What Will the Russian Invasion of Georgia Mean to the US?

After days of horrific violence, there appears to be a tenuous cease-fire in Georgia. President Bush has repeatedly demanded that Russia should respect the “territorial integrity” of Georgia, and has called for the cease-fire to be honored in the former Soviet republic. US Defense Secretary Robert Gates said no prospect for “the use of military force by the United States in this situation,” but the U.S. has cancelled a joint naval exercise with Russia scheduled to begin Friday as well as pulled out of a multinational exercise that was set to begin next week. “If Russia does not step back from its aggressive posture and actions in Georgia, the U.S.-Russian relationship could be adversely affected for years to come,” Gates said.

What does all this mean for relations between the US and Russia? It certainly doesn’t look good. For years, we have enjoyed a peaceful situation. The two countries have cooperated on any number of Political and World issues, standing true to our word to each other in regards to military involvement. However, with Russia refusing to back down in their quest to subdue Georgia, all of that may quickly change.

What do you think? Will the US have no other choice but to step in with our military against Russia? Just the mere thought of that sends cold chills down my spine. I grew up in a time of being told that were we to ever go to war against Russia, it would mean an end to us all. Should we even be getting involved in what many are deeming to not be our business? Do we honestly have the right to dictate to Russia what they should and should not do when it comes to countries surrounding them? Or, as one of the World’s “Super Powers”, is it well within our scope of reasoning to state loudly and clearly the way things should be done?