Norway: Russia to freeze NATO military ties

You are correct this type of action preceeds war.

Now the idiots of this country will vote for the experienced McCain who "won" 2 wars and we can all be dragged into WWIII. McCain will make this thing much worse... Russia might be testing the other powers but the best way is to keep talking and not go on attack mode... the sad thing is McCain will start talking about this to win the election.

Yeah this should be interesting...If the flock is to McCain in reguards to this development one has to wonder what we learned from the last 8 Bush years.

Like they say: "Repeating the same thing, while expecting a different result is the definition of insanity."

I wonder if people's reaction would be different if it was the United States Russia was bombing

A neocon's nocturnal emission. Bring it on!

McCain is just another idiot. And Russia is doing what any one else will do in this situation,why keep any tights with the U.S. and NATO when they want to sanction you for defending your allies.( excessive force B.S. in War there is not such thing.)

Why is this not a bigger story. Russia is trying to recreate the Iron Curtain (if not slowly) and control the energy for the entire region. And now they are breaking ties with NATO!!!!!

NOT GOOD.
Read the book Privateers by Ben Bova- this situation is EXTREMELY similar to how Russia is viewed in that SF book.

After reading this im thinking about selling my house and spending the money on a bunker !!
THIS IS NOT GOOD!!!

Russia has already set out ships moving missiles closer and bush signed a deal with poland for "defense missiles" ...I have a feeling we are going to be in a world of sh^& !

It looks like the "evil empire" is returning! I agree with McCain that Putin's eyes have KGB imprinted in large letters.
Why can't we have peace in this world? More women need to be in power.

Think McCain's Cold War rhetoric & Rice not going to Moscow helped the situation ?? I don't

I am a reasonable, peace-loving person who firmly believes in diplomatic solutions. The Georgian attack on South Ossetia was a stupid, regrettable mistake, but the present situation is no longer so much about Georgia as it is about how the West will deal with the Russians, and I am losing faith in the possibility of effective diplomacy. Here is another negative sign, but WE MUST KEEP TALKING WITH EACH OTHER!

The Russians believe that they can act with impunity to annex land, destroy a country's infrastructure, military forces and economy, steal its property, take prisoners, intimidate and weaken its people, and undermine its freely elected government. And in South Ossetia, ethnic Georgians' homes are burned out and then demolished by bulldozers, preventing the rightful owners from ever returning. Most of this has happened after Russia signed an international cease-fire agreement with the proviso that they leave Georgia. (They even stole some of the USA's property: four Humvees that they refuse to return, calling them "trophies.") There is no reason to trust anything that President Medvedev says.

And now what does the West do? NATO emerges as a paper tiger, pushed by the USA to do respond at all apart from expressions of anger and disappointment. The EU's greatest concern is having Russian natural gas for the winter. The USA struggles to gain a strong, unified front against Russian aggression, with little to show for it, and too stretched and weak itself to do anything more. The West sits by, wringing its hands, making gestures.

Isn't it interesting that the countries that had been under Soviet control are the ones calling for a hard-line European response? Interesting that their leaders should stand together in Tblisi? Shouldn't this tell us something about how to deal with Putin and the former KGB elites running Russia? The people of former Soviet vassal states are fearful, and they have every reason to be.

The lessons of history seem clear, and history tells us that the Russians understand only strength and power. Weakness invites their further aggression, and the West is being weak. It said nothing when Chechnya was destroyed, but that was an "internal conflict," wasn't it? Where will the hammer fall next -- Ukraine? Poland? And what will the West do then?

The Russian are out to prove themselves again. The West -- particularly the USA -- squandered its opportunities during the 1990s to establish genuine, important, solid bonds of partnership that might have averted the premises of the current conflict. Instead of working toward a strong friendship, there was ambivalence, a poor approach to a nation with such a strong sense of pride and place in the world.

Our only hope to avoid an escalation of the present conflict is in continuing to communicate. Otherwise, very sadly and tragically, Gen. Patton's assessment of the future of relations between the West and Russia will be proven correct.

Finally, on the US presidential election front, it's an interesting coincidence that Charlie Black of McCain's campaign famously said that a good war would be the best thing for his candidate, that McCain's chief foreign policy adviser has been a paid lobbyist for Georgia, that Georgia stupidly attacked South Ossetia, and that McCain spoke out against Russia even before the President. I am not going to call it a conspiracy; I'm just calling it an interesting -- and providential, for McCain -- coincidence.

War with Russia is simply not a (civilized) option.

The scale of the forces that caused the first two world wars and the motions that are being played out presently are not even comparable. In fact, I have a hard time not siding with Russia on the whole Georgia thing.

The only way this could escalate into a truly epic incident is if we were stupid enough to elect a cowboy as president... oh shi....

