About that "unprovoked attack"

Both Republican presidential candidates, campaigning on their foreign affairs expertise, characterized Russia's August military response against the former Georgian S.S.R. as "unprovoked."

Not exactly, according to somebody who might know:

Irakly Okruashvili, a close ally of Georgian President Mikheil Saakashvili who served as defense minister from 2004 to 2006, said he and the president worked together on military plans to invade South Ossetia and a second breakaway region on the Black Sea coast, Abkhazia.

"Abkhazia was our strategic priority, but we drew up military plans in 2005 for taking both Abkhazia and South Ossetia as well," Okruashvili said.

Reuters.