Russia Again....

Allegedly the Russians are calling a "halt" to their "punishment" of Georgia. As I recall they had a lot of these if Afghanistan back when they occupied that benighted crossroads.
Well what of it? There isn't much we can do here except make the appropriate noises, the Russians long opposed both our military adventures in the Middle East and have now decided that they can do likewise and the same wherever they like in the Caucuses.
What we have to be concerned about is the safety security and the credibility of our NATO guarantees to Poland, Estonia, Latvia and Lithuania. A good chunk of the Russian attack on Georgia is a reminder to those nations that their position is not so secure on Moscow's western border.
More that likely Putin's gang will use this halt to install a new client government in Tbilisi and then declare victory and get out. The speed and efficiency of their assault ought to be a big wake up call to NATO, the west and the contingent Muslim world.

There are those that will try to spin this as another Czechoslovakia invasion with the advantage going to the GOP (as usual). But I would remind our gentle readers that the Bush admin has been in bed with Putin's cut-throat gang since day one and this has been the result.
No I think this is a sad illustration of the current administration's deep international isolation, they didn't see this coming and can do little save bleat as the bombs fall all over Georgia.
Hell where is Bush during this whole mess? He practically snuck back to DC issued a press release and is no doubt ducking Dick Cheney in the hallways of the Executive Office Building.
As for John McCain's bluster last night it is largely fueled by the fact Georgia's top lobbyist in DC now works for the Senator from Arizona...my ghod is there a single a-list lobbyist in Washington that DOESN'T work for McCain? THAT my friends is a sad start for his so called foreign policy.
The reality is, We have minimal leverage in this situation, Russia is an oil exporter and already the markets for light crude are again in turmoil...all welcome news to the petrocrats and autocrats in Moscow.
What we need to worry about is making sure this isn't exported to the West...the next time, diplomatically, morally and militarily we need to be ready.
I do not think we are on the brink of a new cold war with Russia but if the situation is allowed to drift if we let other seize the initiative then things could get damn chilly quickly.
The paramount need is to assess our resources realistically and take counsel with our interests.