The Shrubbery wandered the world annoying people. He is such an obnoxious twit that even countries that have vital interests in common with the US don’t want to support anything the US does.

Georgia just found out what Iraqi Shi’ia already learned, no one in the family is trustworthy or keeps their word.

I’m having Bay of Pigs flashbacks, same problem, no air support. McClatchy reported that Georgian forces were making progress on the ground before their units were subjected to aerial attacks.

I had forgotten about that, Michael, and it certainly would have played a role in the new Tsar’s thinking. They are very concerned about perceptions of Russia, more for internal consumption than external at the moment, but both are considered.

Georgia wasn’t ready, Jams, and I wouldn’t assume it’s over, not matter what is being said to the media. Propaganda is flowing from both sides. Regime change is definitely going to be a demand, as the goal switched from a “Kosovo solution” to an “Iraq solution”. Another gift from the Hedgemony to the world.

The Georgian move was incredibly stupid without air support, and they don’t have any. It would appear to be a move based more on testosterone than tactics, because there is no way any American official was stupid enough to have OK’ed the action. There was nothing in place to block the moves from Abkhazia, or to deal with the Black Sea fleet.

The US training has been in small group, anti-insurgency actions, not massed troop movements and standard land warfare. This was suicide from the launch of the attack, and Putin has been signaling that for a while.

This could devolve into another Chechnya.

The Russian bear is a bit gimpy nowdays, not like back in the day. But you don’t taunt even a somewhat-decrepit bear, lest it show you that it still possesses a few teeth in its grizzled snout. I have absolutely no idea what Saakashvili was thinking when he decided to stage that assault upon South Ossetia… sure, legally he was right. But he’s just as dead either way, and it may be that he takes Georgia down with him, depending on what the Russians decide to do (will they go ahead and install their own puppet government and turn Georgia into a de-facto province of Russia, or will they pull back and simply tell the Georgians, “you will install a government that is acceptable to us or we come back”?).

As for the Ukraine, how, exactly, will they prevent the Russian Black Sea Fleet from going wherever it wants to go? Will they fire on the Black Sea Fleet when it attempts to dock in the Crimea? Are they really that interested in war with Russia? Curious penguins really don’t want to know, but suspect they will find out anyhow :-(.

– Badtux the War Penguin

– Badtux the Observant Penguin