TBILISI, GEORGIA — Many of this small onetime Soviet republic's most dreaded nightmares have come, suddenly, to pass.
Its expensive, fledgling military has been crushed. Russian soldiers stand on key chunks of its territory. Two separatist enclaves have declared independence -- and been recognized by Moscow, the region's vast and resurgent power broker.
And so it seems improbable that a note of optimism should continue to tinge the talk in this strafed country. But among the leaders of a land that has been washed for decades in waves of war and refugees, there is a sense the game isn't over yet -- and that events might still turn to their benefit.
The brief war that erupted here this month was a crucial turning point, they say, that showed the world the danger of contemporary Russia. Georgians now speak of themselves as a sort of sacrificial lamb whose travails will lead to greater international isolation of Russia -- and bring about better circumstances not only for Georgia, but also for other Western-leaning countries in the region such as Ukraine.
"If it took the lives of our military and our civilians to get the Western world to the thinking they are now arriving at, we'd consider the losses justified," said Alexander Lomaia, Georgia's national security advisor. "We have paid a very high price for this understanding among Western partners, but we also believe this price will be rewarded."
The payoffs in question range from the material to the ideological. Georgia is expecting hefty cash contributions from the West, especially the United States, to repair war damage and mend its battered military. The Pentagon is assessing the needs of Georgia's broken military, but for now U.S. officials say they are focused on humanitarian aid.
Georgian leaders are also infused with fresh hopes of finally joining the North Atlantic Treaty Organization, a long-deferred dream of President Mikheil Saakashvili.
In the past, the United States has lobbied for both Ukraine and Georgia to begin the process of entering the alliance, but Europe has been cool to adding the former Soviet republics -- especially Georgia, with its shaky military and simmering blood feuds with the rebel regions of South Ossetia and Abkhazia.
"I think maybe Europe made an honest mistake and miscalculated the danger posed by Russia to Europe and to the free world," said Giga Bokeria, Georgia's deputy foreign minister. "After this very transparent move, I think there is a much bigger awareness."
