likwid, i'm having decaf this morning so you'll have to excuse me for being a little slow on the draw.
recall in 2004, NATO membership expanded to include countries that were part of the soviet union - the baltic states of latvia, lithuania, and estonia.
currently, the Bush administration is pressing to add two more to the NATO roster, Ukraine and Georgia.
Georgia's U.S. educated president is pushing aggressively to join NATO by 2008.
Putin's got his panties in a bunch over this, and in particular Georgia. In Georgia, new oil and gas pipelines are coming on line - they carry oil from the Caspian Sea, Azerbaijan, and "Central Asia" to Europe. These lines bypass Russia altogether. (Russkies don't like the competition).
So, we could see Putin (more likely his successor) invade Georgia ... and/or step up covert efforts in "Central Asia" to disrupt energy supplies to Georgia. The latter could mean providing arms and assistance to those fighting U.S. troops in the area, etc.
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