Posted on 08/10/2008 5:58:54 PM PDT by Fred
Russian jets targeted a key oil pipeline with over 50 missiles in a weekend bombing raid in Georgia that raised fears the conflict will tighten Moscow's stranglehold on Europe's energy supplies.
Deep craters pockmark the landscape south of the Georgian capital Tblisi in a Y-shaped pattern straddling the British-operated pipeline.
The attack left two deep holes less than 100 yards either side of a pressure vent on the pipeline. Shrapnel of highly engineered munitions litters the area.
There was no visible damage to the pipeline. Its vulnerability is summed up by a yellow hazard sign next to the vent warning against digging in the area. Anyone venturing on to the site is warned against smoking.
Local police recorded 51 strikes. "I have no doubt they wanted to target the pipeline, there is nothing else here," said Giorgi Abrahamisvili, a policeman who witnessed the attack.
"It was terribly intense, the smell of cordite spread everywhere. I had to abandon my car and hide in a ditch but the jets weren't interested in other targets."
BP operates the Baku-Tbilisi-Ceyhan pipeline, which transports one 1% of the world's oil needs, or one million barrels a day from Azerbaijan to the Mediterranean. A spokesman played down the impact of the strike, pointing out that pumping was suspended last week because of a terrorist attack in Turkey.
"At the moment the pipeline is not running at any capacity, because there was a fire," the spokesman said.
Georgia is a crucial link in a three country energy corridor vital to Western Europe's oil and gas supply. The £2 billion pipeline is the only major conduit for Central Asian resources not under Russian control.
The Kremlin under Vladimir Putin, Russia's former president and now prime minister, used gas exports to Europe as a tool of foreign policy
(Excerpt) Read more at telegraph.co.uk ...
Always a bully when it comes to energy.
Read this quickly...but do I understand that there were 50 missiles fired and not one direct hit? I didn’t know that Microsoft had garnered the software portion of the Russian weapons manufacturing contract.
I wonder when Turkey will enter the fray.
TheWorld Caliphate and its Allies want to bring the West down.
If the can't do it militarily, they will do it "economically!"
Communism admits defeat?
Well, it looks like the Russians have to go. So do the Iranians.
Poor pooty. He does NOT know what he has started.
Read from Joel Rosenberg, the author of “Epicenter” who has been warning of this for quite some time, had to say on his blog regarding this. Pay attention the the last paragragh to see what this is utimately about.
+++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++
“The Republic of Georgia is a democratic country that wants to join NATO, remove Russian troops and military bases from its soil, allow the U.S. to build a missile defense system on its territory, and become a full-fledged ally of the West. For those very reasons, tensions between Georgia and Russia have been growing steadily.
In April of this year, under intense pressure from Moscow, NATO decided not to invite Georgia and Ukraine join its 26-member alliance immediately, but promised to revisit the issue soon. This may prove to have been a serious mistake, inviting Russian provocation. Days later, Putin ordered the establishment of semi-official ties with the rebel “government” in South Ossetia, which Georgia charged was a violation of international law. A few weeks later, Russia began sending more troops to the border of South Ossetia, which NATO said was a provocation of Georgia. In July, Russian fighter jets penetrated Georgian airspace and flew a reconnaissance mission over South Ossetia in a show of force — a warning, really — designed to “cool hot heads in Tbilisi [the capital of Georgia],” the Kremlin said. The President of Georgia immediately recalled his ambassador from Moscow, all but cutting off diplomatic ties, to protest the aggressive Russian move.
Back in September 2006, as I wrote about at the time, Russia warned of dire consequences if NATO provided arms and continued building strong ties to Georgia. In October 2006, Russian forces blockaded Georgia from air, rail and ground transportation and Putin sent the Russian navy to maneuver off Georgia’s Black Sea coast.
