Russia Halts Invasion of Georgia

Well, that's a relief: CNN reports that "Russian President Dmitry Medvedev announced Tuesday that he has ordered an end to military operations against Georgia."

Russian "peacekeeping troops" occupying South Ossetia, a "breakaway" province considered to be part of Georgia, were attacked during the weekend by Georgian troops intent on subduing the region. President Bush, who was attending the Olympic Games in Beijing, did not act until he had returned home and Russian troops were advancing into Georgia, whereupon the President demanded Russia pull back.

On news of the settlement, the Russian stock market pulled out of a nosedive and the ruble "surged the most in seven years," reported Bloomberg.

Both U.S. Presidential candidates had condemned the conflict, but political commentators still sought to distinguish their favorites on the issue. At the Los Angeles Times, Jonah Goldberg criticized Obama for giving a "wan written communique instead of the sort of exciting rhetoric we've come to expect from his make-believe presidency." And the New York Times speculated that John McCain would benefit politically from the invasion because of his "increasingly hard line" on Russia -- though the quick resolution of hostilities may have erased whatever gains the hardness of his line may have won.