Georgian-South Ossetian conflict

[Federate]

Re: Georgian-South Ossetian conflict

Yushchenko and Saakashvili are closer than you think!
---------------------------------------
Yushchenko gives refuge to Saakashvili’s family

Viktor Yushchenko holds Saakashvili's son,
Nikolaz, during the ceremony of christening.

Georgian President Mikhail Saakashvili’s wife and two children are reported to have taken refuge in the Ukraine at the holiday home of its President, Viktor Yushchenko.

Russian newspaper DNI.ru reports that Saakashvili’s wife, Sandra Roelofs, was visiting the Olympics in Beijing with her children when Georgia attacked South Ossetia. But instead of returning to Tbilisi, they decided to stay at Yushchenko’s closely guarded dacha on the Crimean Peninsula.

The two presidents’ families have a close relationship – Yushchenko is a godfather of Saakashvili’s younger son, while Saakashvili christened one of Yushchenko’s daughters.

It was earlier reported that Roelofs was set to return to the U.S. and seek help from her psychotherapist. She was said to be stressed by the news of Georgia’s offensive in its breakaway republic of South Ossetia.

As a result of the attack by the Georgian army, the ancient town of Tskhinvali was almost wiped out and over two thousand people were killed.

From http://www.russiatoday.com/news/news/29057

[RSNATION]

Re: Georgian-South Ossetian conflict

August 15, 2008
Blowback From Bear-Baiting

by Patrick J. Buchanan


Mikheil Saakashvili's decision to use the opening of the Olympic Games to cover Georgia's invasion of its breakaway province of South Ossetia must rank in stupidity with Gamal Abdel-Nasser's decision to close the Straits of Tiran to Israeli ships.

Nasser's blunder cost him the Sinai in the Six-Day War. Saakashvili's blunder probably means permanent loss of South Ossetia and Abkhazia.

After shelling and attacking what he claims is his own country, killing scores of his own Ossetian citizens and sending tens of thousands fleeing into Russia, Saakashvili's army was whipped back into Georgia in 48 hours.

Vladimir Putin took the opportunity to kick the Georgian army out of Abkhazia, as well, to bomb Tbilisi, and to seize Gori, birthplace of Stalin.

Reveling in his status as an intimate of George Bush, xxxx Cheney, and John McCain, and America's lone democratic ally in the Caucasus, Saakashvili thought he could get away with a lightning coup and present the world with a fait accompli.

Mikheil did not reckon on the rage or resolve of the Bear.

American charges of Russian aggression ring hollow. Georgia started this fight – Russia finished it. People who start wars don't get to decide how and when they end.

Russia's response was "disproportionate" and "brutal," wailed Bush.

True. But did we not authorize Israel to bomb Lebanon for 35 days in response to a border skirmish where several Israel soldiers were killed and two captured? Was that not many times more "disproportionate"?

Russia has invaded a sovereign country, railed Bush. But did not the United States bomb Serbia for 78 days and invade to force it to surrender a province, Kosovo, to which Serbia had a far greater historic claim than Georgia had to Abkhazia or South Ossetia, both of which prefer Moscow to Tbilisi?

Is not Western hypocrisy astonishing?

When the Soviet Union broke into 15 nations, we celebrated. When Slovenia, Croatia, Macedonia, Bosnia, Montenegro, and Kosovo broke from Serbia, we rejoiced. Why, then, the indignation when two provinces, whose peoples are ethnically separate from Georgians and who fought for their independence, should succeed in breaking away?

Are secessions and the dissolution of nations laudable only when they advance the agenda of the neocons, many of whom viscerally detest Russia?

That Putin took the occasion of Saakashvili's provocative and stupid stunt to administer an extra dose of punishment is undeniable. But is not Russian anger understandable? For years the West has rubbed Russia's nose in her Cold War defeat and treated her like Weimar Germany.

When Moscow pulled the Red Army out of Europe, closed its bases in Cuba, dissolved the evil empire, let the Soviet Union break up into 15 states, and sought friendship and alliance with the United States, what did we do?

American carpetbaggers colluded with Muscovite Scalawags to loot the Russian nation. Breaking a pledge to Mikhail Gorbachev, we moved our military alliance into Eastern Europe, then onto Russia's doorstep. Six Warsaw Pact nations and three former republics of the Soviet Union are now NATO members.

Bush, Cheney, and McCain have pushed to bring Ukraine and Georgia into NATO. This would require the United States to go to war with Russia over Stalin's birthplace and who has sovereignty over the Crimean Peninsula and Sebastopol, traditional home of Russia's Black Sea fleet.

When did these become U.S. vital interests, justifying war with Russia?

The United States unilaterally abrogated the Anti-Ballistic Missile treaty because our technology was superior, then planned to site anti-missile defenses in Poland and the Czech Republic to defend against Iranian missiles, though Iran has no ICBMs and no atomic bombs. A Russian counter-offer to have us together put an antimissile system in Azerbaijan was rejected out of hand.

