Background and  Other Relevant Information  on the  Russia - Georgia War is located below the updates.

Updated 9/7/2008:  Despite the presence of Russian troops on Georgian soil, President Mikhail Saakashvili said the West would help his country regain control of South Ossetia and Abkhazia, the separatist regions of Georgia recognized as independent nations by Moscow last month.  "Our territorial integrity will be restored, I am more convinced of this than ever," Saakashvili said in a televised appearance. "This will not be an easy process, but now this is a process between an irate Russia and the rest of the world."  "Our goal is the return of our territory and the peaceful unification of Georgia," he said.
In Moscow, Prime Minister Vladimir Putin, who often taunts the West, insisted in an interview broadcast late Saturday that Russia was justified in its intervention in South Ossetia. He said there would be no cooling of ties with the West because the West depends on Russia's oil, gas and mineral wealth.  President Dmitry Medvedev declared Saturday that "Russia is a nation to be reckoned with" following its war with Georgia.

Updated 8/28/2008:  In the latest events that  firmly demonstrates the deepness of the riff between Russia and the U.S., Russian Prime Minister Vladimir Putin accused the U.S. of orchestrating the Russian - Georgian War for presidential politics.  Russian Prime Minister Vladimir Putin blasted US interference in Georgia, saying Americans on the ground there were 'implementing orders' from their 'leader' during the conflict, in comments aired on CNN Thursday.  Putin stated that the U.S. believed that the conflict would help one of the presidential candidates prospects for being elected.  Obviously, they are referring to John McCain as the nominee that would benefit the most.  In other related events Russia has also stated that they will no longer cooperate with the West in dealing with the Iran nuclear stand off.  Russia has continued to man check points well outside the cease fire agreement and U.S. and Russian ships are docked at two separate ports.  The U.S. warship is delivery aid to Georgians misplaced by the crisis.  The fact that the U.S. Used warships to deliver relief supplies has sparked concern in Russia.

Updated 8/26/2008:  French Foreign Minister Bernard Kouchner has told French television that: "We fear a war and we don't want one." Mr Kouchner also said Russian troops were about to "ethnically cleanse" the South Ossetia town of Akhalgori, which is also populated by ethnic Georgians.  Russia formally recognized the independence of two regions of Georgia as President Dmitry Medvedev declared the Kremlin was prepared to defy the West and risk a new Cold War.  "I have signed decrees on the recognition by the Russian Federation of the independence of South Ossetia and the independence of Abkhazia," said Mr Medvedev.  The Georgian president, Mikheil Saakashvili, has urged the West to take immediate action against Moscow after accusing Russian forces of moving their artillery to within range of the capital city Tbilisi. He warned that Georgia would respond with force if its capital was attacked and told the West to act more forcefully against Russian aggression.  The development came as two US warships headed towards the Georgian Black Sea port of Poti, which remains ringed by Russian troops in contravention of the terms of the truce brokered by Nicolas Sarkozy, the French president.  While ostensibly on a humanitarian mission to deliver aid supplies, the presence of an American destroyer armed with Tomahawk cruise missiles has enraged the Kremlin.  The Russian cruise ship the Moskva, which had been deployed off the Georgian coastline during the five-day war, was seen leaving the Crimean naval base of Sevastopol, headquarters of Russia's Black Sea fleet.  Early reports indicated that the Moskva was sailing south, possibly towards Poti - " raising the possibility of a naval face-off between the United States and Russia for the first time since the Cold War.  Russia has also stepped up it's response to the U.S. Missile shield being placed in Poland.  Russian President Dmitry Medvedev is warning his country may respond to a U.S. missile shield in Europe through military means.  Medvedev says that the deployment of an anti-missile system close to Russian borders "will of course create additional tensions." "We will have to react somehow, to react, of course, in a military way," Medvedev was quoted as saying Tuesday by the RIA-Novosti news agency

Updated 8/24/2008:  Russia has pulled out it's tanks and other military hardware from much of Georgia. However in POTI, Georgia - Thousands of Georgians demanded that Russian troops leave the outskirts of this strategic Black Sea port on Saturday and took to the streets in protest, while a top Russian general said his country's forces would keep patrolling the area.  "There are very specific requirements for Russian withdrawal. Putting up permanent facilities and checkpoints are inconsistent with the agreement. We are in contact with the various parties to obtain clarification," White House spokesman Gordon Johndroe said.

