The "Evil Empire"

In last night's debate, neither candidate would come out and call Russia an "evil empire", and for good reasons. Neither McCain nor Obama want to fan the flames of a new Cold War while we've already got two hot ones underway. And besides, we've seen what putting countries on an "Axis of Evil" list accomplishes.

But, one thing I've been wondering, especially when I hear Sarah Palin drone on about the "unprovoked" Russian attack on Georgia, is what was behind the skirmish in the first place. In the David-and-Goliath narrative, Georgia is the poor, beleaguered beacon of Democracy standing up against the resurgent Russian Bear of oppression. But is that true?

Now, I'm not going to bash the U.S. or the candidates for their responses. I'm not even going to hit Eva Emptyhead for spouting off her well-rehearsed, under-researched lines. I feel like we've all been given some inaccurate information, a narrative that might change the dynamic of the conversation about this issue.

The accounts of the people who were actually in the middle of this battle are very interesting, to say the least, and tell a very different story than has been reported here in our country.

I know this is not a central issue of the campaign, but the questions are asked frequently enough that we, as voters, might want to have these accounts at hand.