The events of the last week have been a long time in coming.  Its been no secret that the two nations have been in dispute for some time.  Finally the Russians have had enough.  This is something literally ripped out of a Tom Clancy video game called Ghost Recon.  The premise of Ghost Recon was a small team of Force Recon Marines are inserted into Georgia to stop a Russian invasion.  The really interesting thing is, the story takes place in the year 2008.

Here is the video introduction to the game that was made in 2001.  The game was phenomenal.

Maybe you should watch that one again.  Scary isn’t it?  Suddenly this isn’t a story anymore, this is life.

Regardless of the paralells between Tom Clancy’s work of fiction and today’s headlines, the overall jist of the two are ironically similar.  The Russians have worked hard over the last decade and a half to lull the United States and its allies into complacency.  They adopted a representative form of government, sought entry into NATO, and decried the placement of the missile shield by George Bush.  Thank goodness President Bush decided to build the shield anyway.  For those interested, here is a great FAQ from the BBC about the European Missile Defence Shield.

What does this mean for the United States and its allies?  It would seem that the Russians couldn’t have picked a better time to test the mettle of its opposers.  The United States is spread thin in Iraq, Afghanistan, and South Korea.  They struck during the Olympics in Beijing so as to minimize the public’s awareness of the situation.  Quite frankly, it would seem the public consciousness is hardly registering the impact of these developments.  Though who can blame us?  We’ve had many wars in the last few years, many just desire to occupy themselves with something less trivial.

More to the point though, what can the US and its allies do?  In our unprepared state we are not even remotely in an economic position to wage a war of the magnitude that would be required to fight a war against the Motherland.  Secondly we are a very war weary nation.  While I strongly believe in a nations right and indeed its obligation to defend itself and its interests, I cant help but feel a sense of apathy at getting involved in another war.  Yet if war we must, then war we will.  The real question is when?

Interestingly we owe a debt of honor to the Georgians.  In the Iraq war, the three largest forces have been first and foremost the United States, with Great Britain coming in second, while Georgia maintained the third largest military presence in Iraq until recently when they had to recall their troops in the midst of increasing threats from Russia.

So how can we, the defenders of freedom, the unsoliticted hero of nations, the destroyer of tyranny, shrink from the fight?  How can we stand up for our principles and freedoms and turn our back on a nation such as Georgia.  Unfortunately I am afraid that we aren’t the super power we used to be.  The US relies upon a volunteer army, and as such has a very small military force.

Additionally, if the conflict escalates, you can bank on Iran allying with Russia, who would likely accelerrate the Iranian nuclear capabilites.  Israel would undoubtedly intervene if any serious Russo-Iranian alliance were to be struck up, and the dominos would already have fallen.

As for the moment, the world is watching and waiting.  Moscow is sounding very much like Hitler did with the invasion of Poland;  promising that they’re not going to stay, or that they’re just resolving an internal matter.  Meanwhile the stories coming out of Georgia are confusing and difficult to confirm.  A ceasefire was declared, and for a moment was in effect, but still Russia drove forward, deeper and deeper into the nation.  The world may well put up with this, much to the misfortune of the Georgians.  But then, much like we were during the blitzkrieg of Poland in World War II, we aren’t in a very strong position to do much.  I’m afraid the true conflict may be further down the road.

In the meantime one politician is actually getting it right.  John McCain has made a very sensible political move and has called Vladimir Putin what he is, “KGB”.  While Bush is very fond of Putin on a personal basis, our next President, whomever he is, must not be permitted to feed the Great Bear.  This signals a new age for Russia.  The post communist depression is being lifted, the fires of nationalism are being stirred, and the youth are flocking to their leader.  Sound like Hitler anyone?

Only time will tell for sure.  Hopefully within the month we’ll have a better idea of what Russia’s plans are for Georgia, how serious they are, and how long they plan to stay.  For now, the reports are too conflicting to say anything for sure.

All this being said, I am optimistic about the future of the United States.  I believe in the divine nature and indeed in the divine destiny of this nation to bless the world by example, not compulsion.  Not by intimidation, sanctions, threats, and other distasteful methods, but with benevolence and mercy, and a genuine goodness.  I recognize that we are not a perfect nation, that we have often been found to be the aggressor, to be the cause of many of the problems, but if we stick to the principles and attitudes that the Founding Fathers put forth, then we shall ever prosper and be a shining city on the hill.