An Innocent Russia? A Not-So-Innocent Georgia?

From Becky Bonarek: After months of international outcry on behalf of the tiny country of Georgia, could the majority of the international community be wrong? An independent examination of both Russia's and Georgia's motives for the aggression has recently surfaced shedding a bit more (if not conclusive) light onto the subject. Monitors from the Organization for Security and Cooperation in Europe (O.S.C.E.) have reported that before the Russian invasion, Georgia shelled the capital of seperatist South Ossetia, Tskhinvali, "with indiscriminate artillery and rocket fire" which targeted both the military and civilians. Within the first hour, 48 rounds of ammunition fell in civilian areas. The president of Georgia, Mikheil Saakashvili, who has compared the Kremlin's invasion to the Nazis' aggression in 1938, justifies the attack by saying that it would bring order to the region, stop the Russian's own shelling of Ossetia, or counter a Russian invasion-- he routinely chose from those three. Just goes to show that there are two sides to every story, and perhaps the United States was a bit quick to jump on the anti-Russia bandwagon. That being said, Russia clearly overreacted: invading the country was not a proportional response. But the area being as unstable as it is, world leaders need to take all information from the region with a grain of salt.