South Ossetia and Palestine: Compare and Contrast

Salvete. I could talk (and was planning to talk) about many different things, but they can wait for another day. Let's talk about a topic that absolutely no one talks about: South Ossetia.

I'm a big fan of little-known countries, as you could probably tell from my love of Estonia. As I was researching various topics, I came across the country of South Ossetia. After some research, this is what I found.

Georgia has two insurgent factions: Abkhazia and South Ossetia. After the dissolution of the Soviet Union, The two factions sought independence. Georgia, of course, was against the struggle, but Russia, out for revenge, took the side of the insurgents and stopped a force sent by Georgia to crush the rebels. South Ossetians were able to maintain their "independence" but weren't recognized by any major power except Russia (a few minor factions do recognize their sovereignty, like Venezuela, but they aren't strong enough to back the claim with force).

The catch is that South Ossetia (and the Russian counterpart North Ossetia) are a hop, skip, and a jump from Chechnya, the renowned terrorist home base.

At this point, the similarities between Palestine and South Ossetia should be fairly clear. The two sides are vying for independence due to nationalist ideals, and there is a definite possibility that either side could get out of hand. Both countries have been recognized by some UN states but not all.

So what, in my opinion, is the difference between Palestine and South Ossetia? For one, Palestine is generally solidly against the state of Israel. In the eyes of many, there is not enough space in the region for both of them. South Ossetia merely wants independence; there is nothing stopping Abkhazia, South Ossetia, and Georgia from living in harmony. Also, there are heavy religious and ethnic motivations behind the conflict in Israel, while there is little motivation in the war for independence in South Ossetia but political and loyalty reasons.

As for myself, I support South Ossetian independence, but I can easily make a case for either side. I am, however, firmly against Palestinian independence primarily because I support a united and strong Israel as the beacon of the West in the Middle East. I welcome any arguments otherwise, and I would love to listen to comments on the topic.