To answer a couple of throw-away remarks from Jacko, namely:
How exactly does South Ossetia differ from (say) Croatia, Bosnia or Kosovo immediately before their independence?
and
Does the invasion of Georgia have a clear and compelling basis in international law?
Probably not, if you're looking for an absolute answer. But did the Georgian invasion of Ossetia?Did the US invasion of Iraq in 2003?
They are both references to cases with totally different backgrounds.
You know, and I could list thousands of papers over many years relating to each case, the agonizing international decision making involving multiple international bodies, to reach a least worst decision.
I could for example, mention Kosovo where, apart from the Russian veto, the whole international body was in agreement; to relate that to one where, apart from Russia , every one disagreed, is a equivalent case is a travesty of fact, logic, and intellectual integrity.