Russian tanks invade Georgia.

In 2003, the Georgian people peacefully overthrew their corrupt, despotic Soviet-era government and replaced it with a new, pro-Western, pro-capitalist, Democracy under the lead of Mikheil Saakashvili. Years after the fall of the Soviet Union, Georgia finally cast off the shackles of a corrupt, oppressive regime, and did so with almost no violence.

The violence so notoriously absent in the Rose Revolution is now catching up with the Georgian people.

MSNBC reports that:

Russia reportedly captured the central city of Gori and its armored vehicles rolled deep into western Georgia on Monday, seizing a military base and several towns and opening a second front of fighting. Georgian President Mikhail Saakashvili said the Russian forces had effectively cut his country in half.

The Georgian Government invaded the breakaway province of South Ossetia last Thursday, and the Russian Government, supposedly in an act of protection on behalf of the Russian Ossetians, launched a counter-assault that has already left much of the Georgian State in ruins.

According to The Moscow Times,

Russia’s response, however, was way beyond what was necessary to, according to its initial explanation, “protect Russian citizens.” It is worth noting that the “Russian citizens” in question here are actually residents of South Ossetia to whom Moscow gave Russian passports.

The article goes on to denounce the harsh reaction of the Russian Government. Russian troops and bombers have crossed far beyond the Ossetia border, and are even now approaching the Georgian capital, T’bilisi.

The Russian bombing campaign, buoyed by far superior air forces, threatens to weaken, divide or even destroy the Georgian state. If this bombing continues for even a few more days, it is easy to imagine a scenario where Georgia’s infrastructure and economy could be set back a decade or more. It is also easy to imagine far worse scenarios.

Unfortunately the West has its hands tied, or at least this is the view most news outlets are reporting. While Georgia calls for Western (specifically US and NATO) military aid, they also have offered up ceasefire agreements which have been met with disdain by the Russians.

The Russian bombing campaign, buoyed by far superior air forces, threatens to weaken, divide or even destroy the Georgian state. If this bombing continues for even a few more days, it is easy to imagine a scenario where Georgia’s infrastructure and economy could be set back a decade or more. It is also easy to imagine far worse scenarios.

Russia, however, denies even having troops on the ground in Georgia. Thankfully news organizations are equipped with cameras and this sort of blatant Russian propaganda is quite easy to see through. Russian officials deny any aggression, and claim that operations to protect Ossetia are almost complete. According toCNN:

From the flashpoint South Ossetia, the Russian military moved south into the central Georgia city of Gori, Georgia said. Russia denies its troops are in the city.

A CNN crew in Gori saw Georgian forces piling into trucks and leaving the city at high speed.

The streets of Gori were nearly empty Monday. Over the weekend the city came under repeated aerial attack from the Russian military.

Russian troops were also in Senaki, in western Georgia, having advanced from Abkhazia, Russian and Georgian officials said.

American military officials claim that Russia has so completely destroyed Georgia’s radar infrastructure that it is likely Georgian officials have a very murky picture of their own predicament.

And so suddenly we are transported to a different time, an old battle, as though all at once we are face to face with the old Soviet threat. A Democratic ally is in fact being bombarded by the totalitarian government of Russia. They may not style themselves as the USSR any longer, but through this overreaction we can glimpse just how far Russia has moved toward once again reclaiming domination of the region–and we can also glimpse how impotent NATO and the West are in their utter lack of response.

I can’t offer up a quick solution any more than our elected officials can. The US is already extended militarily into Iraq and Afghanistan–and a unilateral US response to this crisis would be far too much of a risk diplomatically. NATO has a far better outlook of military intervention, but again, to actually move militarily to prevent Russian aggression is a phenomenal risk.

Nevertheless, not acting has its own share of consequences. Namely, the US and the West will have revealed our inability to counter Russian hostility, and their lack of resolve. We promised the ex-Soviet provinces our support, and now when that support is most dearly needed, we do nothing. We would wring our hands but for our sitting on them.

As Mitchell writes in the Moscow Times,

A military response is not the only option facing the United States and Europe, but it seems to be the one its Georgian allies would most like to see. Nonetheless, in the next days, the West must find a way to stop Russia from routing Georgia.

If we don’t, we risk undoing everything we’ve worked for since the fall of the Berlin Wall. The fall of Georgia will not only set that country back a decade in terms of economy, infrastructure, and so forth, but will push back international diplomacy into a lost era, an era we cozily thought was behind us.

Russia, and its all-powerful PM Vladmir Putin, will not let the West have its way, and they have learned over the past eight years that they can get away with a great deal of bullying, human rights violations, and nobody will stop them. A victory over the Democratically elected government of Georgia will only solidify this belief, will only embolden the Russian hawks and nationalists further.

Further Reading

We Helped in Iraq, Now Help us!

Analysis: roots of the conflict between Georgia, South Ossetia and Russia

Russia/Georgia conflict in pictures

Bush says violence in Georgia is unacceptable

Sign the petition to save Georgia.

~cross-posted at The Daily Elephant and at Newsvine

Kain's major subjects of focus at NeoConstant are international strategy; support of Israel; the failure of the international community to stop genocide; the spread of American power and democracy; historical analysis; and current events both domestically and abroad. He writes here, Newsvine and his blog, IndiePundit.