"....the US and Israel were training and conducting military exercises with the Georgian military, as well as arming them rather massively (in proportion to the size of the country)." - CarolC

A US Government source to substantiate that statement?

As far as I have seen reported US equipment and training was confined to a single battalion of the Georgian Army specifically charged with protection of the Baku-Tblisi-Ceyhan Pipeline.

Now that hardly seems to accord with the US and Israel arming them (Georgia) rather massively - hardly armed them at all it would seem.

One other indication into the great likelyhood that this whole thing was engineered by Russian in cahoots with the South Ossetian seperatists. As stated by BB:

"....they (The Russians) mobilized BEFORE the Georgian attack that you claim was the couse for their invasion."

South Ossetia's only source of income is derived from the collection of tolls for transit through a tunnel on the main road from the Russian border to Tblisi. In the days prior to intervention by the Russians that tunnel was packed with Russian armour and military vehicles - Russia was reacting to nothing, they knew something was going to happen because they and the South Ossetians were going to make damn sure they were going to provoke the Georgians.

From the South Ossetian point of view, you do not cut off your only source of income unless you know for certain that it is for a very short period and you know that the outcome of that temporary closure will be to your ultimate benefit.

From the Russian point of view, you have to have all your pieces in play to guarantee the outcome. Main access is via a road tunnel, the distances being talked about here are tiny, the Russians could not afford to run the risk that the Georgian Army reach the South Ossetian end of the tunnel before themselves, hence the Russian Forces involved (58th Army, I believe) could not be tucked up in their barracks and garrisons at the time Russia felt it had to react, they had to be in place inside that tunnel safely out of sight until they were called on to intervene.