The short war between Russia and Georgia is technically over, but things are far from settled. Both presidents have signed a truce that essentially puts things back to the way they were before the war. However, the Russians say they are staying where they are, deep inside Georgia, until an international force arrives to monitor the ceasefire. Until Russia leaves Georgian territory, anything could happen. There have also been rumors that Russian troops are not allowing some aid into Georgia. The group Human Rights Watch has alleged that Russia was using cluster bombs against Georgian civilians. According to them, cluster bombs have been banned by 107 countries.
While Russia is seen as the villian here in the West, Georgia is not at all blameless. South Ossetia won de facto independence from Georgia after a civil war in the early nineties. However, it is still considered to be part of Georgia by virtually everyone. This whole thing started when Georgia tried to regain South Ossetia about a week and a half ago. If you ask South Ossetians, Georgia is the villian and Russia is the protector. Of course, the whole thing had been brewing for years.
Ties between Russia and the US had already been strained by this whole situation. However, on Thursday, Poland signed a deal with the US to host part of the US missile defense system. This did not sit well with the Russians. They say it “cannot go unpunished” and have threatened military action against Poland. Poland is part of NATO, so if Russia followed through with their threats, things could get interesting quickly.