Georgia once more

According to the NYTimes, "The United States... has emphasized that Georgia's territorial integrity must be preserved.  Mr. Bush said Saturday, 'There's no room for debate on this matter.'"

This is in response to Russia's claims that Georgia voided its claims on South Ossetia and Abkhazia by invading South Ossetia.  I completely understand the US upholding the Georgia's borders excepting those provinces, given that there are very real worries of Russia annexing Georgia or turning it into a vassal state.  However, South Ossetia and Abkhazia have only been nominally part of Georgia for the past 15 years; effectively they have been independent and under Russian protection (hence the Georgian invasion that started this war).  Are we really willing to draw a line in the sand just to return them to that state?  Georgia will assert no control over these provinces regardless - why is it so important that they remain as part of Georgia's territory?  At best, it seems like an empty political victory; more likely, it will be yet one more embarrassing sign of how little the US can actually do in this conflict.