For many, the violence that erupted in the Caucasus region last weekend seemed like a resurgence of the Cold War we long thought was over. Russia's support for the tiny regions of South Ossetia and Abkhazia, who were attempting to remain separated from the sovereign nation of Georgia, seems to have turned into an excuse for a full-scale Russian attack and invasion of Georgia itself.

Georgia, of course, is America's friend in Eastern Europe. We sponsored their admission into NATO, despite Russian protests. Russia has been making life difficult for the Georgians for years. However, this is not 1960 any more. We suspect today's events are less about a conflict between capitalism and communism and more about a fundamental change in the world's dynamics that is occurring today.

You may recall that the Cold War was cold because of a policy known as Mutual Assured Destruction (MAD). The threat of nuclear retaliation (and the end of life on this planet) kept the East and West from going into all-out battle with each other. That threat still exists today.Read more...