For the first time since the Soviets pulled out of Afghanistan in 1989, Russian tanks are on foreign soil. Claiming to be on a “peace enforcement” mission, Russian forces have bombed, blockaded and invaded Georgia with the stated purpose of halting the hostilities that have broken out between the Georgian central government and the pseudo-autonomous province of South Ossetia.

Russia stepped up its attacks early Monday, however, even after the Georgian government announced it had withdrawn its troops from South Ossetia and offered Russia a ceasefire. Georgia said Russian warplanes bombed a military base and radar installation near its capital, Tbilisi, and that up to 50 Russian fighter jets attacked the country overnight. Yesterday, Russian troops and tanks took control of Tskhinvali, South Ossetia’s capital, after a three-day battle.

Contrary to the Kremlin’s propaganda, Russia is evidently not on a mission to keep the peace. Stratfor explains that “Georgia is an extremely pro-American and pro-Western state and represents the easternmost foothold of American/Western power. It has also been in the Russian orbit for the bulk of the past 300 years. As such, it is the hottest flashpoint in Western-Russian relations” (August 8).

Georgia is located at the crossroads between Europe, Russia and the Middle East. It is also the site of a planned oil/natural gas pipeline that will connect the oil reserves of the Black and Caspian seas to Europe in such a way as to bypass Russia. Since the Kremlin wants to keep Europe dependent upon Russian oil and wants to keep Georgia out of the European sphere of influence, it is acting to keep the Caucasus under its control. In essence, Russia is doing to Europe what Europe did to Russia in the Yugoslav wars.

The timing of Russia’s invasion is also revealing. It coincided with the start of the Olympics, when much of the world’s attention is on Beijing. August is also when many European officials are on vacation. And with much of America’s forces preoccupied in Iraq and Afghanistan, the West is not capable of defending its ally in any meaningful way. “Therefore, this is Russia’s chance to redefine the boundaries of the region,” Stratfor wrote. “Tactically, we must watch carefully to see where the Russians halt their advance—and be watchful for the possibility that they push on to Tbilisi” (ibid.).

Besides undermining America’s influence in the region, you can be sure that Europe is quite concerned about Russia’s power grab. This aggression from one of the “kings of the east” will only intensify Europe’s efforts to consolidate its power in order to counter the threat from the Russian bear. For more, see our articles “Russia: Triggering Europe to Unite” and “Russia’s Balkans.”