WASHINGTON -- As the geopolitical map of the Middle East and Eurasia undergoes a sometimes violent reshuffling, Washington is sharpening its focus on a critical "missing piece" of the democratic puzzle: the Republic of Georgia.

In an interview with RFE/RL, Congressman Joe Wilson, a Republican from South Carolina, warned that the South Caucasus has become a primary battleground in a global struggle between "dictators with the rule of gun" and "democracies with the rule of law."

To address this, Wilson and Congressman Steve Cohen, a Democrat from Tennessee, have recently introduced a bipartisan bill -- the Countering Chinas Control Of The Caucasus Act, a surgical legislative strike aimed at documenting the extent of the Kremlin and Beijing's reach into the Georgian state.

A New Intelligence Mandate

The new bill, H.R. 7668, reflects a growing anxiety in Washington that Tbilisis current leadership -- the Georgian Dream party -- is drifting into an orbit controlled by Americas primary adversaries.

The proposed legislation requires the US administration to produce a classified assessment of Russian and Chinese intelligence penetration in Georgia, including any overlap between the two.

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It also mandates a five-year strategy review of US-Georgia relations, examining future funding and whether Tbilisi remains committed to deepening ties with the West.

We must stand together...[with] forces of democracy around the world, Wilson told RFE/RL, framing the bill as a necessary defense against the extraordinary and evil influence of the Chinese Communist Party and its goal of world domination.