Posted on 08/11/2008 2:56:44 PM PDT by neverdem
SENAKI, Georgia: Russia issued an ultimatum to Georgia on Monday to disarm its troops along the boundary with the pro-Russian separatist enclave of Abkhazia as Russian tanks rolled across the internal border and occupied a military base in western Georgia.
The move was a sign that fighting could escalate on a second, western front after the conflict initially broke out last week around South Ossetia, the separatist enclave farther east.
President Dmitri Medvedev of Russia said its forces had "completed a significant part of the operations to oblige Georgia, the Georgian authorities, to restore peace to South Ossetia," according to a transcript of his remarks with Anatoly Serdyukov, the defense minister, on the Kremlin Web site.
Separately, Russia said it was seeking an emergency meeting with NATO to discuss the crisis.
But the Russian Defense Ministry said that armored vehicles and troops had overrun a military base in the Georgian town of Senaki, about 40 kilometers, or 25 miles, south of the Abkhazian border, suggesting that Russian troops had already begun to move south from the enclave into Georgia proper.
The Russian ultimatum, issued by Major General Sergei Chaban, commander of Russian peacekeeping forces in Abkhazia, called for Georgian troops to disarm in the Zugdidi district, along the border between Abkhazia and Georgia.
Russia has poured extra forces into Abkhazia, where it now has at least 9,000 troops and 350 armored vehicles.
Giga Bokeria, a Georgian official close to President Mikheil Saakashvili, said the ultimatum raised alarms that Russian troops would now make a broader push into Georgian territory in the west of the country. Many Georgian troops have been tied up in fighting farther east, near South Ossetia.
A pivotal question in the conflict, which has involved heavy fighting since late last week, is whether Russia would push beyond...
(Excerpt) Read more at iht.com ...
It would make a lovely precedent.
Georgia aggravated this, and God knows we set the stage with Kosovo. But we (Nato) need to do something or we will have this happening in Poland, the Ukraine, and the Baltic states.
We need to do something yes but we need to be prepared to take it all the way to WWIII. Otherwise were just pissin in the wind.
"Show me just what Mohammed brought that was new, and there you will find things only evil and inhuman, such as his command to spread by the sword the faith he preached." - Manuel II Palelologus
Georgia as expected sends troops into action to protect its interests.
Putin then unleashes his preplanned attack on Georgia on the opening day of the Olympics, exactly on schedule.
People the world over blame Georgia.
Putin wins.
"Show me just what Mohammed brought that was new, and there you will find things only evil and inhuman, such as his command to spread by the sword the faith he preached." - Manuel II Palelologus
Is that actually the case? Did the Russia-backed separatists start the violence? If anyone has linkable sources for this, please post. Tanks.
Just the warm up for Tribulation. Obama the Anti-Messiah with the EU in tow, Russia and allies from the north, Commie China and allies from the east. All meeting in Israel in the valley of decision.
First Putin orders South Ossetian separatists to attack Georgian villages before the start of the Olympics.
“Georgia as expected sends troops into action to protect its interests.
Putin then unleashes his preplanned attack on Georgia on the opening day of the Olympics, exactly on schedule.
People the world over blame Georgia.
Putin wins.”
Excellent analysis. And you know who actually has this figured out also? John McCain. Yes, good old John McCain. He understands the Russians which Bush and his “Russian Expert” Condi Rice, don’t. Right at this moment, I wish John McCain was President, and I can’t believe I am saying that.
“Russia is no longer a neutral-peacekeeper”
Now that WOULD BE hysterically funny.
But a former slave nation of Russia is again being slaughtered into submission by your “neutral peacekeeping” thugs.
Thank you good night.
Thanks for the Coles Notes version!
Poland is a NATO country and an attack on Poland is considered an attack on the U.S.
The Ukraine and the Baltic states are not NATO countries and an attack on the Ukraine and the Baltic states is considered an attack on the Ukraine and the Baltic states.
WASHINGTON (AFP) — The US military was surprised by the timing and swiftness of the Russian military's move into South Ossetia and is still trying to sort out what happened, a US defense official said Monday.
Russian forces surged into the breakaway region last week after weeks of clashes, threats and warnings between Tblisi and Moscow which culminated August 6 in a two-day Georgian offensive into South Ossetia.
That the two countries were on a collision course was no surprise to anyone, but the devastating Russian response was not expected, officials said.
"We were tracking it earlier in that week and we knew that things were escalating," said a military official, who asked not to be identified. "I can tell you it moved quicker than we anticipated that first day." But how it unfolded is still unclear, clouded by conflicting claims from both sides.
"I think a lot of what you're asking needs to be ironed out," said the official. "Some of these little issues are definitely still big questions in this event -- What was the intent? Who started it? Why did they start it? And why weren't they prepared to defend what they started?"
President George W. Bush, who urged Moscow to cease fire and return to pre-August 6 positions, charged in a televised statement that Russia's intention appeared to be depose Georgia's democratically elected president. But the extent of the Russian operation remained unclear to US officials on Monday.
Georgian officials said Russian troops had moved out of South Ossetia into Georgia proper, occupying the city of Gori while Georgian troops were retreating to the capital. But US defense officials said they were unable to corroborate the Georgian claims.
"We don't see anything that supports they are in Gori," said a defense official, who spoke on condition of anonymity. "I don't know why the Georgians are saying that."
"That assessment is ongoing," said Bryan Whitman, a Pentagon spokesman. The United States has among the most powerful tools for monitoring brewing conflicts, from spy satellites to reconnaissance aircraft and drones capable of scooping up radio signals or capture real-time images of forces on the ground.
But the extent to which they were trained on this remote conflict before it turned violent is not known.
The Russians, however, warned on August 3 of a growing threat of "large scale military conflict" between Georgia and South Ossetia.
The State Department issued a mild statement on August 5 urging Moscow to refrain from provocative actions, but gave no hint that it was aware that military action either by Georgia or Russia was in the offing.
Officials have suggested the fighting was not seen as an immediate threat, in part because there were only about 95 US troops and 35 civilian contractors in the country training Georgian troops for Iraq. And they were not near South Ossetia.
Some 1,650 US troops conducted a joint exercise with the Georgian military in mid-July. But they were out of the country when the hostilities flared. At around the same time, the Russian military deployed 8,000 troops to the North Caucases for counter-terrorism exercises that Moscow said were unrelated to the tensions with its southern neighbor.
The US defense official said about 8,000 to 10,000 Russian troops have moved into South Ossetia. They also have flown SU-25, SU-24, SU-27 and TU-22 fighters and bombers during the campaign.
But the official said there was no obvious buildup of Russian forces along the border that signaled an intention to invade.
Do you really want that now? If you are prepared for the results, fine. If you are just posturing, realize that there is a lot more at stake than just pride.
So how much do we pay the CIA again? I think they need to be scrapped. Every one knew about the build up, it was published as an exercise!
We had troops in country a week before the war, and pulled them out in a hurry. We knew this was coming.
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.