Brick,
This is not about dissolution, it's about secession of one small area. And in the area in question, there is a MASSIVE majority in favour of secession.
When the vast majority of an area want independence then I'd dispute anyone else's claim that the area in question was 'their territory'.
This is particularly so when that area is ethnically distinct from the larger whole - as it is in this case, with Ossetians and Russians out-numbering ethnic Georgians in this area. (And many of the long-term Georgian residents in Ossetia seem to favour independence rather than autonomy, too).
It's also questionable when the larger whole is an artificial construct, with recent and artificially-drawn borders.
The US civil war is hardly pertinent in this case - as it was (to some extent, and insofar as my limited reading suggests) a divisive struggle in both north and south - with no overwhelming or universal mandate for independence in the south, and since those in the south were not ethnically distinct from those who ruled them in the north.
I see no legitimacy in Georgia's claims over South Ossetia. Georgia is entirely 'viable' without South Ossetia. The region is not 'naturally' or traditionally Georgian. Its population (who overwhelmingly are NOT Georgian) don't want Georgian hegemony. They have demonstrated their desire for independence and their rejection of autonomy democratically, and have declared their independence. There is NO suggestion that any Georgian minority would be endangered by Ossetian independence.
What possible reason is there for depriving the Ossetians of their right to choose their own destiny? (Using the situation to twist Russia's tail, however tempting, does not cut it for me).
I might deplore Scottish Nationalist-driven demands for Scottish devolution, but if that's what the Scots themselves want, then fine. If that becomes a demand for full independence, then it's not England's place to invade and keep the Kingdom united by force of arms.
If Puerto Rico voted (98% +) in favour of independence, would the USA be right to invade to stop it?
Dallas,
I'm a far from uncritical admirer of America and Americans. But while I share many of your misgivings and criticisms, I still see them as having some moral authority, and I see them as being leaders of the free world because of that moral authority, and due to their fundamental decency, and not just their economic and military power.