WAR ON TERROR
U.S. presence in Georgia
about oil?
Russia says American military there to protect access to petroleum
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Posted: March 1, 2002
1:00 a.m. Eastern
By Toby Westerman
© 2002 WorldNetDaily.com
U.S. intervention in the former Soviet republic of Georgia is not so
much to fight terrorists but to establish a "firm foothold" in the Caucasus
region in order to protect its access to the vast oil reserves of the
Caucasus and Central Asia, according to official Russian sources.
The action "may lead to unpredictable consequences" and "may involve
costs both material and political," Moscow said, characterizing reports of
the U.S. military presence in Georgia as "shocking news."
The remarks were carried by the Voice of Russia World Service, the
official broadcasting service of the Russian government, and cited from an
earlier RIA Novosti report.
U.S. military advisers will assist the Georgian military in the
struggle against terrorist elements located primarily in the remote Pankisi
Gorge region, where several thousand Islamic fighters have taken refuge from
the conflict in neighboring Chechnya.
The political situation in Georgia is extremely volatile and prompted
Moscow's warning about the "consequences" and "costs" of intervention in the
war-torn and deeply ethnically divided nation.
Not only is Georgia experiencing a military crisis in the Pankisi
Gorge, but it also faces violent separatist conflicts in Abkhazia in the
northwest and South Ossetia in the north of the country. Both regions have
succeeded in declaring independence, although the international community
does not recognize them as separate nations.
Russia has been engaged in peacekeeping efforts - as well as possibly
supporting the Abkhazians, as some charge - since shortly after Georgia
declared its independence in 1991.
"Without Russia's help, Georgia cannot solve its domestic issues
peacefully," Moscow declared.
Moscow described Georgia as a country where "the authorities do not
control the major territory" and further asserted that "terrorist groups can
move from place to place with the help of government agencies."
The presence of Chechen militants on Georgian soil has long been a
source of contention between Moscow and Tbilisi.
In October 2000, the Moscow News reported that thousands of Chechens -
mostly males of fighting age and many having battle wounds - had taken up
residence in the Pankisi Gorge area. Hundreds of the Chechens had no
identification documents, and thousands ignored legal requirements to
register with local Georgian officials.
Since the Pankisi Gorge was already inhabited by ethnic Chechens,
rebels from Chechnya easily fit into the population of the area.
The militant Chechens, however, did more than mix into the prevailing
ethnic group, according to Moscow News; they also took charge of all key
administrative posts in the Pankisi region, including the distribution of
humanitarian aid.
The objectives of the Chechen fighters is to establish an Islamic
republic, not only in Chechnya proper but across the entire Caucasus region,
which spans the area between the Black Sea and the Caspian Sea.
Evidence has continually mounted that the Chechen militants received
support from - and are associated with - groups involved in international
terrorism, including al-Qaida, Osama bin Laden's terror network.
According to a Feb. 6, 2001, report from the Voice of Russia, one of
the leaders of the Chechens, who identified himself as emir
(chieftain/prince) Khattab, issued a proclamation to the West declaring that
"your time has come . the flame of jihad will wipe away your vile world."
Despite the U.S. military presence, Georgia retains close ties with
Russia. Georgia is a member of the Moscow-led Commonwealth of Independent
States, which is the successor entity to the defunct Soviet Union. Much of
Georgia's trade comes from Russia, as well as its electricity, and in 2001
the Georgian Foreign Ministry described close relations with Russia as a
"major geopolitical imperative."
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I.J. Toby Westerman, is a contributing reporter for WorldNetDaily who
focuses on current events in the Commonwealth of Independent States and the
Balkans.
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Be the change
you want to see in the world.
-- Mahatma Gandhi
