Have the leaders of the West lost their collective minds? Seriously, after reading this [1] I am beginning to think so:

German Chancellor Angela Merkel on Sunday assured Georgia would join NATO as she strongly backed the ex-Soviet republic's President Mikheil Saakashvili in his conflict with Russia.

"Georgia will become a member of NATO if it wants to -- and it does want to," she told reporters before talks with Saakashvili in Tbilisi.

And this:

Moscow is furious at Georgia's attempt to join NATO. The Western military alliance is divided over how fast to accept Georgia, but has indicated that membership is a matter of when, not if.

When, not if? Fine, then leaders of the Western Alliance ask yourselves the following questions: how hard will Russia fight if it appears Georgia will be accepted? (I happen to think that by invading Georgia recently, they've answered that question already. But will do so again, if the need arises.)

And, then, if and when Russia does invade the country will NATO really fight? Or will it blow the alliance apart? (I happen to think NATO doesn't function as a military alliance any longer, more like a Concert [2] of Europe, [3] but hey, what do I know?) And lastly, does Germany really have the stomach to fight against Russia again?

Is this really the path we want to go down? Have we become so ignorant of other nation's vital interests and concerns that we will blindly rush into something this insane?

Am I missing something?