- Reaction score
- 213
- Points
- 880
Ghost Recon anyone?
Georgia and the Russian invasions/annexations/Lebensraum (2008 & 2015)
- Thread starter Haggis
- Start date
- Reaction score
- 1
- Points
- 430
- Reaction score
- 63
- Points
- 530
Israeli advisors are with Georgian troops. There is strong Israeli interest in the region's oil pipelines. Russia opposes the pipeline being routed through Turkey hence their support for supporting the breakaway provinces. Perhaps if Georgia links the pipelines with Russia then this Russian support may end.
- Reaction score
- 2,526
- Points
- 1,260
Pretty detailed blow-by-blow (with the usual caveats, given the medium) @ wikipedia:
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/War_in_South_Ossetia_%282008%29
Also, deja vu all over again (18 months last time around)....
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/War_in_South_Ossetia
And a little advice, apparently not heeded from June of this year:
http://www.crisisgroup.org/text/index.cfm?id=5469
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/War_in_South_Ossetia_%282008%29
Also, deja vu all over again (18 months last time around)....
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/War_in_South_Ossetia
And a little advice, apparently not heeded from June of this year:
http://www.crisisgroup.org/text/index.cfm?id=5469
- Reaction score
- 1,300
- Points
- 1,040
Oi. I sure hope that things settle down before it gets too big to handle. Little events have a way of blowing way out of proportion
- Reaction score
- 0
- Points
- 410
Original link:
http://www.local12.com/content/breaking_news/story.aspx?content_id=a2e6f6c8-11f3-4fb6-9f59-c9f5c3c6d630
WASHINGTON (AP) - The United States is calling for an immediate cease-fire in a conflict between Russia and Georgia over the breakaway Georgian province of South Ossetia.
State Department spokesman Gonzalo Gallegos told reporters Friday that Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice is making calls to top officials urging all parties to remain calm. He did not identify the officials.
He says a U.S. envoy is traveling to the region Friday in hopes of bringing an end to hostilities. Gallegos did not name the envoy, who will meet with U.S. allies and others.
He says the U.S. supports Georgia's territorial integrity. Georgia launched a major military offensive Friday to retake the breakaway province of South Ossetia, prompting Moscow to send tanks into the region in a furious response that threatens to engulf Georgia, a staunch U.S. ally, and Russia in all-out war.
Hundreds were reported dead in the worst outbreak of hostilities since the province won defacto independence in a war against Georgia that ended in 1992. Witnesses said the South Ossetian capital of Tskhinvali was devastated.
"I saw bodies lying on the streets, around ruined buildings, in cars," said Lyudmila Ostayeva, 50, who had fled with her family to Dzhava, a village near the border with Russia. "It's impossible to count them now. There is hardly a single building left undamaged."
The fighting broke out as much of the world's attention was focused on the start of the Olympic Games and many leaders, including Russia's Prime Minister Vladimir Putin and President Bush, were on their way to Beijing. The timing suggests Georgian President Mikhail Saakashvili may have been counting on surprise to fulfill his longtime pledge to wrest back control of South Ossetia - a key to his hold on power.
Saakashvili agreed the timing was not coincidental, but accused Russia of being the aggressor.
"Most decision makers have gone for the holidays," he said in an interview with CNN. "Brilliant moment to attack a small country."
South Ossetian separatist leader Eduard Kokoity claimed hundreds of civilians had been killed. Ten Russian peacekeepers were killed and 30 wounded when their barracks were hit in Georgian shelling, said Russian Ground Forces spokesman Col. Igor Konashenkov.
Russia has soldiers in South Ossetia as peacekeeping forces but Georgia alleges they back the separatists.
Georgia's president says the country is calling home its troops from Iraq amid heavy fighting in the breakaway province of South Ossetia. Georgia has 2,000 troops serving with the coalition forces in Iraq, making it the third-largest contributor after the United States and Britain. But Georgian President Mikhail Saakashvili told CNN television Friday the troops would return urgently to Georgia after fighting erupted in South Ossetia. "One brigade of Georgian forces is in Iraq and we are calling it home tomorrow," Saakashvili said in the interview.
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. The country has angered Russia by seeking NATO membership - a bid Moscow regards as part of a Western effort to weaken its influence in the region.
Speaking earlier on Georgian television, Saakashvili accused Russia of sending aircraft to bomb Georgian territory, which Russia denied. Russia's Defense Ministry said it was sending reinforcements for its peacekeepers, and Russian state television and Georgian officials reported a convoy of tanks had crossed the border. The convoy was expected to reach the provincial capital, Tskhinvali, by evening, Channel One television said.
