[Ernest_at_the_Beach]

US plans aid to Georgia as Russia rolls into city

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Aug 13, 3:22 PM (ET)

By CHRISTOPHER TORCHIA and MATTI FRIEDMAN

OUTSIDE GORI, Georgia (AP) - Russian troops and paramilitaries rolled into the strategic Georgian city of Gori on Wednesday, apparently violating a truce designed to end the conflict that has uprooted tens of thousands and scarred the Georgian landscape.

In Washington, President Bush said the United States planned a massive humanitarian effort involving American ships and aircraft, includiung a C-17 military cargo plane loaded with supplies that landed on Wednesday.

He said Russia must ensure that "all lines of communication and transport, including seaports, roads and airports," remain open to let deliveries and civilians through.

Georgian officials said Gori, a central hub on Georgia's main east-west highway, was looted and bombed by the Russians before they left later in the day and camped nearby.

(AP) Russian soldiers are seen atop a military vehicle outside Gori, Georgia, Wednesday, Aug. 13, 2008....
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Moscow denied the accusations, but it appeared to be on a technicality: a BBC reporter in Gori reported that Russians tanks were in the streets as their South Ossetian separatist allies seized Georgian cars, looted Georgian homes and then set some homes ablaze.

"Russia has treacherously broken its word," Georgia's Security Council chief Alexander Lomaia said Wednesday in Tbilisi, the capital.

An AP reporter saw dozens of trucks and armored vehicles leaving Gori, roaring southeast. Soldiers waved at journalists and one soldier jokingly shouted to a photographer: "Come with us, beauty, we're going to Tbilisi!"

[MarMema]

Moscow denied the accusations, but it appeared to be on a technicality: a BBC reporter in Gori reported that Russians tanks were in the streets as their South Ossetian separatist allies seized Georgian cars, looted Georgian homes and then set some homes ablaze.

Not for long. I understand OUR military is heading for Gori or even there now.

[Marine_Uncle]

It will be interesting to see how the Russians react at this stage. They have a hell of a lot more clout in the world economies then their Bolshevist grand dads had in the twenties. Oil and gas come to mind. And French President Nicolas Sarkozy can only go so far. Europe needs the natural gas to survive the winters.
The reality is Russia wants to regain it's lost footholds. And they have bargaining chips. For all we know, Putin and his gang are waiting with patience for signals from the G7 that they will no longer be welcome. Good excuse to go off and do what they do best. Divide and conquer.