Larry, back to your original post, about what you heard on the news (about the US military advisors sent to Georgia). I seriously doubt that any of this will lead to hostilities of any kind between the US and Russia. The US advisors are there not to protect Georgia against Russia, but to advise the Georgian army on how to deal with the "terrorists" in the Pankisi Gorge. The Pankisi Gorge has been sort of a haven for Chechen refugees and separatists for years, and Russia (which still has troops stationed in Georgia, btw) has been threatening to invade the region to wipe out these "terrorists." But the Georgians didn't want Russian help...

Now, Russia has officially expressed its support for the US aid, but of course isn't really happy about it. Sort of emasculating to have your former subjects join forces with your former enemy to fight your genocidal battles for you. But they can't complain too much, can they? :)

The part that worries me about all of this: After an emboldened Georgian military finishes mopping up the Pankisi Gorge, they might just go ahead and attack the separatist regions of Abkhazia and South Ossetia (both hosts to Russian 'peacekeepers'), ending any chances for a peaceful resolution to these disputes. War, chaos, dead people, etc. :(

---Lepus Rex