GEORGIA: FIGHTING RAGES IN S. OSSETIA, RUSSIAN TANKS HEAD FOR BATTLE

[David Rothscum]

Russia trying to soften up Georgia for Abkhazia to join the invasion of Georgia?http://www.news.com.au/story/0,23599,24156459-1702,00.html
Russian planes in new bombing raids
by Gerard Aziakou

August 10, 2008 07:21am (What's so hard about posting the time zone, Australia has 3 different time zones, how are we to tell when this was written, stupid journalists...)
Article from: Agence France-Presse

RUSSIAN aircraft have launched a new bombing raid on a Georgian-controlled part of the separatist Abkhazia region, Georgia's Public TV reported.

Russian aircraft attacked the village of Chkhalta in the Kodori Gorge region, the only part of Abkhazia controlled by Georgia, the report said.

In New York, the United Nations Security Council's 15 ambassadors met behind closed doors to hear a briefing from Edmond Mulet, the UN assistant secretary general for peacekeeping operations, on the latest developments in the volatile Caucasus region.

Georgian President Mikheil Saakashvili told CNN his country was ready to take immediate steps towards a ceasefire in South Ossetia provided Russia stopped its attacks.

But while most UN ambassadors said they backed the idea of calling an immediate ceasefire to defuse the crisis, they said an agreement was unlikely to be reached immediately.

Indonesian Ambassador Marty Natalegawa said he "had no reason to be more optimistic today than we were yesterday," regarding agreement on a Belgian-drafted statement that would urge the warring sides to "show restraint and to refrain from any further acts of violence or force".

Yesterday, the Security Council failed for the second time to reach agreement on the Belgian draft.

"I don't think there will be any continuation of discussions on the statement. The positions are too far (apart)," Maria Zakharova, a spokesman for Russia's UN mission said.

She said Russia would insist that Georgian troops who moved into South Ossetia to wrest control from Moscow-backed separatists must first pull out.

"The pullout (of Georgian troops) is the most important thing," said Russian Ambassador Vitaly Churkin, whose country is a veto-wielding member of the Council.

The flurry of UN diplomatic activity came amid mounting international concern as Russia stepped up its military onslaught against Georgia, bombing the key Georgian port and oil staging post of Poti.

France said that it will host an EU foreign ministers meeting in Paris early next week and could even stage a special summit on the crisis in Georgia.

France also announced it was instructing its Foreign Minister, Bernard Kouchner, "to go as soon as possible to the region to propose to the parties concerned some elements to get out of the crisis".

The plan is based on "an immediate cessation of hostilities; the full respect of the sovereignty and territorial integrity of Georgia; the re-establishment of the situation that existed before," said a French statement.

Georgia meanwhile claimed to have successfully repelled several Russian attacks in the Kodori Gorge, a Georgian-controlled area of Abkhazia.

[Chocolaty]

Georgia president says they are fighting for a "future world order"

AlJazeera

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=znlhvmUAu9Y

Future world order 'to be decided today'
http://www.theage.com.au/world/future-world-order-to-be-decided-today-20080809-3sqg.html
August 10, 2008

MORE than 1600 people are dead as Russia and Georgia edge towards all-out war in the disputed province of South Ossetia.

Georgian President Mikheil Saakashvili declared a "state of war" yesterday after Russian tanks, armoured personnel carriers and trucks rumbled into the breakaway province.

Earlier yesterday, a Russian aerial bombardment devastated Georgia's Black Sea port of Poti in attacks which Georgia's UN ambassador likened to "a full-scale military invasion". The Russian army said it had "liberated" the South Ossetian capital.

Pro-Russian South Ossetia broke from pro-Western Georgia in the early 1990s and has been a constant source of friction since.

"I have signed a decree on a state of war. Georgia is under a state of total military aggression by the Russian navy, air force, large-scale ground operations," Mr Saakashvili told his national security council.

"The future world order is to be decided today in Georgia."

The US and European Union were last night scrambling to arrange a ceasefire, but Russian President Dmitry Medvedev said his country had launched the military operation "to force the Georgian side into peace".

AFP, AP

[Brocke]

August 8, 2008, 20:46
Experts disagree over Georgia-Ossetia conflict
Political analysts and experts from Russia and abroad give their opinions on the armed conflict between Georgia and its breakaway republic of South Ossetia.

‘US is behind Georgia's military build-up’
The U.S. is responsible for the militarisation of Georgia, providing it with finance and weapons, says Chairman of the Russia's State Duma Security Committee Vladimir Vasilyev.

“Georgia could have used the years of Saakashvili's presidency in different ways - to build up the economy, to develop the infrastructure, to solve social issues both in South Ossetia, Abkhazia and the whole state. Instead, the Georgian leadership with president Saakashvili undertook consistent steps to increase its military budget from $US 30 million to $US 1 billion - Georgia was preparing for a military action,” Vasilyev also says.

‘It’s Russia vs the West’
The military actions in South Ossetia are not just a confrontation between Georgia and its breakaway republic, says Viktor Mizin, a political analyst from the Institute of Strategic Assessment in Moscow.

“What we see here is not just a confrontation of minor republics but probably the confrontation between, I am sorry to say that, Moscow and the entire West because now Russia is basically protecting its clients and its own citizens. Up to 80 per cent of South Ossetian population have Russian passports,” Mizin says.

‘EU too weak in the Caucasus to help’
Aleksandr Rahr from the German Council on Foreign Policy says the EU is shocked about what's happening but does not have the means to solve the conflict.

“German Foreign Minister Frank-Walter Steinmeier was trying to solve the Abkhazian conflict. He proposed money to be allocated in the West in order to rebuild the infrastructure of this separatist republic but it didn’t work because sides do not accept European mediators any more. That’s because the EU is politically too weak in the Caucasus. The EU has no real economic interests in the region and it has no armed forces there. It failed in the past 16 years to develop some kind of co-operation with Russia and Georgia, or to join the peacekeeping missions in the region,” says Rahr.

‘It’s an attack against Russia’
Aleksandr Pikaev, a political analyst from the Committee of Scientists for Global Security, says since Russian peacekeepers were killed in Georgia’s attack against South Ossetia, it is an attack against Russia as well.

“Several Russian peacekeepers have been killed and that has greatly increased the stakes in the conflict because, a few weeks ago, President Medvedev personally called Mikhail Saakashvili and asked him to refrain from using force against Russian peacekeepers, and the worst has happened. The Georgians killed Russian peacekeepers in South Ossetia – and it is an attack not only against South Ossetia. It’s an attack against Russia,” Pikaev said.

‘There is profound mistrust between the sides’
Andrey Kortunov from New Eurasia Foundation told RT that it will be very difficult to restore trust between the two sides.

“Militarily the balance of powers is quite clear. Russia is predominant and Georgia is not in a position to challenge Russian might. But the question is about the politics behind it and the big uncertainty is whether Georgia is able to present itself as a victim and not as an aggressor. I think this conflict will be with us for quite a time. There is a very profound sense of mistrust on both sides and I think it would be extremely difficult to restore the situation that we had a couple of days ago,” Kortunov said.

http://www.russiatoday.ru/news/news/28676

[Wanted]

Georgia: Russia demands to be regarded as number one
Why has Russia reverted to traditional means of controlling its former satellite states? At the heart of Vladimir Putin's aggressive nationalism is his firm belief that the power of the West is on the wane, says James Sherr.

http://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/worldnews/europe/russia/2531270/Georgia-Russia-demands-to-be-regarded-as-number-one.html



As billions watched China stake its claim to being the 21st century's leading power, with a stunning opening ceremony at the Beijing Olympics, its former Cold War partner was pursuing its own ambitions in an altogether more traditional way. Russia's brutal demonstration of power in South Ossetia, a breakaway region of its southern neighbour Georgia, marks the latest – and most alarming – sign of the Kremlin's determination to reclaim control over former Soviet states.

