Posted on 08/11/2008 8:16:28 AM PDT by Jeff Head
TBILISI, Georgia — Russia opened a second front of fighting in Georgia on Monday, sending armored vehicles beyond two breakaway provinces and seizing a military base and police stations in the country's west, the Georgian government and a Russian official said.
GEORGIAN FORCES
RUSSIAN FORCES
(Excerpt) Read more at seattletimes.nwsource.com ...
Russian forces are attacking Georgian forces in Gori now. Breaking on BBC.
The remarks about paying a price for verbal support to countries like Poland has me curious to the long term goals of Russia. Is this the beginning of a reformulation of the USSR?
A terrible, terrible situation for an ally of ours. Unfortunately, the Georgians are on their own. I just don’t see the U.S. getting involved militarily in this, and there is no one else who is has the power to turn the russians back.
Russia has this right where they want it, and they know it.
Where, oh where was our intleligence community? This reaction is too well organized to have been a mere (over) reaction by the Russians.
The timing couldn’t have been better while the world and its leaders were at the Olympics.
In addition, the strong statements being made by Bush and Cheney are going to have to have something behind them...what we are not sur eof yet. But they cannot make those types of statements internationally without backing thm up somehow.
The Ukraine is already taking steps as well.
This is not over yet...but things do look bleak for Georgia right now.
Logistically, if you look at a map, from the outset there is very little other way it could look militarily. We or anyone else would be hard pressed to literally fight our way in there.
But we can have an impact and we need to make it clear that that impact will hurt the Russians..
I’m sure most of the newsroom at CNN was smiling, too.
Did you see any red pom-poms?
There is that...but only if we act together.
Yes, but I am talking about the article I read this morning with a US Diplomat saying “There isn’t much we can do at this point. Russia is helping us with Iran...”
So they are leaving Georgia to hang.
“this was a blitz of quick and large proportions.”
Yep. See Post #24.
It never was.
Based on this and a BBC report posted earlier, nothing short of a Georgian surrender will stop the neo-Soviets. The West might as well realize that its call for a cease-fire is falling on deaf ears.
Pray for Georgia.
But American diplomats conceded that the US had few options and ruled out military intervention on behalf of Georgia. “We have no good options,” a US National Security Council official told The Daily Telegraph. “We need Russia’s co-operation over Iran and derailing that over a localised conflict in Georgia makes no sense. We just have to hope that diplomacy prevails. The next necessary step is for Russia to respond positively to Georgia’s ceasefire declaration.”
If their diplomats are saying this in the open, then we need to make sure Cheney’s words are not just rhetoric. There needs to be a stiff price and it needs to start post haste.
Russia launches operation outside Georgia's breakaway regions
Russia confirmed on Monday that its troops had advanced from the breakaway region of Abkhazia to the town of Senaki inside Georgia proper. Georgian Interior Ministry said Russian troops have moved into another town in western Georgia. (UPDATED)
Latest on Russia-Georgia conflict
* Turkey proposes formation of a Caucasian union
* G7 urges Russia to accept ceasefire
* Russia seeks emergency Russia-NATO summit.
* Russia says said operation in South Ossetia is near conclusion
* Russian army says its forces have not gone beyond South Ossetia
* Putin slammed West over the conflict
* West increases pressure on Russia
* Cheney says Russian aggression must not go unanswered
* EU demands Russia halt Georgia military activity
* Georgia rejects to lay down arms outside Abkhazia
* Conflict signals a cold atmosphere between Turkey and Russia
The Defense Ministry justified the operation in Senaki, which lies outside the so-called security zone along the de facto Abkhaz boundary, by a need to avert news attacks on another breakaway region of South Ossetia.
"Russian peacekeepers and support units are carrying out an operation aimed at... preventing Georgian forces from regrouping to carry new attacks on South Ossetia," a ministry spokesman said. "Senaki is one of the places where such actions were underway."
The deployment follows Russia's threat to move into western Georgia from Abkhazia if Georgian troops in the area refuse to lay down arms.
Georgian Interior Ministry spokesman Shota Utiashvili said Russian forces moved into the town of Zugdidi outside the breakaway province of Abkhazia and seized police stations there Monday.
Russian and Georgian officials say that Russian forces also have seized a Georgian base in the town of Senaki, further east.
The simmering conflict between Russia and its small, former Soviet neighbor erupted last Thursday when Georgia suddenly sent forces to retake South Ossetia, a pro-Russian province that threw off Georgian rule in the 1990s.
Moscow responded with a counter-attack that drove Georgian forces out of the devastated South Ossetian capital Tshkhinvali on Sunday. Russia says more than 2,000 people have been killed in the fighting and thousands more are homeless but these figures have not been independently verified.
Earlier on Monday Russia had rejected the ceasefire claim, saying Georgian attacks had continued in South Ossetia.
Russian President Dmitry Medvedev said on Monday that a military operation in South Ossetia was nearly over, Interfax news agency reported.
"A significant part of the operation to force the Georgian authorities to make peace in South Ossetia has been concluded," Medvedev said. "Tskhinvali is under the control of a reinforced Russian peacekeeping contingent."
Plus a few new "coaches" as well I expect.
They are full on taunting America through Georgia.
This has taken me by surprise. I never believed Russia to be an ally, but I didn’t really expect them to full on take out an ally and taunt us about it.
And apparently we are to do nothing. In Russia’s eyes, that makes us look weak. In thier mindset, America appears afraid of Russia.
BBC update - Russian deputy PM has dismissed the EU peace proposal.
Statements in the open like this by our own National Security people ENSURE that the Russians WILL NOT respond to diplomacy. The idiot who made that statement to the press should be fired immediately.
Stupid foggy bottom types.
This is the Democrats fault. We need Russian oil. If We had our own oil drilling in ANWR and off the coasts, we wouldn’t need to bow to Russian pressure.
Cooperation? What cooperation?
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