STATEMENT: Lessons of the Georgia Conflict. By Heidi Tagliavini (nytimes.com)

A year ago, the European Union helped mediate an end to a war that left 850 Georgians (including South Ossetians) and Russians dead and 138,000 displaced.

Then, for the first time in its history, the E.U. created an independent fact-finding commission to determine what went so badly wrong and how to avoid a repetition.

I was honored to be chosen to lead that initiative. Our report is now public, and it has important lessons for Europe.

full text >>>