Posted on 08/16/2008 2:33:05 PM PDT by kristinn
...As he was speaking, Russian armored fighting vehicles, tanks and troop transport trucks were staged alongside the side of the road between Gori and Igoeti.
The deputy head of the Russian military's general staff, Col. Gen. Anatoly Nogovitsyn, told media in Moscow that there were no troops in Gori. But a McClatchy journalist on Saturday saw dozens of military vehicles pouring out of the city.
The Russians denied destroying the railroad bridge, not far from Igoeti. The blast suspended Azeri rail transportation of crude oil across Georgia to Black Sea ports, according to Russian state media. The Georgian government provided pictures of the collapsed structure. Other recent Russian denials, such as saying on Wednesday that tanks weren't in Gori, didn't match what was happening on the ground....
When reporters passed a group of Georgian soldiers about 20 miles down the road from Gori - all of whom had assault rifles in the face of Russian armor units moving in the area - one of them ran up to the car and asked if anyone could tell him how far away the Russians were.
A policeman, Maj. Malkhaz Khubulovi, said in a dejected voice that the Russian soldiers "just do whatever they want."
"Will anyone help us?" he asked. "Will we survive?"
That sense of panic and despair is exactly what the Russian troops want, and explains why they have been staging late-night feints toward Tbilisi, said Richard Holbrooke, a former U.S. representative to the United Nations.
"Their real goal here is to overthrow President (Mikheil) Saakashvili," Holbrooke said, echoing a contention of the White House.
SNIP
As he spoke, Holbrooke was standing in the middle of the road in Igoeti, next to the foreign minister of Estonia, Urmas Paet, waiting for the Russians to allow them to ride toward Gori.
(Excerpt) Read more at kansascity.com ...
Quick! Send Obama and the French to talk some sense into them.
Président de la République française Nicolas Sarkozy has just returned by
plane from Moscow waving a piece of paper , declaring "Peace in our time"
Georgians doing forced labor in South Ossetia
Does the Georgian Orthodox Church have a fund set up for donations directly to them for distribution?
Putin is a thug. thugs only know street rules.
The West is not able to deal with them.
We can’t even deal with thugs who operate by street rules in the US..How the heck can we do this in the world.?
“This is no time for foot dragging but Putin is smart enough to know what many of us do, a presidential election year in the United States freezes out anything like a military option.”
Which is what would make military action a brilliant move.
For once - it would be nice to see our country take some of these thugs by surprise.
Still think this is all just about South Ossetia?
Very good post....a realistic assessment with strength. I disagree with the observation though that “Georgia stepped into it.”.. I base my opinion on the recent observations and understanding on CSPAN’s panel discussion (posted on Cspan’s video collection) with Ralph Peters, the Commander of the US Training of Georgia’s army, etc. these historians and political and military experts said that was not the correct perspective to take.
I think it is unfair to allow russia to go into Georgia (Ossetia ) and set up a ‘pre launch’ set up. The two were in contstant offense and defense postures and military “skirmishes” until one time, the russians just arbitraily chose the time and went in.
Other than that perspective I have appreciated your post.
It is just so frustrating that we've come to a world where there seems to be no such thing as truth. Each side tells its version of events, always wildly divergent, and there's no longer anyone to say who's version is correct, or more nearly so. So very frustrating, like with everything ending up in court these days. Nothing is ever final.
My solution would be, as I outlined in an earlier post, to tell Russia they have X number of hours to get their troops and their equipment out of Georgia. Period. Any Russian resource that is still in Georgia and not in motion toward the border will be considered a hostile target and US aircraft will handle the situation. It would cause all sorts of worldwide condemnation and an unbelievable amount of consternation right here are home, but I bet it wouldn't take but a couple of the attacks to send the message.
My prayers are with the people of Georgia. If America does nothing else with its might and power we should make it abundantly clear that we stand with any people who want a democratic way of life. Georgia has gone the extra mile to show its support of us, and we should do the same for them. In fact, I think I might even open a general store somewhere over there near the region and offer fire sale prices on all sorts of offensive and defensive weapons of war. Openly advertise to all those former Soviet countries that we are offering to help them build up their armed forces to avoid developing a positive Georgia sign. And I would certainly set about making life as uncomfortable for Russia as possible. There's got to be 50 ways we can mess with them without having to resort to military means. At some point we are simply going to have to take a more proactive stance in dealing with people like them and Iran.
Your articulate and comprehensive post was much appreciated. You obviously have given much thought to this issue.
I think you need to call John MCain tonight ( after his marvelous performance ) and offer your services to his campaign and offer your services to consult on foreign affairs!
Have you seen the Cspan panel discussion..you would enjoy it.
I do not agree with him on several matters, but in a contest between him and Obama, or Hillary for that matter, there is no doubt in my mind who will better serve our country in the Oval Office.
I would also line up about 50 or more countries from all over the world who would each send 100 or so members of their military to serve as observers in Georgia. I would have them in uniform, armed to the teeth and would make it very clear to Russia that even one of them is so much as scratched by a member of the Russian military that there will be hell to pay. What better way for countries from all around the world to show they are standing up with Georgia and at the same time telling Russia the good ol’ days are gone forever.
Whatever we've been doing for the last few years is not working very well. It's time for a change. In my book that change is to confront Russia and its friends, like Iran, on every front. Don't give them a moment's rest.
Another excellant post.
I agree. I was so heartened by mcCain’s performance last night. Rough times are ahead and we need someone with knowledge and experience of forgeign policy and how our domestic policies contribute to that.
If we can not defend ourselves and our allies, it doesn’t much matter which health insurance plan we are using.
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