Del Liberal has a thread going where some of the commenters seemed to be laboring under the misconception that Russia started aggression on Georgian soil. Not so, says this comment from some brilliant (and good-looking) commenter:
I think that some people are forgetting that Georgia started the aggression on the 8th by moving troops and armor into areas controlled by S. Ossetia. Wait, but isn’t S. Ossetia part o Georgia?
No, not really. South Ossetia declared themselves a sovereign Soviet Democratic Republic in 1990 and even held their own elections. The Georgian government didn’t allow the secession and declared S. Ossetia’s elections invalid.
After more violence in 1992 between Georgia and S. Ossetian separatists escalated, a cease fire was declared with the separatists retaining control of some areas and the separatists others.
A peacekeeping force of S. Ossetian, Russian and Georgian forces has been present in the region, but Georgia escalated their presence on the 8th to clear the area of separatists. It was this that caused Russia to move troops into S. Ossetia. It must be kept in mind that the majority of S. Ossetians are in favor of separation and identify more with Russia, using Russian as a primary language and Russian currency. If not for Georgia’s denial, there would be no conflict.
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