Vile Maxim No. 2

A nasty, ineluctable fact of the savage relations that obtain between the various nations, the United States included. It would do us well to recall that the U.S. has never been loathe to resort to "regime change" when it suited its interests, even if it meant usurping democratically-elected governments.

Commitment

In my estimation, Georgia gravely miscalculated two things: The strength of Russia's resolve and America's/the West's commitment. As a consequence, their present predicament, however lamentable, is at once not unexpected. Since Georgia has ceded the initiative to Moscow, the question now is how far Russia is willing to go in this dreadful affair.