these countries back.. Russians are already defying the signed cease fire to pull out of georgia and are now digging for what seems like a comming battle.. US might end up going to war with Russia if they do not back down.

Thanks for the comments William, I can say with confidence an invasion wont be happening, what may happen is Poland wont be getting any gas or oil from Russia, and it gets pretty cold in Poland in winter.

William thank you very much for your words and support in here. For centuries we have been fighting for our freedom, democracy and unity which we could finally gain in the last years (were close to reuniting our rebel regions) but Russia can't accept Georgia and its people being free. As Putin says, the biggest mistake was a collapse of the Soviet Union, everything is clear what his plans for the east Europe are, but i hope and pray that modern Europe and USA won't let this ex-KGB agent play his dirty games. As i read from many russian's comments, they do not even know that Abkhazia and S.Ossetia were Georgia's territories since centuries, we have been living in peace for years and years. Russia started the war in 1990s and could not do any peace keeping mission to rejoin Georgia with it's regions, you will ask why? the answer is, Because it did not have the wish to see a strong democratic country built near its borders, it did not want NATO on caucasus. But today joining NATO is only rescue for Georgia and its people, at least we can sleep at nights not thinking that Russian planes will start bombing us. I wish USA had backed us more, i wish Europe had forced russia to stop genocide of georgians in regions, they did good job for ceasefire, but you can't stop such a monster as russia  just with words, we need more and more action, more force on Russia, now it looks like as Russia is the most powerful country in the world which can do anything it wishes, not listening to anything or anybody. Oil, to what it always comes, i think there are always altirnative ways of getting gas and oil, how did europe live without russian oil and gas before? what do you prefer, living in freedom and peace or living in a warm room under Bloody Empire's Regime ? Believe me, you should go for the first one, because the warm room will be no comfort when you are Russia's slave, who who, but Georgians know it the best! Wish you all peace. Tata, from attacked but never bent on it's knees Georgia.