Georgia on My Mind by David McReynolds

"David McReynolds was on the staff of the War Resisters League for many years, and, as the Socialist Party candidate in 1980 and 2000, the first openly gay person to run for the U.S. presidency. He lives with two cats on Manhattan's Lower East Side."

Like all things, the conflict in Georgia is complex. Complex enough that it is easy to get lost in the details and miss the main issue. In the immediate situation two things are clear, one being that a number of people have been killed, and the other being that it was Georgian president Mikheil Saakashvili who started the military action, not the Russians. The primary responsibility for the loss of life rests with him and his European and US backers.

Beyond that, however, I want to step way back, and look at events nearly a half century in the past to put Georgia in perspective.read more »