The sting

Freedom is the freedom to say that on the night of August 7, 2008, Georgia attacked South Ossetia killing 15 Russian "peacekeepers" and in the ensuing bombing raid and ground attack, around 2000 Ossetian citizens most of them with Russian passports.

In response Russia liberated South Ossetia by military force and launched air attacks on several Georgian cities, killing thousands.

Ironically, Georgia is now courting the sympathy of Western governments as a victim of Russian warmongering.

But surely Georgia(population 4.4 million)must have anticipated some response from Russia (population 148 million and 20,000 nuclear missiles)when it got murderous in South Ossetia? It really doesn't seem possible that this series of events was down to a mere miscalculation by the Georgian president.

Pondering this, I'm put in mind of a simple-minded trick often used by gangs of small-town thugs. First they encourage their shortest, weakest looking friend to start a fight with a big guy in a bar or club. Then, when the fight kicks off and the small guy's getting a beating, they can wade in to save their friend and look like heroes - even if they outnumber the big guy five to one. Bish, bosh bash and drinks all around!

So which bunch of thugs was Georgia's expecting to back it up when it decided to provoke Russia into attacking it?

The US?
Well, there's been sightings of Blackwater troops with American flags on their sleeves fighting the Russians in Georgia. The US has been heavily involved with the development of Georgia's military over the last few years - expanding the size of Georgian weaponry by 30 times. Today, Dick Cheney threatened Russia and said their attack will not go unanswered.

Israel?
Could be. There have been reports of Israeli military trainers present in Georgia.

The EU?
It's no secret that Georgia may be joining the EU. Plus, European fuel pipelines were allegedly bombed by Russian aircraft.

All of the above?
Most likely.

And meanwhile, US aircraft carriers are building up their presence in the Gulf. The Jerusalem post reports that an attack on Iran is imminent...

World War? Well, it's certainly taking my mind off the economy.