On Russia and Georgia

"When told that many diplomats in the United States and Europe blame Russia for provoking the conflict and for invading Georgia, Putin said Russia had no choice but to invade Georgia after dozens of its peacekeepers in South Ossetia were killed. He told Chance it was to avert a human calamity." (Putin accuses U.S. of orchestrating Georgia war -- CNN.com)

It's good to know Putin is a liar as well as a thug. The first link is instructive in reviewing the actual situation in Georgia, and the ways that Russia initiated the recent conflict. The latter discusses Russia's current status as an authoritarian regime disguised as a democracy.

Seldom though I agree with the Washington Post's editorial page, this one is right on target: "This is the rhetoric of an isolated, authoritarian government drunk with the euphoria of a perceived victory and nursing the delusion of a restored empire. It is convinced that the West is too weak and divided to respond with more than words. If nothing is done to restrain it, it will never release Georgia -- and it will not stop there."