Dialing W Back A Bit...

Gates adds a dose of reality to the White House - both President Bush and his boss Dick Cheney's tough-talk interpretation of the situation.

• It was hard to miss the contrast between President Bush's tough talk on Wednesday over Russia's intervention in Georgia, and the reality check offered by Defense Secretary Robert Gates a day later. While Bush promised that the U.S. military would rush relief supplies to Georgia and warned the Russians that Washington expected them to retreat from Georgian territory, Gates was careful to make clear that the U.S. has no desire to get involved in the fight between the Russian bully and its Georgian victim. "I don't see any prospect for the use of military force by the United States in this situation," Gates told reporters Thursday. "Is that clear enough?"

There is no real chance of US military intervention. We can do little to stop the fact that Russia will have huge influence over the flow of energy (oil/gas) flowing from the east to the west. Let's not waste time on a "who lost China" bickering approach. We have to become better at playing the cards we are dealt and less interested in bitching about how we deserve better cards. Like getting Poland to play along:

• Aug. 14 (Bloomberg) -- The U.S. and Poland signed a preliminary accord today that will allow for 10 U.S. interceptor missiles to be based in the eastern European country, completing a defense system that Russia opposes.

Changes nothing on the ground in the contested territories, but it's about the best card we have to play.
- posted by john @ 9:20 PM