Georgia on our (troubled) mind.

• Author: Rogers, Harold E., Jr.
• Position: Worldview - Russian-Georgian conflict

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DURING AUGUST 2008, Georgia and Russia engaged in a brief shooting war over South Ossetia. Each country accused die other of igniting the conflict. Following pressure brought by the U.S., United Nations, and European Union, among others, the opposing parties withdrew their armed forces. Yet, much remains at stake here.

On Aug. 14, Secretary of Defense Robert Gates ruled out U.S. military intervention in Georgia, but warned, "If Russia does not step back from its aggressive posture and actions in Georgia, the U.S.-Russian relationship could be adversely affected for years to come." Gates noted that it appeared the Russians seized an opportunity to punish Georgia, not just for its actions in the enclaves, but for its pro-U.S. policies: "I think that the Russians' further message was to all of the parts of the former Soviet Union as a signal about trying to integrate with the West and move outside of the longtime Russian sphere of influence."

Pres. Dmitry Medvedev of Russia described his feelings in dealing with the Georgians: "This was one of the worst days of my life. I'll never forget that night. I was on vacation and was told about the invasion at one in the morning. I had several long telephone conversations with Pres. [George W.] Bush and described [Georgian Pres. Mikheil] Saakashvili as a man [Russia] will not do business with. He's an unpredictable, pathological, and mentally unstable drug abuser."

Saakashvili was elected to replace Eduard Shevardnadze. He was born Dec. 21, 1967, and took office Jan. 25, 2004. His wife is Dutch. He speaks fluent English, French, Russian, and Ukrainian. His mother is a historian and his father a doctor. He graduated from the International University in Kiev and received an LLM (Masters of Law) from Columbia University. He also studied at George Washington University and in Strasbourg and was employed by a New York City law firm. Saakashvili had worked for Shevardnadze as Minister of Justice, but quit in protest of corruption before forming his own party. He is quite pro-West and is seeking membership for his country in NATO. He has good relations with the U.S., but they are complicated by his volatile behavior. He is described as difficult to manage and is criticized for his risky moves that sometimes have caught the U.S. off-guard.

Ossetia has a population of about 100,000 and spans stretches of the Caucasus Mountains. The northern portion is part of Russia and the southern section historically has been part of Georgia. The Ossetians originally were descendent from the Alans, which, in turn, were related to Persians. They became Christians during the early Middle Ages. They fell under Mongol role and were pushed out of their homeland south of the Don River. Some of their group migrated over the Caucasus Mountains to Georgia, where they became what is now known as South Ossetians. The northern group were called North Ossetians and fell under Russian control in about 1767. Most Ossetians were Christian, but a significant chunk went Muslim. Modern South Ossetia was annexed to Russia in 1801, along with Georgia. Thereafter, there were a series of Ossetian rebellions during which various claims of independence were made.

At the time of the Communist revolution in 1917, the Menshevik Georgian government accused Ossetians of cooperating with the Bolsheviks. A Soviet Georgian government was established by the Red Army in 1921 and the South Ossetian Autonomous Oblast was created in April 1922. Under the rule of the Georgian government during Soviet times, Ossetia had some degree of autonomy, including speaking and teaching the Ossetian...