If you’ve got some proof that Georgia DIDN’T start the war in S. Ossetia that doesn’t originate from Media Matters, send it along to the boys in military intelligence and cc: Dana Rohrabacher ok?
Both Georgia and Russia agree that a Georgian police patrol was bombed, killing Georgian police.
Russia claims that they have no idea how it happened and that they just happened to have a fully-prepared armored unit on the scene ready to roll into Georgia.
Georgia's version is slightly more believable: that the bombing was a deliberate provocation by Russia or their Ossetian proxies to prompt a Georgian response, and that the Russian armor was waiting in anticipation of just such a reaction.
Give it rest - if Putin wants a parrot he'll buy one. He doesn't need you.
Today we consider the future of U.S. relations with Russia in the aftermath of the crisis that erupted with sudden ferocity in the Republic of Georgia five weeks ago.
But before looking ahead, we also need to look back more than five weeks to understand what role U.S. policy toward Russia and Georgia played in setting the stage for these events.
Over the last few months, the international community watched with increasing concern as the Russian government sought to provoke Georgian President Mikhail Saakashvili through an escalating series of questionable legal and military actions. Russia established official ties with the separatist government in Abkhazia, issuing passports and citizenship to its residents. Then Moscow dispatched a military jet to down a Georgian reconnaissance craft, and it deployed railway troops to Abkhazia under dubious pretenses. When this failed to stimulate a reaction from the Georgians, the Russians sought to destabilize South Ossetia instead.
On August 8th, the world watched the sad climax of months of provocation. Television screens were filled with the sickening juxtaposition of Russian tanks rolling across Georgian soil while the world celebrated peace and harmony during the opening ceremonies of the Beijing Olympics.
President Saakashvili’s decision to take Russia’s bait and to engage militarily was a terrible blunder. But before we render too harsh a judgment, consider the intensifying provocations that the Georgian government faced, including reports of ethnic cleansing in South Ossetia.