These former satellites have now been left in no doubt that Russia must be regarded as "glavniy", or number one, if they wish to avoid the fate of Georgia. Central to Vladimir Putin's nationalistic policy is a conviction that the power of the West – seemingly unassailable at the end of the Cold War – is on the wane. The current crisis demonstrates that the Cold War has not been replaced by common values between East and West, but by the revival of hard Realpolitik.

Mikhail Saakashvili, Georgia's President, might have been profoundly unwise to employ massive force against the pro-Russian separatists in South Ossetia last Thursday, but his lapses of judgement are not the point. The commanders of Russian forces and their political masters in the Kremlin hoped he would behave exactly as he did. The episode is a perfect application of what Russian military scientists call "reflexive control": the defeat of an adversary through his own efforts. It is also an application of Clausewitz's maxim that war is a tool of policy.

The aim of Russia's policy, succinctly expressed in 1992, is to "be leader of stability and security on the entire territory of the former USSR". What has changed in recent years is not the aim – endlessly reiterated in 16 years of presidential declarations, "foreign policy concepts" and military doctrines – but the "correlation of forces". As Yeltsin declared to Russia's intelligence services in 1994, "global ideological confrontation has been replaced by a struggle for spheres of interest in geopolitics". Back then, Russia had little to struggle with. Today, that is no longer the case.

If Western interests are not to be irreparably damaged, we will need to understand that they are being tested on three overlapping levels: local, regional and global. Georgia is not just a square on a chessboard, but a country that is extremely important in its own right. For two reasons, the West cannot be indifferent to what happens there. First, despite the uncultivated instincts of its president, Georgia's political culture is fundamentally democratic, its people (80 per cent of whom support Nato membership) profoundly pro-Western, and its sense of national identity almost indestructible. Georgia can be defeated by Russia, but it can no longer submit to it, and therefore war between Georgia and Russia would be a frightening prospect even if no wider interests existed. Second, the only energy pipeline in the former USSR independent of Russian control passes through Georgia. There will be no meaningful energy security, let alone diversification of energy supplies, if these pipelines become vulnerable to sabotage, like those in Iraq, or to takeover by shadow businesses fronting for Russian interests.

But Georgia is equally important to Russia. Russia has only controlled the nationalities of the north Caucasus when it has dominated the south Caucasus. Despite the so-called "normalisation" in Chechnya, the north Caucasus remains, to Russia's leaders, the Achilles heel of the Russian Federation and, after the slaughter of schoolchildren in Beslan in 2004, a subject of nightmares for Russia's people. Russia's determination to hold sway in South Ossetia and Abkhazia must be seen in this light. But it also serves another purpose: as a means to deny Georgia admission to Nato. In their own right, these territories mean far less to Russia than they do to Georgia. So long as this is the case, Georgia risks finding itself hostage to Russian intentions, and so for that matter do the OSCE and Nato. And so Russia would like everyone to think.

"Everyone" includes Ukraine, whose government, like Georgia's, aspires to Nato membership. Unlike Georgia, Ukraine has no territorial conflicts, but it has a potential territorial dispute, Crimea. What is more, Russia's Black Sea Fleet – and along with it, its intelligence services – is authorised to remain there until 2017. In 1997, Ukraine's sovereignty over Crimea was recognised by a treaty signed by Presidents Yeltsin and Kuchma. Yet after Nato's summit in Bucharest last April, President Putin let it be known that Crimea and other questions long regarded as settled could be reopened if Ukraine ceased to be a "friendly" (ie, non-Nato) state. After the events of last week, Ukraine is even more concerned about Russia's wish to destabilise it.

Russia's regional objectives are therefore straightforward. It aims to show its neighbours, by means of the Georgian example, that Russia is "glavniy": that its contentment is the key to "stability and security", and that if Russia expresses its discontent, Nato will be unwilling and unable to help. It aims to show Nato that its newest aspirant members are divided, divisible and, in the case of Georgia, reckless. It aims to show both sets of actors that Russia has (in Putin's words) "earned a right to be self-interested" and that in its own "zone", it will defend these interests irrespective of what others think about them. For Russia, the broader implications are also becoming straightforward. To its political establishment, to the heads of Gazprom and Rosneft, to its armed forces and security services and to their advisors and "ideologists", the key point is that the era of Western dominance is over.

Far from rejecting "globalisation", as Westerners might suppose, their view, in Foreign Minister Lavrov's words, is that the West is "losing its monopoly over the globalisation process". The Beijing Olympics are reminder enough that the cresting of what Russians call Western "democratic messianism" and the rise of "sovereign democracies" is not purely a Russia-driven process. But the West needs to know that Russia is determined to play a significant part in that process and that it is now able to do so.

The West will not have adequate responses to these events until it draws adequate conclusions. The first is that the era of democratic "coloured revolutions" is over. A few years ago, the Kremlin rightly feared that Georgia's Rose Revolution and Ukraine's Orange Revolution might destabilise the political elite in Russia itself. Today, the issue is whether these countries will be able to achieve their minimal objectives. Given today's harsh "correlation of forces", the issue for Tblisi is not whether it is right to use force against separatists but whether it is wise. The issue for Kiev is not whether its prime minister threatens its president but whether their divisions threaten the independence of the country. The issue for Nato and the EU is whether their "currency of influence" buys "stability and security" in this region and, if not, whether it is time to change it.

The second conclusion is that Nato must revisit the assumptions upon which its enlargement policy has been based. Contrary to the view that Nato remains a Cold War institution, the fact is that it has evolved too much. It moved east on the new-age assumption that Russia would adjust and gradually join us in addressing "common" (and distinctly soft) security problems rather than decide to pose a distinct set of hard and soft security problems itself. We now find ourselves confronting a zone of Realpolitik in partner countries, and some unnerving active measures in new member states – and virtually no one is prepared for it. Until recently, Nato was proud that it had no policy, let alone vision, for resolving the region's territorial conflicts beyond cliché: "autonomy", "respect for territorial integrity", "negotiation" "non-use of force". Until there is a policy, there cannot be a favourable outcome.

The third conclusion is that Russia is exasperated with the West and also contemptuous of it. In the Georgian conflict, as in the more subtle variants of energy diplomacy, Russians have shown a harshly utilitarian asperity in connecting means and ends. In exchange, we appear to present an unfocused commitment to values and process. Our democracy agenda has earned the resentment not only of Russia's elite but of the ordinary people who are delighted to see Georgia being taught a lesson. Our divisions arouse derision. Russians have no worries about the emergence of a unified EU energy policy, and they are losing their worries about a unified commitment to Nato enlargement. The war in South Ossetia, and the movement of conflict beyond it, should be a reminder that contempt has consequences.

The final conclusion is the need to focus on what is at stake. Is our relationship with Russia the most important issue? If so, what happens to that relationship if we demonstrate that brutality works and that "zones of interest" can be formed against the interests of the countries that reside in them? What happens to our wider scheme of interests in Central and Eastern Europe and the Black Sea and Caspian regions? Today, those questions are now being asked. But it is late to be asking them.

