Source: CNN's The Glenn Beck Program
With the escalation of violence between Georgia and Russia, and the apparent ceasfire of military operations by Russia, the role of the United States in the build-up and outbreak of the conflict has been largely muted. Despite being Georgia's strongest Western ally, the U.S. seemed to do little in tempering the conflict.
Speaking to Glenn Beck of CNN, Carnegie's Michael McFaul argues that the U.S. severely lacks leverage with Russia and has no viable military option with which to respond to the conflict. Instead, it could counter Russian aspirations to become the hegemon in the region by using international forums to denounce Russia's actions: "[A] UN Security council resolution... [would] force the Russians to have to veto it and... the Chinese to have to make a say on that, because they`re the country that`s always talking about protecting territorial integrity of states... [T]his is a gross violation of the territorial integrity of Georgia. So that would I think be useful in terms of the symbolism."