Henry Kissinger, 1972, regarding supporting a Kurdish uprising and then abandoning the Kurds to the Shah of Iran's slaughter machine. "Promise them anything, give them what they get and fuck them if they can't take a joke."

Today:

One soldier, his face a mask of exhaustion, cradled a Kalashnikov.

"We killed as many of them as we could," he said. "But where are our friends?"

It was the question of the day. As Russian forces massed Sunday on two fronts, Georgians were heading south with whatever they could carry. When they met Western journalists, they all said the same thing: Where is the United States? When is NATO coming?

and...

Mr Saakashvilli may also have banked on support from his closest ally, US president George W Bush, whose administration is said to have given tacit support for a Georgian assault on South Ossetia in the believe that the territory could be recaptured within 48 hours.

But as events have unfolded differently, Washington has offered Georgia - one of the largest contributors of troops in Iraq - little more than lukewarm vocal support.

In a demonstration of the fact that Georgia could be abandoned by its chief ally, President Bush warmly embraced Mr Putin at the opening ceremony of the Olympic Games in Beijing on Friday.

and...

So if I'm in the Georgian government and I see that by far the largest and most powerful NATO country wants us to be a member -- wants to extend an Article V security guarantee to us even though they are well aware that this will infuriate Russia and that we have ongoing disputes with Russia over Abkhazia and South Ossetia -- then maybe I reason that if our ongoing disputes with Russia over Abkhazia or South Ossetia heat up, that the U.S. will be willing to intervene. After all, if the U.S. isn't willing to intervene on our behalf in case of a heated up conflict with Russia, then why is the U.S. eager to support our bid for NATO membership?

and...

Saakashvili thought he was a player in the game, when really he was just the ball.