>>http://www.timesonline.co.uk/tol/news/world/europe/article4500362.ece
>>
>>As a Russian jet bombed fields around his village, Djimali Avago, a Georgian farmer, asked me: “Why won’t America and Nato help us? If they won’t help us now, why did we help them in Iraq?”
>>
>>A similar sense of betrayal coursed through the conversations of many Georgians here yesterday as their troops retreated under shellfire and the Russian Army pressed forward to take full control of South Ossetia.
>>
>>This whole thing is confusing. Some one who knows please correct me. Didn't this start because Georgia decided to retake the area that had won independence? Didn't Georgia start this mess and then Russia stepped in to help Ossetia (probably political)?
>
>From what I read, yes, this was started by a Georgian raid. That's the area my dad's ancestors are from.

And now they want the U.S. to intervene and escalate the situation by getting into a war with Russia? Wouldn't it make more sense for Georgia to withdraw from Ossetia? I thought they had but fighting between Georgia and Russia seems to continue regardless.

As to the status of Ossetia, this article is old and not specific:

http://www.opendemocracy.net/democracy-caucasus/south_ossetia_4100.jsp

It appears that at that time, the international community (Nato, U.S., etc) did not recognize Ossetia. I couldn't quickly find anything that showed whether or not anything has changed since then.