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More On The Russia-Georgia Conflict

By Big Tent Democrat

Glenn Greenwald interviews Georgetown professor Charles King. A highlight:

GG: One of the things that's a little difficult to understand is this idea that Georgia miscalculated what would be Russia's response. . . . It is really a surprise that Russia reacted the way that it did?

CK: Well, it's not a terrible surprise, but I think you also have to look at things from the Georgian perspective. Over the last several years, Georgia has become increasingly convinced that it's a real partner of the United States, that the US would defend Georgia - practically regardless of what Georgia did - that Georgia was simply reasserting control over bits of territory that are still internationally recognized as Georgia's own. And so I think the Georgians' political elite, particularly the president and the people very close to him, probably convinced themselves of two things. One, that they could do this quickly and successfully, that is, re-take South Ossetia, and secondly, that if there were a Russian response . . . that the United States would somehow step in to defend them, and in fact both of those calculations have turned out to be wrong.

(Emphasis supplied.) Read the whole thing.

Full post as published by TalkLeft on August 11, 2008 (boomark / email).