This is so only if the West’s proper mission is a high-stakes, long-odds game for global empire. If the West were content merely to remain the West, then, far from being hard to overstate Georgia’s importance to the West, it would be hard to perceive Georgia’s importance to the West.

One wishes the people of the nation of Georgia well, but it would be nice if The Economist would stop hyperventilating. The U.S would strike a far heavier, less costly, less risky blow for the Western cause merely by securing her own southern border. In the meantime, in Pat Buchanan’s wise words, we could improve our strategic position markedly in the region by “getting out of Russia’s face.”

Did any of The Economist’s editors actually serve in British or American military uniform during the Cold War; or, dreaming of James Bond, do they just pine for the vicarious thrill of Cold War at someone else’s expense? Don’t they get it? That Russia is no longer our foe is the answer to our earnest prayers, not a reason to prod the old Russian bear with a sharp diplomatic stick.

Howard