The coming Russian-American face-off in Georgia

The New York Times reports that Russian troops are still in the key Georgian cities of Gori and Poti; reports about them handing over control of Gori to the Georgian police appear to have been premature. With US humanitarian aid also flowing into Georgia in US military transports, the likelihood of Georgia turning into a battle of wills between Russia and the West has increased.

The New York Times, whose coverage of the crisis has been superlative, quote a senior Pentagon official describing the strategic thinking behind the Pentagon-led humanitarian mission thus:

“to show to Russia that we can come to the aid of a European ally, and that we can do it at will, whenever and wherever we want.”

“This is not 1968, and the invasion of Czechoslovakia, where Russia can invade its neighbor, occupy a capital, overthrow a government and get away with it,” she said.