In addition to the brewing conflict over Abkhazia, Georgia and Russia remain at loggerheads regarding South Ossetia. Doug Muir wrote a brief but detailed account of the conflict a few months ago. South Ossetia is an extremely poor region between Georgia and Russia, home to about 75000 people. South Ossetians are ethnically distinct from Georgians, and the conflict initially erupted over enthusiastic Georgian nation-building efforts around the fall of the Soviet Union. The region is geographically remote, but has roughly a 10% ethnic Georgian population. The reason for the latest iteration of the conflict (fighting over the last week has killed several on both sides) is unclear; the South Ossetians accuse the Georgians of aggression, while the Georgians accuse the Russians of instigating disorder. Both claims, unfortunately, are plausible. In any case, I have to think that it's one more reason that NATO should not seriously consider Georgian membership for the foreseeable future.
--Robert Farley
