Today, the U.S. embassy in Moscow denied Russian charges, made yesterday, that American volunteers fought alongside Georgian troops in the war this August.

And what if mercenaries from the United States took part in the fighting?  As an initial matter, American citizens are generally free to roam the world and do what they want, even oppose the army of a large authoritarian state.  More important, it’s not as if defending an endangered democracy is the crime of the century.

So here is my message to any gringos who were with the Georgians this summer: “Thank you for helping a small country.”

By the way, why can’t the State Department say that?