Writing in the Columbia Journalism Review, Joshua Foust, who also blogs on Central Asia at Registan.net, takes a look at the lobbying, PR, and information war going on between Russia and Georgia, and finds that Tbilisi is more or less winning the effort to shape the narrative in the English-language media.  Foust's point isn't so much whether or not it was Russia or Georgia at fault for the war, or who the bad guy is, but rather that we had better steel ourselves with a good dose of cynicism in the face of so much effort and money being thrown behind all the media influence trafficking by both parties.

Georgia has also intensified its campaign in the English-language Web--sites like GeorgiaUpdate.gov.ge exist to advance the Georgian government's point of view to a Western audience. The Georgian government has also

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TODAY: Georgia and Russia, one year on, guns quiet but war of words blazing: who started it?  Opposition says democracy far off; humanitarian issues remain; strike on Twitter linked to conflict.  Chavez military deal; Russia to calm Uzbekistan; launch radar.  Bloggers detained.'Differing narratives of the war persist': the New York Times looks back.  'There's even disagreement on what day marks the beginning of the five-day conflict'.  A 40-page report released by the Georgian government and a Russian Foreign Ministry statement highlight the different spins.  The Guardian outlines the arguments on both sides.  Georgia's Reintegration Ministry has defended the actions of President Mikheil Saakashvili in relation to the war, whilst the Georgian opposition brand the ministry's ...

Democratic Sen. John Kerry and Republican Congressman David Dreier have published a piece in the Washington Post arguing that one of the best ways for the United States to contribute to Georgia's security would be a free trade agreement.  Although Tbilisi, both its government and its protesters in the streets, would like prefer to receive anti-aircraft weaponry, the country could sure use some good news after this week.Geography cannot be denied; Georgia and Russia should eventually restore strong trade relations. Today's standoff hurts both nations. Even two years before the conflict last summer, Russia severed transportation links and blockaded Georgian exports of mineral water, fruits, vegetables and wine. It would be a positive step if Russia removed these restrictions. It is notable that despite the rising tensions before last summer's ...

Lindsey Graham and Joe Lieberman just got back from a trip to Georgia, and didn't hesitate more than a few moments to drop the K-bomb in describing the crisis there: Russia's invasion of Georgia represents the most serious challenge to this political order since Slobodan Milosevic unleashed the demons of ethnic nationalism in the Balkans. What is happening in Georgia today, therefore, is not simply a territorial dispute. It is a struggle about whether a new dividing line is drawn across Europe: between nations that are free to determine their own destinies, and nations that are consigned to the Kremlin's autocratic orbit. We happen to think that things are infinitely more complex than Putin = Milosevic, and that all separatism issues can only be considered in their respective independent political contexts. Furthermore, one would be hard pressed to find a country more critical of the international recognition of Kosovo's independence ...

TODAY: Medvedev is hawkish on further conflict; Russia has not withdrawn troops, closes Georgian border, begins exchanging prisoners; Red Cross barred from entering South Ossetia; youth movement coordinator charged for blog entries; PR war continues; US freezes Nato-Russia Council; concern over racial violence; Prokofiev. In a move that “appeared to be aimed at projecting an image of him as the politician calling the shots in Moscow,” President Dmitry Medvedev has announced that any power moving against Russian citizens would suffer “a shattering blow”. Despite a Russian announcement that a gradual withdrawal from Georgia was underway, Russian troops and tanks did not move out through the main military crossing point last night. Borders between the two have been partially closed by Russia, ostensibly to prevent it from being entered by “foreign terrorists”. It is thought that ...

Thanks to a lawyer colleague of mine, I have been put into contact via telephone with a high-ranking official from the Georgian government, who has shared some firsthand reports from the ground. The official reports that a contingent of the Russian armored division stationed in Gori has moved on to occupy the nearby town of Kaspi, leaving in its wake hundreds of robberies and looting of stores. This report is consistent with other news reports of the expanded occupation of new Georgian towns, accompanied by theft and looting - and in some cases forced labor, which is the first apparent evidence of humiliation or abuse. According to my source, the details of many of these robberies would lead one to believe there is a psychological motivation. After raiding a warehouse near Gori, he says, dozens of Russian soldiers ...

Reports of the parallel cyberwar being conducted against Georgia alongside the military onslaught is not news. We saw indications that organized groups of hackers using DOS (denial of service) attacks - which have previously been linked to the Russian government in the Estonia case - weeks before the invasion began, blocking the ability of the Georgian government to publish to their own websites. But what strikes me as interesting about the cyberwar is how self-defeating and damaging it is to the Russian position. If Moscow feels confident and legitimate in its military actions in Georgia, then why would it be necessary to engage in criminal activities to attack their counterpart? It in fact makes it more difficult for one to sympathize with the invasion and the greivances when it is cloaked in such unsavory sideshows. But perhaps I am ...

The New Republic has a rather acerbic but interesting interview with Charles Fairbanks, a senior fellow at the Hudson Institute and former deputy assistant secretary in the Department of State. We completely agree with him that the Bush administration's Iran obsession is really allowing the Russians to completely distort the balance of power in the relationship. How would you characterize the U.S. response to the crisis? Could the administration be doing more? This is a huge event. It really alters the international landscape, and the backgrounders that came out of the State Department talk as though it's just another little outbreak of instability in the third world. There's no realization that this is an event like the Soviet invasion of Afghanistan in 1979. The real test of the Bush administration's policy will come in the next months--whether there is any fundamental adjustment to totally new realities in our relationship with ...