John: This is regional brinksmanship on the part of the Russians. Georgia is a US ally, and Putin can accomplish two things here: 1) Humble the US (through our inaction) in the region, and 2) Show the other countries, including new NATO members like Poland, who is holding the whip hand.
Western Europe has grown increasingly dependent on Russian controlled fuel sources. As of late, the largest security concerns that NATO has handled have been in Afghanistan, and, if that is any example of their fighting spirit, they have a serious problem.
I don’t think beyond jawing about a cease fire and trying to calm the situation, the US (or NATO) is going to do much of anything. Largely because we can’t. I think Putin has us (and Europe) by the short and curlies, and he knows it.
