Fly On The Wall...

I would love to be the proverbial fly on the wall in either Washington or Moscow right now. I am sure there were some heated discussions occurring between the two countries.

It is amazing after President Bush issued an extremly strong condemnation of Russia's escalation of violence in Georgia that military action was called off just several hours later by President Medvedev. I believe the words, "Russia has invaded a sovereign neighboring state and threatened a government elected by its people, such an action is unacceptable in the 21st century," by President Bush carried an implied threat. I believe that threat was received loud and clear by Putin and Medvedev, thus the cessation of hostilities.

As with all things in international politics it is the words and actions behind the scenes that usually drives the action. I would be interested if there were rumors floating around of direct military aid (troops) going into Tbilisi and if those rumors made their way to Moscow. If there were and if they did I am sure that played a quiet role in Russia calling of their invasion of Georgia.

We will see what happens over the coming days...for now I am just glad a crisis has been averted. Perhaps some lessons have been learned by both parties. I am sure this gives credence to some in the U.S. military that it is not enough to only plan for asymmetrical warfare and counter-insurgency operations; but, it is important to be ready for traditional land warfare as well.