The Pentagon has begun a “vigorous and ongoing” humanitarian mission to ease the suffering in Georgia, sending military planes to the region with medical supplies.

Mr. Bush said that a transport plane with medical supplies was already on its way to Georgia, and that American air and naval forces would carry out the aid mission. And he said pointedly that Russia must not interfere with aid arriving in Georgia by air, land or water…

However, minutes after Mr. Bush’s comments, President Mikheil Saakashvili of Georgia characterized the import of the American aid as “definitely an American military presence” and called it a “turning point.”…

“What I expected specifically from America was to secure our airport and to secure our seaports,” he went on, concluding that the American presence would do so. “The main thing now is that the Georgian Tbilisi airport will be permanently under control.”

Saakashvili’s characterization of this as a military presence is something which the Pentagon has denied, however it quite obvious as to why he would make such a statement. The presence of U.S. troops in Georgia would act as a “trip wire” as Ace called it, basically drawing a line in the sand that Russians dare not cross for fear of provoking a much greater conflict.

The problem with drawing a line in the sand however, is that you run the risk of the other party crossing it. At that point you have two options, draw another line, or take action. When asked earlier in the week wether I believed the United States would get involved in this conflict, I confidently stated that although we may offer humanitarian aid, we would not be involved militarily. I was operating under the false hope that the United Nations would send peace keepers to Georgia, and work with Russia to end the conflict.

As of this point it does not appear that is going to happen, as the United Nations once again reminds the world their existence is utterly useless. It is now up to the United States to make a decision, to what extent are we willing to help Georgia? While military action would be used only as a last resort, Bush did warn Russia not to interfere with aid arriving in Georgia, and his words seem somewhat tame compared to those of Condoleezza Rice.

This is not 1968 and the invasion of Czechoslovakia where Russia can threaten a neighbor, occupy a capital, overthrow a government and get away with it,” Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice said. “Things have changed.”

It seems the more things change, the more they stay the same however. HotAir is reporting that Putin is just taunting them now:

“Come with us, beauty, we’re going to Tbilisi!” one of the soldiers bellowed at a photographer in a sleeveless shirt along the road. Other troops grinned and brandished their weapons, and one hung his bare feet out the back of a truck. Another, a machine gunner riding atop an armored vehicle, wore a bandanna and a black T-shirt with the word “Russia” emblazoned in the red, blue and white colors of the national flag.

Asked from the side of the road, the soldiers shouted that their destination was Tbilisi — “With no detours,” one said. But then they veered abruptly into a field about an hour’s drive from the capital and camped conspicuously within sight of the road before the sun went down.

The message was hard to miss: The Russian military is still the landlord in swaths of Georgia, and its forces remain in easy striking distance of the country’s capital.

Condi’s statement leaves me with the impression that if Russia were to try and enter the capital, the United States would get involved militarily. Obviously this is not an outcome that either side wants. While Russia would have no qualms in fighting the miniscule Georgian army, they certainly do not wish to see American forces on the other side of the battle field. At the same time, the United States certainly does not want to have an armed conflict with Russia who not only has a large ground force already in place, but a nuclear arsenal as well.

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Features, Politics, President Bush