Regarding the Russo-Georgian war, I'm completely baffled and alarmed at the totally one-sided, pro-Georgian, anti-Russian attitude of the Bush Administration and many neocons, including McCain. I think it's a very simplistic, nearly comic book view of world affairs - Russkies bad, Georgians good; after all the former used to be commies and the latter helped us in Iraq. So they must be good guys.

The reality is that there are NO good guys in this conflict. Both nations are behaving like barbarians. The reckless Georgian leader launched a vicious attack against the South Ossetian population last week, shelling the major city and killing hundreds of civilians, and a dozen Russian peacekeepers too, and most of the people there fled north up into Russia for refuge. Many of them reported that Georgian soldiers burned their homes and laughed at them as they fled. Are these really the kind of people we want as allies along side us in NATO?!? McCain apparently thinks so. What's the big deal about a little ethnic cleansing as long as you're on our side in Iraq and you promise to support us in the future?

Of course, not to be outdone in achievements of sheer, inhumane brutality, Putin and the Russians predictably responded with a massive and disproportionate military counterattack and have killed hundreds of innocent Georgians, many of them in areas of Georgia outside the two separatist regions. They're acting like bullies and thugs towards a smaller, weaker country - no argument there.

You have to wonder, though, why in the first place the ethnic minorities in Georgia, who are neither Russian nor Georgian, feel so alienated and mistreated by the Georgian majority that they would rather break away and live under Russian rule. Perhaps the Georgians aren't quite as kind, pure and noble as Bush, McCain and the other rabidly anti-Russian rightwingers would lead us to believe?

It's also been reported that the Iraqis have a very low opinion of the Georgian soldiers - they're very disrespectful of the culture and abusive towards the people. Does that make you wonder too?