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 ...
Agreed, this is the second “cease fire” and they are still rampaging around Georgia.
It is time to stop talking and take action.
I thought the Russians had no plans to occupy Georgia ? /sarc
So the Russians are just like Democrats. They can’t be trusted.
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.
The words are tough, but I’m reading stories claiming the U.S. has already forced Georgia to allow Russian troops into South Ossetia and Abkhazia (the disputed regions) under this cease-fire.
In fact, there are claims that a buffer zone inside Georgian territory for Russian patrols (a thousand feet or so is being allowed) to come over the disputed area borders is included in the “cease-fire.”
For now Georgia is telling its people to avoid any contact
with “the invaders.”
The tough words of Washington wax cold because Putin knows and the United States knows that Russia’s help is needed with Iran.
But can Russia really be trusted when cease-fire agreements to pull back mean squat to them? Putin is in with the wackos in Tehran, too.
They are just hoping to goad anyone into firing on them, even if it means they fire first, just so they have reason to take it all.
I want to know exactly what “standing with them” means. Does that mean we will actually help defend their remaining territory? Or do we just stand around and watch?
And check this out....
Wait... so you mean the Russians lied?!
They’re not done cleaning out the ATM’s ...... and John Murtha is where exactly?????
Senator Biden is headed over there. I'd be satisfied if they'd take him.
And rightfully so.
We might have to seize the initiative and put together a coalition of the willing who will go in, with US protection, and report what's going on, where and when. I don't care what you call it, but it will be a kick ass and take names operation. Not to separate the factions but rather to make it possible to get factual, objective information out to the rest of the world.
This ‘skirmish’ is of great importance and if not handled properly, and quickly, runs the risk of escalating to be a huge thing. We make this mistake every time. All sorts of propaganda starts flowing out of the area, every piece of which is intended to bolster the claims of the side who is putting it out. The sides do one thing, but report something entirely different.
Unless we set up a system to get reliable information out of the battle zone(s) we just spinning our wheels.
There's no doubt Georgia took the bait and really stepped in ‘it’. And just as soon as some order is restored they have to get a really forceful and direct message from those who are going to have to clean up this mess they started. We're pulling your bacon out of the fire this time, but only because we failed to have a handle on the situation. Next time you step out on your own and bite off more than you can chew you're on your own. Period.
I am just so sick and tired of countries, Iran and Russia for instance, being able to act with impunity to mess with their neighbors and then be given weeks and months to continue the killing while the rest of the world wrings its hands and tries to decide a course of action.
BS, invade another country's territory with hostile forces and you are the bad guy.
The first few times we do this it's going to be ugly, very ugly, but only because we've let it go on for so long. The understanding among those who wish us ill is that they will have a considerable time period to do their bad deeds before we, if we ever, get around to dealing with them.
Iran in Iraq, Russia in Georgia, just two examples.
I know this is radical thinking, but we're no closer to having a system to handle these situations that we were when N. Viet Nam started its thing in S. Viet Nam.
Anyone in the US government who thinks that Russia will help with Iran now, is just plain delusional. Russia is holding the free people of Georgia hostage. Any military movement against Iran now will result in Russian troops leveling Tbilisi. That is the reality of the situation.
NATO is not even beginning to get it.
I’m glad I’m not the only one thinking along those lines
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