Russia Ignores Agreement As Russia Lawmakers Recognize Breakaway Regions

In several stories that I have been reading around the internet it has become obvious that the Russians have absolutely no intention of doing anything to abide by their agreement, beyond what "they" wish to do.
This incident has shown the world that Russia will not sit by, as "We" encourage their former republics to join NATO, place missiles on their doorsteps, and injure their interests in "their" part of the world. Their Putin doctrine, is similar to our Monroe doctrine, and should be considered in everything we do to or with Russia.

Bush has turned a formerly docile ex-Cold war enemy, into a resurgent Cold war II enemy, all because we poked our finger in the eye of the Russian bear at every opportunity, and made sure they wallowed in their failure, as we rejoiced in our victory over them. How nice, and now we shall have to decide if we really want to continue down this path, or try something less drastic, to try and keep them as less then an enemy, even if they can never be friends.

The tragedy of this latest incident in Georgia is that if we intend on making Russia and enemy once again, then we messed up, as we should have at least lent enough assistance to bloody the Russians nose. Now I am not advocating that course of action, but obviously those in power want to Russia as an enemy, so they should have at least let them "know" that "We" would not allow them to act as they did without military repercussions.

Today the story at Yahoo News, has the Pentagon saying that Russia is still not honoring its ceasefire agreement with Georgia and continues to maintain a "large presence" of troops in the former Soviet republic.

"They are still not living up to the terms of the ceasefire agreement" which Moscow signed with Tbilisi more than a week ago, said Pentagon spokesman Bryan Whitman.

"They are failing to live up to and honor the terms of the agreement," he said, adding that "there continues to be a large presence of Russian forces in Georgia."

Pressure has steadily built on Moscow, which sent tanks and troops into Georgian territory in response to a Georgian offensive on August 7 to retake the breakaway region of South Ossetia, to adhere to the French-brokered peace agreement.

Russia withdrew tanks, artillery and hundreds of troops from their most advanced positions in Georgia on Friday, saying it had fulfilled all obligations under the agreement. But as of late Sunday Russian troops still controlled access to the key port of Poti located south of the Moscow-backed rebel region of Abkhazia, and had established other checkpoints around South Ossetia, where the conflict began.

European countries on Monday urged Russia to reject calls to recognise the independence of two Georgian breakaway regions, warning it would only ratchet up tensions in the battle-scarred region.

France, which announced it will convene a special European summit on the crisis in Georgia on September 1, expressed "concern" Monday about reports of looting, intimidation and destruction of homes in South Ossetia.


It is being reported that minutes ago, Russia's parliament unanimously approved resolutions on calling for the recognition of two rebel regions of Georgia as independent states, a move likely to worsen already strained relations with the West.

Both houses of Russia's parliament, controlled by Kremlin loyalists, swiftly endorsed non-binding resolutions urging President Dmitry Medvedev to recognize the pro-Moscow breakaway regions of South Ossetia and Abkhazia.
link to full story

Georgia President Signs Cease-fire With Russia

I was just reading this story minutes ago, concerning the signing of a draft truce agreement by Georgian President Saakashvili in Georgia, and Russian President Medvedev in Russia, which may begin the real withdrawal of Russian troops from Georgian soil. If this was a test for the West, we failed it miserably, and may indicate very bad things for the future of Nato, and the former Russian "partners", who are now threatened by a renewed Russia. It didn't help any that we signed a deal with Poland to place interceptor missiles on their territory, and may be one of the reasons the Russians hit Georgia so hard~~to teach Poland and others, what can happen to them if they stand against Russia. We shall write more on the missile deal later.

The story by the Associated Press story as Yahoo News reads:
Georgian President Mikhail Saakashvili said Friday he signed a cease-fire agreement with Russia that protects his country's interests despite concessions to Moscow. Visiting Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice said Russia's invasion has "profound implications" for the West.

Hosting a news conference with Rice, Saakashvili said he will "never, ever surrender" in showdown with Russia, and he accused the West of inviting Russian aggression. He appeared just hours after President Bush stood outside the Oval Office of the White House and accused Russia of "bullying and intimidation" against Georgia. Bush said the Georgian people had chosen freedom and "we will not cast them aside."

For his part, Saakashvili said: "This is not a done deal. We need to do our utmost to deter such behavior in the future."

link to full story

Russia Rejects Georgian Territorial Integrity

In what appears to be a challenge, Russia is refusing to leave Georgian territory, and is obviously waiting to see what the world can and/or will do about their remaining there. Is it time for a military response, or shall we continue to let the diplomats try and coaxe them to leave. This is a difficult call, because this occurred as the Georgians tried to force South Ossetia to come back into the fold, which they did not wish to do. Russia initially went in to "protect" what it sees as Russian citizens, but once inside, they turned into the proverbial "bull in the china shop" and have spent the last few days breaking anything they deem of military value inside Georgia. This may pull us into armed conflict sooner rather than later, if it cannot be fixed very quickly.

The story at Yahoo News:
Russia's foreign minister declared Thursday that the world "can forget about" Georgia's territorial integrity, and officials said Russia targeted military infrastructure and equipment — including radars and patrol boats at a Black Sea naval base and oil hub.

