Russia tells West to 'forget' Georgian rule in enclaves.

So, Bush sends his troops to Georgia to deliver aid, but really he's sending them because he wants the Bill Kristols of the world to know that he's "doing something". However, his defence secretary has quickly made it clear that the US is not going to intervene militarily in Georgia.

Robert Gates, the defence secretary, said he saw no prospect of the US engaging militarily in the Caucasus conflict, but warned that Russia's invasion of Georgia could set back its relations with the west for years.

However, having encroached on Russia's backyard enough to cause the latest outbreak of violence, Bush has now pushed even further.

But the east-west climate, already chilly because of the Georgia conflict, plunged further last night when Washington and Warsaw put aside a year of dispute and agreed to station 10 interceptor rockets at missile silos in Poland as part of the US missile defence shield in the Baltic region.

As part of the deal, the Americans will reportedly supply Poland with Patriot missiles, build a permanent US military base in the country, and provide mutual security guarantees.

The deal will enrage Moscow, which is vehemently opposed to the US facilities in Poland and a radar station in the neighbouring Czech Republic.

While the Americans say the shield is aimed at Iran, the Russians insist it is directed at them. Moscow has pledged to retaliate and has warned of a new arms race.

And they said putting an idiot in charge of the US wouldn't matter as he would be surrounded by good advisers? Bush seems intent on pushing against Russia and, what's worse, is that he doesn't appear to have any kind of plan. He just seems determined not to lose face.

The Russians, however, are making it very clear that what happens from now on in the Caucasus' is none of America's business.

Russia positioned itself yesterday as the unequivocal victor in its brief war with Georgia, with its Foreign Minister stating that the world could "forget about" Georgian control of two separatist enclaves.

Speaking after President George Bush insisted on the respect of Georgian territorial integrity, Sergei Lavrov, Russia's Foreign Minister, rejected any such talk. President Dmitry Medvedev drove home the message by meeting in the Kremlin with the two separatist leaders of Abkhazia and South Ossetia.

Despite the presence of American troops, or perhaps because of it, the Russians are lazily making their way out of Georgia destroying Georgian military hardware as they go.

As Russian troops slowly withdrew from deep inside the former Soviet republic, there were reports that they were destroying airfields and military installations as they went, further crippling the Georgian army, which, despite its US training, has been battered and demoralised.

As Georgian troops moved out of Tbilisi back towards Gori, which they had abandoned on Tuesday, the Russian army said it would take at least two days to leave the city, having earlier denied being there at all. Russian troops also destroyed military vessels in Georgia's Black Sea port of Poti. The aim, said analysts, was to prevent Georgia from renewing military hostilities in its breakaway territories of South Ossetia and Abkhazia in the medium-term future.

Bush's big gamble regarding Georgia has failed. And he is left handing out soup and sandwiches whilst the Russians make their exit, destroying Georgian military hardware as they leave.

The future of South Ossetia and Abkhazia remains hazy, but from the noises being made by both the US and the Russians, Russia is prepared to fight for them and the US is not.

Georgia, whether encouraged by the US or not, has made it's big push to reclaim control of South Ossetia; the end result appears to be that it has lost both South Ossetia and Abkhazia. Bush can send as many soldiers as he wants to hand out sandwiches, but it won't change the facts on the ground. The victor here is Putin.

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Why was it so difficult for outsiders to believe that Moscow wanted precisely what its leaders said they wanted: a return to the situation that had pertained before Georgia's incursion into South Ossetia – and does it matter that its intentions were so appallingly misread? Yes it does. If outsiders impute to Moscow motives and objectives it does not have, they alienate Russia even further, and make a long-term solution of many international problems that more difficult. It is high time we treated Russia's post-Soviet leaders as responsible adults representing a legitimate national interest, rather than assuming the stereotypical worst.

That's my problem with McCain's stance on this. It's cold war nonsense and it should be considered long out of date.

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Tags: Georgia, South Ossetia, US, Russia, Putin, Bush, Cheney