Instead of the earlier claim of thousands dead, both Russians and Georgians published moderate figures:
215 Georgians, 64 Russian soldiers, and 133 Ossetians - most of them, presumably, from the Russian-armed militia. The relatively heavy Russian losses are surprising; Israeli-trained Georgians fared not that bad against the prevailing Russian forces.
The hypocrisy around the Russian-Georgian conflict is staggering. For years, Russia subverted Georgian rule in Ossetia and Abkhazia by freely issuing Russian passports to locals. Evidently prompted by Russia, Ossetians started the current round by attacks on Georgians. Russian police operates in Georgia border regions.
America accepted Russia’s mild violations of Georgia’s jurisdiction, though Georgia is a staunch US ally even in Iraq. The US Administration de facto accepted Ossetia and Abkhazia ceding from Georgia, though not Chechnya from Russia, even though the cases are similar: in all those regions, locals overwhelmingly demand cessation.
Syrian dictator Assad was right when he quipped that there is no international justice and Russia behaved with Georgia as a great power should do.