Russia vs. Georgia: Round Two

As we resume the scene, Russia continues its full-scale launch, pouring columns of tanks into Georgia, staging air raids, and lining up ships on the Black Sea. They claim they're not after civilians, just retaliating for Georgia's advances in South Ossetia, but bombs destroy some apartments in the city of Gori (which is in regular Georgia - not the questionable province - or, as the journalists say, "Georgia proper").

The UN and other powerless busybodies keep crying different versions of "Stop that!" to the deaf ears of Russia. Cheney says their response can't go unanswered, but what that means is unclear.

Georgia pulls their 2,000 troops from Iraq to help out a more urgent front. For awhile both sides claim to control the South Ossetian capital, but overpowered and gunned down, Georgia withdraws from the province and calls for a cease-fire on the same deaf ears.

Now that South Ossetia is back in its own hands (or now is it Russia's?), the fight rages for another province called Abkhazia that also wants to fully break from Georgia. Russia continues to claim that they don't have plans to invade "Georgia proper," - they're just helping out these poor independent provinces that Georgia wants to take back.

But somebody lied. Forget the provinces - Russia is now delving deep into the heart of Georgia - bombing infrastructure, capturing government buildings, and cutting off a crucial highway. There was a claim that they're just punishing Georgia for its aggression, but Russia's current aggression doesn't look like the noble motives of a protector.

Russia's definitely serving its own interests here - "protecting" the breakaway provinces just happens to play into their hand. Just what those interests are is still unknown - I haven't found any reports of what Russia says will make them stop; all they're doing so far is shouting justifications for what they're doing.

Will the breakaway provinces be truly independent or will Russia conveniently take them back under the fold of the ol' USSR? Does it want to recapture all of Georgia? Or is it just invading the whole country to mete out the emerging strains of democracy - and pro-western ambitions - that threaten Russia's backyard? And how long will the US and UN be content to just scream "stop it, stop it"? And what does all this have to do with the oil pipeline that runs through Georgia.....

Stay tuned.