We built a Baku-Tbilisi-Ceyhan pipeline from Azerbaijan through Georgia to Turkey to cut Russia out. Then we helped dump over regimes friendly to Moscow with democratic "revolutions" in Ukraine and Georgia, and tried to repeat it in Belarus.

Americans have many fine qualities. A capacity to see ourselves as others see us is not high among them.

Imagine a world that never knew Ronald Reagan, where Europe had opted out of the Cold War after Moscow installed those SS-20 missiles east of the Elbe. And Europe had abandoned NATO, told us to go home and become subservient to Moscow.

How would we have reacted if Moscow had brought Western Europe into the Warsaw Pact, established bases in Mexico and Panama, put missile defense radars and rockets in Cuba, and joined with China to build pipelines to transfer Mexican and Venezuelan oil to Pacific ports for shipment to Asia? And cut us out? If there were Russian and Chinese advisers training Latin American armies, the way we are in the former Soviet republics, how would we react? Would we look with bemusement on such Russian behavior?

For a decade, some of us have warned about the folly of getting into Russia's space and getting into Russia's face. The chickens of democratic imperialism have now come home to roost – in Tbilisi.

COPYRIGHT CREATORS SYNDICATE, INC.

[crusader1492]

Re: Georgian-South Ossetian conflict

Russia Must Withdraw From Georgia Immediately - US' Rice


LONDON -(Dow Jones)- All Russian forces and irregular units with them must leave Georgia immediately, U.S. Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice said in the Georgian capital Tbilisi Friday.

Speaking at a joint press conference with Georgian President Mikhail Saakashvili after he had signed a ceasefire deal, Rice said: "With the signing of this accord, all Russian troops, and any paramilitary and irregular troops that entered with them must leave immediately."

This bitch done gone craaayyyzeee.

...TALK TO THE HAND...

[yerazhishda]

Re: Georgian-South Ossetian conflict

August 15, 2008
Blowback From Bear-Baiting

by Patrick J. Buchanan

This is actually an issue in which Pat knows what he is talking about. I was surprised when I heard him talking on the McLaughlin Group and he pretty much got the conflict spot on.

[yerazhishda]

Re: Georgian-South Ossetian conflict

[Armanen]

Re: Georgian-South Ossetian conflict

I actually really like Pat, and would have loved to see him as Pres. back in 2000 when he ran. He and Ron Paul would have made a good ticket, but it's over for both of them and of course they would have never been allowed to win.

[Armenian]

Re: Georgian-South Ossetian conflict

The writer of this article is full of shit. Even with limited numbers of "obsolete hardware" Russian forces 'smashed' into pieces the entire Georgian military in 'two' short days. Russia could very well have sent in its main battle tanks, the upgraded T-72s and T-80s, but it chose instead to send in its old T-62s. According to what I have seen thus far, the Russian military placed its emphasis on 'mobility' and 'special operations' by its special forces/paratroopers. As a result, instead of heavy armor, it sent in large numbers of infantry fighting vehicles and paratroopers. In rugged and forested territory this was the smart thing to do. Russia did not need to send in modern aircraft either. What it needed to get the job done were some close air support aircraft (SU-25s), attack helicopters (MI-24s) and light bombers (SU-24s). What's more, Russia baited Georgians into Ossetia by 'not' placing strong military formations there as it had in Abkhazia. Russia had been preparing the playing field for several years now, and the Georgians (with their western and Israeli backers) were stupid enough to play Moscow's game. The initial attack by Georgia was what Russia was hoping and praying for. Finally, Armenia's tank formations are made up of upgraded T-72's. However, having large numbers of heavy main battle tanks in rugged/forested territory is not very smart, militarily speaking. What is needed in the Caucasus is highly mobile troop formations armed with modern anti-aircraft missiles/anti-tank rockets and modern artillery. Idiots writing articles about military/combat should consult with experts first.

A pretty important article from the Moscow Times on this war and the future of warfare, especially in the former USSR. Armenia needs to learn from these. The writer is Armenian btw.

[North Pole]

Re: Georgian-South Ossetian conflict

Azerbaijan Natural Gas Pipeline to Georgia CLOSED

Oooops....
Where is Saakashvilli going to get money from now?..





Turkey ups gas imports from Iran

Thu, 14 Aug 2008 10:22:12 GMT

Iran has reportedly increased its gas exports to Turkey after the Russia-Georgia conflict disrupted supplies from Azerbaijan.
British Petroleum announced on Tuesday that it had closed a natural gas pipeline running from the Azerbaijani field of Shakh-Deniz to Georgia and Turkey over concerns of a military conflict between Moscow and Tbilisi.

Reuters quoted a senior source from the Turkish pipeline company, Botas, as saying on Tuesday that the company would increase gas imports from Iran in order to compensate for a reduction in Azerbaijani supplies.

Iran previously exported 12 million cubic meters to Turkey per day but has increased its daily export to 19 million cubic meters since Wednesday, IRNA reported an official in Botas as saying.

