Russia, (Georgia), and the West--the Other Perspective

It comes from New York Times columnist Nicholas Kristoff, who just visited Georgia. It's a pretty convincing argument for making the Georgia situation less central to relations with Moscow (which is not the same as going back to business-as-usual with Putin and his gang). In his conversations with Georgians (journalists, for example), Kristoff was able to confirm that Georgia is still a ways off from being a genuinely open society (which would be one requirement for EU and NATO membership). And he makes a compelling argument that NATO membership would be exactly the wrong thing, not only for the West, but also for Georgia itself.