@bardicverse:

So when you said "let countries deal with their own mess" what you actually meant was "let's go back in time in terms of politics and get the world into a nuclear holocaust".

Thanks for making that clear, I can now safely ignore your posts in this thread.

LOL Nice, NJ5. Because Nuclear Holocaust is the end result of all things? Nuclear weapons would work in the same vein as they did in in Hiroshima. The first person to drop a nuke would realize that it was wrong and no one would do such a thing again. Countries are a lot less itchy on that trigger finger than you think. Besides, there are already weapons that neutralize nuclear weaponry mid flight, and current tech is being developed to isolate "fallout" from detonated nukes. Eventually they will be as useless as rotary phones.

What, you're advocating primitive policies and imperialist practices and you're surprised by what I said?

Does not compute.

I think it's becasue I was unclear of my logic behind my statement. Nations should act independently of one another, sans for trade/economic matters. Large organizations that require nations to act within certain boundaries are counterproductive to each nation within that organization. Thus why I feel that things like the EU are more dangerous to global economics than two countries in a pissing match, not to mention also dangerous to cultural preservation. NATO has been ineffective almost for as long as it existed, and the UN is the retarded kid in the classroom. If a nation is incapable of governing itself, then it relinquishes the right to be an independent nation, lest it falls into a state of anarchy. No nation should have to play mommy to another nation. A nation shouldn't run to another to tattle on another nation for being mean to them.

While I share the sentiment that Russia invading Georgia is wrong, people shouldn't turn to the US to go out and "do something about it". For nearly a century now, the US has been the crutch for other nations, only to be spat upon when they ask for a thank you in return. The US doesn't need to spend billions more in foreign countries when cities like Philadelphia and Detroit have people starving on the streets. It has its own problems to take care of before it should help other people with their's.

Meanwhile, things don't work that way in the real world. On the surface, this is just a regional conflict. In reality, everyone knows it will affect lots of countries.

Actually for the most part, they do work that way. There are many countries doing just fine on their own accord, without a need for outside help in governing their nation. The only reason this conflict even makes news is for the pipeline, as you mentioned. If there was no oil there, the conflict would be ignored much like conflicts in many african countries do. The bigger question is this - what happens to these nations when the demand for oil drops due to changes in fuel sources? Does the remainder of the world turn their backs on them, or are they now safe as oil would be a useless resource to commandeer?

Yeah.  Yet another problem in the Bush administration was basically ignoring their backslide from democracy.

http://www.timesonline.co.uk/tol/news/world/europe/article4503176.ece

Are the Russians in for a surprise? These are the best Georgian troops, trained and equipped to NATO standards.

@bardicverse: That scenario is far enough and complicated enough that I don't have a good answer. By the time that happens there will have been many wars, possibly a few redrawings of the map and hopefully enough alternative energy investment that running out of cheap oil doesn't mean a big die-off for the population. I believe the current wars are already caused to a big extent by this problem. We're seeing USA invading the 4th (3rd?) country with the most oil and Russia apparently sending a message about the West's energy routes and using their petro-power for blackmail.

The world's oil supply is already pretty tight, just look at the big increases and decreases in prices lately. Volatile prices are an indication of supply/demand having a hard time keeping up with each other.

It is becoming clear that Russia intends to overthrow the Saakashvili presidency. Russia is making veiled threats to other nations that are seeking further integration with the West. I am not sure what President Saakashvili was thinking when he began shelling South Ossetia last week. It was a gross miscalculation, and a lot of the major European powers are blaming Georgia for being irresponsible. Taking that into consideration, I doubt we will see any actions taken by the West. Threatening to expel Russia from the G8 could be a response, but I doubt we will see that.

I believe Iraq is #2 in oil potential... though it may really be number 1 as a lot of it's land hasn't been searched.

It would take a LOT of work money and resources to get it anywhere near that though.