[GoodBush]

In Georgia Clash, a Lesson on U.S. Need for Russia

By HELENE COOPER
Published: August 9, 2008
WASHINGTON — The image of President Bush smiling and chatting with Prime Minister Vladimir V. Putin of Russia from the stands of the Beijing Olympics even as Russian aircraft were shelling Georgia outlines the reality of America’s Russia policy. While America considers Georgia its strongest ally in the bloc of former Soviet countries, Washington needs Russia too much on big issues like Iran to risk it all to defend Georgia.


Read more....



http://www.nytimes.com/2008/08/10/world/europe/10diplo.html?ref=world

[Wanted]

Sweden urges Russia, Georgia to show restraint

http://news.xinhuanet.com/english/2008-08/10/content_9113235.htm


 STOCKHOLM, Aug. 9 (Xinhua) -- Swedish Minister for Foreign Affairs Carl Bildt said Russia and Georgia must show restraint after the situation in South Ossetia has deteriorated, according to a statement from the Swedish Ministry for Foreign Affairs Saturday.

    "It is extremely important that all those involved show restraint and play their part in bringing about a political solution," said Carl Bildt, adding that he is particularly concerned about the impact of the conflict on civilians.

    In the statement, Bildt pointed out that Georgia and Russia are dangerously close to war and there is a great risk of this spreading to other parts of the Caucasus.

    "It is important that the parties in conflict quickly start to communicate so as to put an end to the use of violence," emphasized Bildt in the statement.

    Georgian troops began military actions against South Ossetia's forces Friday in an attempt to re-establish control over the region. In response, Russian troops moved into the region to fight the Georgian forces and its warplanes bombed the region.     

[Aerioch]

PROOF THAT BUSH ENDORSED THE GEORGIAN AGGRESSION ... in the Washington Post.  05-10-2005


President Bush and Georgia's President Mikheil Saakashvili are greeted warmly by a cheering crowd in Freedom Square in central Tbilisi.

Bush's presence was a huge boost to Saakashvili, the 37-year-old architect of street protests that brought down the discredited government of Eduard Shevardnadze. "For the Georgian people, this is really a sign of strong solidarity with them," Foreign Minister Salome Zourabichvili said in an interview. "It's one thing to know it. It's another thing to see it."

The visit irritated the Russian government, which views recent uprisings along its borders as an effort by the United States to extend its influence into Moscow's historic zone of influence. When Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov learned of Bush's itinerary weeks ago, he wrote a letter of complaint to Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice.

Bush took a gentle jab at Russian President Vladimir Putin in his speech and at a news conference here Tuesday when he endorsed Saakashvili's plans to peacefully return the pro-Russian breakaway regions of Abkhazia and South Ossetia to Georgian control while granting them considerable autonomy. "The sovereignty and territorial integrity of Georgia must be respected," Bush said, an implicit reference to Moscow's support for the separatists

But in a message calibrated to please Russia, Bush warned Georgia to respect the rights of its minority Abkhaz and Ossetian populations. Senior U.S. officials said before the trip that Bush planned to urge Saakashvili in private talks not to take provocative actions in the regions.

Bush also volunteered to help mediate a dispute over Russia's two remaining Soviet-era military bases in Georgia. Moscow has failed to fulfill a 1999 agreement to withdraw 3,500 troops it has in Georgia. In recent talks, Georgian officials insisted they leave by 2008, but Moscow balked. In response, the Georgian president on Monday boycotted Moscow's 60th anniversary celebration of the end of World War II.

http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2005/05/10/AR2005051000542.html

Georgians wouldn't have even taken a dump in those contested territories without BushCo's approval.  What did they do exactly?  Attack civilians, and use planes to destroy the hospital the 1,000's of wounded were taken to?

The very fact American contractors left just days beforehand is tell-tale.

[Brocke]

August 9, 2008, 22:52

South Ossetian capital completely destroyed

The Chief of Russian ground forces, Igor Konashenkov, claims Georgian military action in Tskhinvali has destroyed all hospitals, killing many children. He also says the South Ossetian capital is almost ruined and left without water or electricity.

Heavy fighting is reportedly still going on in the capital. Earlier, Georgian helicopters fired on Tskhinvali, hitting residential districts.

There are claims that Georgian Special Forces have been throwing grenades into basements where women and children are sheltering. According to the South Ossetian information committee, all types of weaponry are in use, including mortars, tanks and rocket launchers.

Officials on the ground say there's no sign of a ceasefire.

More than ten border villages have reportedly been burnt to the ground.

South Ossetia claims more than 2,000 people have been killed in fighting so far. Georgia rejects this figure, saying it has lost only 30 soldiers.

More than 30,000 refugees have fled across the border to Russia's North Ossetial  in the past 36 hours.

The Russian military says three peacekeepers died overnight, raising to 15 the number of Russian peacekeepers killed since hostilities began more than 24 hours ago.

Seventy Russian peacekeepers have been wounded in the fighting. Twenty were evacuated to a hospital in Vladikavkas in North Ossetia during the night in a convoy which is reported to have been shelled by Georgian forces. That’s according to Land Forces spokesman Col. Igor Konashenkov.

After a lull in artillery fire late on Friday night, Georgian shelling of Tskhinvali again resumed on Saturday morning.

The Deputy Head of the Russian General Staff, Colonel General Anatoly Nogovitsin, briefed media on Russia's operations in the area in a press conference on Saturday morning (WATCH THE VIDEO).

Aerial attacks

South Ossetian forces are claiming to have shot down two Georgian fighter planes. The jets were reportedly downed near the capital Tskhinvali.

Two Russian aircraft have been downed in the conflict zone, confirmed a Russian peacekeeping forces spokesman on Saturday. Georgian media are reporting that one of the pilots has been captured, and another has been found dead.

Georgia claims Russian planes have bombed its Marneuli air base. Georgian state channel 'Rustavi' reported that four people were killed and five wounded in the attack. A video of the incident has been released by the channel. Several military aircraft have reportedly been destroyed.

The attack hasn't been confirmed by the Russian military.

Meanwhile, Russian television channels have been blocked across the country, according to the head of the international media centre in the capital Tbilisi.

No western cameras in South Ossetia

The conflict over Georgia’s breakaway republic is as much about information as it is about weapons. South Ossetia's press service claims Western media outlets can't be trusted because they haven't been operating in the region ”since the conflict began”.

“Only the Russian media and one Ukrainian channel have been filming in the breakaway republic. No western camera crews have been working in the conflict zone,” Suslan Bekoev, South Ossetian committee for information and press, said.

Diplomatic efforts

Earlier on Saturday, President Medvedev said Russia would bring the violence to an end.

In a meeting with Defence Minister Anatoly Serdyukov, Medvedev said Russian peacekeepers would attempt to "force the Georgian side to stop fighting."

Meanwhile, a second emergency meeting of the UN Security Council has ended without agreement. It was held on Saturday morning, but no firm resolution to end the conflict was reached. (WATCH THE VIDEO)

Humanitarian concerns

South Ossetian authorities say Tbilisi's actions amount to genocide against the residents of the republic. Tskhinvali is reported to be in ruins, and five villages have been razed to the ground.

Tskhinvali and nearby villages are being evacuated. Both South Ossetians and Georgians are leaving the area. Those remaining are hiding in the underground shelters.

Russia and the international community have called on Georgia to pull its troops out of the region. Russian president Dmitry Medvedev says Moscow will take appropriate political and military measures to stop the violence in South Ossetia.

