This piece is one of the most deceptive I have seen, for coverage of the disaster in Georgia. Russia did not attack Georgia in order to discourage construction of further oil (or gas) pipelines. The Bush administration's foolish effort to build a useless ABM system in the Czech Republic and Poland was anything but a "high priority" apart from the neocons and the armaments manufacturers that would be involved (including their lobbyists and lawyers, etc.). Russia had made it more than clear that Georgian admission to NATO was not acceptable. Randy Scheunemann, John McCain's national security adviser, has a long career based on enlarging NATO by including former parts of the USSR, and former satellites. Scheunemann and McCain ... More »

Excellent report on the cease-fire between Russia and Georgia, with good factual evidence from multiple sources. I'm particularly impressed by the helpful context and analysis provided in the article, which is unusual for this type of breaking news report. The reporters present not only the facts on the ground, but also the deeper implications for both U.S. and European foreign policy. Great teamwork from the Wall Street Journal, who managed to both inform us and enlighten us in a very short amount of time.

Hitting on key issues of NATO expansion, Oil and Gas access, and Bush's "freedom agenda", this piece does a good job of showing the breadth of impact this recent conflict could have.

The problem is that the reporters NEVER deal with the questions of who actually started the conflict. Most sources have indicated that Georgia itself started the hostilities against South Ossetia that prompted the Russians to carry out their military action. The lack of attention to this basic question, there fore, calls into question the objectivity of the WSJ--which is usually more thorough in its reporting--and therefore suggests a Western/American bias to the otherwise thorough piece with plenty of background.

A very comprehensive overview that covers both the geopolitical and economic aspects of the crisis. Amazing that Russia has so quickly achieved a major shift, which is already affecting the expansion of NATO, the construction of new oil and gas pipelines through Georgia, and global perceptions of Russian strength in general. Clearly Saakashvili overplayed his hand, and by extension so did the United States; realizing this, Russia acted quickly to press its advantage. The opening salvo of a fine chess game that will likely continue for decades. If one were called on to recommend a single article, it would be hard to beat this one.