Russia began Georgia aggression three years ago...

A trove of evidence strongly suggests that Russia was preparing the logistics for war well before August 7. As long as three years ago, diplomats, officials and analysts say, Moscow started waging a multi-pronged propaganda, military and economic campaign against its tiny neighbour as it moved hurriedly and provocatively into the Western sphere - and possibly even into NATO, Russia's Cold War nemesis, itself.

"The political decision was made in April," said Pavel Felgenhauer, a military analyst in Moscow. "It was final. Preparations were being in place for a year beforehand."

Propelled to power in 2004 after the so-called Rose Revolution, Mr Saakashvili immediately began to push his country headlong toward the West, purging the Soviet-era bureaucracy, liberalising the economy and cosying up to the US by sending 2000 troops to Iraq. Many observers say the Georgians, with the US in their corner, became overly confident of their capabilities.

"These are the most romantic people in the world. They're very gallant, in the stupid sense,"... "Do they really listen? They're very much the charge of the light brigade people. It has a lot to do with personal honour."

[snip] Russia also started issuing passports to residents of South Ossetia. In March, Moscow rejected sanctions on separatists in the breakaway Georgian republic of Abkhazia proposed by the Commonwealth of Independent States, a loose confederation of former Soviet republics. Instead, the Russian Parliament passed a resolution recognizing the demands of South Ossetian and Abkhaz separatists...

READ MORE