Irakly Okruashvili, Georgia’s leading political exile and former defense minister, said in a weekend interview in Paris, France, that Georgian President ‘Mikheil Saakashvili had long planned a military strike to seize back the breakaway region of South Ossetia but executed it poorly, making it easy for Russia to retaliate.’

Okruashvili’s comments are significant because they imply that Saakashvili’s public stance, that Russia attacked first and Georgia only responded, may not be correct.
Sakaashvili and Okruashvili drew up the plans together, the latter said. The intention was to take both Abkhazia and South Ossetia, both breakaway regions, back. However, he said, because of the poor execution of the plan, Sakaashvili gave Russia the excuse it needed to invade and permanently take the two regions from Georgia.

Okruashvili himself was born in South Ossetia.

Although the remarks are certainly significant, they do not contradict the point that Russia had already stationed troops in South Ossetia, which were backing separatists, months perhaps years ago. Saakashvili, one could say, would have had every reason to take the two regions back by force, considering the fact that Russia was actively trying to take it from Georgia, supporting separatists and stationing troops in what officially was Georgian territory.

Would any other nation have accepted that situation to continue? Of course not.

Why then, would it be wrong for Georgia to declare war before Russia did? After all, wasn’t Russia already fighting a hidden, secret war well before Georgia decided to fight it out openly?

Of course it did. And of course Georgia had every right to do what it did.

It may not have been wise, one could say, but there was little else Georgia could have done to counter the Russian plans for the two regions.

One must also not forget that Russia has been one of the region’s main powers constantly intervening in the domestic issues of other countries for centuries. It is not something of the last years or even of the last decades. Russia has always had an imperialistic agenda, and has always been busy bullying its neighbors into submission.

As an aside, it is fantastic to see certain news organization desperately trying to cover up their initial horrible reporting of events taking place in Georgia. They blamed Sakaashvili immediately after the war started, and only slowly changed the narrative after it became abundantly clear that not Georgia, but Russia had provoked even instigated the battle for the two regions.They are now trying to safe face, by giving people with little credibility – because they carry a grudge for instance – more attention then they deserve, and on the sport reporters like Michael Totten zero.