McCain Camp Calls Their Guy "Prescient" On His Russia/Georgia Stance

I didn't realize that history has already rendered its judgment on the Russia/Georgia conflict.

Did the US Government have prior knowledge of Georgia's intent to initiate armed conflict? It was Georgia who fired the first shots, right?

The central criticism by the West of the Russians is that their response (to the Georgian attack) was "disproportionate." Obviously, Georgia had calculated that the response would be proportionate; they miscalculated.

I personally have viewed the oil-revenue-fed Russia of Putin as a quasi-dictatorship with ambitions that far outreach its resources. As long as the country remains under the rule of one man--Putin--it presents dangers to the West.

Fortunately, its new-found disposable wealth is subject to the vicissitudes of the oil market.

I believe their defense budget is something like $40 billion annually; ours is, what, $400 billion?

At this stage, Russia is more a bobcat than a tiger. It needs to be carefully watched, but it lacks the power to take on a lion (the West.)

Back to the current crisis. The idiots running Georgia opened the door for the Russians, and now they're "shocked, shocked" that the Russians marched through.