Posted on 12/13/2008 7:43:31 AM PST by Strategy
TBILISI, Georgia (AP) -- Russian troops retook a village near the breakaway region of South Ossetia Saturday just hours after withdrawing, Georgia's Interior Ministry and European Union peace observers said.
Georgian police had already moved into Perevi on Saturday to remove Russian-built roadblocks when Russian troops and helicopters unexpectedly returned, said Shota Utiashvili, a ministry spokesman.
"They left, and we went in with about 40 people to remove the roadblocks," he said. "While they were doing this, the Russians deployed a battalion of special forces with helicopters and armor and told the Georgian policemen to get out immediately," he said.
(Excerpt) Read more at nytimes.com ...
There are also reports of the South Ossetian Rebels attacking Georgian Forces and European Peace Observers recently.
I don’t think this is going to be anything to worry about. I don’t see a large scale invasion under way, but it is interesting that they would re-take a town that really has no strategic value. Maybe the Russians are calculating that with our economy in the dumps, our president-elect embroiled in a scandal, and our military stretched thin that it can get away with bullying smaller republics? Should be interesting to see how this Russia-Georgia scenario plays out.
True, and we certainly are in a mess, but even if we weren't, I can't see the American people wanting to intervene to save the Ossetians from the Russians. Why would we possibly do so?
Of course it’s nothing to worrry about, it’s just Russia getting a little more breathing room...
It would be saving the Georgians from the Ossetians and Russians.
This is a constant of world affairs: you can never, never, never trust the Russians.
And our interest in this would be....? The vast majority of the American people identify Georgia with a southern American state. Most don't know and wouldn't care about the Republic of Georgia, even those few who could locate it on a world map.
We're in dire financial trouble, and our military is almost stretched to it's limit. We're not Gort, we can't afford to be the world's police force.
No, I was just correcting your comment. The Ossets are on Russias side. I wasn’t commenting on whether we should engage there or not.
Not disagreeing with anything else you said, but the Russian economy is in far worse shape than ours right now. The Russian stock market tanked in August when they started this Georgian adventure, and the subsequent $100/bbl drop in oil prices has put a huge strain on the Russian economy generally.
“And our interest in this would be....? “
possibly Energy...Should Russia continue to acquire the land of Georgia, then Armenia/Azerbaijan, eventually they will come to Iran, their ally, and could control the Strait of Hormuz/Persian Gulf, a major thoroughfare of a major portion of the world’s oil.
The one who controls the oil reserves controls the economy of the world
They’re obviously having second thoughts about leaving the area they so recently acquired...
Russia retakes Georgian village near South Ossetia
The Charlotte Observer
It's called a slap in the face.
Anytime a nation neighboring russia dares try to occupy itself, Moscow is entitled to react to such a provocation with deadly force. International relations 101.
Oh yeah, it must be the US economy is in bad shape, what with Russia’s main source of foreign exchange having dropped by $100 a barrel in the past few months. Russia will be having problems this winter, and for some time thereafter, if the Putin regime (in all but name) continues down the current path.
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