Georgian President Mikhail Saakashvili is desperate for some kind of U.S. intervention to end the unpleasantness between his nation and Russia - that's what I read into the obviously exaggerated claims of planned a U.S. presence he made during an address to his people:
You have heard the statement by the U.S. president that the United States is starting a military-humanitarian operation in Georgia. It means that Georgian ports and airports will be taken under the control of the U.S. defense ministry in order to conduct humanitarian and other missions. This is a very important statement for easing tension.
The Pentagon responded to this wishful claptrap with the old "not so fast there, buddy":
We are not looking to, nor do we need to, take control of any air or seaports to conduct this mission. The role of the U.S. military is strictly to facilitate the delivery of humanitarian assistance to the victims of this conflict.
Saakashvili has some odd notions of what his country means to the U.S. strategically, and how far we're willing to go in protecting his ass. I'm afraid we may have given him those notions by pushing Georgia to defy Russia and encouraging them to apply for NATO membership. We're still playing the same old Cold War games even if we don't want to call it the Cold War anymore. Meanwhile...what the hell happened to the cease-fire French president Nicolas Sarkozy brokered between Russia and Georgia? It took the Russians about six seconds to defy that. Clearly, their plan is to remove Saakahsvili from power and insert a new government that they control. They won't be happy until this happens. Maybe Sarkozy could convince the Georgians to just lay down their arms and submit to Russian rule. You know...the French way.