Updated 8/20/2008:  It appears that Russia has continued to not honor her word of troop withdrawal as if she was in the midst of the coldest of cold wars.  Russia has been behaving very odd since the start of this conflict.  Claiming genocide by the Georgians while roughing up and threatening Western media outlets in the area.  Agreeing to troop withdraws while continuing to move closer to Georgia's capital and planting it self deeper in other areas..  They have dismantled Georgia's Navy and other military installations.  On Wednesday, Russian forces dug trenches and built sentry posts deep inside Georgia showing few signs they would pull back later this week as promised.   On Wednesday, Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice and her Polish counterpart signed a deal to build a U.S. missile defense base in Poland. Last week a top Russian general warned Poland was risking an attack, possibly a nuclear one, by developing the base.  "It's 2008, and the United States has a ... firm treaty guarantee to defend Poland's territory as if it was the territory of the United States," Rice said. "So it's probably not wise to throw these threats around."
In a sign Russia plans to solidify control of South Ossetia, Col. Gen. Anatoly Nogovitsyn said Russia would build 18 checkpoints in the security cordon around the province, with 270 soldiers manning front-line posts.

Updated 8/19/2008:  Russian tanks and troops roamed freely around Gori on Monday and made forays toward the Georgian capital, keeping control of the highway that slices through Georgia's midsection despite Russia's announcement that a withdrawal had begun.  Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice said Monday that Russia is playing a "very dangerous game" with the U.S. and its allies and warned that NATO would not allow Moscow to win in Georgia, destabilize Europe or draw a new Iron Curtain through it.  President Medvedev of Russia yesterday promised a “shattering blow” against any foreign power that moved against Russian citizens.

Updated 8/16/2008:  Russia has signed cease fire but is not moving troops.  The Russian foreign minister, Sergey V. Lavrov, told reporters that Russian forces would stay in Georgia as long as they were needed. He said their withdrawal would depend on the introduction of what he called additional security measures. He did not explain what those were.  Speaking at his ranch in Texas, President Bush described the Russian endorsement of the cease-fire as a “hopeful step.” “Now Russia needs to honor the agreement and withdraw its forces, and, of course, end military operations,” Mr. Bush said.  On Saturday, Russian troops remained within 25 miles of the Georgian capital, Tbilisi. And over all, the situation in Georgia was largely unchanged, with the Russians occupying wide swaths of territory.  Russia is considering arming its Baltic fleet with nuclear warheads for the first time since the cold war, the London-based Sunday Times has reported, quoting senior military sources.  The new Russian threat comes in response to the violent conflict in the Caucasus and a deal signed between the United States and Poland for a missile defense shield in Europe. Poland agreed on Thursday to host elements of a US global anti-missile system after Washington agreed to boost Warsaw's own air defenses.

Update 8/14/2008:  Russia declares "The World can forget about Georgia's territorial integrity".  These statements came amidst Russia's continue breach of ceasefire as Russian troops targeted military infrastructure and equipment. America has began to deliver aid to the Georgia wounded and refugees.  Defense Secretary Robert Gates has stated that the U.S. will not enter militarily into the Russia - Georgia War, but stated that the consequences arising from Russia's action will last for years to come if Russia does not stand down on the issue.  In all reality if Russia was wanting the green light to finish the job then there it was.  I think that there is a good possibility that by the time that Russia is done here independent democratic Georgia will exist in name only.  Russia issued a rebuke to President Bush on Thursday over the conflict in neighboring Georgia, refusing an immediate withdrawal of its troops there, affirming its support for two separatist enclaves and warning the United States to avoid doing anything that would encourage its Georgian ally to reignite hostilities.  In light of  the events Poland has agreed to sign on to the U.S. Ballistic Missile Shield.  This will surely enlighten Russia as to how America can hurt them without intervening directly in the conflict militarily.

Update 8/13/2008:  Cease Fire?  Russian troops and paramilitaries thrust deep into Georgia on Wednesday, rolling into the strategic city of Gori and violating the truce designed to end the six-day war that has uprooted 100,000 people and scarred the Georgian landscape.  Georgian officials said Gori was looted and bombed by the Russians, who denied the claim.  Troops waved at journalists and one soldier shouted to a photographer: "Come with us, beauty, we're going to Tbilisi!".  To the west, Abkahzian separatist forces backed by Russian military might pushed out Georgian troops and even moved into Georgian territory, defiantly planting a flag.  "The border has been along this river for 1,000 years," separatist official Ruslan Kishmaria told AP on Wednesday. He said Georgia would have to accept the new border and taunted the retreating Georgian forces, saying they had received "American training in running away."

