I can say that I've always felt a bit uneasy about the reporting around the South Ossetia War between Georgia & Russia, because it seemed weird that Georgia was painted in such a defenseless light after it started the hostilities in South Ossetia (of course, it is possible the Russians were causing some trouble there to begin with... but I don't buy conspiracy theories). Anyways, the op-end which makes the most sense to me was written by Mikhail Gorbachev, of all people:

By declaring the Caucasus, a region that is thousands of miles from the American continent, a sphere of its "national interest," the United States made a serious blunder. Of course, peace in the Caucasus is in everyone's interest. But it is simply common sense to recognize that Russia is rooted there by common geography and centuries of history. Russia is not seeking territorial expansion, but it has legitimate interests in this region.