Two American military planes delivered cargos of aid — including food and medicine — to Georgia's wounded and refugees. Defense Secretary Robert Gates said he sees no need to invoke U.S. military force in the war between Russia and Georgia. He warned, however, that U.S.-Russian relations could suffer for "years to come" if Moscow doesn't retreat.

Russia's president met in the Kremlin with the leaders of Georgia's two separatist provinces — a clear sign that Moscow could absorb the regions. And the comments from Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov appeared to come as a challenge to the United States, where President Bush has called for Russia to respect the sovereignty and territorial integrity of Georgia."
link to full story

Georgia Says Bombing Continues After Russian Order

I was just reading this story at Yahoo News, by CHRISTOPHER TORCHIA and MISHA DZHINDZHIKHASHVILI, Associated Press Writers, and there is some hope the Russian attacks on Georgian troops may be coming to a halt soon. Just a quick thought about this situation. Hasn't it been pitiful watching the toothless response of the United Nations, as they went hat in hand begging Russia to stop, with nothing to back it up but more "emergency" meetings. The United Nations was built with such great promise, but the sad reality is that is cannot do anything when the chips are down. I know that it is as much the United States fault as any other nation, because we only use the U.N. when it is convenient for our purposes, so perhaps our next President will resolve to "fix" this problem, by either working through the U.N. as it was intended for, or ending our involvement with it completely.
I would enjoy reading your thoughts on the United Nations as well if you have an opinion as to its' effectiveness or lack thereof. Thanks!

Anyway, the story reads:
Russia ordered a halt to military action in Georgia on Tuesday, after five days of air and land attacks that sent Georgia's army into headlong retreat and left towns, military bases and homes in the U.S. ally smoldering. Georgia insisted that Russian forces were still bombing and shelling.

Despite the pledge by Russian President Dmitry Medvedev, Russia launched an offensive Tuesday in the only part of Abkhazia still under Georgian control. An Associated Press reporter saw 135 Russian military vehicles driving through Georgia en route to Abkhazia's Kodori Gorge — and Georgian officials said their troops in the gorge were under Russian attack.

Abkhazian officials claimed their forces — not the Russians — were carrying out artillery attacks in the Kodori Gorge. Fleeing Georgians said the entire population of the gorge, some 3,000 people, had abandoned their homes — some so quickly they didn't even grab food or water. "It feels like an annexed country," said Lasha Margiana, the local administrator in one of the villages in Kodori
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And just hours before Medvedev's order, Georgian officials said Russian jets targeted government offices and an outdoor market in the key city of Gori, killing six. Russia has accused Georgia of killing more than 2,000 people, mostly civilians, in the separatist province of South Ossetia. The claim couldn't be independently confirmed, but witnesses who fled the area over the weekend said hundreds had died. Many Georgians also have been killed in the fighting. The overall death toll was expected to rise because large areas of Georgia were still too dangerous for journalists to enter and see the true scope of the damage.

link to full story

Second Front Opened By Russia In Georgia

I have been watching the news and reading stories concerning the fighting between Russia and Georgia, and today it looks like the Russians intend on continuing the fight, even as Georgia pleads for a cease-fire. The story below is 32 minutes old at the time I was putting this together, so this is a pretty clear indication that Russia is going to "finish" the fight that was started by Georgia as they tried to reign in South Ossetia the other day! Hopefully, the world mediators will be able to halt the killing, as it now sounds like thousands have been killed in the last few days!

The Yahoo News story reads:
Russia opened a second front of fighting in Georgia on Monday, sending armored vehicles beyond two breakaway provinces and seizing a military base and police stations in the country's west, officials said. The new forays into Georgia — even after Georgian President Mikhail Saakashvili signed a cease-fire pledge — appeared to show Russian determination to subdue the small, U.S.-backed country, which has been pressing for NATO membership.

The latest developments indicate that Russian troops have invaded Georgia proper from the separatist province of Abkhazia while most Georgian forces are locked up in fighting around South Ossetia. The West has sharply criticized Russia's military response to Georgia's attack on South Ossetia as disproportionate, and the Group of Seven leading industrialized nations urged Russia on Monday to accept an immediate cease-fire and agree to international mediation.

"We want to see the Russians stand down," deputy State Department spokesman Robert Wood told reporters in Washington. With Europe depending on Russia for a quarter of the oil it consumes — and half of its gas needs — the conflict serves as a vivid demonstration of Russian power in the Caspian region.

link to full story

Over 1500 May Be Dead In Russia And Georgian Fighting

I was just reading this story at Yahoo News concerning the ongoing conflict between Georgia and Russia, and the climbing death toll.

Russia sent hundreds of tanks and troops into the separatist province of South Ossetia and bombed Georgian towns Saturday in a major escalation of the conflict that has left scores of civilians dead and wounded.

Georgia, a staunch U.S. ally that borders the Black Sea between Turkey and Russia, launched a major offensive Friday to retake control of breakaway South Ossetia. Russia, which has close ties to the province and posts peacekeepers there, responded by sending in armed convoys and military combat aircraft.

Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov told reporters in Moscow that some 1,500 people have been killed, with the death toll rising Saturday.

The figure could not be independently confirmed, but witnesses who fled the fighting said hundreds of civilians had probably died. They said most of the provincial capital, Tskhinvali, was in ruins, with bodies lying everywhere.

link to full story