In previous blogs I have talked about Vladimir Putin's strategy to build an empire for himself in Russia using energy as a leverage tool. I also noted in a previous post that I felt the invasion of South Ossetia by Georgia had tentacles that reached all the way to quite possibly MI6 in Britain and the CIA in America. My reasoning was that by drawing Russia into carefully planned skirmishes, its empire building plans could be cooled off.

Well, if the recent events involving Georgia and South Ossetia were designed to cool Russia down, they have well succeeded. At this time of writing, the Russian stock market has taken a severe drubbing and in fact is still closed to prevent further capital flight.

I would say, Mr. Putin is probably right now re-thinking his whole approach to empire. As we complete the second inning in what will be an exciting game, the score stands at America 1 Russia 0.

SCORE America 1 Russia 0 Inning 2