Another Look at the August War December 9, 2008

Host: Hudson Institute. Four months after the war in Georgia, many questions still remain unanswered. The answer to “who started the war” depends on a large degree on whether one considers the “war” to have begun on August 6-8, or instead views it as part of a much longer period of heightened conflict from 2004 up until August 7. Given Russia’s continuing occupation of undisputed Georgian territory, as well as its unilateral recognition of South Ossetia and Abkhazia as “independent states,” questions about the tactics used in early August have become less important than the broader intentions of the Kremlin.

For some time the Russian official rhetoric has portrayed the US as “the enemy”. It may be that the Putin-Medvedev administration is moving in a “zero sum” direction instead of looking to achieve the “win-win” outcome favored in Washington. If this is the case, to what degree can the US cooperate with Russia on Iran and Afghanistan—and at what price? And what should the US do to promote and defend its strategic interests across Europe and Eurasia when they conflict with Russian interests?

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