It looks like Russia's "evil empire" is returning! I agree with McCain that Putin's eyes have KGB imprinted on them.
Why can't there be peace in this world?

i have to say that I SUPPORT Russia on this one. The Georgians started this mess with their heads full that with america in their corner they could do as they please. They guessed wrong! I really luv how we accuse Russia of actions that we our ourselves committed- our invasion of IRAQ! We are carving up the World in the so-called name of Democracy and/or in the name of War on Terror then we tell the World that we wil leave IRAQ when conditions on the grounds dictate that we can leave despite what the govt of IRAQ wants. Well now russia states that it too will leave when conditions on the ground dictate that it is safe for them to do so and they are carving up the world in their image! We wave our finger at them and threaten them as if we can really do anything about it- like what? Go to war with them - with what Army? We are tied up in IRAQ/Afghanistan. U go Russia!

According to Bush, He looked into Putins eyes and saw an honest, honorable, intelligent man... WHATS UP?? Is Bush and God wrong on this one?? Maybe Bush and God were wrong on the Iraq war!!
Something stinks somewhere over this timely invasion so close to Election Time- I hope our CIA and FBI have turned their investigations INWARD to the Presidency to look at what may have really precipitated this action so close to election time...

And the Georgian President was crying "promises made and promises not kept" - guess he learned how it feels to be used as a puppet!

Good for Russia to basically telling NATO TO go to hel...

What I see here is people just can't exist together, everyone has something negative to say about the other and no matter what when the missiles fly we are all dead, no more who's wrong or who's right, just a Lot of dead people that thought the other was wrong, this is for all the marbles no playing around, no more talking just a lot of big bangs, then everyone is not going to give a damn who was right or wrong but seeking cover which will not help, how many missiles will be lunched, it takes quite a while for the first missiles to strike their target, so how many do you all think will be lunched, people need to get a grip on reality it does not matter who's right or wrong because it will all end very soon if people can't see the final outcome, we should be trying to seek a peaceful resolution here so our governments are not trying to do what they perceive their people want, because if the decision was left to the people here we would be at war already..............

Hello:
This is just like what happened during the Cold War. America could have missile batteries, NUCLEAR, in Turkey and the rest of Europe; but the USSR couldn't put a single missile in Cuba. This is advantage taking on the part of America. It seems that America is allowed to do what is wrong, Hiroshima and Nagasaki, and get away with it. Take the stupid missiles out of Poland and the rest of Europe wherever they are or plan to be.

Let the games begin, Russia will not do this and we won't do that! but in the end we want everyone to get along!
America must counter this threat we have pulled out europe in two great wars and this will be no different. we must stand our ground and not allow our psotion to weaken. I am not in favor of BUSH, i only care about AMERICA! We can't cry about the past even though many said to confront them long ago. we msut now fasce today and tomorrow. Russia is thinking that we have had enough but they Are wrong we the americans will support our Country not the idiot in office.

It's a unwritten rule that when the Olympics are going on that you don't start a war. I think Russia must feel the same way on this. It made me mad that Georgia did this. America has its whole army just a few hundred miles away. I'm sure that is making them mad then this spark. There just mad as hell. It will cool down if we will stop escalating this. Georgia's pain full lesson f**k Georgia. I do think if we were going to every fight Russia now is the time. That's just me thinking out load. I think Russia is a friend that will always be on our side if somthing big happens.

Hello again: If you know anything about the Conflict between Russia and Georgia, the both have been trying for years for one of them to make a move that looks aggressive, the both of them have been "egging" each other on for years in hopes that one would get angry and strike hard. Russia "fell into" the trap set by the Georgians and now it will suffer internationally, if the hopes of America are fullfilled. When Saudi Arabia has exhausted the supply of oil available to it where is America going to look for energy? #2 in oil production output is Russia. Such actions like putting 'missile shields' adjacent to Russia are actions designed to make Russia submissive to the US so that it can secure a cheap supply of oil, at the expense of the Russians. Watch for this in the future, God willing it does not happen. With regard to the matter that started this conflict, the seperation of Ossetia and Abkhazia. If America supports Tibet and Kosovo in the matter of seperation, then there should be the same support for Ossetia and Abkhazia. I don't know on what the Ossetians and Abkhazians will base economies on, or for that matter what Tibet and Kosovo will do the same. They will be small nations and most likely not be able to survive without international aide. The matter of Ossetia and Abkhazia could have been avoided had they to have representation within the Georgian government and say within as well. Rather, they were given token representation and marginalized due to ethnic differences. With regard to that, America invests efforts to reconcile the Sunnis and Shia in Iraq, but not the people involved in the Georgia conflict? I needn't say more.

There isn't going to be a WWIII. There isn't going to be a war between US and Russia, or NATO and Russia. Russia is just trying to do what is can politically (which clearly isn't much) in response to NATO suspending the NATO-Moscow accord until Russia returns to pre-war boundries. Once Russia pulls back things will fall back into place. This is just political BS.

I think everyone should start stock piling matches because when we are back in the cave man days for get your electric range or your gas grill and no more going to Smiths of Albertsons for groceries, people will have to hunt for their next meal, we'll be right back in the prehistoric days, this macho crap is just what that is two kids trying to prove who's the toughest kid on the block only thing these two kids will take all of us with them so for get the pride because I don't care if you died proud your still dead and all of your family will be there by your side and if you aren't killed quickly you will wish you were

Guess I should document all these steps leading up to WW3.

Well, isnt about time for the 50 to 100 year earth cleansing.