Everyone seems to have an opinion on the Russia-Georgia conflict and what our involvement, if any, should be.  I see a large amount of people wondering why we would risk a military conflict with Russia for a seemingly insignificant little country called Georgia.  I see some even suggest that America is provoking or antagonizing Russia with the missile defense program and of course there are those who blame Bush for it all.  This conflict is alot more serious than some people seem to think and how we respond will have direct consequences to our National Security for years to come. 

Since the Berlin Wall came down we let our guard down and congratulated ourselves for a job well done, as we did after "Charlie Wilsons" war in Afghanistan.  "Winning" the conflict is only half the goal, the rest involves reconstruction and inclusion.  When Yeltsin was President he took agressive measures to protect the fledgling Democracy in Russia (remember the tanks firing on Soviet loyalists held up in a capital building? ).  It was this time, when Yeltsin was President and Russia was going through a sudden and rough transition from communism to a democratic free market (foreign concepts to them) that America and the world should have reached out more and made a stronger effort to include Russia as part of the west.  Social, economic and military integration should have been at the top of everyones agenda, but it wasn't.  Clinton was President by this point.  Russia struggled and Putin was elected to office.

People want to blame Bush, yet their blame should be put squarely on Putin.  This ex-KGB agent had always had plans to restore Russias former Soviet glory and domination.  I was just a teenager when he was elected and even then I knew there was something not right about him.  This man was ex-KGB for Gods sake and most likely has the blood of many on his hands.  One of the first moves he made while President was to bring back the original Soviet National Anthem.  He claimed it had nothing to do with returning to the past, just that it was a better and more inspiring anthem than their new one.  Most in the west agreed and gave him a pass, something they would continuously do as he jailed dissidents, oil tycoons so he could nationalize oil, stripped provincial governors of their power and turned the media into his personal propaganda machine.  His air force has buzzed our pilots in the skies, he has sold weapons to our enemies such as Iran and has been accused publicly before the world by Ukraine President Yushchenko and ex Russian Spy Alexander Litvinenko of poisoning them as part of an assasination plot.  In Yushchenkos case, Putin failed, but Litvinenko died a slow painful death at the age of 41, all because he was a Putin critic.  This man is a mosnter, yet many want to blame George W Bush?  The only fault of Bush when it comes to Russia is that he was too soft on Putin.  Once Putin was able to tap those oil and gas reserves, he was able to buy off the support of his people and bring Europe to their knees.

The missile defense program is a must.  Clinton and Bush supported the program.  It was started in 1996 by Clinton as a matter of fact, a working version of Reagans "Star Wars" system.  Russia could have joined in if they wanted to be our ally.  It is not antagonistic unless Russia has future plans of bombing and invading.  It is a missile defense program, meant to protect vulnerable allies from aggression.  The only reason why Putin has a problem with the program is because it strengthens the ex-soviet border nations who he feels should still be under Russian influence and dominance.  France is offered missile defense as are all of our NATO allies but Poland (who we just signed an agreement with) is in direct danger since they are located right by Russia.  Poland is our ally, they are a democracy and they should be protected.  As should Ukraine and all other friendly ex-Soviet states.  This is not antagonizing Russia as critics say, it protecting those vulnerable.  Putin is making his intentions of restoring Russian dominance in the region clearer and clearer every day and he has had these plans since day one.  As for the systems effectiveness, recent tests have shown it to be very effective.

We have every reason to defend Georgia.  For one, it proves that we will stand up for our democratic ally under a Russian threat.  It will send a message to all the other ex-soviet countries friendly to America that there is hope and to keep their democracies running.  The return of the Russian empire will not be tolerated.  Also, Russia not only wants to dominate Georgia because they don't respect their sovereignty but also because they want control of that pipeline.  This U.S. backed oil pipeline is incredibly important and singlehandedly allows the West to reduce its reliance on oil from the Middle East and bypass both Russia and Iran.  People need to understand how strategic both Georgia and that Pipeline are.  Russia wants that pipeline, Russia is friendly with Iran, we are already dependent enough on foreign oil, why on EARTH would America allow Russia to take control of this pipeline? 

The Caspian Sea has the worlds third largest oil reserves, this is what the pipeline draws from and this is what Russia wants.  It goes beyond just "irritating" Russia as many suggest, this is National Security we're talking about.  We don't need to buy gas from Russia, we have the largest Natural gas shale reserves in the world right here in America, so we can operate independent of Russia and help free Europe from dependence on Russian oil and gas as well.  So this is the strategy.  Do people recognize how vital an ally Georgia is to us and our future?