More Aid Than Aid

I've been following the situation in Georgia and it is breathtaking how Mr. Putin has managed to take on old 1930's play, scratch out Czechoslovakia, pencil in Georgia and restage it with a perfectly straight face.. Russia has managed to split Georgia in two within five days and it's "withdrawl" leaves it in occupation of a fifth of the country. Worse, it has made it entirely clear to the Georgians that they can take the whole lot over any time they feel like it.

Unfortunately, it's one of those situations where there's a whole lot of nothing we can do about it. Russia may have the long-term prospects of an old turnip in a compost heap, but today it enjoys an imperial Indian summer with its petrodollars and nuclear arsenal giving it a large degree of immunity against Western sanctions. In the case of Georgia, simple geography prevents any meaningful intervention and it looks as though Mr. Putin is going to have a free hand to do as he wills.

Or at least, it did until the Americans came up with an elegant little countering move. According to the BBC, President Bush has announced that the United States is sending humanitarian aid to Georgia–using military aircraft and ships to do the delivering. They may not be able to do any fighting, but a flotilla of ships in the Black Sea and troops on the ground in the path of Putin's tanks makes for a nice little trip wire that even a former KGB chief would think twice about stepping on.

Now if only the rest of Nato would send similar "aid" plus a couple of "goodwill" visits by a fighter wing and we'd be laughing.

Slience of the Lambs

Bum Bot

Georgia man builds robot to chase away tramps; hunt for Sarah Connor.