Great post, TinWing, although I think the bit about restraint can be discussed widely.

Someone needs to give Gates a taste of this sanity.

Thanks. I was first and foremost referring to my own country, Norway.

CWII??… It takes two to tango… NATO expanding to Russian borders, Kosovo, Iraq, ABM.. its not like US cant be accused of the same.

Trying to see things from more than one side is a good habit.

NATO and Europe seem apathetic at best regarding what’s going on in Georgia. They look around and say to themselves “well I have it pretty good over here. Why should I go punch the bear in the nose when it might be a little uncomfortable? I might even have to break a sweat god forbid.” I get the impression they’d be happy to sit on their asses until the bear broke the front door down and helped himself to the fridge. And then it’s WAYYYY too late.

I wonder if the situation in Georgia could ever justify a NATO intervention. AFAIK, U.S. military sources have already assigned a good deal of blame to Georgia for this mess.

Sure we could sortie bombers over Ossetia and make life short for the Russians there but then they fly home and more tanks roll in.

Is there reason enough to risk the consequences? Although I question the Russians; can we be sure that Georgia would have deserved an intervention?

Right now it seems to me that Georgia has acted in a foolish way, apparently having assumed a number of things. But just how “clean” are the hands of the Russians?

I realise that it may take some time to sort out the line of events and their causes in an objective manner with regards to this conflict. Let’s be clear: I know far too little at this time to assign final responsibility.

I’d like to ask some questions, though, and I’ll appreciate it if someone can answer them with as much fact and as little speculation as possible:

1. What happened before August 8? I’ve read an unconfirmed report claiming that South Ossetian separatists might have done something to provoke a military response from Georgia.

2. The Russians say they intervened in order to protect “Russian citizens.” With the passport issue as well as international law in mind, are the Russians right or wrong?

you know gori means BURN in english?:diablo:

Why does that fail to amuse me?

officialy we say 1 thing but actually were doing another….

AFAIK, both Russia and Georgia play this game.

Yep, have you ever changed your mind about political issue because someone on the other side of the globe, convinced you on the Interwebs 😀

Actually, I have become more critical of e.g. ALLIED FORCE and perhaps more balanced in my opinion on the Middle-East issue after a debate here and there. The possibility of learning something is one of the most important reasons why I spend some time on Internet forums. I think it’s better to be somewhat humble and open instead of locking horns everytime there is a disagreement.

There are very very few conflicts in which one side is 100% right and other 100% wrong.

True. That’s one good reason why it can be hard to ever “win” a debate like those we’ve been having here.