Good thing Georgia is not a member of NATO.好事格鲁吉亚不是北约成员国。 If it was (a position the US advocated during the last NATO summit) then NATO would now have to respond to Russia’s actions at Georgia’s northern border.如果这是（美国的立场主张在过去的北约首脑会议） ，那么北约现在必须应对俄罗斯的行动，格鲁吉亚的北部边界。 Such action has the potential to result in World-War III, which would not be much fun for anyone.这种行动有可能导致世界第三次世界大战，这将不会对任何人都充满了乐趣。
Let’s look at things from the Russian point of view for a moment: The US is currently negotiating the construction of giant military bases in Poland and the Czech Republic.让我们来看看事情从俄罗斯的角度看一下：美国目前正在谈判的建造巨型军事基地在波兰和捷克共和国。 Ostensibly, these are missile-defense installations, but who can really say?表面上看，这些导弹防御设施，但谁真正能够说什么呢？ The US has encouraged Georgia to apply for NATO membership, has delivered weapons, military hardware and military training to Georgia’s troops.美国鼓励格鲁吉亚申请加入北约，已交付的武器，军事装备和军事训练格鲁吉亚军队。 Imagine tables were turned and Russia was building giant missile defense installations in Southern Mexico and Cuba, as well as delivering weapons and military expertise to Venezuela, say.试想表被拒绝和俄罗斯正在建立的导弹防御设施巨头墨西哥南部和古巴，并提供武器和军事专业知识，委内瑞拉，说。 You get the idea…你的想法...
Now it so happens that Georgia’s democratically elected president Saakashvili had calculated that if he sends a couple of thousand of his troops into South Ossetia, Russia will take this lying down and be unwilling or unable to respond.现在，凑巧的是格鲁吉亚的民选总统萨卡什维利曾计算，如果他发出了几千他的部队进入南奥塞梯，俄罗斯将借此躺下和不愿或不能作出回应。 But respond Russia did, maybe with “disproportionate” force (read “shock and awe”).但是，俄罗斯没有作出反应，可能与“过度”部队（读“震慑行动” ） 。
When politicians fail, civilians die.当政治家失败，平民死亡。 In the end, nobody will be accountable.最后，没有人会负责。 President Bush and Georgia’s President Saakashvili may be democratically elected, but that does not mean that they can not make big mistakes, such as this one that has cost many innocent lives.美国总统布什和格鲁吉亚总统萨卡什维利可能是民主选举产生的，但这并不意味着，他们无法使大的错误，像这样一个具有成本效益许多无辜的生命。 Georgia is now awash in a wave of Nationalist pride, no doubt encouraged by the same clueless leaders that bear responsibility for the loss of human life.格鲁吉亚现在充斥着民族主义浪潮的骄傲，无疑鼓舞的是，同样的一无所知领导人承担责任的生命损失。 Blind patriotism and nationalism does not ask many questions or hold leaders accountable.盲目的爱国主义和民族主义并不要求很多问题或持有领导人的责任。 Quite the opposite.恰恰相反。 Bad news all around with no winners in sight, except arms dealers.坏消息各地没有赢家的迹象，除了军火商。
Some recommended background info:有些建议的背景信息：
Lonely night in Georgia , Fred Kaplan in Slate. 孤独的夜晚在格鲁吉亚 ，弗雷德卡普兰在石板。
Taunting the Bear , James Traub in The New York Times. 嘲弄熊 ，詹姆斯特劳布在纽约时报上。
A Path to Peace in the Caucasus , Mikhail Gorbachev, in the Washington Post 阿通往和平的道路在高加索地区 ，前苏联领导人戈尔巴乔夫在华盛顿邮报
Putin’s war enablers: Bush and Cheney , Juan Cole in Salon 普京的战争手段：布什和切尼 ，胡安科尔在沙龙
Russian Strategic Nuclear Forces , Russian Blog, ie, the Russian view on the topic of US missile defense installations in eastern Europe. 俄罗斯战略核力量 ，俄罗斯的博客，即俄罗斯期的题目是美国的导弹防御设施在东欧。
