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 ...
Russians take Gori.
“Because the anti-war American left is just that...anti-American and much more closely aligned with our enemies than with our own traditional national interests or underlying priniciples.”
You WILL take notice that “all The Usual Leftist Suspects” are quite silent about this Russian agression?
Why are they not screaming for Putin’s impeachment?
I don’t know if they want to occupy the whole country, I think what they might be doing is moving in deeper to totally destory the Georgian military, base by base and unit by unit, then they’ll probably pull back and occupy South Ossetia once they feel its crippled.
It does seem that, at a minimum, GWB could cut short his China vacation. Maybe if he gave up women volleyball players for the Oval Office, our government wouldn’t be flailing for direction.
The Russians have been playing large scale war games in the area. I'm sure we and the Georgian President knew it. Why he picked this time to try and reclaim that city is a mystery to me. It may have been a fatal mistake for his country.
And just what do you think the U.S. is going to do with all those military assets. So far just talk with the Iranians smirking at us. I don't think we will take any action against Iran and they will pretty much continue doing what they please vis a vis nuclear weapons.
“We need Russia’s co-operation over Iran and derailing that over a localised conflict in Georgia makes no sense. “
Boy, this NSC official holds out much more hope in this situation than I can muster.
Cooperation over Iran sounds like a misplaced hope. Why should the country that has supplied Iran with the wherewithal to nuclearize suddenly turn against their best interests. Russia needs Iran in their camp to maintain a real foothold in the ME and proximity to those energy deposits. If they can gain a clear pathway to Iran and as a result gain control over the export of much of the Caspian energy deposits it will be a double win.
The next necessary step is for Russia to respond positively to Georgia’s ceasefire declaration.”
I’m afraid that’s more necessary from out point of view than Russia’s. Georgia has repeatedly asked for a ceasefire and the Kremlin won’t take their calls. Right now a ceasefire will be accepted on Russia’s terms and timetable and at this point it doesn’t appear they’ve accomplished all their objectives.
It’s FAR more likely that this was the last straw for Putin...
“Turkey, Georgia, Azerbaijan launch project to revive “Silk Road” on rails”
Leaders of Turkey, Georgia and Azerbaijan launched Thursday a railway project between the three countries, with laying the foundation of the railway’s 76-kilometres part. Turkish president called the project is open to “all other regional countries”, implying Armenia.
At a railway station in the eastern Turkish border town of Kars, Turkish President Abdullah Gul, Georgia’s Mikheil Saakashvili and Azerbaijan’s Ilham Aliyev held a ground breaking ceremony for the $290 million Turkish section of the railway.
The three countries are already linked by the BP-led Baku-Ceyhan oil pipeline and the Baku-Tbilisi-Erzurum gas line but trade links between Turkey and the Caucasus region are limited.
A tender last September for construction of the 76-km (47-mile) Turkish stretch of the railway was won by the Ozgun Yapi-Celikler joint venture with a bid of $289.8 million, the lowest of 14 bids.
The railroad is expected to become operational in 2011 and carry one million passangers and 6.5 million tones of cargo annually, forming a key transport connection between Asia and Europe, officials said Thursday.
It is seen very important since it will enable the Central Asian republics, world’s new oil and natural gas centers with an uninterrupted railway link.
I think we can do so, particularly when we send those aircraft full of Georgian troops into Georgia. We warn the Russians, very directly that those aicraft are coming in with full escort and that the Russians better just stand back out of the way...and we say it forcefully and openly.
There should be a full and heavy escort of Raptors with them, and with supporting tankers and AWACS. That air armada should also include aircraft capable of ground support and wild weasel missions so if the Russians do try and attack the transports and give us the excuse, then we return on their heads what they are doing to the Gerogians and blunt their offensive.
The reason we would take such a risk is preciesly because of the ramifications you state.
Well then why did he say it? Why bother saying “The path of freedom you have chosen is not easy, but you will not travel it alone. Americans respect your courageous choice for liberty. And as you build a free and democratic Georgia, the American people will stand with you.”?
So knowing that this little nation isn’t worth us going to war over, he said it anyway? That sounds like a lie to me.
Area around Gori earlier.
We have been sending the wrong signals to our enemies for years.
We cozy up to them economically. We signal we’re going to cut our forces. We signal that we aren’t going to interfere as they make demands.
And then they act on our stupidity. Well, here we are.
All those who have been defending our acts of stupidity should be happy as can be at this eventuality.
“So knowing that this little nation isn’t worth us going to war over, he said it anyway? That sounds like a lie to me.”
Not sure we can help their leadership being idiots.
Thanks.
“We cozy up to them economically.”
Especially this!
And the Russians are already threatening The Baltic States and Poland, saying 'They will pay' for their support for Georgia. The time to stop aggression is at its first attack. If France and Germany had stopped Germany at any of its early military aggression, the German General Staff had plans to kick Hitler out. They couldn't believe how weak the West was over the Sudetenland, Austria, Checoslovakia. By that time Hitler had them convinced that the West would never resist. Doesn't anybody even here on Free Republic know any history?
We’ve got the munitions that will take out whole rows of those tanks with a single shot. Poopin needs to see what he is up against. If he thinks he’s king of the block any longer, he’s in for a big surprise.
I agree. It doesn't help that most of congress is vacationing (thanks Nancy...)
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