The situation "over there" is in a constant state of flux. Having said that, I found
this to be interesting:
Georgia began an offensive to regain control over South Ossetia late Thursday with heavy shelling and air strikes that ravaged its provincial capital of Tskhinvali.
The Russia response was swift and overpowering -- thousands of troops that shelled the Georgians until they fled Tskhinvali on Sunday, and four days of bombing raids across Georgia.
(My emphasis added)
So, if ctv.ca is to be believed, the Georgians started their offensive with forces that apparently "ravaged" Tskhinvali.
My own opinion is that the Western Response is rather curious. While acknowledging that Georgia began this offensive, the old knee-jerk reaction of "blame the Russians" seems to be the norm.
I know that the Russian system is much different from ours, and Putin didn't have to convince a congress to invade, evoking weapons of mass destruction or some other motive. He simply acted.
Personally, if there were a bunch of "ethnic Rockpainters" living next to "Rockpainterland" (of which I were president) and "Fakeland" started shelling that their cities, my own response to "Fakeland" would be swift and overpowering. But that's just me.
Having said all this, I hope that this issue is resolved quickly.