Georgian participation in ISAF

[Bungarus]

High-ranking military officials emphasize that Georgia has the highest number of soldiers in Afghanistan among non-NATO member countries. Since 2009, 15 Georgian soldiers have been killed. President Saakashvili visits wounded (exact number unknown) soldiers and plans to increase the number of troops up to 2,000. But why? The US plan to retreat from Afghanistan till the end of 2014. Everyone understands that the war is nearly lost and the presence of NATO just angers insurgents and encourages Taliban to fight back. So what is the reason for Saakashvili to send his people right into the dragon's lair? The answer is simple: Georgia ambitiously strives to become a NATO member. It 'grants' security and improves Saakashvili's position in the global arena. But is it a good enough reason to make your own soldiers act as a cannon fodder? Until recently, deployment to Afghanistan was a voluntary decision, but now soldiers who refuse to go are fined and risk damaging their careers. So certain questions arise: Is Georgia needed in NATO? Are Georgian aspirations decent and honest? Is being a NATO member beneficial or is it a waste of peoples' lives?

 

[84RFK]

Throughout history (since the start of organized warfare with massed troops) soldiers have been an expendable asset, and when the cannon was invented they became cannon-fodder.
Another historical fact is that soldiers are considered the elongated arm of politics, in fact the French Cardinal Richelieu had the text:
ULTIMA RATIO REGUM (The Kings Ultimate Argument) inscribed on the French cannons.

Being a member of the NATO does make sense if you share border with a non-NATO state either lead by religious fanatics, and unstable dictator, or a semi-totalitarian regime aspiring to re-establish the past glory of a superpower.

However, the means President Saakashvili has turned to in hope of becoming a member of the NATO will only work as long as he have full support from his own government, and the Georgian opinion.
If not it will be regarded as an act of a totalitarian leader, and NATO doesn't have any tradition of making that kind members of the Treaty...