A delicate moment

Bhadrakumar has an interesting take on the Georgian affair, that the provocation of a Russian reaction there was a calculated move to bring Georgia into NATO.

I'm not sure that he's right, but certainly today's announcement that the US is sending 'humanitarian' aid to Georgia via the US military seems to indicate that the US is going to establish a military presence in Georgia, with or without NATO alongside.

And whether or not this announcement has caused the Russians to move into Gori is just a guess. But Bush is sending troops, planes and ships to Georgia, and that is a huge escalation. A Russian response is sure to follow, and the situation is getting riskier by the moment.