Russians Push Past Separatist Area to Assault Central Georgia-(regime change Russian turn)

ny times ^ | 8/10/08 | Andrew E. Kramer, Anne Barnard

[Flavius]

TBILISI, Georgia — Russia expanded its attacks on Georgia on Sunday, moving tanks and troops through the separatist enclave of South Ossetia and advancing toward the city of Gori in central Georgia, in its first direct assault on a Georgian city with ground forces after three days of heavy fighting, Georgian officials said.

The maneuver — along with aerial bombing of the Georgian capital, Tbilisi — suggested that Russia’s aims in the conflict had gone beyond securing the pro-Russian enclaves of South Ossetia and Abkhazia to weakening the armed forces of Georgia, a former Soviet republic and an ally of the United States whose Western leanings have long irritated the Kremlin.

[advance_copy]

Russia’s aims in the conflict had gone beyond securing the pro-Russian enclaves of South Ossetia = (21st century vesion of) Hitler’s aims in the conflict had gone beyond securing the Sudetenland

[Cicero]

Not good. Not good at all.

[autumnraine]

So much for everyone saying Georgia did this and it was only about South Ossetia.

That was merely an excuse to Russia.

[muawiyah]

Uh, not quite ~ first off I've seen the Russian "garrison" army invade another country ~ personally ~ 1968 ON the Czech border.

They are not all that bound by the level of discipline ordinarily expected of a modern army. They carry a lot of alcohol with them. Their officers hide in the armored vehicles.

There's plenty of other bad stuff, but with the fall of the USSR and the displacement of the army from its command position, it's easier for me to imagine the invading force moving to Tbilisi for the purpose of finding more wine and beer than for the purpose of carrying out some sort of rational, previously thought out military action.

Their subsequent behavior in Afghanistan did not disuade me from my earlier estimation.

I still wouldn't like them in my neighborhood ~ the Chechens can tell you all about that (even though the Chechens are equally ill-disciplined and not at all anyone you'd even want in your neighborhood).

It's a smarmy bunch over there and it's best not to impute too much motive to anything they do.

[autumnraine]

Crap! I just realized this means they have ground troops moving to a major city in Georgia.

As the Russian said “Invasion is an American term”.

[advance_copy]

Thanks for the analysis based on first-hand experience. The Russians are being jerks. They should get back to their own daggone country and stop going out of their way to mess with other people. If they don’t, they are a**holes.

[muawiyah]

The Russians are not "being jerks" ~ they are always jerks.

Putin only imagines he's in charge of this stuff.

If there's not enough booze to go around in Tbilisi he's out!

[caveat emptor]

Abkhazia is in NW part of Georgia, extending almost half way down the Black Sea coast. Border runs NE from Black Sea to Russia.

[Charles Martel]

As the Russian said “Invasion is an American term”.

True, the Russians don't talk about invasion all that much. They just *do* it.

[Ernest_at_the_Beach]

Wow....they want to shut down the democracy and the pipeline.,..

[DJ Elliott]

There are three primary MSRs thru the caucasus.
The Caspian Sea coast, the Black Sea coast, and the Ossetia passes.

This is about Russia wanting to split the region from NATO.

They are pushing in Ossetia and look like they are on the Black Sea coast as well.

With Georgia split and fighting on two fronts, it falls, that puts Russia in position to do the same to Azerbaijan.
Two axis’ of attack.

Armenia is mopup.

Regain the caucuses and isolate the central Asian Republics from western support.

This is not about Georgia. This is about eight of the former soviet republics being taken or isolated from NATO so that Russia can take over at will. Eight of the 19 countries the Soviet Union lost to the breakup.

Belorusa is already defacto part of Russia. It never really was independent. (I do not count it in the 19.)

That means that Ukraine and Moldova will be the next targets after this operation completes.

This is about the Russian Empire regaining lost territories...

[dila813]

The Russians are venerable, they have no line of retreat, if the tunnel is sealed and the port destroyed, the Russian Army will be stranded and starve in the Winter.

Do we have the guts to help them?

It would only take a few Missiles and Bombs to crush the Russians. We can ask them to abandon their weapons and we will fly them home on commercial airplanes.

It would be a fitting end to this tragedy.

[Alia]

This is not about Georgia. This is about eight of the former soviet republics being taken or isolated from NATO so that Russia can take over at will. Eight of the 19 countries the Soviet Union lost to the breakup.

I posted the below from another thread from archive material I have:

-------
Washington Post, April 3, 2004:

Putin and Chirac are also expected to discuss European Union expansion that will include eight countries that were either part of or allied with the Soviet Union.

[Marine_Uncle]

Control the gas and oil in the whole region. Prevent any further possibilities of any ex-soviet state joining the NATO alliance, and reduce the US presents in the area to one purpose, where the US and world banks contribute billions to the Russian gangsters.
I don't think they really care who gets elected in the US to POTUS at this point. They have their agendas laid out.
What is the US going to do. Oh. Perhaps close down some joint ventures say the Boeing design plant in Moscow, or say cut back on support the bi-lateral space program, or say destroy the Iranian nuclear facilities where the Russians would lose a few billion bucks.
They will make up the difference in selling US oil and gas.
The gig is up in trying to transform Russia into some western type democracy.