Hi Boroda! I posted this on another forum, but this is my comment:
If the Russians prepared for this, then they received their warning loud and clear from Saakashvili. With his long history of Western "shmoozing", it's not surprising Russia might've been a little wary or irritated with Saakashvili in an area that amounts to their 'Latin America', for lack of a better term. I doubt the Russians expected the Georgian president to actually attack South Ossetia. That would require an extreme disconnect from the political realities of the region. But, truth is stranger than fiction at times. We all make our own beds, and now Saakashvili can learn this lesson as well, though at cost in others lives and property. What I would like to know is what was Saakashvili thinking when he made his decision to attack South Ossetia? You invade a disputed territory of long history in a region of extreme importance to a powerful nation like Russia, knowing Russian peace-keepers will likely be hurt in the offensive, and expect ... what? The man's mind was obviously somewhere else.
Western reporting has been somewhat disturbing. Some reports are balanced, but others tow the typical Cold War West viewpoint. There is almost no news of the tens of thousands of Ossetian refugees that streamed into Russia, nor of the destruction and death wrought by invading Georgian forces in Tskhinvali. Incredibly, CNN reported on 'a Russian attack at Gori' using footage lifted from a Russian film crew. What's incredible is that the footage was actually of Tskhinvali after the Georgians attacked South Ossetia. When the Russian cameraman found out about this he was naturally furious and reported it.
Btw, I heard Arshavin is on strike and wants out of Zenit
now. Will be interesting to see where he ends up. Poka!
