Georgia’s assertion that they were acting defensively, and that Russia was acting preemptively, is being called into question by “independent military observers.” The New York Times reports on some of the new accounts of the conflict, and they don’t seem to be consistent with the claims of Georgia or its defenders — including the Bush administration and President Elect Obama.

accounts suggest that Georgia’s inexperienced military attacked the isolated separatist capital of Tskhinvali on Aug. 7 with indiscriminate artillery and rocket fire, exposing civilians, Russian peacekeepers and unarmed monitors to harm.