Russia's decision to invade neighboring Georgia, an ally of the United States, has laid bare Russia's renewed expansionist ambitions. Unfortunately, it has also exposed the limits of U.S. power to do much about it.

While Georgian officials plead for Western assistance, President George Bush and Vice President Dick Cheney issue statements of condemnation and vague warnings of repercussions. And so far, the Russians haven't been much dissuaded.

To the contrary, according to Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice, Russian officials privately admit that their goal is the removal of Georgian President Mikheil Saakashvili, the country's democratically elected leader. That is a chilling possibility. Should Russia succeed in deposing Saakashvili, it will in effect have turned Georgia from a U.S. ally into a Russian vassal state, in the process further exposing the United States as impotent.

Just as important, Russia will have sent a message to other nations in its sphere of influence, such as Ukraine, warning that their independence may depend on their willingness to toe the Russian line, and that the West can't and won't defend them.

As Saakashvili described the stakes in an op-ed article in Monday's Wall Street Journal, if Georgia falls, other states "will have to consider whether the price of freedom and independence are too high."

The situation is rife with historic parallels, none encouraging. This is Hungary in 1956, when the Hungarian people revolted against Soviet control, expecting military support from the West, then dying by the thousands when that support did not come.

It is also Munich in 1938, when Britain and other European powers agreed to stand by and allow Nazi Germany to seize part of Czechoslovakia. And it is Afghanistan in 1979, when the Soviet Union invaded Afghanistan and President Jimmy Carter, like Bush today, was left to bluster and threaten.

In protest of that invasion, Carter did what he could, recalling the U.S. ambassador, organizing an international boycott of the 1980 Moscow Olympics, freezing sales of grain from American farmers to the Soviet Union and severely restricting trade. A Russian coup of Georgia's leadership would call for a response at least as severe, but given the state of U.S. diplomatic leverage, Bush may have trouble matching Carter's actions.

The most aggressive response to Russia's invasion has been offered by GOP presidential candidate John McCain, who suggests that NATO renew efforts to make Georgia a full member of the alliance. Of course, if Saakashvili is ousted and replaced by a leader friendly to Russia, that option would no longer be available.

However, it's worth noting that if McCain's recommendation were carried out, the United States would be obligated to intervene militarily to defend Georgia against attack from Russia. That's a very large step, and our leaders should never make commitments that they are not fully willing and able to carry out.

Even if only implied, such statements can lead to tragedy if our friends come to count on them too heavily. The people of Georgia now know that all too well.

— Jay Bookman, for the editorial board