But, seriously, we welcome the Georgians support.
Posted on 10/14/2007 3:32:30 PM PDT by Tailgunner Joe
The United States has found an unlikely ally in the struggle to block what U.S. commanders contend is Iranian weapons smuggling in this rural agricultural region south and east of Baghdad: soldiers from the former Soviet republic of Georgia.
At a time when other countries are pulling troops out, Georgia has more than doubled the level of its forces here, from 850 to 2,000 soldiers, and redeployed them from the Green Zone in the capital to a region along the Iranian border.
After a ceremony to mark the formal start of their mission Monday, during which Georgian soldiers knelt and were sprinkled with holy water by their Eastern Orthodox priest, the tiny Caucasus Mountain nation has become the United States's second-largest ally in Iraq...
...Georgian soldiers said in interviews that they understood their service ...was directly linked to their own security - as a means of helping Georgia join NATO to protect against a resurgent Russia.
Sergeant Koba Oshkhereli, interviewed as he peered out the dusty gate of Forward Operating Base Delta at the trash-strewn streets of Kut, said he understood the rationale for his deployment here in these terms: "The bear was sleeping. Now the bear is awake and stomping his feet."
The Georgians are not the first former Soviet or East Bloc soldiers to come to Iraq with these notions and, in the process, continue to bolster the withering "coalition of the willing."
Of the 25 nations now contributing troops to Iraq , 18 are former East Bloc or Soviet countries, including Poland, Ukraine and small nations like Estonia , according to a tally by the Brookings Institution in Washington. A majority are either new members of NATO or aspiring members of the alliance at a time when Russia's historical imperial ambitions in the region are stirring again.
(Excerpt) Read more at iht.com ...
We should welcome the Georgians, and not forget about them (as we do the Chechens).
But, seriously, we welcome the Georgians support.
I know that was just a bit of humor. I would split a hair though. Stalin was actually an Ossetian - like the folks at Beslan. South Ossetia is now a part of Georgia so he is often wrongly called a Georgian.
I dig your screen name.
It is only appropriate for the oldest Christian nation on earth, having survived Zoroastrian and Moslem and Russian oppression for close to 2000 years, to fight against Islamic extremists.
I thought he was from Gori? I didn’t realize that Gori had been a part of South Ossetia.
His father was an Ossetian. I’m not sure if Gori is in Ossetia or not. That is where he grew up though.
Welcome aboard, Georgia!
Oh, STFU. What's really withering in Iraq is Al Qaeda. But the MSM won't say it.
Disclaimer: Opinions posted on Free Republic are those of the individual posters and do not necessarily represent the opinion of Free Republic or its management. All materials posted herein are protected by copyright law and the exemption for fair use of copyrighted works.