Filed under: 2008 olympics, Afghanistan, airstrikes, angela merkel, beijing, belgium, Chechnya, China, Condoleezza Rice, Department of Defense, Dmitri Medvedev, DoD, George Bush, georgia, Iraq, John Negroponte, Mikheil Saakashvili, Military, military base, military strike, moscow, nation building, NATO, occupation, olympics, Pentagon, Preemptive Strike, preemptive war, putin, Russia, Sergei Lavrov, Shock and Awe, South Ossetia, Soviet Union, Troops, UN, War On Terror, WW3, ww4 | Tags: gori, Marat Kulakhmetov, Marneuli, Richard C. Holbrooke, russian peacekeepers, Shota Utiashvili, soldiers, tbilisi, Tskhinvali, u.s. soldiers, Vaziany
1,500 Reported Killed in Georgia-Russia Battle
NY Times
8/8/8
Russian air attacks over northern Georgia intensified on Saturday morning, striking two apartment buildings in the city of Gori and clogging roads out of the area with fleeing refugees.
Russian authorities said their forces had retaken the South Ossetian capital, Tskhinvali, from Georgian control during the morning hours. They reported that 15 Russian peacekeepers and 1,500 civilians have been killed in the conflict.
Georgian forces shot down 10 Russian combat planes over the last two days, according to Alexander Lomaya, secretary of the Georgian National Security Council.
Twelve Russian troops were killed, according to Anatoly Nogovitsyn, a general colonel in the Ministry of Defense. Mr. Nogovitsyn was asked if it is a state of war, but he denied that. He said Russian forces are in Tskhinvali to help peacekeepers who were already there.
Shota Utiashvili, an official at the Georgian Interior Ministry, called the attack on Gori a “major escalation,” and said he expected attacks to increase over the course of Saturday. He said some 16 Russian planes were in the air over Georgian territory at any given time on Saturday, four times the number of sorties seen Friday.
In the Georgian capital of Tbilisi, wounded fighters and civilians began to arrive in hospitals, most with shrapnel or mortar wounds. Several dozen names had been posted outside the hospital.
In a news conference, the Russian foreign minister Sergei Lavrov said Georgian attacks on Russian citizens “amounted to ethnic cleansing.”
Mr. Lavrov said Russian airstrikes targeted military staging grounds. Asked whether Russia is prepared to fight “all-out war” in Georgia, he said: “No. Georgia, I believe, started a war in Southern Ossetia, and we are responsible to keep the peace.”
He said Moscow has been working intensely with foreign leaders, in particular the United states. “We have been appreciative of the American efforts to pacify the hawks in Tbilisi. Apparently these efforts have not succeeded. Quite a number of officials in Washignton were really shocked when all this happened.”
The United States and other Western nations, joined by NATO, condemned the violence and demanded a cease-fire. Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice went a step further, calling on Russia to withdraw its forces, and
President George W. Bush, who is at the Olympics in Beijing, was expected to make a statement at about 7 a.m. Eastern.
Russian military units — including tank, artillery and reconnaissance — arrived in Tskhinvali, the capital of South Ossetia, on Saturday to help Russian peacekeepers there, in response to overnight shelling by Georgian forces, state television in Russia reported, citing the Ministry of Defense. Ground assault aircraft were also mobilized, the Ministry said.
Also on Saturday a senior Georgian official said by telephone that Russian bombers were flying over Georgia and that the presidential offices and residence in Tbilisi had been evacuated. The official added that Georgian forces still had control of Tskhinvali.
Neither side showed any indication of backing down. Prime Minister Vladimir V. Putin of Russia declared that “war has started,” and President Mikheil Saakashvili of Georgia accused Russia of a “well-planned invasion” and mobilized Georgia’s military reserves. There were signs as well of a cyberwarfare campaign, as Georgian government Web sites were crashing intermittently during the day.
The escalation risked igniting a renewed and sustained conflict in the Caucasus region, an important conduit for the flow of oil from the Caspian Sea to world markets and an area where conflict has flared for years along Russia’s borders, most recently in Chechnya.
The military incursion into Georgia marked a fresh sign of Kremlin confidence and resolve, and also provided a test of the capacities of the Russian military, which Mr. Putin had tried to modernize and re-equip during his two presidential terms.
Frictions between Georgia and South Ossetia, which has declared de facto independence, have simmered for years, but intensified when Mr. Saakashvili came to power in Georgia and made national unification a centerpiece of his agenda. Mr. Saakashvili, a close American ally who has sought NATO membership for Georgia, is loathed at the Kremlin in part because he had positioned himself as a spokesman for democracy movements and alignment with the West.
Earlier this year Russia announced that it was expanding support for the separatist regions. Georgia labeled the new support an act of annexation.
The conflict in Georgia also appeared to suggest the limits of the power of President Dmitri A. Medvedev, Mr. Putin’s hand-picked successor. During the day, it was Mr. Putin’s stern statements from China, where he was visiting the opening of the Olympic Games, that appeared to define Russia’s position.