Iran possesses the world's second-largest gas reserves after Russia. Turkey has been a consumer of Iranian gas since 2001.

http://www.presstv.com/detail.aspx?id=66576&sectionid=351020103

[North Pole]

Re: Georgian-South Ossetian conflict

Russia opens ‘genocide’ criminal case on South Ossetia events

TSKHINVAL, August 14 (Itar-Tass) - The Russian Prosecutor’s Investigative Committee has opened a criminal case over the fact of murder of Russian citizens in South Ossetia under the Criminal Code article “genocide,” Igor Komissarov, an aide to the committee’s chairman, told Itar-Tass.

“The Investigative Committee’s main department have instituted criminal proceedings under Article 357 of the Russian Criminal Code- “genocide” based on received information on actions taken by the Georgian armed forces aimed at the liquidation of citizens of Russia residing in South Ossetia and Ossetians by nationality by way of murders and infliction of heavy damage to health,” said Komissarov.

About 100 Russian investigators are continuing work in Tskhinval at present probing into the killings of Russian citizens and Russian peacekeepers.

Georgian President Mikhail Saakashvili’s actions in South Ossetia are a war crime and an act of genocide against Ossetians, Russian permanent representative to NATO Dmitry Rogozin said earlier. “At least 2,500 people have already fallen victim to a humanitarian catastrophe in South Ossetia. Since the entire population of South Ossetia is 73,000, proportionately this is the biggest act of genocide in the history of Europe since World War II,” Rogozin told a briefing on Monday.

“The most terrible thing is that this is happening not because of a natural calamity but because of a well thought-out plan of Georgian authorities,” he said. Rogozin spoke in detail about Russia’s efforts to overcome the humanitarian catastrophe, the goals of the operation to enforce peace in South Ossetia and about Russia’s demands to stop the conflict. “Our demands are that the Georgian troops should leave the area where the peacekeepers stay, a ceasefire should be announced, and an agreement on the non-use of force should be signed,” he said. Georgia is showing disrespect for international law and notions of humanity in the conduct of military actions, Rogozin said.

Some day, Russia will raise the problem of genocide of the Ossetian people and ethnic cleansings that Georgian forces have carried out in the unrecognised republic of South Ossetia, Russian President Dmitry Medvedev said Tuesday as he addressed a joint news conference together with French President Nicolas Sarkozy.

“Quite naturally, the problem of ethnic cleansings there does exist, and we’ve been quite resolute in raising the issue and will continue raising it in the future to expose the people responsible for them,” Medvedev said. “However, some of our partners ask us in private conversations for some reason to refrain from raising it,” he said. “Maybe, they feel shy.”

“International law qualifies such problems as a crime, like the slaughter of thousands of people, and it is called genocide,” Medvedev said. “More than that, we’ve said in the past we’re surprised to see the situations where one individual who killed thousands of people is described as a terrorist and a moron while another such individual is treated as a legitimately elected president of a sovereign country,” he said.

“International law doesn’t have provisions for the use of double standards, and we must observe this in political practices,” Medvedev said.

http://itar-tass.com/eng/level2.html?NewsID=12962157&PageNum=0

“The city was burnt to the ground, leveled. It’s like Stalingrad. The images are very similar,” said South Ossetian presidential plenipotentiary in Russia Dmitry Medoyev. He added that it is still dangerous to talk over mobile phones, as it may invoke another round of shelling.

http://en.rian.ru/photolents/20080811/115942618_1.html

[skhara]

Re: Georgian-South Ossetian conflict

Russia had been preparing the playing field for several years now, and the Georgians (with their western and Israeli backers) were stupid enough to play Moscow's game. The initial attack by Georgia was what Russia was hoping and praying for.

I have to say that I am really disappointed and extremely nervous about the outcome of this fight. I don't understand why the Russian Federation did not deliver the cou'de gra. Although they absolutely smashed the Georgian army and left them in confusion and disarray, the Americans are essentially replacing everything the Georgians lost and much more. Unless Moscow has something else up her sleave this is extremely nerve-wrecking to me. The fact that Georgia lost is no doubt, but now Washington is pouring in everything its got back in.

I don't understand why the Kremlin didn't demand ceasefire terms that would essentially keep Georgia disarmed, and they should have continued the advance to capture all the Georgian communication outlets (roads, bridges, railroads, airports, and seaports) until such concessions came.

I am also very disappointed the arguments pushed forward by Moscow. Besides the one they made, they should have been pushing that they can not tolerate an openely declared enemy on its Caucasus border.

Either way, now Moscow and Tehran need to aggressively engage each other to stop being so dam reactive to the Anglo-xxx-American axis and start being pro-active to push back significantly to force the squares on the chess board to fall in their camps.

GOD FORBID the Anglo-J*w-American plans for the Caucasus come to fruition.
GOD FORBID the Anglo-J*w-American plans for Iran come to fruition.
GOD FORBID the Anglo-J*w American plans for Russia come to fruition.