“Whatever one expected from the aftermath of the Russo-Georgian war, surely a car bomb was not among the first choices — yet that is precisely what has occurred. As Russian forces prepared to leave security zones in South Ossetia and Abkhazia in the wake of Georgia’s humiliating defeat, they stopped a car with Georgian license plates in which the occupants were armed. The car was taken to a Russian checkpoint, where it promptly exploded. Nine Russian soldiers, including a Russian general in the nearby headquarters, were killed, and seven others were wounded. A car bomb in the Caucasus? This is a weapon, and a method of terrorism, with a very familiar signature. It points to the introduction of a rather sinister aspect to the Russia-Georgia conflict — the entrance of radical Islamic elements on the field of battle, and clearly on the side of the Georgians.” (10/06/08)