Would Some Explain The South Caucasus To Me?

What are the Abkhazians and the South Ossetians thinking? No, I'm serious - I really, desperately, want to know.

On Tuesday Georgia's breakaway province of Abkhazia welcomed fellow-rebel South Ossetia's diplomatic mission , while Abkhazia's embassy to South Ossetia was launched in Sept. 2007.

Last month, Georgia offered the regions a high degree of autonomy under Georgian rule in a fresh effort to reintegrate the bitter provinces. Still, a no go.

On Wednesday Russia stepped up support of the rebel provinces, falling just short of national recognition of South Ossetia and Abkhazia, and of an explicit disregard for Georgia's sovereign borders.

Putin's tactic seems to be that he would trade Georgia secure sovereignty in exchange for staying out of the military alliance - a membership which, clearly, is the only way for Georgia to assert its Russian boundaries once and for all.

Russia's moves are not surprising - Moscow has a long-held policy of kicking Georgia whenever possible. Now, Putin is stepping up his game to keep the pro-Western underdog out of Nato.

Georgia's ensuing outrage is equally unmomentous: Georgia can no more afford to give up the territory than to give in to Russia's bullying. Not even in exchance for Nato membership.

Makes sense.

What flabbergasts me are the motives of the South Ossetians and the Abkhanzians. A yearning for independence is understandable, and my instincts always lead me to support he who wants to be free. But from Georgia? I mean, really? Is today's Georgia so much more evil than we in the West could possibly imagine? Has she in fact been waging a long, sophisticated and supremely effective propoganda campaign aimed at giving every impression of being a civilized, hopeful and humane society? More importantly, is there really less to fear from getting into bed with today's Russia than from making peace with the ostensibly liberal society that has emerged from the Rose Revolution?