How the West's Mistakes Stoked War in Georgia

Diplomatic laziness increased the likelihood of conflict

By Nick McMaster

Posted Aug 13, 2008 6:15 PM CDT

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How the West's Mistakes Stoked War in Georgia — A Georgian woman with a child wait for transportation after fleeing Gori, Georgia northwest of capital Tbilisi, Wednesday, Aug. 13, 2008. (AP Photo/Darko Bandic)

With the conflict between Georgia and Russia cooling and a truce in progress, it’s time for the West to appreciate its role in the conflict, writes Ronald D. Asmus for the New Republic.

From the early '90s, the West accepted the Russians as peacekeepers in the secession dispute. While Boris Yeltsin might have had a credible claim to neutrality, not so Putin, who blatantly favored the separatists.

Western support for Kosovo independence provoked the Russians to retaliate in Georgia, using our own arguments as justification.
In March, NATO shied away from extending its umbrella to Georgia, opting for vague assurances of future membership. Would Russia have attacked a full-fledged NATO member?

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