Russia bombs Georgia...
 

...Atlanta in flames. Seriously, I'm sure everyone has heard about it. Russian warplanes have been bombing installations in and around the capital of Georgia to take out separatists, and now Condie Rice is urging them to back up off. For a second I figured the Ruskies were trying to put the old gang back together. I doubt this'll turn into a full-on conflict, but I'm just that much happier to live in this hemisphere.

Timing sucks, right at the start of the Olympics; historically nations in conflict are urged to hold cease-fires during the games - not this time. :(

America has kinda changed the rules of war.

Never really looked at it that way. Fuck.

Who you talking to? Me or Flagg

You... I just didn't think of the precedent that the Iraq invasion set in correlation with the situation in Georgia. But, yeah, it's kind of hard to wag your finger at someone when you're just as guilty and occupying.

Yeah, according this my bad ass country. You don't really need anyone's consent to invade another country. Many other rules have been changed too.

Wow. You (Tadao) are absolutely right. And the US is protesting the invasion. How hypocritical. Maybe the Russians will take some Georgian civilians to a secure small base on the Black Sea and begin waterboarding them.

OK, ladies, if we're done with the drama. I know its easy to use the deaths of thousands as an easy tool to bash the current administration, but this actually more of Russia's "fuck you" to NATO and the West over Kosovo's independence.

I know, I know, why bring facts into an argument.

Who's arguing against that? Cool you ego Captain America.

so wait, are you taking Russia's side, Blanco?

Any excuse to bash the current administration is a pot shot well worth taking, facts be damned. Truthiness is the way.

And a whole lot of good it'll do at this point.

Who's trying to accomplish good? Not the Bush administration, that's for sure.

EDIT: It seems as if the situation is escalating. What's the over-under on WWIII happening sometime soon?

Georgian troops have withdrawn from the S. Ossetian capital, as a "gesture of good faith" (yeah, how about to stop getting the shit kicked out of them), so maybe this "intervention" will de-escalate as fast as it escalated. : pipedream

I didn't say that at all. Personally, I see this as another one of Putin's attempts to get the band back together, so to speak.

I doubt anyone else will get involved simply due to Georgia's location. The Armenian's aren't really in any position to do anything. And I doubt NATO will even say much.

What ever happened with Chechnya anyways?

Also for more of a background on the whole thing watch the 45 minute documentary "Russia: Death of a Nation". It's on youtube, or at least used to be.

What did that documentary have to do with the situation? I must have missed it. As far as anyone getting involved... there is oil involved.

The doc was more of a background of Russia's situation in general after the fall of the Soviet Union. That's really about it, nothing specific.

Georgia got bombed? I hope the NASCAR tracks and Ludachris are OK.

ok shut up

The only oil pipeline in Europe that is NOT already controlled by Russia run through the south end of Tblisi. BP took a round-about way through Georgia in order to avoid Iran. If Russia took control of this pipeline, they could then shut ALL the pipes off and "oil-starve" the EU. This would put them in a prime position to "pull a Hitler" since the only way to get oil into the EU would be by ship, and they can easily blockade the tankers with the navy they now have.

That would be an outright act of war. Putin may have the balls for something like that down the line, when his country's economy is stronger, but not right now. He's too shrewd.

I wouldn't be surprised if they went after that pipeline.

With Western missile defense systems being installed in Eastern Europe, and many former Warsaw Pact / Soviet states on their way to join NATO, Russia is pretty much getting backed into a corner. With Ukraine and Georgia expected to be admitted into NATO officially this December it seems like a clear motive.

That. Plus, I agree that they are not too happy with Kosovo's independence.

They really don't have too many useful allies left other than the Iranians I guess.

They could achieve world domination with China's help.