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Russia announced yesterday that it would recognize the independence of two breakaway Georgian provinces over which it fought a minor war earlier this month. President Bush denounced what he called an “irresponsible decision” on Russia’s part. NATO’s decision-making body, the North Atlantic Council, also condemned the move and urged Russia to reverse its position. But Russian president Dmitri Medvedev defended the move saying that Georgia forced Russia’s hand by trying to gain control by force in the smaller of the two provinces, South Ossetia. He also said, “We are not afraid of anything, including the prospect of a Cold War.” The US intends to use a Navy destroyer and Coastguard Cutter to deliver what it’s calling a humanitarian shipment to the region this week. Georgia is a staunch ally of the US in the Caucasus region, a major transit corridor for energy supplies to Europe and a strategic crossroads close to the Middle East, Iran, Afghanistan and energy-rich Central Asia. Meanwhile, Vice President Dick Cheney is due to visit Georgia next week.

GUEST: David Kotz, professor of economics at the University of Massachusetts Amherst and coauthor of “Russia’s Path from Gorbachev to Putin: The Demise of the Soviet System and the New Russia”