Because no action was taken by the West to stop the invasion of Georgia, Russia has now become bolder. Russian troops remain on Georgian land, days after the newest cease-fire was brokered by Condoleezza Rice.
President Mikheil Saakashvili of Georgia even pleaded to the West in an interview with "The Early Show." He stated that Russian tanks are going through villages inhabited by Georgian citizens, throwing families from their houses and putting people into concentration camps.
President Valdas Adamkus of Lithuania, who joined Saakashvili at a news conference in Tbilisi, also called upon the West to stop appeasing Russia's actions.
Unless Russia is stopped from the onset, its hegemony over other countries is inevitable.
The Baltic states and Poland, all NATO countries watching the conflict, have voiced concern over the lack of action from western allies and have all offered support to the struggling nation. The former Soviet territories understand the gravity of the situation.
If a small country with democratic ambitions is not backed up by the West, why would any other former Soviet territory take the risk to become more democratic?
Ukraine is now sleeping uneasily, knowing that it is next in Russia's crosshairs.
Russia is testing the waters. Without any physical action from the West, it knows it will suffer no recourse from spreading its borders and committing crimes against humanity.
