Russia has gone too far in Georgia

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The United States and its western allies have few cards to play in the power struggle with Russia over the future of Georgia.

But it’s becoming increasingly clear that it must play the cards that it has or Russian will become increasingly emboldened and think it can disregard the sovereignty of its neighbors with impunity.

Despite promises that it would withdraw, Russian forces remain near the Georgian port city of Poti.

There’s little doubt that Russia’s actions have alarmed the former Soviet bloc nations that gained independence when the former Soviet Union broke up.

Ukrainian President Victor Yushchenko wrote in a column published in the Washington Post: “The tragic events in Georgia also exposed the lack of preventative mechanisms by the United Nations, the Organization for Security and Cooperation in Europe and other international organizations.”

In Poland, the Russian invasion of Georgia triggered a rapid public embrace of a U.S. plan to install interceptor missiles on Polish soil.

Journalist Kamil Tchorek, who grew up in Poland under Soviet domination in the 1970s and 1980s, wrote in a column in Britain’s Guardian, “Poles are convinced that the time for treading softly around the Russian bear has passed.”

Meanwhile, Russian officials mocked diplomatic efforts to punish Russia. Referring to talk of blocking Russia from joining the World Trade Organization, former President Vladimir Putin said, “We don’t feel or see any advantages from membership, if they exist at all.”

Despite that overt disdain, and despite the European Union’s dependency on Russia for natural gas and oil, the West does have some economic leverage over Russia.

A possible vulnerability is the circle of rich oligarchs around Putin and President Dmitri Medvedev who are active in the global economy, making investments around the world, including the United States. Those assets could be subject to seizure under international law if Russia violates international law in Georgia or elsewhere.

Already the events in Georgia have prompted investors, including some Russians, to pull assets out of Russia. Its currency reserves have plummeted in recent days, the Washington Post reported.

There’s some merit to the observation that Georgia is not blameless in the current dispute, but the disproportionate Russian response was inexcusable.

The long-term Western response to Russia’s aggression in Georgia must be intelligent and deft, but there must be one. Russia’s actions cannot go unchallenged, or the pattern will be repeated.