Georgia Throws In The Towel, Russia Won’t Let It End
TBILISI, Georgia (AP) - Russia expanded its bombing blitz to the Georgian capital, deployed ships off the coast and, a Georgian official said, sent tanks from the separatist region of South Ossetia into Georgian territory, heading toward a border city before being turned back.
Russia also claimed its forces sank a Georgian missile boat that was trying to attack Russian ships in the Black Sea, news agencies reported.
The Russian Defense Ministry refused to comment to The Associated Press on the reports of the sinking and Georgian officials could not immediately be reached. If confirmed, it could mark a serious escalation of the fighting that has raged between Russia and Georgia over South Ossetia.
Georgia called a cease-fire and said its troops were retreating Sunday from the disputed province of South Ossetia in the face of Russia’s far superior firepower, but Russia said the soldiers were “not withdrawing but regrouping” and refused to recognize a truce.
International envoys headed in to try to end the fighting between Russia and its small U.S.-allied neighbor that erupted last week in the Russian-backed separatist region.
The announcement of a retreat came after Russia expanded its bombing blitz Sunday—targeting the area around the Georgian capital’s international airport. Russia also deployed a naval squadron off another of Georgia’s separatist regions, Abkhazia, and according to Georgia landed thousands of troops.
Georgian President Mikhail Saakashvili said one of the Russian raids on the airport came a half hour before the arrival of the foreign ministers of France and Finland—in the country to try to mediate.
Georgian Interior Ministry spokesman Temur Yakobashvili said Russian tanks tried to cross from South Ossetia into the territory of Georgia proper, but were turned back by Georgian forces. He said the tanks apparently were trying to approach Gori, but did not fire on the city of about 50,000.
Russia also sent naval vessels to patrol off Georgia’s Black Sea coast, but denied Sunday that the move was aimed at establishing a blockade.
The ITAR-Tass news agency quoted a Russian Defense Ministry spokesman as saying that Georgian missile boats twice tried to attack Russian ships, which fired back and sank one of the Georgian vessels.
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We need to arm the fuck out of Georgia. They need top of the line AA weapons and anti ship stuff that they can use to sink the Russian navy. That little prick Pootin needs to be taken down a notch.
August 10th, 2008 at 12:47 pmFuckn’ Russians and their paranoia.
August 10th, 2008 at 12:49 pmthis is the response for Kossovo independance
August 10th, 2008 at 12:52 pmIs it paranoia? Or is it a calculated move from the man behind the curtain as a forerunner to the reestablishment of the Soviet Union…
August 10th, 2008 at 12:59 pmNothing going on here—-keep moving-
August 10th, 2008 at 1:06 pm–your missing the Summer Olympics.
Why are the tunnel and rail lines from Russia not on fire?
August 10th, 2008 at 1:15 pm“If you are in Moscow and you are looking at the tools that the U.S., NATO and the EU have, what are they?” asked a former senior State Department official who requested anonymity to speak more freely. “Nobody is going to send troops, so you are going to get away with it.”
http://www.mcclatchydc.com/homepage/v-print/story/47174.html
August 10th, 2008 at 1:47 pmThe latest from http://www.aboutgeorgia.net/
3 hours ago:
US WARNS RUSSIA OVER GEORGIA MOVES
RUSSIAN AIRCRAFT DROPS BOMB IN OUTSKIRTS OF TBILISI
ABKHAZ FRONTLINE TOWN ZUGDIDI EVACUATED
August 10th, 2008 at 2:10 pmIt doesn’t matter when the Georgians throw in the towel. The Russian Bear decided when this would begin and it will decide when it will end. Deathstar is right - we need to arm Georgia to the teeth, but now it’s too late, just like we fucked up and waited too long in Lebanon.
Someone please remind me what we are paying the geniuses at the State Department for?
August 10th, 2008 at 3:22 pmWar for oil — been brewing over the Caspian Sea to Mediterranean Sea via Turkey, pipeline for some time now. The pipeline means you don’t need Russia to get oil to Europe from the Caspian Fields. Russia doesn’t like that.
I bet they also don’t like the world oil price going down.
War solves both problems from Russia’s perspective.
August 10th, 2008 at 3:44 pmthis is not about kosovo, this is aobut georgia, and its geopolitical situation,its about oil, its aobut the “empire” … if europe wants to they can huff on as much russian gas they want… next time a eorepean government will be speaking about any international laws and whats righ and whats wrong, they can kiss my ass, they pussed out during the chechen conflict, during the bosnian conflict dutch soldiers have actually helped to pick out bosnian muslim men for serbs to be massacred (its documented), europeans are being pimped by russians, and they love it…no wonder muslims are fucking them up, total degenration and feminization of the population…did anybody watch the UN security counsil debate between the US and russian “churka”, apparently Lavrov(russian MFA minister) has said to Condi, “all we want is to change the current Georgian govenrment”…russia has so much animosity towards our western movement they think that by changing the government they will change something, our opposition leaders are even more pro-western than the current govt…this is serious guys, our taking control of the ossetia is just a pretext, it always was, and given, i repeate Frances and Germanys refusal for the NATO MAP gave russians a green light to act according to their wishes …the immediate comfort is apparently greater than helping people who desire freedom … i am very dissapointed with the west, the US has been the only country that has actually stepped up to liliPutin and russians and is showing them their place in the world - the dumpster that is …
August 10th, 2008 at 3:50 pmGiorgi, Putin never had the idea to let Georgia and or Ukraine to join Nato, too proxy for him
neither the US, Nato or EU will go against him
while in Beijin in discussion with Bush, he was senting his planes over Georgia
August 10th, 2008 at 4:08 pmSome aircraft armed with sensor fused weapons would make short work of all that armor and probably do quit a number on some ships too.
A few bunker busters on the mountain pass and tunnel would pretty much cut off all future land based invasion forces for some time.
But in all honesty, and I hate to say it but unless we as a nation step in, what we will more likely see is Russian retake Georgia, then sweep down into Armenia and Azerbaijan retaking those lands and who knows they may just get cocky and go after Turkey also but that one is less likely. Mother Russia is on the move and has obviously been planning this one for some time now.
Gog & MaGog? quite possibly so.
August 10th, 2008 at 4:15 pmBomb the fuck out of the rail line’s and tunnel’s and put a carrier battle group off Georgia’s coast fuck these russian prick’s.
August 10th, 2008 at 4:56 pm“Moscow has so far promised to respect Georgia’s territorial integrity, but there is a growing danger that Russia will move slowly and quietly but steadily toward integrating Abkhazia and South Ossetia. If Georgia accepts this new reality on the ground, Kosovo will become exactly the kind of precedent for the Caucasus that the Bush Administration denied it could be. If Georgia chooses to use force, Russia is likely to respond militarily. If there is shooting between Russia and Georgia, would NATO come to Georgia’s defense, risking a confrontation with Russia? Or would it just make a lot of angry noise, giving President Vladimir Putin a major strategic victory with consequences throughout the former Soviet region? In either case, America’s ability to cooperate with Russia on such essential matters as nonproliferation, counter-terrorism and energy interdependence would be in tatters.”
http://www.nationalinterest.org/Article.aspx?id=16670
“Strategically, we said Russia would respond to Kosovo’s independence, and they have. Russia is now declaring the Caucasus to be part of its sphere of influence. We have spoken for months of how Russia would find a window of opportunity to redefine the region. This is happening now.”
http://hosted.verticalresponse.com/238172/8b28a847e2/542001500/ce988f0798/
August 10th, 2008 at 4:57 pmSTOP FIGHTING DAMMIT
August 10th, 2008 at 4:59 pm