My understanding of the war in South Ossetia, simplified
It’s all about independence. Imagine if in 1861, the Confederacy said, “Yo, Union: we’re out.” And the Union said, “Like hell you are. It’s on now.” Then, a couple weeks later, England says, “Union, you want to fight them, you’re fighting us also. The Confederacy is still our people.” So then the British military comes over, starts kicking ass in the South and the Union withdraws. Then the British invade the Union and keep kicking ass.
So:
Georgia = Union
South Ossetia = Confederacy (please suspend disbelief and ignore the negative connotations here. I don’t believe there are any slaves in South Ossetia. This is an imperfect metaphor.)
Russia = England
The major differences:
The population of Russia is 141 million.
The population of Georgia is 4.6 million.
The population of South Ossetia is approximately 70,000. (This is approximately the population of Park Slope.)
The population of England was 29 million (including Ireland).
The population of the Union was approximately 22 million.
The population of the Confederacy was 9.1 million, but only 5.4 million white.
So the biggest difference here is that Russia (+ South Ossetia) has a 30:1 population advantage over Georgia whereas if England had intervened in the Civil War, England + Confederacy would only have been 1.6:1 population advantage over the Union. This is why Georgia is pleading with the West for help.