But Mr. Medvedev made a public statement as well, making it unclear who was directing Russia’s military operations. Officially, that authority rests with Mr. Medvedev, and foreign policy is outside Mr. Putin’s portfolio.
“The war in Ossetia instantly showed the idiocy of our state management,” said a commentator on the liberal radio station, Ekho Moskvy. “Who is in charge — Putin or Medvedev?”
The war between Georgia and South Ossetia, until recently labeled a “frozen conflict,” stretches back to the early 1990s, when South Ossetia and another separatist region, Abkhazia, gained de facto independence from Georgia after the collapse of the Soviet Union. The region settled into a tenuous peace monitored by Russian peacekeepers, but frictions with Georgia increased sharply in 2004, when Mr. Saakashvili was elected.
Reports conflicted throughout Friday about whether Georgian or Russian forces had won control of Tskhinvali, the capital of the mountainous rebel province. It was unclear late on Friday whether ground combat had taken place between Russian and Georgian soldiers, or had been limited to fighting between separatists and Georgian forces.
Marat Kulakhmetov, commander of Russian peacekeeping forces in Tskhinvali, said early on Saturday that South Ossetian separatists still held most of the city and that Georgian forces were only present on its southern edge.
That report aligned with a statement by Georgia’s ambassador to the United Nations, Irakli Alasania, who said that Georgian military units held eight villages at the capital’s edge. Georgian officials asserted that Russian warplanes had attacked Georgian forces and civilians in Tskhinvali, and that airports in four Georgian cities had been hit.
Shota Utiashvili, an official at the Georgian Interior Ministry, said they included the Vaziany military base outside of Tbilisi, the Georgian capital, a military base in Marneuli, and airports in the cities of Delisi and Kutaisi.
“We are under massive attack,” he said.
Late in the night, George Arveladze, an adviser to Mr. Saakashvili, said that Russian planes had bombed the commercial seaport of Poti, where one worker was missing and several others were wounded. Poti is an export point for oil from the Caspian Sea; Mr. Arveladze said the initial reports indicated that the oil terminal had not been struck.
Eduard Kokoity, the president of South Ossetia, said in a statement on a government Web site that hundreds of civilians had been killed in fighting in the capital. Russian peacekeepers stationed in South Ossetia said that 12 peacekeeping soldiers were killed Friday and that 50 were wounded. The claims of casualties by all sides could not be independently verified.
Analysts said that either Georgia or Russia could be trying to seize an opportune moment — with world leaders focused on the start of the 2008 Olympics this week — to reclaim the territory, and to settle the dispute before a new American presidential administration comes to office.
Richard C. Holbrooke, the former American ambassador to the United Nations, said that Russia’s aims were clear. “They have two goals,” he said. “To do a creeping annexation of South Ossetia and Abkhazia and, secondly, to overthrow Saakashvili, who is a tremendous thorn in their side.”
A spokesman for Mr. Medvedev declined to comment.
The United States State Department issued a press release late Friday saying that John D. Negroponte, the deputy secretary of state, had summoned the Russian chargé d’affairs to press for a de-escalation of force. “We deplore today’s Russian attacks by strategic bombers and missiles, which are threatening civilian lives,” the statement said.
The United States also said Friday that it would send an envoy to the region to try to broker an end to the fighting.
Chancellor Angela Merkel of Germany issued a statement calling on both sides “to halt the use of force immediately.” Germany has taken a leading role in trying to ease the tensions over Abkhazia.
The trigger for the fresh escalation began last weekend, when South Ossetia accused Georgia of firing mortars into the enclave after six Georgian policemen were killed in the border area by a roadside bomb. As tensions grew, South Ossetia began sending women and children out of the enclave. The refugee crisis intensified Friday as relief groups said thousands of refugees, mostly women and children, were streaming across the border into the North Caucasus city of Vladikavkaz in Russia.
Early on Friday, Russia’s Channel One television showed Russian tanks entering South Ossetia and reported that two battalions reinforced by tanks and armored personnel carriers were approaching its capital.
There were unconfirmed reports that Georgian forces had shot down two Russian planes and that its aircraft had bombed a convoy of Russian tanks. Russian state television showed what it said was a destroyed Georgian tank in Tskhinvali, its turret smoldering.
Women and children in Tskhinvali were hiding in basements while men had fled to the woods, said a woman reached by telephone in the neighboring Russian region of North Ossetia, who said she had been in phone contact with relatives there. She declined to give her name.
In Gori, a city outside South Ossetia and about 12 miles from Tskhinvali, residents said there had been sporadic bombing all day. The city was shaken by numerous vibrations from the impact of bombs on Friday evening. One Russian bomb exploded in Gori near a textile factory and a cellphone tower, leaving a crater.
At the United Nations on Friday, diplomats continued to wrangle over the text of a statement after attempts to agree to compromise language collapsed Friday afternoon, after nearly three hours of consultations.
The Russians, who had called the emergency session, proposed a short, three-paragraph statement that expressed concern about the escalating violence, and singled out Georgia and South Ossetia as needing to cease hostilities and return to the negotiating table.
