Russia invades Georgia. How did it come to this?  Opinions about
events beyond our borders. Aug. 8 2008 6:00 PM  World Inaction
Russian tanks move toward South Ossetia capital. Click image to
expand. Russian tanks move toward South Ossetia's capital  For
the best possible illustration of why Islamic terrorism may one
day be considered the least of our problems, look no further
than the BBC's split-screen coverage of Friday's Olympics
opening ceremony. On one side, fireworks sparkled, and thousands
of exotically dressed Chinese dancers bent their bodies into the
shape of doves, the cosmos, and so on. On the other side, gray
Russian tanks were shown rolling into South Ossetia, a rebel
province of Georgia. The effect was striking: Two of the world's
rising powers were strutting their stuff.  The difference, of
course, is that one event has been in rehearsal for years while
the other, if not a total surprise, was not actually scheduled
to take place this week. And that, too, is significant. The
Chinese challeng