Tshinvali is reported to be short of medicine and water, while most of the city's communication networks have been destroyed. Russian peacekeepers are assisting remaining residents.

The Russian Emergency Ministry has sent a mobile hospital to North Ossetia where thousands of refugees have fled from South Ossetia. The Russian President has ordered the government to take urgent measures to provide humanitarian aid to those leaving the conflict zone. Efforts are under way to move the wounded and other vulnerable civilians.

Troop Build-up

Georgia's other breakaway republic, Abkhazia, says Georgia is building up military forces on its border. Earlier, the republic's president, Sergey Bagapsh, said he was ready to help South Ossetia.

Georgian President Mikhail Saakashvili told CNN on Friday that Georgia would withdraw its peacekeepers from Iraq. He has called on all reservists to immediately report for duty.

There are about 2,000 Georgian troops among coalition forces in Iraq, the third-largest contributor after the United States and Britain.

The future of South Ossetia has been disputed since the breakup of the Soviet Union. Although it declared independence from Georgia in the early 90s, it has never been officially recognised (WATCH THE VIDEO).

[GoodBush]

http://www.reuters.com/article/politicsNews/idUSWAT00988620080808



Bush and Putin discuss Georgia fighting

BEIJING (Reuters) - U.S. President George W. Bush and Russian Prime Minister Vladimir Putin discussed the fighting in Georgia, the former Soviet republic that is pushing to join NATO, White House spokesman Gordon Johndroe said on Friday.

"The president of the United States and Putin discussed the situation," Johndroe said. He gave no further information about the discussion or its timing, but the two leaders were seen chatting before a luncheon hosted by China for foreign leaders attending the Olympics.

(Reporting by Jeremy Pelofsky)

[Wanted]

US faults Russia for rising violence in Georgia
http://washingtontimes.com/news/2008/aug/09/us-faults-russia-for-rising-violence-in-georgia/

WASHINGTON (AP) - Russia's use of overwhelming military force against Georgia, including strategic bombers and ballistic missiles, is disproportionate to any threat from the former Soviet state and could escalate tensions in the volatile region, a senior U.S. official said Saturday.

The Bush administration official, who briefed reporters on condition his name not be used because of the sensitive nature of the situation, said Russia has attacked areas in Georgia that are far away from the separatist province of South Ossetia, where the fighting has centered. The official also said the Russian military is striking civilian targets.

"They have employed strategic bombers _ the most potent air weaponry that is in the Russian arsenal .... They actually launched ballistic missile attacks on Georgian territory," the official said. He also said Russia has sent more than 1,000 paratroopers and armor into the region.

Russian bombing has also taken place in Abkhazia, a separate breakaway region of Georgia, far from South Ossetia, the official said.

"This is a dangerous escalation in the crisis," the official said. Russia's military response "marks a severe escalation and is being conducted in areas far, far from the South Ossetia zone of conflict, which is where the Russian side has said it needed to protect its citizens and peacekeepers. So the response has been far disproportionate to whatever threat Russia had been citing."

The U.S. official also scolded Moscow for stymieing attempts at mediation and refusing a cease-fire offer from Georgia.

"The Georgians have offered a cease-fire. The response by the Russians has been to step up the attacks, continue bombing civilians with strategic air assets and then to reject the notion of any international mediation at all _ it's very difficult for us to understand that," the official said. "It is simply not acceptable that anyone would reject an offer of a cease-fire and a plea for international mediation."

The official criticized Russian Prime Minister Vladimir Putin for suggesting Georgia was conducting "genocide" in South Ossetia.

"Those are some pretty powerful words that are really not helping us to end the violence and bring together a new process that can resolve the conflict," the official said. "The line we're hearing right now (from Russia) is quite tough."

President Bush, in Beijing for the Olympics, spoke with Russian President Dmitry Medvedev on Saturday.

"The violence is endangering regional peace, civilian lives have been lost and others are endangered. We have urged an immediate halt to the violence and a stand-down by all troops. We call for an end to the Russian bombings," a grim Bush told reporters. He did not take any questions.

Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice talked with several European counterparts and planned to meet with the Russia's acting ambassador.

Families and dependents of U.S. Embassy personnel in the Georgian capital, Tbilisi, were expected to receive permission to evacuate.

The U.S. official suggested Russia was looking for a way to draw Georgia into a conflict because Moscow wants to keep Georgia out of NATO.

Georgia, which borders the Black Sea between Turkey and Russia, was ruled by Moscow for most of the two centuries preceding the breakup of the Soviet Union. Georgia angered Russia by seeking NATO membership _ a bid Moscow regards as part of a Western effort to weaken its influence in the region.

Russia wants to "keep Georgia kind of weak and off balance and to make it hard for Georgia to join NATO," the official said.

However, he said the United States and its NATO allies will not be drawn militarily into the Russian-Georgian conflict.

"This is a very localized conflict ... There is not a danger of a regional conflict at all in our minds," the official said.

Georgia has about 2,000 troops in Iraq and is the third-largest contributor to coalition forces after the U.S. and Britain. The Georgian government has called home those troops, and efforts are under way now to determine how the U.S. will transport those troops to Georgia, the official said.

[David Rothscum]

See, Georgia's president admitted it right there. It's about the future world order. A world order ruled by the US, by stripping Russia and China of their allies, if Georgia wins this war, they'll be one step closer to that. By the way, watch out for mainstream media propaganda in the articles posted here. Stuff like trying to make this look like Russian agression, or trying to confuse people about what the teams are in this fight. It's America fighting Russia through it's satellite Georgia.
By the way, great post Aerioch, another smoking gun.

[Triadtropz]

It's about the future world order. A world order ruled by the US, by stripping Russia and China of their allies,

russia can crush them if they try..If its about a NWO, then someone better step up or russia will win ..and rule the world?...doubtful.

[Brocke]

UN council meets again on South Ossetia crisis
Sat Aug 9, 2008 5:04pm EDT

By Louis Charbonneau

UNITED NATIONS, Aug 9 (Reuters) - The U.N. Security Council was meeting on Saturday to discuss the escalating conflict in Georgia's breakaway region of South Ossetia but was too split to issue a unanimous call for a ceasefire, diplomats said.

The meeting was the council's third emergency consultations on the crisis in as many days. Council envoys had been drafting an appeal for an end to the hostilities but were too far apart in their views to be able to come to an agreement.

"We've pretty much given up on the idea of issuing any kind of statement at this point," a Western diplomat told Reuters.

It was unlikely that the council would try to take any action at the moment, he said. Since Russia is a permanent veto-wielding council member, it can block everything.

After listening to the Georgian and Russian envoys hurl accusations of "ethnic cleansing" at each other on Friday, the Security Council remained deadlocked in a way that was reminiscent of the Cold War, with the United States and Britain firmly on Georgia's side against Russia.

Pro-Western Georgia earlier called for a ceasefire after Moscow's bombers widened an offensive to force Tbilisi's troops back out of the region in the Caucasus mountains.

Moscow says its military has been responding to a Georgian assault to retake South Ossetia. Georgian President Mikheil Saakashvili has said the two states were at war.

The United States and Britain have urged Russia to withdraw its troops from Georgia, while French President Nicolas Sarkozy proposed a three-point plan to end the fighting that would include a withdrawal of Russian and Georgian troops to the positions they held before the conflict started.

U.N. assistant secretary-general for peacekeeping operations Edmond Mulet was briefing the council behind closed doors about the situation on the ground in Georgia.

