NATO EXERCISES WITH GEORGIA TO GO FORWARD.

A few details are emerging on the failed coup against Georgian President Mikhail Saakashvili. At a minimum, the coup plotters appear to have expected Russian assistance, but there's no hard evidence of prior Russian involvement. This doesn't, of course, mean that such prior involvement is impossible or unlikely, although opposition figures in Georgia are questioning the Russia connection, and even that the coup existed at all. The Georgian opposition would not likely benefit from the revelation of close ties with Russia, or from indications that the coup plotters planned a bloody purge of the Georgian government.

John Boonstra suggests that the Georgian government may be exaggerating the extent of the coup for public-relations effect. The news is a godsend for Saakashvili, as it allows him to discredit the democratic credentials of the opposition, tie that opposition to Russia, and paint Russia as an incorrigible aggressor. That's win-win-win, and if Saakashvili is good at one thing, it's playing to the Western media. In any case, the "crisis response" exercise that Georgia planned to undertake with NATO is going forward, in spite of Russia's complaints.

--Robert Farley