Russia vs. Georgia: Round One

So Russia and Georgia are at war. No, not the Georgia that the devil went down to... the little country in the middle of the other hemisphere. Here's what I've gathered in reading articles, blogs, and editorials last night and today:

The Georgians broke away from the collapsing U.S.S.R in the 90's along with all those countries that end in -ekistan. But one of Georgia's provinces, South Ossetia, is made up mostly of Russians, so they broke away from Georgia in 1992, and have basically been independent since, although most of the world calls Georgia a country and doesn't pay much attention to South Ossetia.

Anyway, Russia and the U.S. get along better than they did during the Cold War, but things have been.. er.. heating up again. For instance, the U.S. wants to set up missile defense shields in Europe with its NATO allies, or even Turkey, and Russia's not too keen on more Western military technology so close to home (remember when they set up missiles on our side in Cuba?). And while Russia's not exactly communist anymore, it's not exactly a free country either; the government still wields plenty of totalitarian power.

Georgia, in conjunction with its dislike of Russia, likes the U.S. and wants to join NATO. I was surprised to learn that they actually rank third in number of troops in Iraq (2,000) behind U.S. and Britain - that gives you an idea of how much they want to be with us and our pals. This makes Russia dislike Georgia even more - you probably don't remember when Russia cut off gas lines to Georgia for a bit in 2006. But don't forget the immense Russian population in South Ossetia, which sort of but not really is a part of Georgia.

More tension's been building lately. Georgia's leader has been wanting to take South Ossetia back. Russia's been flying war planes over Georgia's territory. Both sides claim the other shot first, but one way or the other Georgians killed a dozen Russian peacekeepers in South Ossetia, probably along with some civilians.

While everyone was watching the Chinese unfurl a majestic Olympic opening ceremony, Russia responded full-scale with troops, tanks, and fighter planes, and the Georgian army fought back - there have been reports of destroyed tanks and planes. Russia appears to be mobilizing for a full-scale invasion of Georgia, and over a thousand people - Russians, South Ossetians, and Georgians, mostly civilians - are dead already.

The simplified coverage paints the Goliath Russia as invading poor little ol' Georgia - nevermind how much poking and provoking Georgia did to upset the bullying Bear. The U.S. presidential candidates are sticking with that populist picture. "Russia should immediately and unconditionally cease its military operations and withdraw all forces from sovereign Georgian territory," says McCain. "“What is clear is that Russia has invaded Georgia’s sovereign — has encroached on Georgia’s sovereignty," says Obama.

No time to talk about Georgia invading South Ossetia's sovereignty. Because, after all, Russia really is a bully and Georgia is our friend.

It's hard to say how much worse things will get. It seems that another province is fighting Georgia now, too, and with the immense backing of Russia it would seem that Georgia would be knocked out pretty quickly. But apparently Russia has only one supply line into that area, and Georgia may be able to hold their own - especially if they get requested help from the West. They're certainly banking on it.

And just because the U.S. gets involved won't make it World War III, either - we've been involved in Eurasian skirmishes in the last few decades - Kosovo or Bosnia, anyone? In fact there is already a U.S. presence in Georgia, training and arming enemies of our enemies and hoping they don't become our enemies later (Remember Afghanistan against Russia?)

But U.S.-Russia tensions will be strained even more by this situation, There's no way Russia will forsake their own in South Ossetia - but will they continue a full onslaught of the rest of Georgia? It's doubtful that the U.S. and Co. will stop at paltry rhetoric.

Stay tuned.