But one phrase calling on all parties to “renounce the use of force” met with opposition, particularly from the United States, France and Britain. The three countries argued that the statement was unbalanced, one European diplomat said, because that language would have undermined Georgia’s ability to defend itself. Belgium, which holds the rotating presidency of the Security Council this month, circulated a revised draft calling for an immediate cessation of hostility and for “all parties” to return to the negotiating table. By dropping the specific reference to Georgia and South Ossetia, the compromise statement would also encompass Russia.
The Security Council was scheduled to meet Saturday to resume deliberations. China, in its statement during the early morning debate, had asked for a traditional cease-fire out of respect for the opening of the Olympics.
There are over 2,000 American citizens in Georgia, Pentagon officials said. Among them are about 130 trainers — mostly American military personnel but with about 30 Defense Department civilians —assisting the Georgian military with preparations for deployments to Iraq.
The American military was taking no actions regarding the outbreak of violence, according to Pentagon and military officials. While there has been some contact with the Georgian authorities, the Defense Department had received no requests for assistance, the officials said.
Lee Rogers
Rogue Government
8/8/8
The military conflict between Russian and Georgian forces is undoubtedly a curtain raiser that could potentially escalate into a much larger conflict. Although this is an extremely serious situation, the U.S. press has downplayed its significance choosing not to make this the top story of the day. This is despite the fact that the U.S. has had an active military presence in Georgia for several years and had been recently conducting joint drills with the Georgian military only weeks ago. Not only that, but the Debka File is reporting that the Israelis have also been providing military support to Georgia. With that said, there is little doubt that U.S. forces are actively engaged in battle with the Georgian military fighting the Russians. An even more ominous fact is that the Georgian military started this conflict by invading the province of South Ossetia a territory that is around 90% Russian. The Georgian military forces started this by entering South Ossetia, killing Russian peace keepers which results in the Russian response. This fact has been confirmed by the London Guardian, Reuters and other media outlets, meaning that the Georgian puppet government backed by the U.S. and Israel has launched an attack against Russia. This is an extremely serious situation and the U.S. corporate controlled press is acting like the Russians were the one’s that started this whole thing when that is a total distortion of everything that the foreign press has been saying. This is outrageous considering the U.S. involvement in Iraq and Afghanistan. It should also come as no surprise that something like this has happened on August 8th, 2008 or 8/8/08 due to the numerological significance of the date to the elite who follow the occult and the added distraction of the Olympics. There is little doubt that this event has been engineered by powerful people in the Anglo-American establishment.
Evidence of U.S. Military Presence in Georgia
Prison Planet
8/8/8
Georgia, US start military exercises despite tensions with Russia
CNews
July 15, 2008
TBILISI, Georgia (AP) — Georgian and U.S. troops started a joint military exercise Tuesday amid growing tensions between the ex-Soviet republic and Russia, a Georgian defense ministry official said.
Russian military gangs ready to invade Georgia. U.S. sends thousand marines in response
Kavkaz-Center
July 10, 2008
Gangs of the Russian invaders from the so-called North Caucasus Military District are ready “to provide assistance to the Russian troops in case the situation gets more aggravated in the conflict zones in Abkhazia and South Ossetia”, as gang leader of Russian North Caucasus Military District, Sergei Makarov, said.
US army exercises begin in Georgia
Aljazeerea
July 15, 2008
The United States and Russia are holding military exercises on either side of the Caucasus mountains amid increasing tensions over the fate of two separatist regions in ex-Soviet Georgia.
US runs military exercise around Georgia conflict
Now Public
July 17, 2008
The conflict in the Caucasus country of Georgia is growing to alarming levels. The country is fighting with a break-away region in teh North called Abkhazia, where an ethnic minority lives. The area is currently de-facto independent, and Russia is backing the area’s claims to independence, although it’s not really clear why. The US secretary of state Condoleeza Rice visited the country earlier this month, and now the US military is running exercises around the conflict. Could the US military be planning to get involved in this Caucasus conflict? The US would be supporting its pro-West ally Georgia, while Russia would be supporting the rebels. Not exactly a good idea geopolitically!
http://www.associatedconten..oking_for_a_fight_with_georgia.html?cat=9
Georgian President requests U.S. support in war with Russia
http://www.panarmenian.net/news/eng/?nid=26849
U.S. Attacks Russia Through Client State Georgia
http://www.prisonplanet.com/us-attacks-russia-through-client-state-georgia.html
More Video Reports On Georgia/Russia Conflict
http://www.infowars.com/?p=3838
Russian jets bomb airbase outside Georgian capital
http://ca.news.yahoo.com/s/reuters/0808..nal_georgia_ossetia_dc
Bush Reiterates Support For Georgia’s Terrirotial Integration
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=yFSMAreeH4U
Russian peacekeepers confirmed 15 killed in Georgia
http://www.russiatoday.ru/news/news/28656
Pentagon closely monitoring Georgia situation
http://www.armytimes.com/news/2008/08/military_georgia_080808w/
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