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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As the first anniversary of the Russia-Georgia war approaches, we can expect a heavy volley of accusations, finger pointing, and acerbic opinion articles regurgitating mostly information we are already familiar with.  My guess is that if you have been following all of this, you probably already have your mind made up ... which means most people are just waiting for the "I told you so" bragging rights.Much of this will be wrapped up in the conclusions of the EU fact finding report headed up by Uwe Schramm.  Back when we blogged about the early leaked version of the report, which pointed some blame toward Georgia, a rare but heated exchange took over our usually sparse comment board.  ...

This week Vice President Joseph Biden is visiting Georgia, and in honor of being graced with his first high ranking visitor in quite a long time, President Mikheil Saakashvili has released an early copy of his speech to the Wall Street Journal, in which he intends to a new power-sharing agreement and an offer to make elections "more democratic."  Things in Georgia have been drifting in the wrong direction for quite a long time now since the ravages of the Russian invasion, with the Saakashvili administration firing some of the best and brightest individuals in the government, and grinding down the stable of advisers and ministers to only the most incompetant and blindly loyal.  The opposition, which is split between ...

From Cathy Young in the Wall Street Journal:

Given all this, a war seems unlikely. What's more probable is that Russia will seek to destabilize Georgia without military action. This saber-rattling may be meant to boost Georgian opposition to Mr. Saakashvili.

Still, Moscow's actions are not always rational. If the pro-war faction believes that the Western response to an assault on Georgia would be weak and half-hearted, it could be emboldened. In a June 25 column on the EJ.ru Web site, Russian journalist Yulia Latynina writes that the probability of the war "depends solely on the Kremlin's capacity to convince itself that it can convince the world that the war is its enemies' fault."

That is why it's essential for the United States and the EU to respond now -- by increasing their non-military presence in Georgia, expressing a strong commitment to Georgian sovereignty, and reminding Russia of the consequences of aggression. Such a

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TODAY: Georgia, energy and human rights on the agenda for a tense EU-Russia summit; US-Russia arms talks conclude positively; Kremlin insistent on US missile defense issue; will US soldiers in Poland provoke friction?; revered actor Oleg Yankovsky diesA handful of issues await delegates at the EU-Russia summit; RFE/RL focuses upon the potential sources of disagreement and the despondency of Brussels diplomats regarding all matters Russian.  A Moscow Times commentator looks at the advantages for Russia becoming closer to the EU, and the main divisive points between them, with 'energy and human rights at the top of the list'.  EU foreign policy chief Javier Solana has said that despite the tensions, the EU would like to have a policy of 'dialogue and engagement' with ...

I just caught this post over at Heritage about the back-and-forth over NATO exercises in Georgia.  It seems that the opposition protests which have seized the capital have provided a nice cover for the Russians to begin making some movements.

Leading Russian officials are loudly protesting the forthcoming NATO staff exercise in Georgia. The exercises do not involve any armed troops and are essentially a crisis management drill. Yet, as the Bard said, "the lady doth protest too much."

Since March 25, the Russian Federation has significantly increased its military presence in the occupied Georgian territories of Abkhazia and South Ossetia. Moscow built up its forces, Georgia officials say, particularly in the areas adjacent to the troop separation lines in Abkhazia and Tskhinvali region. (...)

President Saakashvili stated in an interview on April 11 that Russia has 5,000 troops stationed in each of the breakaway regions. Saakashvili also went

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This is an excerpt from an interview with the French Mid-East scholar Gilles Kepel: Q. What is your advice for the next president of the United States? A. After Iraq, it is clear that American military might is no longer a sufficient gateway to power. America has to work with its allies. That is one of the great lessons of a post-neocon world. A few years ago, Condoleezza Rice said that in the Middle East, the Americans will do the cooking and the Europeans can do the dishes. Can you imagine the national shame for the French, who are so keen on gastronomy, to have America — the nation of McDonald's — insist that they will do the cooking? That was hard to swallow. But in all seriousness, Europe needs to get back in the kitchen. America ...

For some – war, for some – mother is dear (Russian saying) Grigory Pasko, journalist This sure was a strange war. It was clear right from the start that nobody – besides several politicians – needed it. Several politicians – that would be Saakashvili, Putin, and Medvedev. By the way, the last of these no doubt also did not take part in all the decisions: senior comrade Putin simply ordered him to say this, to behave himself like that and no other way. Saakashvili was pursuing a goal: to attract the attention of the world public to a region of republics not recognized by anyone – South Ossetia and Abkhazia. Formally, they are counted in the composition of Georgia, in practice – they are protectorates of Russia. In South Ossetia even the leadership of the republic – is all Russian. The ...