US, allies weigh punishment for Russia

Source: AP

WASHINGTON (AP) — Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice says the United States welcomes Russia's pledge to stop its attacks in Georgia and called on Moscow to follow through on its promise.

~snip~

She said that "these military operations need to stop" and that the United States would continue seeking a diplomatic solution.

Administration officials said the United States and its allies are considering expelling Moscow from an exclusive club of powerful nations and canceling an upcoming joint NATO-Russia military exercise.



Read more: http://ap.google.com/article/ALeqM5gQYe039zkquHxitiI6u4M_TRr_BAD92GSM200

---

EU to consider symbolic action against Russia

BRUSSELS, Aug 12 (Reuters) - European Union foreign ministers on Wednesday will consider symbolic action against Russia to show their displeasure at its use of force against Georgia, EU diplomats said on Tuesday.

It was not clear whether Moscow's friends in western Europe, notably France, Germany and Italy, would agree to any statement or measure critical of Russia.

The 27-member EU called for an immediate ceasefire and urged Russia to respect Georgia's territorial integrity after fighting erupted in South Ossetia, but avoided blaming either side.

more:http://www.alertnet.org/thenews/newsdesk/LC444983.htm


Internal rifts hamper EU response to security crisis
5:00AM Wednesday August 13, 2008

The European Union will have to overcome major internal differences if it wants to be a strong player in the conflict unfolding between Georgia and Russia.

The 27 European foreign ministers, due to hold an emergency meeting in Brussels tomorrow, will face the EU's biggest security crisis since the 1999 Kosovo war.

They will face demands for a tough line from eastern EU members who argue Russia's campaign in Georgia aims at regime change and extending Russian influence.

But Western European countries, led by France and Germany, will call for pragmatism.

more:http://www.nzherald.co.nz/category/story.cfm?c_id=359&objectid=10526685

Sub-thread removed by moderator. Click here to review the message board rules.

Only a matter of time before the rest of the world gets tired of Americas BS. Sad thing is I may have to be a witness.

So Russia deserves no consequences? Acting like Russia is innocent in this matter is just ridiculous. They want a return to their old empire and this is just the beginning.

My simple and yet obvious observation is its blatant Hypocrisy. Don't blame another guy for taking the same action your country did regardless.

regardless of any hypocrisy. Hopefully, Obama will have enough gravitas to take these actions.

Come on, speak your mind.
Nuke Russia?
Trade embargo? We are not very tied economically anyways.

And remember Bush bombs only weak countries - Russia is not Serbia, nor it is Iraq - it can make a bit more than just a "bloody nose".

US should desist on this issue - backing the aggressor which randomly bombed civilians in the middle of the night is a big no-no.

See the Europeans distancing themselves from the rabid leader of Georgia.

Russia has been considerable tame with all the meddling we have been doing over on their own hemisphere, from propping up puppet governments, to trying to setup so called missile defenses against Iran. When the shoe is on the other foot, trust me when I say we won't be too happy with the very obvious encroachment on our Democracy.

If we can't punish our own tyrant like Bush and Co., what makes you think we can a super power country like Russia. I'm just saying history proves the obvious path.

we will gather a coalition of the stoopid and bomb the shit out of you on our way to bombing iran...

we're the bomb... we can bomb anyone we want to... torture the shit out of you too...

when i look in Putin's eyes, i want to see fear

MY NAME IS JOHN THE BUSH REPUBLICAN MCCAIN, and i have forgotten my message

Yeah, make them carry their own clubs on the Exclusive Club of Powerful Nations golf course. No more complementary caddies for them!!! :grr:

that quite aside from the question of whether any "punishment" would be remotely warranted.

Imagine the American response if the Russians had tried to press the Warsaw pact into the Central and South America.

You know, just for a few weeks to make a point.

Neverthe less, the president (or is it prime minister) of Ukraine was standing to Saakashvili's left during the latter's speech at the rally today.

It is more difficult to transport and store than oil and much harder to replace. Even the governments most hostile to Russia in Poland and the Baltic states depend on it.

CHISINAU, Aug 12 (Reuters) - Leaders of Moldova's separatist Transdniestria region said on Tuesday they would break off all contacts with the ex-Soviet state's central government until it denounced Georgian "aggression" in South Ossetia.

Transdniestria's Russian-speaking leaders split from Moldova in 1990 in Soviet times on the grounds that the republic's Romanian-speaking majority would join neighbouring Romania.

That never happened -- but the two sides fought a brief war in 1992 and a resolution has yet to be found. Transdniestria's leader met Moldova's president in April for the first time since 2001, but the talks produced few results.

"Transdniestria hereby declares a moratorium on contacts (with Moldova) until the Moldovan side issues a decisive, unconditional denunciation of Georgia's aggression," the separatist region's Foreign Ministry said in a statement.

more:http://www.alertnet.org/thenews/newsdesk/LC677073.htm

Kinda looks like the old union is re-assembling.

Thanks W.

-

And no ice cream for a week!

Russia's reply:You first! :P

who feels that all this "Russia" fear-mongering is done in order to push Mr.McCain - the Cold War dinosaur into the driving seat?

I was talking to someone who start saying that the russian communist were invading a free country I was astonish,
I did ask that person: so what happened to the Berlin wall and the perestroika? The answer was kind of funny: the communist still there.
I did turn my head to a corner were there was a picture frame and ask: Can I have that frame made in communist China?

US OFFICIAL: RUSSIA'S ACTIONS HAVE IMPACT

From NBC's Libby Leist
A senior US official speaking to reporters on background this afternoon at the State Department warned that Russian military actions inside Georgia over the past week have had an impact on how Russia is viewed in the world and that Russia's membership in international organizations could be "at stake."

The official was eager to prove that the US has some leverage over Russia. "Russia has one foot in integration into the international economy and community of states, and one foot that's not quite in," the official said

"Russia is going to have to ensure its integration into the WTO and the OECD and the G8 and institutions like that," the official added. "I think the entire Medvedev agenda is at stake here."

More: "I don't think that there is any doubt that this action that Russia has taken, and the way in which they have taken it will have an impact on how Russia is viewed. But I don't want to get ahead of ourselves."

more:
http://firstread.msnbc.msn.com/archive/2008/08/12/1262465.aspx

WASHINGTON, Aug 12 (Reuters) - The United States has canceled a naval exercise with Russia in protest over Moscow's military operations in Georgia, a senior U.S. defense official said on Tuesday.

"There is no way in good conscience that we could proceed with a joint naval exercise given the state of this crisis," the official told Reuters, speaking on condition of anonymity as no official announcement has yet been made.

more:http://www.alertnet.org/thenews/newsdesk/N12152298.htm

the games have been changed. We'll see how this one plays out



U.S. ship heads for Arctic to define territory

NEW YORK (Reuters) - A U.S. Coast Guard cutter will embark on an Arctic voyage this week to determine the extent of the continental shelf north of Alaska and map the ocean floor, data that could be used for oil and natural gas exploration.



snip
http://www.reuters.com/article/wtMostRead/idUSN1138192220080811


btw
on a side note,
wasn't there a thread about "the arctic was to be ice free" this year ?