"Mr. Cheney's remarks about Georgia's territorial integrity also contradicted Russia's recognition of the independence of two areas of the country -_ South Ossetia and Abkhazia.

"The vice president was speaking on the second leg of a tour of the region which he began in Azerbaijan Wednesday. He planned to fly later Thursday to Ukraine.

"The combination of new American aid and Mr. Cheney's high-profile visit to a region the Russians call "the near abroad" is sure to inflame tensions further. Russia's leaders have openly accused the United States of having provoked last month's conflict by providing Georgia with weapons and training for its armed forces, while encouraging its aspirations to join NATO.

"President Dmitri A. Medvedev and Prime Minister Vladimir V. Putin have already complained that humanitarian supplies delivered by the American Navy and Air Force were a disguise for delivering new weapons, accusations that administration officials have dismissed as baseless."

Of course, Cheney's visit to Azerbaijan was all about that nation's oil and gas supplies.

Cheney keeps poking the Russian bear, pushing NATO to the Russian border.  If the shoe were on the other foot and the former USSR was encouraging Mexico to become a member of the Warsaw Pact, how would the Bush regime react?