Council diplomats said that one of the problems they face is the lack of independent confirmation of Russian and Georgian statements about attacks and bombing raids.

The United Nations does have a small observer mission in another Georgian breakaway region, Abkhazia, so council members were hoping Mulet would have some reliable information.

Russian officials said the death toll in fighting that began on Thursday stood at 2,000. Georgian officials said that on their side, 129 people had been killed and 748 injured. (Editing by Anthony Boadle)

http://www.reuters.com/article/asiaCrisis/idUSN09486873

[mario_bros]

US faults Russia for rising violence in Georgia
http://washingtontimes.com/news/2008/aug/09/us-faults-russia-for-rising-violence-in-georgia/

WASHINGTON (AP) - Russia's use of overwhelming military force against Georgia, including strategic bombers and ballistic missiles, is disproportionate to any threat from the former Soviet state and could escalate tensions in the volatile region, a senior U.S. official said Saturday.

The Bush administration official, who briefed reporters on condition his name not be used because of the sensitive nature of the situation, said Russia has attacked areas in Georgia that are far away from the separatist province of South Ossetia, where the fighting has centered. The official also said the Russian military is striking civilian targets.

"They have employed strategic bombers _ the most potent air weaponry that is in the Russian arsenal .... They actually launched ballistic missile attacks on Georgian territory," the official said. He also said Russia has sent more than 1,000 paratroopers and armor into the region.

Bullshit , there is no ballistic missiles flying toward georgia .Not yet  And I didn't see any TU-160 OR TU-95 over georgian sky

[Godfather77]

If this is verified this could have serious consequences. 

Russian jets targeted major oil pipeline says Georgia
Sat Aug 9, 2008
http://uk.reuters.com/article/oilRpt/idUKL961816420080809

Russian fighter jets targeted the major Baku-Tbilisi-Ceyhan (BTC) oil pipeline which carries oil to the West from Asia but missed, Georgia's Economic Development Minister Ekaterina Sharashidze said on Saturday.

"This clearly shows that Russia has not just targeted Georgian economic outlets but international economic outlets in Georgia," she said at a news briefing.

There have been no independent verifications of Russian jets targeting the BTC pipeline.

[Cobra]

The thing here is that Russia cannot win here per se. The best outcome is to go back to the status quo.
Georgia has nothing to lose because Georgia itself will not be invaded.

If they can get away with this than the worst that could happen is that they go back to the status quo.... and do it all over again in 10 years.

[Wanted]

Georgia fears 'annihilation' after Russian assault
http://www.theage.com.au/world/georgia-fears-annihilation-after-russian-assault-20080810-3stl.html


Russian warplanes staged bombing raids across Georgia today as the conflict over South Ossetia escalated and diplomatic efforts mounted to halt what Tbilisi called a policy of "annihilation".

"What they are doing is nothing to do with conflict, it is about annihilation of a democracy on their borders," Georgian President Mikheil Saakashvili said in an interview with the BBC.

- Claims villages burnt, hundreds killed
- Woman and children flee
- Russia to 'force the Georgian side into peace'

He said Moscow's aim in entering the conflict over the breakaway enclave of South Ossetia is to show that "nobody ever will defy Russian rule in this part of the world".

France, which holds the current EU presidency, announced today it will host a meeting of European foreign ministers early next week and possibly an EU summit later.

The French presidency said Foreign Minister Bernard Kouchner will go to the region to present prosposals for ending the crisis which include "an immediate cessation of hostilities; the full respect of the sovereignty and territorial integrity of Georgia; (and) the re-establishment of the situation that existed before".

The UN Security Council was also expected to meet again today to agree on a call for an immediate ceasefire after talks failed a day earlier.

Saakashvili had earlier declared a 15-day state of war, a form of martial law, and the United States led international calls for Russia to halt its military assault.

But Russia's President Dmitry Medvedev said his country will "force the Georgian side into peace", and accused Georgia of causing thousands of "victims".

Russia backs the separatist government in South Ossetia and sent in tanks and troops yesterday in response to pro-Western Georgia's military campaign to take back the province which broke away in the early 1990s.

Georgia said a Russian air raid has "completely devastated" the Black Sea port of Poti in attacks that the country's UN ambassador likened to "a full-scale military invasion"

This was followed up with air raids on Gori, the main Georgian city closest to South Ossetia, and another near the Baku-Tbilisi-Ceyhan (BTC) oil pipeline -- the world's second longest.

Saakashvili also accused Russia of deliberately targeting Georgian civilians.

"This is a 100 per cent unprovoked brutal Russian invasion and aggression into a sovereign country," he told the BBC.

But Russian Prime Minister Vladimir Putin, who arrived today in the city of Vladikavkaz, close to Russia's border with Georgia, appeared combative.

"From a legal point of view our actions are absolutely well-founded and legitimate and moreover necessary," Putin said, blasting Georgia's "criminal" leadership.

South Ossetia is unlikely to reintegrate with the rest of Georgia after Tbilisi's current military action, Putin added, quoted by news agencies.

The current conflict with Russia has claimed 150 lives, including about 40 civilians, Georgian Foreign Minister Eka Tkeshelashvili said, while Russia's ambassador to NATO, Dmitry Rogozin, claimed 1,500 civilians were killed in the burning of South Ossetia villages in the course of one day.

He accused Georgia of committing "genocide" and "ethnic cleansing" because many residents in the breakaway Georgian region are of Russian origin.

The Georgian foreign minister said late today that Russia's military fleet is "heading towards the Georgian coast", saying the information came from a "confirmed Russian source".

In South Ossetia, Georgian and rebel forces made rival claims to control the main city of Tskhinvali, but Russia said it had "liberated" South Ossetia's main city after airlifting paratroopers.

In the streets of Tskhinvali, home to an estimated 20,000 people before the conflict, tanks burned and women and children ran for cover.

An AFP reporter in South Ossetia saw women, children and elderly riding buses toward the Russian border as a flood of refugees began to escape the violence.

US President George W Bush cut into his engagements during a visit to Beijing to call for an end to Russian bombing.

"We have urged an immediate halt to the violence and a stand-down by all troops," Bush told reporters. "We call for an end to the Russian bombings."

South Ossetia broke from Georgia in the early 1990s. It has been a constant source of friction between Georgia and Russia, which opposes Tbilisi's aspirations of joining NATO and has supported the separatists without recognising their independence.


Russian tanks roll near Tskhinvali, the Georgian breakaway republic's capital. Scores have been killed or wounded in the escalating conflict.

[KiwiClare]

Someone posted this at Digg.com

  The Truth About the South Ossetia War watch!

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=QhhyZjNApBg
youtube.com — A Russian who has lived in the US tells the truth about the situation in South Ossetia and the lies that the West is being fed by the MSM. He says that Russia is protecting its citizens against Georgian aggression.

Digg page here:
http://digg.com/world_news/The_Truth_About_the_South_Ossetia_War?OTC-em-sh1


And this one:
Casualties and Damage in the S Ossetian conflict - Aug 9, 08

http://digg.com/world_news/Casualties_and_Damage_in_the_S_Ossetian_conflict_Aug_9_08?OTC-em-sh1

youtube.com — Georgia moves on previously recognized peacekeeping forces in South Ossetia. Russia then fights back and begins moving forces into the area. Georgia has been backed by the U.S. and also employed upwards of 1,000 Israeli "advisers". This area is strategically important for conflict-minded leaders (like Bush). Check it out.

