Georgia On Our Minds

From the NYT Editors:

NATO needs to work with both sides to defuse the growing crisis. France and Germany, which argued for putting off Georgia’s membership, have a special responsibility. They can start by sending envoys to meet with Mr. Medvedev and make clear that they, and the rest of NATO, are committed to Georgia’s security and independence — and will be watching closely to see how he handles this first crisis.

Why, why, why? Why should France, Germany, the USA or Trinidad and Tobago care about how this little affair turns out? How is it any concern of ours how Russia treats the homeland of Joseph Stalin? We should have as little say in how Putin or Medvedev deals with Georgia than Czar Alexander II should have had to say about how Abraham Lincoln and William Tecumseh Sherman dealt with Georgia. I don't get it. Alright, Europe can try to broker a peace, because nothing good can come from a war there, but otherwise - who cares?