Matt Ortega

Russian tanks rolled into the former Soviet republic of Georgia on Friday, just hours before the opening of the Summer Olympic Games in Beijing, China tonight. Georgian President Mikheil Saakashvili claimed Russian warplanes were conducting bombing raids inside the country.

Both sides are accusing the other of sewing the seeds of war. Bloomberg News:

Russian Prime Minister Vladimir Putin said “war has started” over the breakaway region of South Ossetia as Georgian President Mikheil Saakashvili accused its neighbor of a “well-planned invasion.”

Kakha Lamaia, a Georgian National Security Council official,  proclaimed: “If it’s not war, then we are very close to it. The Russians have invaded Georgia and we are under attack.”

The military action marks the first time Russia has engaged in combat on foreign soil since the defeat of Soviet forces in Afghanistan in 1989.

World leaders are either in China, or currently en route, for the Opening Ceremonies at the Olympics. President George W. Bush called on both sides to end hostilities.

American “Response”?

Therein lies the true decline in the ability of the U.S. to respond to foreign crises. Bogged down in Iraq, and struggling to stay above water in Afghanistan, the United States is in very little position to mitigate an international crisis.

U.S.-Georgian Ties

Georgia, a strong U.S. ally with forces in Iraq, participated in joint war games last month amid these growing tensions. The Financial Times reported July 16:

In a recent Financial Times interview, Mikheil Saakashvili, Georgia’s president, played down reports alleging his country was on the brink of a military conflict with Russia over the two breakaway territories. He appealed for western diplomatic support to stop an annexation policy by Russia which, he said, could spread to Ukraine and other exSoviet states.

Russian officials did not comment on the military exercise but released a foreign policy priority document adopted by Dmitry Medvedev, the president, that reiterates Russia’s opposition to Nato’s eastward expansion - referring to Ukraine and Georgia. It warns of “new dividing lines in Europe” and says Russia will continue its “mediator’s and peacekeeper’s role” in post-Soviet conflict zones.

American and Russian officials are split on the former Soviet republic’s potential admission into the NATO alliance.

The New York Times decided not to publish an op-ed written by presumptive Republican presidential candidate, Senator John McCain (R-Arizona) because, unlike the piece written by Senator Barack Obama (D-Illinois), did not include “new information” nor details about his plan for Iraq.

The McCain piece, however, included none of these things.

It would be terrific to have an article from Senator McCain that mirrors Senator Obama’s piece. To that end, the article would have to articulate, in concrete terms, how Senator McCain defines victory in Iraq. It would also have to lay out a clear plan for achieving victory — with troops levels, timetables and measures for compelling the Iraqis to cooperate. And it would need to describe the senator’s Afghanistan strategy, spelling out how it meshes with his Iraq plan.

McCain refuses to define “victory” because that entails a permanent American presence in Iraq with no casualties — something that will never happen. Either way, the security situation, according to McCain and his foreign policy aides, dictates that the U.S. must remain in Iraq, or “the terrorists will win.”

Some headlines:

• Campaign for America’s Future will release a straw poll that showed “energy and global warming” atop the list of concerns of convention-goers. Thirteen percent of the 2,000 attendees cast votes, and the official results will be released on Monday.
• Several announcements were made on the final night in Austin: Gina Cooper stepped down as executive director of the convention; Netroots Nation 2009 will be held in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania and will be a carbon-neutral event.
• Potential California gubernatorial candidate, San Francisco Mayor Gavin Newsom, was on hand to introduce Bay Area activist Van Jones, for the Sunday morning keynote. The San Francisco Chronicle sought to explore the reasons for Newsom’s appearance at the conference.
• Van Jones’ keynote on Sunday was fantastic. If there is a full video of his remarks, track it down. Too often one hears that the environment is a “boring” subject that “nobody cares about” — even from people on the left. If that is the case with you — talk to Van Jones. He will change your mind.
• Bloggers are, apparently, swearing less. This “topic” gets a full post on the New York Times blog. Still, the priorities of the media are screwed up.
• In the San Francisco Chronicle, the use of the internet as an organizing tool and the Obama campaign takes center stage.
• Former Vice President Al Gore was the unannounced special guest of Speaker Nancy Pelosi (D-San Francisco, Calif.) during the “Ask the Speaker” segment. Gore plugged WeCanSolveIt and sought online assistance in the fight against climate change.
• New York Times columnist Paul Krugman predicted that Senator Barack Obama (D-Illinois) will win in November, and then the press will vilify him within months of his presidency.
• Don Siegelman, the former Democratic Alabama governor whose prosecution was politically motivated and engineered by former top White House aide Karl Rove, spoke to Sam Seder about his case, and what to do with Rove.
• Greta Van Susteren was just a little bit upset that the convention labeled FOX News “opinion media.”
• A number of candidates attended the conference — among them: Rick Noriega (TX-Sen), Jeff Merkley (OR-Sen), Annette Taddeo (FL-18), Joe Garcia (FL-25), Ben Ray Luján (NM-3), Charlie Brown (CA-4), Darcy Burner (WA-8), Martin Heinrich (NM-1), and more.

Check out my panel from the Netroots Nation: “Our Dos Centavos: Strategies for Latino Bloggers.” Man Eegee, who attended the panel, live blogged our discussion here.

Online Video provided by Ustream

Progressive activists, organizations and influential leaders will descend upon Austin, Texas this week for the third annual blogger convention now known as Netroots Nation. The conference this year will be perhaps the most web 2.0 savvy of all as convention-goers prepare to Twitter, Flickr, and livestream from the panels to the after-parties.

Tag Twitter posts with #NN08 to join the conversation on Summarize, which was recently bought out by Twitter.

Flickr photos should also be tagged NN08 for easy viewing.

Ustream.TV will stream the feeds for six different rooms, including the remarks of Governor Howard Dean, chairman of the Democratic National Committee, Speaker of the House Nancy Pelosi (D-San Francisco, Calif.), and General Wesley Clark:

• Exhibit Hall 4
• Ballroom E
• Ballroom F
• Ballroom G
• Room 12
• Room 19

Friday, July 18, I will moderate the panel, “Our ‘Dos Centavos’: Strategies for Latino Bloggers” with Roger Garza, Mynor Rodriguez, Edmundo Rocha and Marisa Treviño, and held in Room 19 at 1:30PM local time. This panel will be streamed live online.

Read the full program here. [PDF]