Recently, the Russian-Chechen conflict climbs to a new intensity between deadly terrorist attacks in Moscow and St. Petersburg, and brutal ground operations within Chechnya. Chechen separatists increasingly conduct cross border operations through the Caucasus Mountains from neighboring Georgia. Russian aircraft and special operations teams strike on Georgian soil, pursuing Chechen forces and attacking suspected terrorist camps south of the border.

After having worked for years to meet political and military standards of acceptance, the nation of Georgia is in the final stages of being brought into the North Atlantic Treaty Organization. Fearful of its borders and a threat to its sovereign status, Georgia appeals to NATO for military assistance to seal its borders.

Not far from the foothills of the Caucasus Mountains, the Baku-Tbilisi-Ceyhan (BTC) Pipeline pumps millions of barrels of oil between the landlocked Caspian Sea and the Mediterranean. The project brings immense profits to the shareholders and is the main artery for tapping the rich oil reserves in the region. The United States deploys a significant force as part of the NATO mission to Georgia, not only to protect the security of the newest NATO partner but also to safeguard the significant investments of US corporations into the BTC project. By June 2006, over 10,000 US troops and 5,000 NATO soldiers have deployed across the Georgian side of the border.

A massive Russian air strike against a suspected terrorist camp kills hundreds of refugees in the Georgian foothills in August of 2006. The United States and NATO announce that to prevent the escalation of conflict in the region and to deter the border crossings of Chechen terrorists, combined NATO forces will move 15 kilometers into Russia in order to establish a security buffer zone. NATO forces will assume protection of the Georgian/Russian border from inside of this zone to prevent illegal crossings of Chechen separatists, but all Russian troops are to remain outside the 15 km zone to prevent further attacks on Georgian soil.

Enraged by what is seen as NATO meddling into its internal affairs and fueled by foreign troops in an occupation zone on Russian soil, Moscow deploys a massive build-up of Russian troops along the NATO controlled security zone. Accusations fly of US efforts to control oil in the Caucasus region and to cut Russia out of the oil reserves and the massive profits being brought in through the BTC pipeline project. The floor of the United Nations in New York is a diplomatic battleground. Tens of thousands of troops poise along the Russian/Georgian security zone, a power keg waiting for a random spark to ignite the region into war.

Join MindGame Productions this Labor Day weekend at the Camp Blanding MOUT Facility in North Florida for a showdown between the United States and Russia that has been six decades in the making.