Just what they needed, another war

Seems that Russia and Georgia are going to get into it again over South Ossetia: "The fighting that began when Georgian forces tried to retake the capital of South Ossetia, a pro-Russian region that won de facto autonomy from Georgia in the early 1990s, appeared to be developing into the worst clashes between Russia and a foreign military since the 1980s war in Afghanistan... Russian armored vehicles continued to stream into South Ossetia, and Russian officials said that 1,500 civilians had been killed in South Ossetia and that twelve Russian soldiers had died... The fighting, and the Kremlin’s confidence in the face of Western outcry, had wide international implications, as both Russian and Georgian officials placed it squarely in the context of renewed cold war-style tensions and an East-West struggle for influence on Russia’s borders. The East and West were stuck in diplomatic impasse, even as reports from both sides of heavy civilian casualties indicated that the humanitarian toll was climbing. Georgian officials said their only way out of the conflict was for the United States to step in, but with American military intervention unlikely, they were hoping for the West to exert diplomatic pressure to stop the Russian attacks. The United Nations Security Council was meeting Saturday to discuss the crisis... Alexander Lomaya, secretary of Georgia’s National Security Council, said only Western intervention could prevent all-out war. “We still believe that a unified and consolidated Western pressure and Western opinion can bring some fruit,” he said... “Russia has clearly decided to redraw the borders of the Eastern Europe map of the post-cold war situation,” Mr. Lomaya said. “If the world is not able to stop Russia here, then Russian tanks and Russian paratroopers can appear in every European capital.” Foreign Minister Sergey V. Lavrov of Russia said Moscow had been working intensively with foreign governments, including Ukraine and, in particular, the United States. “We have been appreciative of the American efforts to pacify the hawks in Tbilisi,” he said. “Apparently these efforts have not succeeded.” Georgian officials said that Russian warplanes had attacked the major Baku-Tbilisi-Ceyhan oil pipeline, operated by British Petroleum, that carries oil to the West from Asia, but that the pipeline had not been struck... Russia acknowledged that Georgian forces had shot down two Russian warplanes, while a senior Georgian official said the Georgians had destroyed 10 Russian jets. The Russian Defense Ministry said 100 planeloads of airborne troops would be brought to southern Russia and marched into the “zone of hostilities.” Georgian officials said at least 2,500 Russian troops were already in South Ossetia... Russia notified Western governments that it was moving elements of its Black Sea fleet to Ochamchire, a small port in the other disputed enclave of Abkhazia, a senior Western official said. “The record is crystal clear,” said the official, who spoke on condition of anonymity. “Russia has launched a full-scale military operation, on air, land and sea. We have entered a totally new realm — politically, legally and diplomatically.”
Asked whether Georgia and Russia were headed for war, a soldier from Rostov, who gave his name as Alexei, grinned. “If there is, it won’t last long.”

Rico says he has to agree; Russia is still the big dog in the neighborhood...