Global Politics  Georgia marks low for US-Russia relations  ZB
believes this stand off with Russia needs a quick resolution,
and if not it could be a steady deterioration in the
relationship with Russia. (That's basically what Secretary Gates
said today, but how well prepared was the administration for
this conflict?) It was not prepared because this conflict was
mushrooming over a longish period of time, during which the
President was declaring his admiration for Putin. (This is part
of President Bush's insistence that personal diplomacy has
worked with Russia.) I don't linger on that. Right now we have
serious problems with our relations with Russia so it's a time
to stand togetherï¿½we shouldn't be sniping at Bush. The U.S.
should be united in a pursuit of an international law in which
respect for other countries is desirable, and Russia needs to
know that as well. But let's be clear: this is not a new Cold
War. Russia is quite vulnerable, and Russia could be scared that
it could lose its assets that it ha