Our hands are clean

Dispute between more powerful Northern Power and Southern Power newly established as a political nation.

Area between them, formally in possession of the latter breaks away because of elites being more inclined towards the Northern Power.

Southern power enters into disputed area asserting it's sovereignty. Massive PR campaign against Southern power follows.

A few years later, disputed power now formally joining Northern power, sees the Northern Power extending its borders into Southern nation's territory by fiat. When Southern power attempts to reoccupy it's legally legitimate territory Northern power creates reason to invade and crushes the Southern power in a legally dubious war and military occupation. Casts out Southern nation's government. Takes more territory from Southern power as a result.

Sound familiar to the current situation between Russia and Georgia over South Ossetia?

That's because it's about the U.S. and Mexico over Texas between 1836 and 1848.

"Poor Mexico, so far from God, so close to the United States"
- Porfirio Diaz

Not quite the way, Lou Dobbs likes the phrase, but accurate.

And something to remember while folks like various Kagans and Billy Kristol blow their war horns. Sadly, this shit has been going on forever -- Georgia by far the weaker state overreached, and now the bigger state is going to punish them -- badly.

It isn't at all fair, it isn't at all moral, it is however, how political power has been exerted from time immemorial.