Posted on 08/13/2008 6:42:33 PM PDT by Tailgunner Joe
The use of units comprised of ethnic Chechens to do much of the very dirty work in Georgia.
The nickname [Shrek] given by his comrades to the bald, pug-eared soldier was the only moment of light relief during a day of tense drama in which The Times witnessed Russia breaching the ceasefire agreement over South Ossetia at will.At a checkpoint set up by the Russian Army on the approach to the city of Gori from the Georgian capital, Tbilisi, an armoured personnel carrier blocked the road and riflemen had fanned out in the surrounding bushes, their weapons trained on anyone who approached.
All were ethnic Chechens, whose reputation for pitiless brutality in war made them feared throughout the Caucasus.
The last sentence is an understatement.
(Excerpt) Read more at threatswatch.org ...
Lots of soft pumpkin heads over there from what I have seen in the images. Only the heavy armor guys seem to have Body Armor.
Nice touch, using the Russian flag’s pole to support the sniper rifle. Poetic.
I think they should have stayed put for another day.
The mountain roads are dangerous even in good times.
I will follow up on this story though.
This is starting to remind me of Kosovo. Some freepers seem to think all Muslims are bad and there couldn’t possibly ever have been good muslim on the US side (Albanians). Russians and Serbs use the same playbook, rape, pillage, and kill those weaker than them. Its too bad the president wouldn’t let our SF groups get into this fight to even out the odds a bit....
Chechens, as you well know, make me sick to my stomach.
In complete agreement.
And they are using Chechen Muslims to ethnic cleans Christian Georgians.
The Iranians are highly unlikely to engage. They are playing a different sort of game. Plus, I don’t think they could move very far before being sent back home. It just would not be prudent.
The Iranians, if they moved, would hook up first with the Russian Military base in Armenia. My guess is the Russians had to have a backup plan if they got bogged down in Georgia.
This is not a Muslim fight, despite what the Russian are putting out in agitprop.
The Muslims in Georgia only amount to 12-15 % and they are most in that Conclave to the far West of Georgia. It is protected, but the Georgians and Muslims are not in any real arguments. The Russians make it appear so, but it is not true and they are not and have not been in any sort of danger.
The problem, or the tripwire for this mess is S. Ossetia and they are Christian, but ethnic and disliked by Georgians because of their constant instigation and actions that disrupt the entire State.
This just is not a Islamic problem, and Russia is using these thugs to support the thugs in Ossetia.
Gorbachev ?
Religion does not drive every war nor every geopolitical aspiration. Just because Iran is predominantly Muslim, does not mean they will only fight Islamic fights. The bottom line is that Russia is Irans number one ally. Iran is Russias number one ally. They have signed mutual defense accords. There is only one intact country still standing between them now. Armenia. Russian forces are bogged down in taking Tbilisi because of the brave Alamo-like stand of the Eastern European Nation Presidents, the Georgian People and its President and soon to be joined by the US Secretary of State. You gonna tell me that the Iranians will not want a piece of that.
The rest are largely the same, and this indicates to me that it is only a search and destroy mission, not a occupation.
They are getting what they wanted done, and we could never have stopped that, but we can stop them from changing the mission to one of occupation, and we will.
All the lost equipment can be replaced, and buildings rebuilt, so what they are trying to do now is save lives.
Keep in mind, that all of this was intended to be a message to the other republics, and a test of American resolve.
The election is also in their interests now, and the propaganda plays are going to be for that.
The future depends on what we do now. What NATO does.
If NATO fails to step up, the Russians will see that as a green light. If the World Courts fail to charge and prosecute the Russians will see that as a green light. If the U.N. fails they will see green.
That's the future.
Yes, they don't. They hope to be nuclear soon, and they won't derail that. It's Russia that Iran needs, not the other way around. They won't think about engaging unless Russia is under attack on it's own turf. Not for this.....They are enjoying the show, but not ready to play.
We have been hearing that for days now.
I do however agree with your green light assessments. The bear is getting a red light now. At heart though, Russians are anarchists that hate traffic lights. I remember reading a story a year or two back about a local Russian politician that wanted to remove all the traffic lights and all the traffic signs because he thought they caused traffic jams.
So I suppose they don't need all those Russians scientists that are building their nuclear reactors.
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