Russian forces swept across Georgia on Monday, capturing the town of Gori and moving to within 35 miles of the capital city Tbilisi, FOX News confirmed.

Georgia reportedly was rushing more than 1,000 troops to Tbilisi in anticipation of a battle with Russian troops.

Russian armor, meanwhile, moved beyond two breakaway provinces and seized a military base and police stations in the country's west, officials said.

Why did Saakashvili try this now? — Here’s my guess, based on my impression of Saakashvili’s character.

Saakashvili is an ardent nationalist who doesn’t view the disputes with Russia rationally. To him, they’re painful and continuing insults to the national soul.

More importantly, Saakashvili is a gambler.

Looks like Ken Griffey Jr. will finally be traded to the White Sox, pending league approval. [Chi-Sox GM] Kenny [Williams] has been after this guy for quite some time now.

"The Iraqi government made it clear there were apparently some translation problems in the quote, that that's not the position of the Prime Minister," he said. "That the prime minister believes and certainly the Iraqi government believes that withdrawal has to be based on conditions.

The future of the transatlantic relationship lies in confronting the challenges of the twenty-first century worldwide: developing a common energy policy, creating a transatlantic common market tying our economies more closely together, addressing the dangers posed by a revanchist Russia, and institutionalizing our cooperation on issues such as climate change, foreign assistance, and democracy promotion.

We should start by ensuring that the G-8, the group of eight highly industrialized states, becomes again a club of leading market democracies: it should include Brazil and India but exclude Russia. Rather than tolerate Russia's nuclear blackmail or cyber attacks, Western nations should make clear that the solidarity of NATO, from the Baltic to the Black Sea, is indivisible and that the organization's doors remain open to all democracies committed to the defense of freedom.

It was a move aimed at ingratiating the Shiite ruling majority in Baghdad with the man they expect to win the November presidential election, American and Iraqi officials said. If it works, it could be a stroke of brilliance, putting Mr. Obama in debt to the Iraqi leader for saving what could have been a disastrous trip to Iraq and defusing what could have been a troubling campaign issue. It could also backfire if a President McCain gets the idea that the Iraqi government is betraying the American politician who, after President Bush, has risked the most on a successful Iraq.

The matter was taken up at a meeting of Iraq's National Security Council on Thursday on the recommendation of Mr. Maliki, who had been advised by the Iraqi politician Ahmad Chalabi to express public support for the Obama withdrawal plan. Asked for a comment yesterday, Mr. Chalabi, an old hand at working the American political process to the advantage of Iraq, conveyed a statement via his Washington representative, Francis Brooke: "This is an honor I will not claim and a rumor I will not deny."

Despite attempts by the Bush administration and other war supporters to downplay the numerous statements from various Iraqi government officials over the last several weeks, there can no longer be any doubt that a strong political consensus exists among Iraqis in favour of a US commitment to withdraw its forces from their country. President Bush and John McCain have consistently tried to ignore this reality, each insisting that a US withdrawal would be contingent upon "conditions on the ground", and not on "artificial timetables". But there's nothing artificial about Iraqis' revulsion at the continuing presence of foreign troops in their homeland, and the political expression of this revulsion represents an important condition on the ground.

The night before presumptive Democratic nominee Sen. Barack Obama (D-IL) left for Afghanistan, Iraq and Western Europe for a tour of US bases overseas, Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice issued a cable to US missions forbidding them from holding events for presidential candidates or arrange meetings for them.

Rice issued no such cable prior to foreign excursions by presumptive Republican nominee Sen. John McCain (R-AZ).

Rice made an effort in her cable to distance herself from claims that her decision might have been influenced by politics.

BLITZER: Have you decided who to vote for?

RICE: Wolf, yes.

BLITZER: Do you want to tell us?

RICE: No.