It's been a long while since my last post, and I wanted to write something about this since it kicked-off two weeks ago. That would have been one long rant against the idiocy of Saakashvili's underestimation of Russia and its response, and against Russia's backing of 'near-abroad' enclaves, including South Ossetia, Abkhazia and Trans-Dniester. Moreover, I'm on vacation and didn't fancy putting in the hours of reading, preparation and hyperlinking needed to produce the kind of analysis I used to. Still, if you want to bring yourself up to speed on the basics of what happened and what's motivating the Russians and Georgians, here are a few links:First, an excellent CS Monitor overview on the conflict, giving both side's perspectives and motives. To that we can add an earlier analysis Russia's wider gains.
Second, a good IHT article including indicators of Russia's current intents, including possibly gaining an economic stranglehold on Georgia via checkpoints on it's main highway and port. That suggestion is backed by news articles by CNN and Reuters.
Finally, those of you wondering what the effect on international relations between Russia and the rest of the world will be, here are some reassurances from the CS Monitor.
OK - back to my vacation. I don't know when I'll next have the inclination and time to post, so bye for now.
