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 ...
Unfortunately, Georgia isn’t the place for that...
I think it’s gonna get MIGHTY COLD in Europe this winter.
well if the Georgian military parks its behind in the middle of Tlbisi square . . . are the Russians going to shell the capital . . .
at this point, i’m not ready to form an opinion as to the Russians intentions . . . you may be right, but i think they want to install a pupet govt in there
IMHO. we need to force his hand. Send in the Georgian Iraq troops on our transports...escort those transports with Raptors...and then turn it into a 24X7 air lift, with US a growing US CAP, and dare the Putin to do anything about it as the Georgian troops, with our material, begin to decimate his armor formations.
Well, I was dead set against Europe setting itself up like this, but they considered themselves smarter than everyone else. We’ll see how it plays out. You very well could be right. All the more reason to kick Poopin’s ass all the way back to the Russian border.
For once, I agree with you.
These are quickly becoming “Interesting times”.
It’s dangerous for the US to act...but perhaps vastly more dangerous not to act.
I suggest sending an unmistakable signal...and killing 2 birds with one stone.
A massive attack on all Iranian underground nuclear research sites using nuclear bunker busters. There would be no significant radioactive contamination and the whole world would quake as the news broke. Follow up with the greatest shock and awe conventional attack of all time on Iranian infrastructure...have no mercy, leave them in the dark ages. Take control of their oil fields to ensure their safety. Rebuild Iran on their own dime...this time actually use their oil revenue to rebuild...not US taxpayers money. Unleash Israel, tell them it is time to clean out all the trash.
Raise the Defcon level just prior to the attack on Iran...the Russians would know immediately...the sweat would pour in Moscow.
Supply Georgia with an enormous supply of anti-aircraft munitions, cluster weapons, millions of mines of all types and real-time surveillance of all Russian forces. It would be nice if there were some F22 trained Georgian pilots. Tell the Nato countries to admit Ukrain and Georgia (minus the 2 breakaway areas) immediately or the US will withdraw from the alliance and leave them to their own fates.
We would not be in this mess if we had not made an ass of ourselves over Kosovo :-( The legacy of the Clintons lives on..and was made worse by Bush’s recognition of Kosovo. And if not for Carter, Iran would be a US ally instead of what it is now.
We are in a position now where inaction will cause every despot on the planet to lose fear of US power...and a world without US power would be a frightening place to live.
Taking action will cause great economic hardship...but there are things far worse than being hit in the pocketbook.
We need a Churchill in times like these....I like to read Churchill in bad times.
Winston Churchill quotes.
“One ought never to turn one’s back on a threatened danger and try to run away from it. If you do that, you will double the danger. But if you meet it promptly and without flinching, you will reduce the danger by half. Never run away from anything. Never! “
“Courage is rightly esteemed the first of human qualities... because it is the quality which guarantees all others. “
“I never worry about action, but only about inaction. “
“If Hitler invaded hell I would make at least a favorable reference to the devil in the House of Commons. “
“If you have an important point to make, don’t try to be subtle or clever. Use a pile driver. Hit the point once. Then come back and hit it again. Then hit it a third time-a tremendous whack. “
“In war as in life, it is often necessary when some cherished scheme has failed, to take up the best alternative open, and if so, it is folly not to work for it with all your might. “
“It is no use saying, ‘We are doing our best.’ You have got to succeed in doing what is necessary. “
“Nothing in life is so exhilarating as to be shot at without result. “
“Russia is a riddle wrapped in a mystery inside an enigma. “
“Socialism is a philosophy of failure, the creed of ignorance, and the gospel of envy, its inherent virtue is the equal sharing of misery. “
“Some people regard private enterprise as a predatory tiger to be shot. Others look on it as a cow they can milk. Not enough people see it as a healthy horse, pulling a sturdy wagon. “
“The best argument against democracy is a five-minute conversation with the average voter. “
“The first quality that is needed is audacity. “
“The power of an air force is terrific when there is nothing to oppose it. “
“You can always count on Americans to do the right thing - after they’ve tried everything else. “
And here is a good quote to go along with my overly long post.
“The length of this document defends it well against the risk of its being read. “
No one in his right mind turns their back on the Russian bear. While he should play the bear along and give him his due, one should never believe the bear shares the same values of Western liberalism that we breathe like air. When Bush first met Putin and said he had looked into Putin's eyes and said, "I was able to get a sense of his soul, a man deeply committed to his country and the best interests of his country," I knew he was a half-wit.
When did they start calling Russia's military "peacekeepers"?
Thanks for the report/article
Excerpt of a letter from Chamberlin to King George VI dated 9/13/38.
“The continued state of tension in Europe which has caused such grave concern throughout the world has in no way been relieved, and in some ways been aggravated by the speech delivered at Nuremberg last night by Herr Hitler. Your Majesty’s Ministers are examining the position in the light of his speech, and with the firm desire to ensure, if this is at all possible, that peace may be restored.
On the one hand, reports are daily received in great numbers, not only from official sources but from all manner of individuals who claim to have special and unchangeable sources of information. Many of these (and of such authority as to make it impossible to dismiss them as unworthy of attention) declare positively that Herr Hitler has made up his mind to attack Czechoslovakia and then to proceed further East. He is convinced that the operation can be effected so rapidly that it will be all over before France or Great Britain could move.
On the other hand, Your Majesty’s representative in Berlin has steadily maintained that Herr Hitler has not yet made up his mind to violence. He means to have a solution soon - this month - and if that solution, which must be satisfactory to himself, can be obtained peacefully, well and good. If not, he is ready to march.
In these circumstances I have been considering the possibility of a sudden and dramatic step which might change the whole situation. The plan is that I should inform Herr Hitler that I propose at once to go over to Germany to see him. If he assents, and it would be difficult for him to refuse, I should hope to persuade him that he had an unequalled opportunity of raising his own prestige and fulfilling what he has so often declared to be his aim, namely the establishment of an Anglo-German understanding, preceded by a settlement of the Czechoslovakian question.”
*****************************************
In hindsight it appeats Herr Hitler wasn’t too impressed with Chamberlin’s concept of prestige and Anglo_German understanding, at least on Britains’s terms.
They made it clear when they told Condi Rice that they wanted Saakashvili out.
I couldn't disagree more.
Going to war over rebellious regions is one thing. Going to war over a strong ally in the WOT and a key oil exporter that keeps Russia from dictating foreign policy to Europe with its oil is another. Georgia is key to our European allies independence from Russia and to our credibility in the world.
If Russia has invaded Georgia proper, Bush should return from the Olympics now, and we should moving forces and equipment into Georgia ASAP.
If true, this is starting to look like one of those reading to kindergartner dear in the headlight moments. He needs someone to take him by that hand and tell him what this means.
I don’t believe Georgian troops can hold the nation, even with ample supplies. Is it your thought that they can?
This would take our air support IMO.
Just how does this affect Soros since Saakashvili is his man?
“Why he picked this time to try and reclaim that city is a mystery to me.”
Recent moves by S. Ossetia’s Russian Mobster-run leaders forced his hand, I think...
And the feeling they had to close the Roki Tunnel (THE major Strategic Chokepoint of the area) before the Russians made thier move.
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