We helped in Iraq - now help us, beg Georgians

Times Online (U.K.) ^ | August 10, 2008 | by Tony Halpin

[library user]

As a Russian jet bombed fields around his village, Djimali Avago, a Georgian farmer, asked me: “Why won’t America and Nato help us? If they won’t help us now, why did we help them in Iraq?”

[library user]

Here we go...

[Attention Surplus Disorder]

We and the world needs this like a hole in the head.

[randomhero97]

Well, given the choice of conventional bombing or a surgical nuclear strike I’m sure Djimali would go with option A.

[fish hawk]

If Ronald Reagan was President right now, we would be already over there helping them. All it takes is for us to show up armed and ready to go all out and Russia would back down. They have been nothing but bluff, as history has shown, from the time Kruchev pounded his shoe on the desk and said “We will bury you” until the present day. Yes they are a strong country but they know beyond a doubt they could never out due the greatest country in the world.

[DoughtyOne]

You knew this was coming. I’ll bet the Times Online has an open channel to all sorts of Georgians.

When we assisted with those military exercises last week, I’ll bet we warned the Georgians not to escalate the fighting in South Odessa.

Well, here we are. As much as I don’t like what is going on over there, it would be ridiculous for us to become entangled in the mess.

[SolidWood]

They are right. I understand why we can’t help the to the extent they need. All I can offer to our lonely Georgian friends is my prayers. God be with them. It’s sickening.

[gorush]

Liberal, appeasing, self-disarming, peace-at-any-cost governments allow an aggressive state to mistreat an ally in the hope that this will be the end of the aggression. This same scenario lead to an otherwise unnecessary WWII.

[lookout88]

Yeah, here we go is right. This is not going to end nicely

[B Knotts]

If we just give HitlPutin the SudetenSouth Ossetia, he'll stop his aggression, and we can have peace in our time.

[Drango]

Let’s pray for peace. Starting (continuing?) a war in Georgia, is not in the best interest of the US.

[Jeff Head]

Putin is shrewd and ruthless and is counting on us being afraid to help those who have helped us.

Bush agree to use US Air Force jets to fly the Georgian Iraq based troops back to Georgia and upped the ante some. I hope we allow those troops to disembark with a whole lot of goodies...including a lot of Javelin anti-tank missiles.

I also hope those aircraft go in with significant US fighter escort.

We need to help the Gergians bloody the Russian nose badly, as best we can and hopefull thwart a take over of the whole of Georgia.

I do not expect however to see direct US involvement unless the Russians foolishly tried to shoot down US aircraft or attack and kill our trainers over there. In any case the logistics of our inserting and maintiaing a major force there are huge...and Putin knows it.

The Ukraine announcing today that they would not allow Russain war ships bnack to their home port of Sevatapol (which is Ukraine territoty) is also a good move., We need to see a lot more of that directed at Russia.

with thisas a back drop, hopefully most Americans will weigh very heavily and carefully who they choose to put at the helm of this nation and face such individuals as Putin.

CHOOSING THE NEXT PRESIDENT OF THE UNITED STATES




NOBAMA MOVEMENT SPREADS ACROSS THE NATION

[flyfree]

“The Georgians told them, ‘We’re done. Let us withdraw,” one American military official said. “But the Russians are not letting them withdraw. They are pursuing them, and people are seeing this.”

The official said that it appeared that the Kremlin’s objectives, at a minimum, had extended beyond securing the enclaves and now included the destruction of the Georgian armed forces, with an aim of intensifying the domestic pressure on Saakashvili.

“The Russians have gained all of their military objectives,” the American official said. “This is not about military objectives. This is about a political objective — removing a thorn in their side.”

http://www.nytimes.com/2008/08/11/world/europe/11georgia.html?_r=1&hp&oref=slogin

[rbmillerjr]

I can understand the Georgian citizen emotions. But their government was suckered into beating back the seperatists in S Ossetia, which gave the Russians a pretext to come in, wrong as it was. It is sovereign Georgian territory.

But, the govt of Georgia didn’t act wisely, right as they were. They needed to stall until they were admitted into NATO, and this wouldn’t be happening. They need to use this to push for expedited membership into Nato, when this settles down.

[Lijahsbubbe]

Well, here we are. As much as I don’t like what is going on over there, it would be ridiculous for us to become entangled in the mess.

I guess it was pretty ridiculous for them to become entangled in ours too. It seems as if we now say, "oops, we'll help you, but not if it hurts."

Georgia is a tiny country and they still helped us.

There is no easy solution to this one but I do think we appear weaker and weaker. Russia has been planning this for quite awhile. I don't understand why world leaders didn't push harder to avoid this.

[MarMema]

Bush is helping them, it’s just not public. He said just after being there that it was his favorite country ever, of those he had visited.

[B Knotts]

We wouldn’t need a war if the rest of the world would stand together against Russia.

[Finalapproach29er]

Loyalty is a one-way street with the bush family. imho

Tough break guys.

[Gay State Conservative]

It's completely reasonable for good allies of the West (a title that Georgia deserves) to ask for...and expect....help.Particularly in a situation like this.But short of going to war with Russia,what can we do?

[Grzegorz 246]

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[rrrod]

The American spirit is and will be to help our friends...stay tuned.