Update 8/12/2008:  It appears that Russia is sending mixed messages to the rest of world. Despite the televised order of a cease fire by Russian President Dmitry Medvedev, Russia launched an offensive Tuesday in Abkhazia, sending tanks, armored personnel carriers and artillery toward the breakaway region.  This has truly been a conflict marred by miscalculations.  First the Georgians attacking South Ossetia without consulting with her Western allies who obviously would have restrained the tiny nation despite the ongoing interference of Russia within Georgia in attempts to regain control in former Soviet Union states  and Russia miscalculated the response of  the international community answering with an all out invasion on a sovereign nation that it has been baiting for years by sending separatists from the breakaway areas to create problems in the rest of Georgia.  Russia has underestimated the anger of the West including the United States.  In the end Russia has hurt herself  by the overkill as in the future the former Soviet states will now be more weary of Russia and try to distance itself from it's realm of influence.  Georgian President Mikheil Saakashvili had earlier addressed a huge crowd outside the parliament building in Tbilisi and was hailed as a hero for defending his country against aggression from Moscow.  Speakers denounced Russia as the crowd chanted: "Georgia, Georgia!" Posters held up by demonstrators showed a photograph of Putin with the caption: "Wanted: Crimes against humanity in the world."  Saakashvili appeared to cheers and pledged that one day Georgia would beat Russia. "I promise you today that I'll remind them of everything they have done and one day we will win," he said.  The Georgian leader also said his country was quitting the Commonwealth of Independent States, a loose grouping of ex-Soviet states led by Moscow, in protest at Russia's actions

 Update 8/11/2008: Russia appears to be spreading this conflict throughout Georgia and will not stop until Georgian leadership is out of power.  The United States is beginning to get agitated by the inappropriate amount of force Russia is using on the former Soviet possession Georgia.  U.S.  Vice President Dick Cheney reportedly stated that Russia's aggression cannot go unanswered by the West.  Russian forces seized several towns and a military base deep in western Georgia on Monday, opening a second front in the fighting. Georgia's president said his country had been effectively cut in half with the capture of the main east-west highway near Gori.   Russian Prime Minister Vladimir Putin criticized the United States for viewing Georgia as the victim, instead of the aggressor, and for airlifting Georgian troops back home from Iraq on Sunday. In further news it appears that Russia is wanting to use Georgia as an example to other nearby former Soviet states that have put their support behind Western Democratic ideology.  "Of course, Saddam Hussein ought to have been hanged for destroying several Shiite villages," Putin said in Moscow. "And the incumbent Georgian leaders who razed ten Ossetian villages at once, who ran elderly people and children with tanks, who burned civilian alive in their sheds — these leaders must be taken under protection."  In other related news on Sunday another former Soviet possession and pro-Western country Ukraine stated that they may ban the return of  Naval ships from returning to their ports after being dispatched to the Black Sea coast of Georgia to create a blockade.  Saakashvili later accused Russia of ethnic cleansing -- a charge the Russians have repeatedly leveled at Georgia, and which both sides deny.  He said Georgian troops had downed "18 or 19" Russian warplanes, killed hundreds of Russian troops and repelled a Russian assault on the Georgian city of Gori, in Georgia near South Ossetia.

Update 8/10/2008:Russia appears to be using this for all it is worth.   Russia is pouring troops into the conflict and are preparing to strike Georgia  from the Northern Georgia break away province of  Abkhazia.   Georgia said that overnight, Russia had landed 4,000 troops by sea to the coast of Black Sea in Abkhazia, the larger of Georgia's two breakaway regions.  This brings a second area of independent rule since the 1990's into the conflict once Russia does this.  It appears that their main goal is no only make Georgia stand down but to destroy Georgia itself.  This atrocity is an unnecessary escalation driven purely by Russian Cold War politics.  In New York, a top U.N. peacekeeping official said there were indications the Abkhaz were preparing to launch a military offensive against Georgian special forces in the upper Kodori gorge in northern Abkhazia.

 "Russia's actions in South Ossetia are totally legitimate," Russian Prime Minister Vladimir Putin said, visiting an adjacent region of Russia to which thousands of refugees have fled.  Putin said Georgia's bid to join the Western alliance NATO -- anathema to Moscow -- was part of the problem.  "Georgia's aspiration to join NATO ... is driven by its attempt to drag other nations and peoples into its bloody adventures," he said, adding that Georgian action bore "elements of some kind of genocide against the Ossetians."   This conflict is not about Ossetia as much as it is another slap in the face to the West over Georgia's pro- Western stance and attempts to join NATO  and the building of the Pipeline that by-passes Russia where Putin has used energy supplies in the Winter to bully Eastern Europe countries that do not behave the way Russia wants.