In January 2006, two explosions ripped through pipelines carrying Russian oil to the former Soviet Republic of Georgia. The blasts effectively cut off Georgia’s main supply of energy amidst a brutally cold winter. The Kremlin called the sabotage acts of terrorism, but Georgian President President Saakashvili, top Georgian officials, and even a number of Western analysts were not convinced. They accused Russian intelligence of triggering the explosions to send Georgia a chilling message: don’t join NATO, don’t insist that Russia give up its military bases in Georgia, don’t keep criticizing Putin as he re-centralizes power and rebuilds the Russian military, don’t oppose Russia’s application to join the World Trade Organization, stop calling for UN Secretary-General Kofi Annan to “internationalize” peacekeeping operations in the troubled southern Russian regions Abkhazia and Ossetia, and stop promoting pro-democracy movements throughout the former Soviet Union.
The pipelines were eventually fixed, and oil began flowing again, but tensions were never defused. “Russian-Georgian relations have deteriorated to the point that some Kremlin officials are seriously weighing a military operation, which they hope will hand Georgia a military defeat and topple President Saakashivili,” wrote Heritage Foundation Russia expert Dr. Ariel Cohen in March. Cohen quoted one veteran Russian foreign policy as saying, “It’s springtime — a time to start a war with Georgia.” Cohen noted that Kremlin political strategist Gleb Pavlovsky actually called for Saakashvili to be assassinated, and that Vladimir Zhirinovsky’s Liberal Democratic Party issued a statement in February statement saying the call for assassination should be seen as a warning to the Georgian leader. “Saakashvili is out of control, and needs to be brought to heel,” said one Kremlin insider, quoted by Cohen. “If Georgians keep quiet and behave, we may even tolerate their joining NATO, but if they are loud, we’ll take measures.”
ALSO WORTH NOTING: Observers of Biblical prophecies such as Ezekiel 38 and 39 will note that directly or effectively controlling Georgia would be key when Moscow one day begins moving Russian military forces through Turkey and into Lebanon, Syria and eventually against Israel.”
LOL!!
these russian SOB’s are now aqueezing Europe. Well, sarkozy? You’re going to be out of a job at this rate. Maybe, just maybe it is time to say something or do something.
This is an American ally being invaded. The President needs to leave the Olympics behind and get home to manage our response. I understand Turkey and Ukraine are both close to getting involved, the pipeline is operated by the British and American troops are in Georgia conducting training operations. Its a witches brew waiting to explode.
100 missiles and they missed! I wonder if the Iranians purchased the same missiles?
If were American it would only take 1.
This should have the Mullas wondering if their missiles will work!!!!
Well, if they want it badly enough they’ll hit it eventually - it isn’t going anywhere. But there isn’t much doubt as to what the Soviets - the Russians, sorry - are after here. Yeah, it’s all about “peacekeepers” in South Ossetia...right...
They stitched hits in two lines 100 meters from the pipeline.
Kind of a nice touch.
The message is “do what we want, world, or we will hurt all of you.”.
This is incredible. Stalinist stuff, to the core.
Welcome to the new cold war. Europe better get real about it’s alliances. The US better get real about it’s leaders.
My goodness, what do the Europeans plan to do now?
Hopefully that unintellectual cowboy George Bush has learned his lesson about using military force
Can global leader-presumptive Obama just go ahead and talk to somebody?
“This is an American ally being invaded. The President needs to leave the Olympics behind and get home to manage our response.”
I love President Bush, but I fully agree with what you say here. Get out of China and come home. If necessary we need to put some American boots on the ground in Georgia. Georgia has helped us in Iraq.....it is time to return the favor. BTW - The UK and NATO need to back us on this.
Wow.
This is not just a move extinguish Georgian independence and democracy.
Its an Act of War against the west, Eastern Europe, Ukraine and the U.S.
Sarkozy has just over 300 tanks, most of which don’t work. He’s not about to stand up to Russia.
If they wanted to hit the pipeline, they would have.
Sending in 50 missles, and keeping them 100 yards away, is
a show of what they have, and were they can hit if needed.
This is all Hollywood Moscowood.
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