"I'll guess the radar that the Russians objected to ( a part of the anti-missile system) would have been independent evidence, one way or the other."

You have noticed that while the Russians objected to that stuff being set up in Poland, they offered to cooperate in setting it up over in Azerbaijan, just next door to Georgia so to speak?

Russia's quite capable of trying to push its little neighbours around, which isn't exactly unusual among great powers, as I rather assume Americans are well aware. And as with Cuba and the USA, the effect of this kind of stupidity in regard to Georgia will probably be totally counterproductive. But that's a different issue from the anti-missile controversy.