To visit Abkhazia and South Ossetia, armed separatist enclaves in Georgia, as I did two weeks ago, is to watch the ongoing destruction of international law and order by a brand-new modus operandi.

The Georgian province of Abkhazia is a possible flashpoint for a new war with Russia.

Several events in recent days indicate deepening ties between Iran and Russia. To this end, Russian foreign minister Sergei Lavrov announced last month in Washington, D.C., Moscow's "step-by-step" proposal for restarting negotiations with Iran.

In order to regain its lost ground, the United States needs to offer Georgia more than words.

We must reduce the chance of broader conflict in the Caucasus.

Zurab Zhvania, only 41 when he died, was the Republic of Georgia's prime minister and co-architect, along with President Mikheil Saakashvili, of theRose Revolutionthat brought true democracy to Georgia a year ago.

Russia and Georgia are both to blame for the invasion of South Ossetia.

The United States must reject Russia's attempts to reestablish an empire and instead must support Russia's free, democratic, and sovereign neighbors.