EDM, 25 Aug 08: Russia is Ready for a Major Confrontation With the West
A well-orchestrated surge of nationalistic pride seems to be driving Russia into a major confrontation with the West over the invasion of Georgia. The Russian media is full of brutal abuse, aimed at opponents of the invasion. State-sponsored propaganda has implied that the West is not only supporting Georgia against Russia, but has sent mercenaries to the fight. It was reported that on August 10 in South Ossetia a "black U.S. citizen" was captured together with a group of Georgian special forces planning subversion. It was reported that a captured pilot of a Georgian Su-25 attack plane shot down over South Ossetia "could not speak Russian or Georgian". These reports have not been substantiated.

In a display of Cold War rhetoric, the Kremlin-controlled daily Izvestia has called the U.S. Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice a "war hawk" and "a single old skinny lady that likes to display her underwear during talks with Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov." The daily called Rice "insane" and described her statements criticizing Russian actions as "colloquial diarrhea". Lavrov has in turn publicly used heavy language, accusing NATO of bias and of trying to save the "criminal regime" in Tbilisi as a suspension of military cooperation was announced by both Moscow and the Alliance......