[David Rothscum]

russia can crush them if they try..If its about a NWO, then someone better step up or russia will win ..and rule the world?...doubtful.

If Russia decides to crush Georgia it isolates itself from the rest of the planet.

[Wanted]

Russian President Dmitry Medvedev says Georgia must pull out of South Ossetia
http://www.timesonline.co.uk/tol/news/world/europe/article4491738.ece


A pullout of Georgian troops from the conflict zone is the only solution to the South Ossetian crisis, Russian President Dmitry Medvedev has told US President George W Bush.

Bush earlier today had urged Moscow to halt the bombing immediately saying attacks by Russia outside the war zone of South Ossetia marked a "dangerous escalation" of the crisis.

"I'm deeply concerned about the situation in Georgia," Bush said from the Beijing Olympics. "The attacks are occurring in regions of Georgia far from the zone of conflict in South Ossetia. They mark a dangerous escalation in the crisis."

He said Georgia's territorial integrity must be respected and "we call for an end to the Russian bombings".

Meanwhile, Georgia’s president Mikail Saakashvili has called for an immediate ceasefire claiming that Russia had launched a full-scale military invasion on his country, widening its offensive to force back Georgian troops seeking control over South Ossetia.

Georgia's parliament today approved a state of war across the ex-Soviet country, which Saakashvili decreed would be valid for 15 days.

Russia's ambassador to NATO Dmitry Rogozin said that what was happening in Georgia's breakaway region could only be seen as "ethic cleansing and genocide".

Moscow sent hundreds of troops and armed convoys across the border and threatened to bomb Georgian military bases after Georgia, a staunch American ally, launched an offensive on Friday to regain control of South Ossetia.

Russia, which has close ties to the province and posts peacekeepers there, has reacted firmly. Russian forces have fought against Georgian soldiers alongside separatists in South Ossetia and Russian jets have bombed military and civilian targets in Georgia, including attacks on the Georgian town of Gori.

Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov told reporters that the violence had already claimed the lives of 1,500 people. Witnesses said hundreds of civilians had probably been killed and that most of the capital Tskhinvali was in ruins. Saakashvili claimed 30 Georgians have died in the fighting.

Lavrov laid blame on the United States for supporting and training Georgian military forces.

Russian President Dmitry Medvedev has claimed the troops sent into South Ossetia were on a peacekeeping mission and were there to force Georgia into a ceasefire.

Georgia claims to have shot down 10 Russian planes during the fighting. Deputy Chief of the General Staff Colonel General Anatoly Nogovitsyn, confirmed that two Russian planes were shot down during the fighting.

There have been worldwide calls for an end to the fighting. US Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice urged Russia to halt aircraft and missile attacks and withdraw its forces from Georgian territory. Rice said in a statement that the US wants Russia to respect Georgian sovereignty and agree to negotiations.

The fighting is the worst outbreak of violence in the region since 1992.

Comments:

South Ossetia is indeed full of Russian Citizens. This can not justify any war. They can leave, Russia is a big place, they have Russian passports, and the mother country has room for them. Imagine Poland trying to take over some parts of England because they have Polish people there.

Luke, Hereford, England

To Andy Johnson, Washington, USA: Do you forget what American government told when Russia started to secure "it's boarders" after series of building explosions in Moscow, provided by Chechen terrorist? And what about Serbia?
Don't you think that it looks like traditional US "double standards"?

Andrey, Moscow, Russia

You got it backwards:
Georgia attacked OS that claimed the lives of 1,500 people,
and Georgia also attacked the "peacekeepers". The sum of 1,500 includes the Russian peacekeepers lives.
Russia came in to defend its citizens, just as the UK came to defend their citizens in the Faulkland war.


ddavid, Orange County, USA

[Wanted]

Someone posted this at Digg.com

  The Truth About the South Ossetia War watch!

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=QhhyZjNApBg
youtube.com — A Russian who has lived in the US tells the truth about the situation in South Ossetia and the lies that the West is being fed by the MSM. He says that Russia is protecting its citizens against Georgian aggression.

Digg page here:
http://digg.com/world_news/The_Truth_About_the_South_Ossetia_War?OTC-em-sh1


And this one:
Casualties and Damage in the S Ossetian conflict - Aug 9, 08

http://digg.com/world_news/Casualties_and_Damage_in_the_S_Ossetian_conflict_Aug_9_08?OTC-em-sh1

youtube.com — Georgia moves on previously recognized peacekeeping forces in South Ossetia. Russia then fights back and begins moving forces into the area. Georgia has been backed by the U.S. and also employed upwards of 1,000 Israeli "advisers". This area is strategically important for conflict-minded leaders (like Bush). Check it out.

Wow...thanks amazing find. 

[Capt. Obvious]

Lots of talking heads are trying to make one side the "bad guy." I don't think this is clearcut at all.

[Xill]

The Third world war has started in 2001, and it's a war against sovereignty and independence. It's a war to prevent people fom leaving the coming world order, a war from the beast (the "system") against the people.

I'm so saddened by this, just took a few days off infowars and then come back to this war news.

[Wanted]

Lots of talking heads are trying to make one side the "bad guy." I don't think this is clearcut at all.

The fact is no side is better than the other. The NWO,USA vs. Russia. Russia=same tyrant as the NWO, just a different side of the planet. 

[TheGoodFight1984]

The fact is no side is better than the other. The NWO,USA vs. Russia. Russia=same tyrant as the NWO, just a different side of the planet. 

You just have to take a look wat what the russian PTB told the citizenry about the US during the cold war and what the US PTB told the US citizenry. Dual bullshit, stoking the fire from both ends.

[Brocke]

UN says Georgia conflict widening beyond S.Ossetia
10 Aug 2008 00:00:11 GMT
Source: Reuters
(Recasts with UN official, adds British, US, Russian envoys)

By Louis Charbonneau

UNITED NATIONS, Aug 9 (Reuters) - Fighting in Georgia is escalating and widening beyond the breakaway region of South Ossetia into another Georgian separatist area, a top U.N. peacekeeping official said on Saturday.

U.N. assistant secretary-general for peacekeeping Edmond Mulet told reporters there have been "very substantial numbers of casualties, refugees and destruction" in Georgia.

"At this point we are particularly concerned that the conflict appears to be spreading beyond South Ossetia into Abkhazia," Mulet said.

"Our UNOMIG military observers report ongoing military preparation by the Abkhaz de facto authorities for a military operation in the upper Kodori valley, probably tomorrow morning."

Mulet told the U.N. Security Council that the Abkhaz authorities had asked him to withdraw U.N. military observers, known as UNOMIG, from the upper Kodori valley in Abkhazia but had declined to give him a reason.

Mulet said the observers were now at their base in the Abkhaz capital of Sukhumi to avoid getting caught in any cross-fire between Georgian and Abkhaz separatist troops.

Russian Ambassador Vitaly Churkin said he had no information about what was going on in Abkhazia.

Pro-Western Georgia earlier called for a cease-fire after Moscow's bombers widened an offensive to force Tbilisi's troops back out of the region in the Caucasus mountains.

Moscow says its military was responding to a Georgian assault to retake South Ossetia and has launched a peacekeeping operation to protect civilians. Russia backs the separatists who have controlled the regions since a war in early 1990s.

Inside the closed-door council meeting, Churkin compared Russian's operation in South Ossetia to the 1999 NATO operation in Kosovo, diplomats said. Speaking to reporters, he accused the Georgians of committing "genocide" and "ethnic cleansing."

