"The Government of Georgia has been preparing for an invasion of South Ossetia for a long time..."

This is getting to be just plain silly. South Ossetia is part of Georgia and has been since 1991 after Russian and Georgian leaders negotiated the current boundries. Not one international body, including the UN, recognizes the South Ossetian claim of independence, and no rational peolple consider it a part of Russia. It belongs to Georgia just as San Diego County belongs to the United States.

Perhaps the unhappier folks in South Ossetia will pick up and got to Russia to live. I'm sure there will be plenty of their relatives will want to stay and the area will be much the better for it.