There has been some debate about whether or not the Russians were justified in attacking Georgia. Some say Georgia started it, pointing to Georgian military attempts to bring South Ossetia back under Tbilisi's control and that Russia is standing up for the independence of the breakaway Georgian territory.

Maybe that's true and maybe not, but Putin, the former Russian president turned Prime Minister who really exercises control in the heartland of the former Soviet empire, is not the lily-white hero some may make him out to be. At the very least, he has no problem with a double standard when his foreign policy aims are at stake.

Back when the United States recognized the independence of Kosovo in February, Putin condemned the Kosovar declaration of independence. "A country's territorial integrity is based on the founding principles of international law," Putin argued then, saying that Europe practices a double standard on the issue. "The independent republic of Northern Cyprus has existed for over 40 years. Why don't you recognize it? Aren't you Europeans ashamed to address the same situations in different parts of the world with such double standards?"

Now that Russian troops have entered Georgia (where, conveniently, there happens to be an important oil pipeline), the same question could be asked of Russia and its erstwhile leader, Vladimir Putin.

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