'OUT OF CONTROL'

U.S. Deputy Ambassador Alejandro Wolff made it clear Washington blamed Russia for escalating the fighting.

"This is a conflict that is expanding and getting out of control," he said. "The proximate cause is the massive escalation perpetrated by outside forces."

The members of the U.N. Security Council tried to agree on an appeal for a cease-fire but negotiations broke down because Russia has refused to pull its troops back to where they were on Aug. 6 and insists on occupying South Ossetia.

Britain's Deputy Ambassador Karen Pierce told Reuters Russia was demanding assurances that Georgian troops would stop fighting and pull out of South Ossetia but had refused to give any assurances they would do the same.

"The Georgians have made an offer of a cease-fire and it's concerning that the Russians won't respond to that," she said.

"It's clear that the Russians are looking to prolong the conflict in some way, because they will give no assurances, either about a cessation of hostilities or about withdrawing their forces."

She said this "calls into question Russian motives" regarding Georgia and South Ossetia.

Wolff made clear he felt Russia bore much of the responsibility for the conflict.

"There is great dispute and controversy about the origins of this, including prior mobilization (of Russian troops) on the other side of the Georgian border," he said.

The Security Council may discuss the crisis again on Sunday. (Editing by Todd Eastham)

http://www.alertnet.org/thenews/newsdesk/N09486873.htm

[Wanted]

You just have to take a look wat what the russian PTB told the citizenry about the US during the cold war and what the US PTB told the US citizenry. Dual bullshit, stoking the fire from both ends.

Exactly, people loose either way. We the People need to take control soon, this is going down the toilet.  


*Strange no new news coming the last report two hours ago* 

[Capt. Obvious]

You just have to take a look wat what the russian PTB told the citizenry about the US during the cold war and what the US PTB told the US citizenry. Dual bullshit, stoking the fire from both ends.

Right, and they'll try to get everyone to take sides, and then defend that side. All the more reason for the US to stay out of it all.

BTW, that's pretty much how WWI got started.

[TheGoodFight1984]

Exactly, people loose either way. We the People need to take control soon, this is going down the toilet.  

Ah dude, I admire your optimism. We've been on the path to shit street for way too long. centuries. It's f'in depressing.

[Aerioch]

Simply put,

Georgians poked the big furry Russian bear with a stick, and the bear has clobbered them into playing dead and calling for backup!


http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=jti9tBoLu7Q

[Brocke]

[knas]

http://rtv.rtrlondon.co.uk/2008-08-09/8727b8f.html

GEORGIA

MOD-DATE: 08/09/08 12:32:25

BREAKING10-AUG09-GEORGIA-SAAKASHVILI/ENGLISH

BREAKING10: STORY   620
SAAKASHVILI/ENGLISH
TBILISI, GEORGIA
AUGUST 9, 2008 
 
NATURAL AND ENGLISH
DURATION:01:01
SOURCE:GEORGIAN POOL
FEED HISTORY:+ NEW BN10 (1145GMT)
INTRO: Saakashvili calls on world community to help Georgia

TV AND WEB RESTRICTIONS~**NONE**~
 
Georgian President Mikheil Saakashvili calls for a ceasefire in the
conflict with Russia over South Ossetia and asks the international community
to help Georgia.

SHOWS: TBILISI, GEORGIA (AUGUST 9, 2008) (GEORGIAN POOL ACCESS ALL)
1. SQUARE IN FRONT OF PRESIDENT'S OFFICE
2. SOUNDBITE (English) PRESIDENT MIKHEIL SAAKASHVILI SAYING : We appeal to
our friends and allies to call on Russia to cease hostilities
immediately."
3. GEORGIAN EMBLEM
4. SOUNDBITE (English) PRESIDENT MIKHEIL SAAKAASHVILI SAYING :
    " We are in a state of self defence against foreign aggression,
this aggression is coming from the land, air and maritime forces of the
Russian Federation. We expect world leaders and world community to act. I
think it's time to move from words to act because this is not going to go
away. This young nation is right now fighting for its survival but we are also
fighting for world peace and we are also fighting for future world order. What
is at stake here is world order and what is at stake here are basic principles
of international law"
5. FLAG ON DOME OF BUILDING


STORY :   Georgia called for a ceasefire on Saturday (August 9) after
Russian bombers widened an offensive to force back Georgian troops seeking
control over the breakaway region of South Ossetia.
    Russia said it had seized control of the rebel capital, Tskhinvali, but
Georgia denied the claim on the second day of fighting that threatens oil and
gas pipelines seen as crucial in the West.
    Russian officials said the death toll now stood at 1,500 and 30,000
refugees from South Ossetia had fled to Russia over the past 36 hours. Russia
said two of its warplanes had been shot down and 12 of its soldiers had been
killed.   
    "I call for an immediate ceasefire," Georgian President
Mikheil Saakashvili said at a news briefing in Tbilisi. "Russia has
launched a full scale military invasion of Georgia."
     Saakashvili called on the world community to act to help Georgia in
the face of what he called Russian 'aggression'.
      " We are in a state of self defence against foreign aggression,
this aggression is coming from the land, air and maritime forces of the
Russian Federation. We expect world leaders and world community to act. I
think it's time to move from words to act because this is not going to go
away. This young nation is right now fighting for its survival but we are also
fighting for world peace and we are also fighting for future world order.
What is at stake here is world order and what is at stake here are basic principles
of international law"
    Russia's military response to the crisis dramatically intensified a
long-running stand-off between Russia and the pro-Western Georgian leadership
that has sparked alarm in the West and led to angry exchanges at the United
Nations reminiscent of the Cold War.

ENDS



Emphasis is mine.

[Wanted]

Putin accuses Georgia of genocide
http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/europe/7552012.stm

Russian Prime Minister Vladimir Putin has accused Georgia of genocide against the South Ossetian people, as fighting in the breakaway region intensified.

He said Georgia was seeking "bloody adventures" and defended Moscow's military action to intervene directly.

Diplomatic efforts are being stepped up to try to halt what Tbilisi has called an "annihilation" of its democracy.

Georgia's President Mikhail Saakashvili earlier called for an immediate ceasefire to stop "this madness".

In the absence of independent verification, there are conflicting figures about the casualties suffered on both sides but the numbers appeared to rise sharply on Saturday.

See a map of the region

Based on Russian and South Ossetian estimates, the death toll on the South Ossetian side was at least 1,400. According to Moscow, all but a few of the dead were civilians.

Georgian casualty figures sustained during the three days of fighting ranged from 82 dead, including 37 civilians, to a figure of around 130 dead.

'A fatal blow'

Mr Putin flew to the Russian city of Vladikavkaz, close to the border with South Ossetia, where he met those who had fled the violence.

Mr Putin said Georgia was committing "complete genocide".

He said the territorial integrity of Georgia had "suffered a fatal blow", suggesting that it was unlikely that South Ossetia would re-integrate with the rest of Georgia after the conflict.

He said the conflict had created at least 34,000 refugees.

This figure wildly conflicts with that cited by the UN refugee agency, which it says is based on information supplied by both sides.

The UN estimates that about 2,400 people have fled South Ossetia to other parts of Georgia while between 4,000 and 5,000 have crossed the border into Russia.

Redrawing the map

As the bloodshed continues, a joint delegation of the US, EU and the Organisation of Security and Co-operation in Europe is heading to Georgia in the hope of brokering a truce.

It comes as a third emergency session of the UN Security Council ended without an agreement on the wording of a statement calling for a ceasefire.
   
