A former Georgian ambassador has caused uproar in Georgia by saying his country, not Russia, started August's war over South Ossetia.

Erosi Kitsmarishvili, a former envoy to Russia, was testifying at a parliamentary commission hearing into the war the breakaway Georgian region.

One lawmaker threw his pen at Mr Kitsmarishvili and then had to be restrained as he charged towards him.

There is only one relevant question to ask in response to this: Who cares? The former ambassador's statement doesn't automatically mean Russia is an innocent, pink teddy bear and Georgia/America is an evil, imperial alliance. It only confirms that one of two parties provoked a conflict that in all likelihood would have been inevitable. Both Russia and America are aware of this, but Europe is not. That's why we only read columns like these in the European press; we're in denial of the reality of the situation. We've already demonstrated our impotence by being caught off-guard when Putin threatened to stop exporting gas to Europe. It's the Russians who are the realists:

Russian President Dmitry Medvedev and Venezuelan President Hugo Chavez agreed to form joint ventures to pump crude oil and to increase military and nuclear cooperation yesterday in the first visit by a Russian president to the South American country.

Medvedev and Chavez took a tour today of the Russian atomic- powered navy cruiser Peter the Great, which is visiting Venezuela along with three other Russian vessels. The ships will conduct exercises in the Caribbean Sea starting Dec. 1 with the Venezuelan navy.

“We’re developing full-fledged relations in the arms sphere,” Medvedev told reporters in Caracas late yesterday. “These ties aren’t directed against any other country. They are based on partnership and a pragmatic understanding of the situation in the world.”

I believe Medvedev is mostly honest here, not for especial faith in his integrity but because his actions are brutally realistically from a Russian perspective -- not unlike Bush's realistic (well, mostly) reaction to the 9/11 attacks. When we feel threatened, we lash out at the enemy to make it clear that we're not prepared to become another slave-state. Israel is choosing a hard line against Iran for this reason alone. In cases like that of Russia, past failures gradually beget resentment; we can't simply dismiss the actions of America or Russia as "evil." It is our duty to think critically and act responsibly, no matter what. Whether we agree with Russia's approach to foreign policy or not , we can take a lesson from them in thinking realistically.