Recently in Foreign Policy Category

The day after Election Day, I received a message from my friend Kelvin, an Irish photographer. Kelvin and I met in Galway in the summer of 2004. The insurgency in Iraq was running red hot, U.S.-European relations were at a post-World War II low, and Fahrenheit 9/11 had just opened in nearby theaters. We had plenty to talk about. One of the things that we agreed on was that, whatever George Bush's intentions might have been, his leadership had hurt America's image around the world. I hadn't discussed my views on the 2008 election with him during the campaign, but Kelvin was now writing me to congratulate me on the outcome: "The future is bright. Absolutely delighted."

Mention Georgia in a presidential election year, and most Americans will automatically think of the Peachtree State. But the ex-Soviet republic of the same name has just pushed itself into the campaign, thanks to the war that broke out today between Georgia and Russia.