65,000 in population does not a country make. That's all there is; there are no more. South Ossetia's land is mountainous/not applicable to agriculture, and has no industrial development - only $250.00 GNP per capita; that's each person earning only $250 a year.

It will not be possible for South Ossetia to become an independent country.

Russia has clung to the belief of "Saying makes it so," for hundreds of years. Now they say South Ossetia belongs to them...and they are convinced the world will believe this. Russians say they were in South Ossetia as "peacekeepers," but who agreed to that? The bear in the hen house - an imprudent decision. Why no UN peacekeepers? Because no one was paying attention. Now everyone is...since the United States is involved.

These questions of land ownership have nothing to do with "Who fired the first shot?"

A major portion of South Ossetia's government budget relies on customs duties on traffic going through the tunnel across the border to Russian North Ossetia. The only sizable business venture in the entire region is smuggling, much of it through the Roki Tunnel. Consumer goods, coming in from Russia, avoid the custom duties through corruption; smugglers supplying weapons and drugs proliferate - this is a lawless, unpopulated land.

But that is just it, the only thing of value, the only thing worth fighting for here... is land. South Ossetia is a big chunk/puzzel piece to fill in the map of Georgia. Land is love, land to die for.

Lincoln Mitchell, of Columbia University, says, "This conflict was never about South Ossetia." Unlike your usual war, the battles of were fought in South Ossetia and nearby cities of Georgia, but the Abkhazia region has more of value. Russia's beloved Sochi is only 12 miles from the Abkhazian border - a 12 mile buffer away from their enemy Georgia...and all that hard work going into the 2014 Olympics preparations in Sochi. Abkhazia is more than twice the size of South Ossetia, with 157,000 to 216,000 population (no one knows for sure how many). This region has a more lively economy, and a potential for tourism - mountains, waterfalls and beach resort development - Russia has already been working on that. They are very confident.

From an editorial in "The Economist" August  23, 2008, "But if it (Russia) is determined to keep its forces in Georgia proper, despite the ceasefire agreement brokered by France, Germany and America, it is hard to see what any outsider can do about it."

Still, there are always a variety of answers to any conundrum.

Negotiations should be under way. Diplomatically speaking, dividing Abkhazia in half is something no one talks about. Place the border just south of the capital at the Kelasuri River. That way, Russia would have the entire upper half of the region as a buffer to protect Sochi, and also get the capital city, Sukhumi. Georgia would get the road to Lata and the strategic Kodori Valley. Give the north outright to Russia, and let them be on their way. This would be fair...and it would anger a lot of people - not new - but it would effectively solve many major problems.

Special considerations would have to be spelled out, in the treaty, for an agressive team of observers (not Russians) to be based in Sukhumi. The "Vekua Institute of Physics and Technology in Sukumi is not safeguarded by the International Atomic Energy Agency." from "The Boston Globe," August 19, 2008. Georgia has reported radioactive materials at the Sukhumi facility, "including highly enriched uranium, have been sold to terrorists," (denied by Abkhazia).

The United States Department of Energy's National Nuclear Security Admin., the State Department and the International Global Threat Reduction Initiative is helping Georgia manage nuclear threats to their country. The public doesn't realize the dangerous potential of nuclear power, in all the minute details, in all the many countries worldwide. The more it is used, the greater the concern of it slipping away.

Georgia has 12 administrative division, states if you will. One of them, Adjara in the very south, has a common border with Turkey and ocean access. While the common belief is that Turkey is mostly dry, Adjara is mountainous and 60% forested, with the most rainfall in Georgia, in fact, the wettest region in the Caucasus. From 1993, during the reign of Eduard Shevardnadze, up to 2003, Adjara was run by a strongman leader. Rule was authoritarian, but organized crime was rampant, with "large scale smuggling to fund the region's government.

Beginning in the spring of 2004, Georgian President Mikheil Saakashivili initiated a crackdown on separatism and corruption, with ultimatums and mass protests which succeeded in eliminating Adjara's autonomous rule. Negotiations with Russia began in 2005 for them to withdraw from their military base - 145th Motor Rifle Division; the Russian left completely in 2007. But they did leave - negotiations were successful; it can be done.

Currently, the border dividing Abkhazia and Georgia is marked by the Inguri River...and the Inguri Hydroelectric power station, at present shared by Georgia and Abkhazia (at one point, held by Russian "peacekeepers"). This is key. If Georgia relinquishes Upper Abkhazia to Russia, then Georgia retains the Inguri River. Being a smaller region now, Upper Abkhazia will need less energy from hydroelectric power, but if they need more, Russia has plenty.

Energy is a major issue for Georgia, but not as most of the public would expect.

Tbilisi was just getting off the ground, economically, when war shoved it back a step. But Georgia will rebound. Like a realtor's "staged" house, Georgia can be a model for a prosperous economy. This is the perfect time to start, with an almost-clean slate.

In speaking to visitors to the U.S. from Slovenia (part of the former Yugoslavia), they told me how foreign diplomats feel when their tours of duty are due to expire, "They don't want to go home; our quality of life in Slovenia is so good." Georgia can be that kind of place for all its citizens, one without corruption and with an infrastructure all can depend on.

A poor country usually takes longer to grow a vibrant economy, like a garden where the farmer can't afford fertilizer. The United States could allocate a greater percentage of aid money for energy development. If you put inexpensive and clean energy into government buildings, and extend this into homes, thourghout the country not just Tbilisi, Georgians will have a leap-start stepping out of poverty. Technical energy enervates personal energy; it gets people thinking and doing. Georgia wants to demonstrate a European attitude and expectation - a new energy program will do that.

Georgia participates in oil and natural gas pipelines from the east to west for export, but the country itself is a pipeline...a gateway to Central Asia and the Middle East. All these things make Georgia  valuable, and more desirable...but not simply for the taking.

Charlotte Wilson,

charlotte@worldviewopinion.com  

for Pete's garage, go to: http://video.google.com/videoplay?docid=-4914871211025734766&hl=en

Radio interviews:

http://www.blogtalkradio.com/WaterFuelMuseum/va/2008/11/22/pete

http://www.blogtalkradio.com/WaterFuelMuseum/va/2008/11/26/kirk-miller