Who's Gorby Kidding?

Former Soviet Leader Mikhail Gorbochev claims that Russia never intended for there to be a war in Georgia. Right.

Which country invaded Georgia under the pretense of claiming to act as peacekeepers in the Georgian breakaway province of South Ossetia. That would be Russia.

Which country continues to break its own ceasefire agreement with Georgia. Again, that would be Russia.

Which country unilaterally acted in violating the territorial sovereignty of its neighbor. Again, that's Russia.

Gorbochev is doing nothing more than proffering the standard Russian line on Georgia - that it was Georgia's own fault for attacking the South Ossetians. He would rather ignore the fact that the war has reduced South Ossetia's towns to rubble.

The Moderate Voice has much more and breaks down Gorbochev's position, which essentially blames Saakashvili for the entire mess.

Mark Safranski argues that we shouldn't rush into a Cold War II based on the events in Georgia, but the problem is that the Russians have launched a premeditated war against Georgia to further its own strategic interests, and used the West's failure to hold the line against Russian expansionism and failure of resolve, along with a fear of escalation to cement its grip on the Georgian countryside.

I think he underestimates the concern for Russian military exploits. It may have been a few military brigades that launched into Georgia and now occupy the Georgian countryside, but those same few brigades could find themselves operating in neighboring former Republics before long, and that this is the first step in the slow creep to the restoration of the Russian empire.