Russia’s Monroe Doctrine

Cornered by NATO’s expansion, Moscow reasserts its imperial ambitions

By Fred Weir

By Pentagon standards, Russia's lightning summer conflict with Georgia wasn't much of a war. There was no forced "regime change" and no "shock and awe," merely a swift, armored thrust by Russia's Vladikavkaz-based 58th army that dispersed an ill-advised Georgian military assault on the Moscow-protected [RETURN TO ARTICLE]