Russia Invades South Ossetia

Part of Russian Grand Strategy to Reassert Control of Former Soviet Territory

Russian troops have invaded the breakaway Georgian region of South Ossetia apparently with the goal of expelling Georgia troops that have been attempting to defeat secessionist rebels and bring the region back under Georgian control.

The Russian invasion, which includes 150 tanks and other armored vehicles, is apparently in response to a Georgian offensive directed toward the South Ossetia capital. The invasion has come in the wake of claims and counter claims of ethnic cleansing by Georgian forces, support of the Ossetian rebels by Russia, and even bombing of Georgian territory by Russian jet fighter bombers.

President George W. Bush and Russian President Vladimir Putin are said to be in consultation in Beijing concerning the Russian invasion. It is unclear what if any action the United States will take, aside from diplomatic pleas to resolve the crisis peacefully.

Georgia is a small republic located in the Caucuses that used to be a part of the Soviet Union, but achieved independence upon the fall of the Soviet Empire in the early 1990s. South Ossetia, a Georgian province with its own distinctive ethnic minority, broke away from Georgia soon after and has been running its own affairs with the support of Russia, albeit without official recognition from the international community.

Complicating matters is the fact that Georgia is a potential member of NATO. If Georgia were to join NATO, Russian aggression against Georgia would be considered aggression against all NATO states, including the United States.

Russia and Georgia has had a troubled history, to say the least. Georgia was annexed by Russia in 1801 by the armies of the Tsar. Georgia was again invaded by Red Army troops and annexed by the nascent Soviet Union in the early 1920s.