Is the West's memory really so short?? (Israel, borders, independence)

[StoneOne]

So Russia has officially recognized the independence of Abkhazia and South Ossetia. The West has cried foul, with George II (W) calling it an "irresponsible decision." Saakashvili said that Russia is the first power since the Soviet Union and Nazi Germany to change borders by force.

Why is our memory so short? Was not the Serb incursion into Kosovo in attempt to squash sepratists the exact same thing that Georgia has done with Ossetia and Abkhazia? Weren't Serbia's borders recognized by the U.N. and international law to include Kosovo?

Why the hypocrisy from the West?

[Widowmaker2k]

Slate Magazine - "South Ossetia isn't Kosovo"
The comparison between South Ossetia and Kosovo is bunk. - By Christopher Hitchens - Slate Magazine

[oz in SC]

Why Russia's hypocrisy about Chechnya?

[wakemenow]

Because the U.S. is looking for any reason to demonize Russia at this juncture. It probably goes back to missile defense shields, NATO and G8 stuff that I'm not all that familiar with. We know Georgia and Israel have relations, so there's bound to be a rat in the wainscoting. Just by reading the news reports dripping with propaganda and hypocrisy, you know some ulterior motive is boiling beneath the surface.