Putin's Gold-Medal War

There are several lessons of the “Olympics War,” otherwise known as Russia’s invasion of Georgia. One is that Vladimir Putin remains very much in charge in Moscow, and another is that the West - Europe and America - are unprepared to do anything to stop him.

LONDON – What does the “Olympics War,” otherwise known as Russia’s invasion of Georgia, really mean? The war itself was, of course, predicable and predicted. Its results are equally clear.

First, Prime Minister Vladimir Putin remains in unambiguous charge in Moscow. He may play a “good cop-bad cop” routine with President Dmitri Medvedev. But the bad cop, Putin, is the real boss.

Second, Putin cannot stand Georgian President Mikheil Saakashvili, who admittedly is not an easy man to like. The Russian thought the Georgian had become too big for his boots. He waited for Saakashvili to go a step too far, and then came down on him and his poor country like a ton of bricks.

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