Wow, its just so funny how the Russian bear is just a tamed animal now. The west supplies weapons to Georgia and Russia can't do anything about. Did Russia forget the last Georgian conflict? Israel supplied weapons and intel to the Georgian rebels and what did Russia do in response? It bent over backwards to the whim of the US and Israel and didn't supply weapons to its ally Iran. If Russia wants to be taken seriously by the west, it needs to revive the heart of the old bear and start roaring and gnawing at their bones. Russia should supply Iran and other nations with weapons and stand firmly to the west. if the west supplies Russia's enemies with weapons then Russia should supply its allies and the west's enemies with weapons. Seriously, wake up Russia before its too late.

Russia has already given a pointed reminder to Israel not to mess about in Caucasus politics. During the 2008 war, a Russian battleship visited Syria for the first time in years and the two countries talked about military cooperation. Immediately Israel squawked and assured Russia that Israel was not to blame for the Georgia attack (although Israel supplied Georgia with arms), and then Israel offered some advanced nanotechnology to Russia. Meanwhile Syria is expanding a seaport for visiting Russian ships and may get some advanced weaponry from Russia. I think Israel is hoping that their sudden friendly overtures will persuade Russia to defer any arms sales to Syria? It appears Russian overtures in South America - especially Bolivia and Venezuela - are also messages to USA (which armed Georgia twice and may have even been involved in the shooting during the Georgian war). The Russian foreign ministry knows how to give a diplomatic message: 'you make a mess in our back yard, and we will do the same in your back yard'.

@john So did the EU countries and Ukraine with US military contractor MPRI like in formerly Serb Krijina training Georgian forces in sabotage techniques and attempted ethnic cleansing by initiating attacks along the border regions to get Russian retaliatory fire as a pretext for the operation. http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=AIh8_UJrOGc http://slobodan-milosevic.org/news/smorg042409.html Iran has been working covertly with the US since the Afghan trap of 1979 against Russian interests via support for Islamic terrorism and separatism including the North Caucasus.

under shah regime Iran was best friend of Israel and US in the region and there was no secret Iran was with US in anyway that time after Iranian people overthrowed shah US and israel declared as enemies of Iran so you are talking about before islamic revolution has nothing to Islamic Iran

The today's Russian political nomenclature, particularlyy guys like Sergey Lavrov and both presidents Putin and Medvedev, are very skilled and know very well how to deliver a message. Making a move in response that is somewhat softer that it could have been is only an issue of political sensitivity, whose eventual goal is to make the most possible benefit for Russia. No any side, however, should have even the slightiest doubts that Russia can very well make a harsh response as to whatever situation that could emerge on the political horizon.

John, totally! Russia thinks that if it plays up to US whims the US will say ''good boy'' but instead it intensifies the aggression against Russia. The US likes its challenge and they don't want a wossie opponent that gives in at the first wag of the finger. Today's Russia has no ideology, no principles and no goals, if it's not natural disasters, it's drugs and crime, if it's not alcohol and prostitution its the kind of hard living conditions that affects the demography. Russia is dying out, almost like Madame Blavatsky predicted.

Russia's called upon to refrain from supplying Defensive Ground to Air Missilery to the Iranians,leaving them extremely vulnerable to attack? Meanwhile Israel supplies both weaponry and expertise to Georgia. . . Who exactly does one need to sleep with to get the 'Big Picture'???