As has been in the news lately, the attacks by Russia on Georgia are terrible. Not only has Russia's attack been unprovoked, but the shallow reason given of ethnic cleansing is simply not true. The reasons for the attack are numerous and I'm sure that there are other theories as well. The most notable theory I've heard is that Russia is looking to expand back into a USSR style empire. I don't particulary buy the USSR theory, but there are some other reasons. First and foremost, Russian President Dmitry Medvedev is a puppet for former President, and current Prime Minister Vladimir Putin. I admired Putin for some time after he took office for many of the initiatives he had and the supposed changes in Russia, however, as of late I've seen that the KGB portion of Putin's life has not gone away. Authoritative control and suppression of dissenters along with the connections to the assassination of Litvinenko among other things add to this stigma. Aside from reminiscing of the old days, Putin is making a statement. By invading Georgia, Russia is flexing it's muscle both militarily and financially. The Russians control a vast amount of oil, and supply a large portion of that to Europe. The Georgia pipeline is essentially the only competition the Russians have to distributing oil throughout the world. By staking claim to all of the resources in the arctic, Russia is not trying to expand the empire via land, but by controlling the resources. The statement being made is that Russia controls the oil, and that nothing should be done to reduce the stranglehold they maintain. The strategy set in place is perfect. Georgia can't withstand the might of the Russian army, and America is stretched too thin with the conflicts in Iraq and Afghanistan. So while Georgia helps us in Iraq, we are unable to return the favor militarily. As a young Democracy, Georgia needs to know that allies will help in return. Vladimir Putin hates this man, Georgian President Mikheil Saakashvili. As a staunch ally of the US, and someone who studied in the US, with a great understanding of our founding fathers, Saakashvili is a threat to Putin's control over the former Soviet nations. By removing him from power, Russia can install a puppet like Medvedev to do whatever it wants. As of now, the United States cannot afford to enter another war, let alone one with the Russians. Russia sees us as being very weak, in a state similar to their own before the collapse of the USSR. We may not be able to send troops over to fight, but we can and should send whatever aid is possible. Georgia as an ally in the region of former Soviet states is similar to how Israel is our ally in the Middle East. We must do whatever it takes to protect our ally, and in my mind, more importantly, protect the Georgian President - a man reminiscent of our founding fathers who received over 96% of the vote in his first presidential election.