1. Why haven't any citizens or government officials from the autonomous Province of South Ossetia been interviewed by the MSM?
2. Who started this war? Which army picked up its guns and tanks last Thursday and blasted a path through the Caucasus Mountains to the city of Tskhinvali, killing as many local militia as possible, bombing peacekeeping forces, and forcing 30,000 refugees to flee northward from the autonomous regions of Ossetia?
17 years ago, when the USSR disintegrated, South Ossetia was annexed by Georgian military forces, with which it shared neither nationality nor culture. South Ossetia retained its status as an Autonomous Republic with its local authorities and a separate capital, Tskhinvali. Northern Ossetia is an autonomous part of Russia.
At dawn on August 8, this year Georgia changed the status quo and launched a surprise attack on the capital of South Ossetia in an attempt to "to restore constitutional order."
Georgians opened fire with heavy artillery against Tskhinval. Georgian troops stormed the city --- much as Russian Tanks stormed Prague in 1968. Georgian tanks and infantry were being aided by US and Israeli advisors and weapons.
Russia is outraged, accuses Georgian troops of war crimes against civilians, and promptly lauches a bloody, massive retaliation driving out the Georgian troops. Russia captures Tskhinvali and Russian fighter jets drop bombs in Georgian city of Gori, 15 miles from border with South Ossetia.
This reckless Georgian land grab attempt was founded on a fundamental misjudgment, according to Michael Evans in the Times of London.
The Georgian President thought he had the West on his side, but he was outsmarted by Putin who now holds all the cards and wants to institute a Russian Monroe Doctrine (which was used to justify U.S. imperialism in the Western Hemisphere) on his close neighbors in Central Asia.
The military adventure had all the hallmarks of rushed planning and a "fingers-crossed strategy", according to Evans, launched in the hope and expectation that the Russians would not react - and that if they did, the Americans would come to their aid.
"By seizing Tskhinvali, Georgian President Saakashkvili took one hell of a gamble that Russia wouldn't intervene. Georgia is paying a high price for this."
"However, with Russian troops never far away, it was always going to be David versus Goliath. But this time a slingshot was not good enough. He had Mr Putin to deal with and there was never any doubt who would win that battle."
Who benefits politically in the 08 American Presidential Election?
News Flash.
For hundreds of years Politicians have capitalized on international events to influence domestic politics and elections. It has happened with Democratic and Republican politicians,..... and with Dictators and elected officials as well.
McCain has been the strongest global voice behind Georgia since the shooting began, and the current crisis perfectly matches his campaign themes:
Obama is not ready to be President, and McCain -- the war hero -- is.
How did the Georgian President come to think that this was a good time to taunt the Russian bear?
As Machiavelli wrote in The Prince:
Theological and moral imperatives have no place in the political arena. "Men are always wicked at bottom unless they are made good by some compulsion."