the bush administration wound up the Georgians and gave them the weapons to attack with . then we act surprised when they did exactly what bush wanted !
On Nov 8, 3:02 am, "\"Lone Wolf\"" <[EMAIL PROTECTED]> wrote: > A damning admission on the Georgian war > 8 November 2008 > > The New York Times on Friday carried a front-page article headlined > “Accounts Undercut Claims by Georgia on Russia War.” The article cited > a report by the Organization for Security and Cooperation in Europe > (OSCE), a multinational association of 56 member states whose monitors > were in Georgia when the fighting broke out, which demolishes the > official US account of the August 2008 Russian-Georgian war, according > to which the war was an act of Russian aggression. > > The OSCE concluded that the conflict began on August 7 when US-trained > Georgian troops shelled Russian peacekeepers and civilians in the > capital of Georgia's breakaway province of South Ossetia, Tskhinvali. > > According to Friday’s New York Times, “the accounts suggest that > Georgia's inexperienced military attacked the isolated separatist > capital of Tskhinvali on August 7 with indiscriminate artillery and > rocket fire, exposing civilians, Russian peacekeepers and unarmed > monitors to harm.” The newspaper added, “Georgian artillery rounds and > rockets were falling throughout the city at intervals of 15 to 20 > seconds between explosions, and within the first hour of the > bombardment at least 48 rounds landed in a civilian area.” > > After an initial bombardment around 6 PM on August 7, Georgian troops > declared a unilateral ceasefire, during which they apparently moved > rockets and artillery into better positions. At 11 PM, Georgia > announced that Russian troops were shelling Georgian villages in South > Ossetia and declared an operation to “restore constitutional order” > there. > > OSCE monitors refuted Georgian claims that Georgian forces were > responding to a Russian attack. The Times wrote, “monitors have also > said they were unable to verify that ethnic Georgian villages were > under heavy bombardment that evening, calling to question one of > [Georgian President] Mr. Saakashvili's main justifications for the > attacks.” > > The newspaper quoted ex-British army officer Ryan Grist, who was the > senior OSCE representative in Georgia when the war broke out, as > saying, “It was clear to me that the [Georgian] attack was completely > indiscriminate and disproportionate to any, if indeed there had been > any, provocation.” > > As was explained later, particularly in the European press, Georgia > hoped to rapidly overrun South Ossetia and seize the Roki Tunnel, the > main transport corridor through the mountains separating Russia and > South Ossetia. In the case of a weak Russian response—the attack took > place with top Russian officials away at the Beijing Olympics—Georgia > could hope to present Russia with a fait accompli. In the event, the > Georgian offensive bogged down in Tskhinvali and Russia sent in > reinforcements, rapidly chasing Georgian troops out of South Ossetia. > > US government and media reporting at the time turned reality on its > head, denouncing Russia in chorus for its “aggression.” As Russia sent > reinforcements to South Ossetia and expelled Georgian forces, > President Bush denounced Russia's response as “disproportionate.” Vice > President Dick Cheney said, “Russian aggression must not go > unanswered,” adding that its continuation would have “serious > consequences” for Russia’s relations with the United States. > > In its August 12 editorial, the Times wrote, “Moscow claims it is > merely defending the rights of ethnic minorities in South Ossetia and > Abkhazia, which have been trying to break from Georgia since the early > 1990s. But its ambitions go far beyond that. Prime Minister Vladimir > Putin [...] appears determined to reimpose by force and intimidation > as much of the old Soviet sphere of influence as he can get away > with.” > > In its Friday article, the Times implied that the findings of the OSCE > was new information about which the newspaper was previously unaware. > However, its own account contradicts this self-serving depiction of > its role in spreading disinformation about the Georgian-Russian > conflict. The article notes that OSCE representative Grist last August > “gave a briefing to diplomats from the European Union that drew from > the monitors’ observations and included his assessments. He then soon > resigned under unclear circumstances.” There can be no doubt that the > Times (as well as the US government) was aware of Grist’s report soon > after it was given to EU officials. > > The Times article concluded that the discrepancy between OSCE > testimony and the official position of the US government and media put > “the United States in a potentially difficult position. The United > States, Saakashvili's principal source of international support, has > for years accepted the organization's conclusions and praised its > professionalism.” > > In fact, the OSCE report completely refutes the US line, which was > shot through with inconsistencies. While seeking to place the blame on > Russia, the US media also spread claims that Georgian forces had acted > without US knowledge—even though the US kept over 100 military > advisors in Georgia in the run-up to the invasion, which followed soon > after a major exercise with US forces entitled “Immediate Response > 2008.” > > Washington seized on the Russian-Georgian conflict to place missile > defenses and troops in Poland and the Czech Republic, raising the > specter of a direct military clash with Russia. It dismissed Russian > claims of Georgian aggression out of hand. > > Republican presidential candidate John McCain telephoned Saakashvili > and told him, “Today we're all Georgians.” Then-Democratic candidate > Barack Obama issued a statement from Hawaii, where he was on vacation, > denouncing Russian “aggression.” Later, in ceremonies for the seventh > anniversary of the September 11, 2001 attacks, the candidates joined > forces to issue calls for “national service,” with Obama saying, “If > we are going to war, then all of us go, not just some.” > > Definite political conclusions must be drawn from a situation that > created the potential for global war. First and foremost is the utter > unreliability of the US political establishment and media, which > expressed hardly any dissenting views, even as more critical accounts > emerged in the European press in sharp contradiction to their > accounts. > > The prominence the New York Times gave to its account of the OSCE > report—the article was the front-page lead and continued to a full- > page article in the inside pages—suggests a deliberate operation to > prepare public opinion for a shift in US policy in the region. With > President-elect Obama committed to increasing the US military presence > in Afghanistan and the US facing a major economic recession, an > attempt seems to be underway to repair relations with Russia, possibly > at Saakashvili's expense. > > In Tbilisi 10,000 protestors marched against Saakashvili yesterday, > marking the one-year anniversary of his violent repression of > demonstrations supporting rival nationalist Irakli Okruashvili. > > The US also announced plans yesterday to open negotiations with Russia > over nuclear weapons and the controversial US nuclear missile defense > shield aimed at Russia. The talks would aim to revise the Strategic > Arms Reduction Treaty (START) and assuage “Moscow's growing opposition > to a US missile-defense system for Europe,” according to the Wall > Street Journal. > > A State Department official told the Journal such negotiations would > not conclude under the Bush administration, but would rather “help get > the ball rolling” for President-elect Obama. > > Alex Lantier --~--~---------~--~----~------------~-------~--~----~ Thanks for being part of "PoliticalForum" at Google Groups. For options & help see http://groups.google.com/group/PoliticalForum * Visit our other community at http://www.PoliticalForum.com/ * It's active and moderated. Register and vote in our polls. * Read the latest breaking news, and more. -~----------~----~----~----~------~----~------~--~---
