United States hold little leverage over Russia in Georgia conflict

Source: McClatchy Newspapers

Even as it accused Russia of using "disproportionate" force in the conflict over Georgia's rebel South Ossetia province, the United States on Saturday found itself with few diplomatic or military options to deter Moscow's ferocious air and ground assault.

In fact, most of the key cards, including the power to veto any United Nations, were held by Russia, which appeared to be using the crisis to ram home to the United State and its allies that it will not accept further expansion of NATO. Both Georgia and the former Soviet republic of Ukraine are seeking to join the alliance.

The Russian invasion "sends a message to all of the countries in the former Soviet space that Russia is resurgent and is willing to flex it muscles," said David Philips, an expert with the Atlantic Council.

"This is Russia's assertion of power," said retired Army Gen. Wesley Clark, a former top NATO commander.

President Bush, in Beijing for the Olympics, said U.S. officials were trying to arrange a cease-fire in contacts with Russian and Georgian officials. He urged Moscow to halt air strikes outside South Ossetia, the mountainous enclave that Georgian forces moved to seize Thursday from separatists backed by Moscow.

Read more: http://www.mcclatchydc.com/homepage/story/47174.html

and cowboy and knowledgeable oilman. A fraud on EVERY COUNT.

Please stop genocide of Ocetian nation!

Starting 1989 nationalistic fascist Georgian government tries to annihilate and expel Ocetian nation from its territory. As the result of Georgian warfare against small nations, tens thousands of Ocetian, Abhasian, Armenian and Russian people died since 1991. The scale of genocide is concealed by Georgian mass media. Brutality of Georgian fascists and freaksville torture of the local population overrode the torture of fascists during the Second World War.

Georgian mass media stir up the sickness of Georgian nation – they believe they are only people deserving life on Georgian territory, they are exclusive, elitist; other nations should move out or be killed.

At the moment the tragedy is happening – Georgians systematically shooting dead the Ocetian people in their own houses or burying under the falling homes.

Georgian fascists destroyed Ocetian settlements and town Tskhinvally – they lay even with the ground.
The number of victims buried by Georgian fire under the ruins cannot be calculated – it is amounted to thousands.
Georgians destroyed all hospitals. Medics cannot work under the fire of Georgians. People saved in underground stores do not have food, water, electricity, gas for 3 days – they cannot go out because of Georgian fire and cannot move out of town because Georgians are trying to take hold with tanks and armored vehicles of the only road from the town to tunnel controlled by Russians.

At that Georgian president insincerely is saying that he tries to make constitutional order and peace, and suggesting lefthandedly to cease fire. All his actions are aimed towards USA and NATO (he even speaks with his nation in English so that you understand him).

USA has strategic interest in region – pipeline going through Georgia. So official government of USA will never realize that Georgian president is criminal politician betrayed its nation (in fact people in Georgia do not want war), instead government of USA will support him (several hours ago a train with NATO armored machines came to Georgia).

The next victim of Georgian fascists will be Abhasian nation.

People in USA and Europe please force your politicians to stop Georgians.

Train from where? What is your native language please? Правильно?

Sounds like what you say is, err, not so very far from the truth.

when it was little Bushie that wanted this war. He got what he wanted.

They have been holding out.

See this thread:

http://www.democraticunderground.com/discuss/duboard.php?az=show_mesg&forum=102&topic_id=3430865&mesg_id=3430865

not overly complicated.

Georgia is a thorn in Russia's side. Ossetian Rebels want independence. Russia gives them arms and moral support. Rebels act as dupes of Russia. Putin is nowhere near the scene of the crime. Georgia is provoked into attacking. Russia can retaliate by attacking Georgia, destroying infrastructure. This sets Georgian economic development back a number of years.

Russia will now give aid to Ossetia for rebuilding (winning hearts and minds for the next time).

Georgia is left holding the bag as aid from the US will be seen as inflammatory and escalating the crisis.

Condi was in Tbilisi in July. Did the Georgians attack Ossetia under US advisement? (Shades of Saddam Hussein attacking Kuwait)

The Russians may have already accomplished their objective (or at least are very close) in which case peace negotiations can start.

When the Georgians start getting uppity again, the Russians repeat the exercise.

This need not get bigger than it is.

South Ossetia At Front Of New East-West Conflict?
by Radio Free Europe


In an effort to prod the West to Tbilisi's side in its rapidly escalating armed conflict with Russia, President Mikheil Saakashvili is invoking the ghosts of Cold War battles past -- Moscow's suppression of the 1956 Hungarian uprising, the 1968 Warsaw Pact invasion of Czechoslovakia, and the Soviet incursion into Afghanistan in 1979.

The Georgian leader's strategy is clear. Tbilisi's small army is no match for the Russian military machine. Saakashvili's only chance of success in his bid to regain control of the Moscow-backed breakaway region of South Ossetia, therefore, is to globalize the conflict and turn it into a central front of a new struggle between Moscow and the West.

"What Russia has been doing against Georgia for the last two days represents an open aggression, unprecedented in modern times," Saakashvili said in a televised address on August 8. "It is a direct challenge for the whole world. If Russia is not stopped today by the whole world, tomorrow Russian tanks might reach any European capital. I think everyone has understood this by now."

So far, the West has not taken the bait. The United States and the European Union are sending envoys to Georgia to try to broker a cease-fire and Western leaders have issued predictable statements calling on both sides to show restraint.

Most European leaders, wary of antagonizing Moscow, have strived to come across as more or less balanced in the conflict. And even Georgia's closest ally in the West, the United States, has thus far offered little more than rhetorical support...cont'd

http://www.rferl.org/content/Article/1189793.html