But emissaries from the US and Europe who are Nato members may not be seen as honest brokers by the Kremlin when it comes to Georgia, BBC's diplomatic correspondent Bridget Kendall says.

The danger now is that Russia will not only use this crisis to demonstrate its military power in the region, but argue it is time to redraw the map, she adds.

Moscow has said there can be no "consultations" with Georgia unless Georgian forces withdraw to the positions they held outside South Ossetia before Thursday.

Meanwhile Russian jets have bombed several towns, including the central Georgian city of Gori, where Georgian troops had been massing to support forces engaged in South Ossetia.

Georgian TV has also shown pictures of damage to the Black Sea port of Poti, the site of a major oil shipment facility, after a reported Russian air strike.

President Saakashvili told the BBC on Saturday that Moscow wanted to take control of energy routes to Europe and accused it of "war crimes" against civilians.

His parliament has approved a presidential decree declaring that the country is in a state of war for 15 days.





Russia likens Georgia onslaught to 'genocide'
http://www.theage.com.au/world/russia-likens-georgia-onslaught-to-genocide-20080810-3sv2.html

August 10, 2008 - 10:51AM

Russia's ambassador to the UN today likened Georgia's deadly onslaught on its breakaway enclave of South Ossetia to "genocide".

Pointing to the enclave's small population - estimated at 70,000 - Vitaly Churkin said he told the Security Council: "Two thousand killed, is it enough for you? Thirty thousand refugees, is that it enough for you?"

- Claims of 2000 dead
- 30,000 flee amid escalating violence

"How many people have to be killed for genocide? It's genocide to the South Ossetians," he told reporters after attending closed-door Security Council consultations that again failed to produce agreement on a call for a ceasefire in the bitter fighting between Russia and Georgia.

Churkin said Russia viewed the Georgian offensive as "something that has elements of genocide and war crimes situation."

Russian Prime Minister Vladimir Putin earlier called for an investigation into alleged acts of genocide by Georgian forces during their offensive against the breakaway province of South Ossetia.

Incidents described by refugees "lie beyond the framework of understanding of military actions", Putin told President Dmitry Medvedev in comments broadcast on Russian television.

"In my opinion they are already elements of some kind of genocide of the Ossetian people. I think it would be correct if you instruct the military prosecutor to document all such incidents," he said.

Putin was briefing Medvedev on a visit to South Ossetian refugees in the Russian province of North Ossetia after flying back to Moscow early today, Russian news agencies reported.

Yesterday, Georgian President Mikheil Saakahvili denounced as "a lie" Russian claims of more than 1,000 civilian deaths in South Ossetia's main city, saying "practically no civilians" were killed.

The claims are an "egregious lie. There were practically no civilians dead. But Tskhinvali is ruined as a result of Russian bombardments," Saakashvili said during a televised meeting of his national security council.

He accused Moscow of carrying out a "truly Soviet-style disinformation campaign."

A spokeswoman for the Russian-backed South Ossetian separatist government was quoted as saying that 1,600 people had been killed in fighting for Tskhinvali.

Meanwhile a Western diplomat, speaking on condition of anonymity, said that during yesterday's council consultations, Churkin also compared Moscow's military intervention in support of beleaguered South Ossetian separatists to the NATO-led air war that halted a Serb crackdown on ethnic Albanians in Kosovo in 1999.

AFP

[TheGoodFight1984]

for f*cks sake, what on earth is wrong with these warmongers? get the biggest hate-filled retards on the face of the planet and put them all in positions in power, blow each other up, kill everything that lines your pockets, what a bunch of selfish, self-destructive pricks.

Please guys, turn down the 'suck' knob on your power amplifiers.

[Chocolaty]

Abkhazia starts war with Georgia
http://www.russiatoday.ru/news/news/28706
August 10, 2008

Abkhazia's army has launched a military operation to try to force Georgian troops out of the upper part of the Kodori Gorge. It started with the use of artillery and air strikes against Georgian forces.



Abkhazia has announced that it has moved its troops into the Gali district which borders Georgia.
 
The breakaway republic has provided a humanitarian corridor for residents of the disputed Kodori Gorge. However the breakaway republic’s officials say they don't know whether people will use this passageway to safety.
 
Earlier, Russia's Interfax news agency reported that Russian ships prevented Georgian military vessels from nearing Abkhazia.
 
Thousands of Russians are on holiday in the picturesque republic with a long coastline. They fear a conflict could result in innocent blood being spilled.
 
But RT correspondent Aleksandr Luchaninov says Russians are not ready to leave the area just yet.
 
"Those I spoke to said they are very concerned, and in case of trouble they are prepared to leave the region immediately," he said.
 
For several days Georgian troops have been massing on the border. Abkhasia's president, Sergey Bagapsh, said the breakaway republic’s troops are in contact with peacekeeping forces in the region.

The atmosphere in the capital Sukhumi is tense, and officials are anticipating Georgian aggression.
 
"Today it's South Ossetia, tomorrow it might be Abkhasia," said Bagapsh, explaining his decision to move the troops.

Meanwhile, the situation in South Ossetia is affecting neighbouring countries, according to reports from the Armenian-Georgian border (WATCH THE VIDEO).

[Wanted]

for f*cks sake, what on earth is wrong with these warmongers? get the biggest hate-filled retards on the face of the planet and put them all in positions in power, blow each other up, kill everything that lines your pockets, what a bunch of selfish, self-destructive pricks.

Please guys, turn down the 'suck' knob on your power amplifiers.

Now youre attacking me? Why?

[Triadtropz]

IMO; georgia expected the US to come running to their aid, it wont happen so what now?...

[TheGoodFight1984]

Now youre attacking me? Why?

haha! what?! I was talking about Putin and Saakashvili and whoever else is behind all these bullshit wars we're having to hear about. How did you get that as an attack on you - I'm not like that I assure you.

[Tyrson]

Your new member ChrisL has her all up in arms, please continue the thread.
Peace,
 Tyrson

[Wanted]

Georgia president tells Games team to stay
http://www.reuters.com/article/newsMaps/idUSPEK34120620080810


By Jon Bramley

BEIJING (Reuters) - Georgia's 35 Olympic athletes have been told by their president to remain at the Games in the "best interest of the country" despite Russian military attacks on its territory.

President Mikheil Saakashvili's message to continue was relayed to the team at an 0200 (1800 GMT) meeting on Sunday by the country's first lady who is in Beijing, spokesman Giorgi Tchanishvili told Reuters.

"The whole team has had hardly any sleep," he said. "We were ready to leave the Olympic Games and we were waiting until very late for this decision.

"The First Lady (Sandra) then addressed the whole team in the Olympic Village at about 2am and told us we should stay in the best interest of the country."

Earlier, the National Olympic Committee had said it would be willing to quit the Games because of the violence in Georgia.

Saakashvili called for a ceasefire on Saturday after Russian bombers widened an offensive to force back Georgian troops seeking control over the breakaway region of South Ossetia.

Russian officials on Saturday put the death toll at 2,000 and 30,000 refugees from South Ossetia had fled to Russia.

The Georgian Olympic team urged the international community to help end the violence.

"This deliberate strategy of aggression has grown into a full-scale military intervention involving all regions of Georgia," the athletes said in a statement issued to Reuters.

"Georgia calls upon the international community to make it clear (to Russia) that intrusion into and bombing of the territory of a sovereign state is unacceptable in the 21st century and that such acts cannot and will not be tolerated."