War in Georgia

Well it's taken 3 months since I first wrote of the impending war, but it looks as though the gloves are finally off. Georgia has launched an attack on the breakaway South Ossetia region and as predicted, the Russians aren't going to sit idly by. The nearly century-long game of cat and mouse seems to have finally come to a head and will surely bring a high casualty total and should also make clear who calls the shots in Moscow, Putvedev. While the Russian security council meets in Moscow, with Medvedev supposedly in charge, Vladimir Putin who is in Beijing for the opening of the Olympics has already said that that "aggressive" action by Georgia would incur a "response" from Russia.

Before you laugh this off remember that there are Russian peacekeepers in the region and many Russian passport holders. It would be interesting to listen in if Dubya and Putin cross paths in Beijing today as the US is an unabashed Georgia supporter. The world's attention may be focused on China, but the Russians are watching, perhaps already retaliating. If this is true it would mark the first time Russian troops have taken action on foreign soil since their withdrawal from Afghanistan in 1989. Various reports have Russian tanks racing towards the besieged South Ossetian capital of Tskhinvali and the Georgians apparently observing a three-hour ceasefire to allow civilians to flee the city. Could be the makings of a full fledged conflict, more news as it comes...