Georgian State Minister for Reintegration Temur Yakobashvili said government troops were now in full control of the city. "We are facing Russian aggression," said Georgia's Security Council chief Kakha Lomaya. "They have sent in their troops and weapons and they are bombing our towns."
Putin has warned that the Georgian attack will draw retaliation and the Defense Ministry pledged to protect South Ossetians, most of whom have Russian citizenship. Chairing a session of his Security Council in the Kremlin, Russian President Dmitry Medvedev also vowed that Moscow will protect Russian citizens. "In accordance with the constitution and federal law, I, as president of Russia, am obliged to protect lives and dignity of Russian citizens wherever they are located," Medvedev said, according to Russian news reports. "We won't allow the death of our compatriots go unpunished."
An AP reporter saw tanks and other heavy weapons concentrating on the Russian side of the border with South Ossetia - supporting the Russian TV reports of an incursion. Some villagers were fleeing into Russia. "I saw them (the Georgians) shelling my village," said Maria, who gave only her first name. She said she and other villagers spent the night in a field and then fled toward the Russian border as the fighting escalated.
Yakobashvili said Georgian forces have shot down four Russian combat planes over Georgian territory. He gave no details. Russia's Defense Ministry denied an earlier Georgia report about one Russian plane downed and has had no immediate comment on the latest claim.
Yakobashvili said that one Russian plane had dropped a bomb on the Vaziani military base near the Georgian capital, but no one was hurt. More than 1,000 U.S. Marines and soldiers were at the base last month to teach combat skills to Georgian troops.
(Copyright 2008 by The Associated Press. All Rights Reserved.)
http://www.local12.com/content/breaking_news/story.aspx?content_id=a2e6f6c8-11f3-4fb6-9f59-c9f5c3c6d630
WASHINGTON (AP) - The United States is calling for an immediate cease-fire in a conflict between Russia and Georgia over the breakaway Georgian province of South Ossetia.
State Department spokesman Gonzalo Gallegos told reporters Friday that Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice is making calls to top officials urging all parties to remain calm. He did not identify the officials.
He says a U.S. envoy is traveling to the region Friday in hopes of bringing an end to hostilities. Gallegos did not name the envoy, who will meet with U.S. allies and others.
He says the U.S. supports Georgia's territorial integrity. Georgia launched a major military offensive Friday to retake the breakaway province of South Ossetia, prompting Moscow to send tanks into the region in a furious response that threatens to engulf Georgia, a staunch U.S. ally, and Russia in all-out war.
Hundreds were reported dead in the worst outbreak of hostilities since the province won defacto independence in a war against Georgia that ended in 1992. Witnesses said the South Ossetian capital of Tskhinvali was devastated.
"I saw bodies lying on the streets, around ruined buildings, in cars," said Lyudmila Ostayeva, 50, who had fled with her family to Dzhava, a village near the border with Russia. "It's impossible to count them now. There is hardly a single building left undamaged."
The fighting broke out as much of the world's attention was focused on the start of the Olympic Games and many leaders, including Russia's Prime Minister Vladimir Putin and President Bush, were on their way to Beijing. The timing suggests Georgian President Mikhail Saakashvili may have been counting on surprise to fulfill his longtime pledge to wrest back control of South Ossetia - a key to his hold on power.
Saakashvili agreed the timing was not coincidental, but accused Russia of being the aggressor.
"Most decision makers have gone for the holidays," he said in an interview with CNN. "Brilliant moment to attack a small country."
South Ossetian separatist leader Eduard Kokoity claimed hundreds of civilians had been killed. Ten Russian peacekeepers were killed and 30 wounded when their barracks were hit in Georgian shelling, said Russian Ground Forces spokesman Col. Igor Konashenkov.
Russia has soldiers in South Ossetia as peacekeeping forces but Georgia alleges they back the separatists.
Georgia's president says the country is calling home its troops from Iraq amid heavy fighting in the breakaway province of South Ossetia. Georgia has 2,000 troops serving with the coalition forces in Iraq, making it the third-largest contributor after the United States and Britain. But Georgian President Mikhail Saakashvili told CNN television Friday the troops would return urgently to Georgia after fighting erupted in South Ossetia. "One brigade of Georgian forces is in Iraq and we are calling it home tomorrow," Saakashvili said in the interview.
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. The country has angered Russia by seeking NATO membership - a bid Moscow regards as part of a Western effort to weaken its influence in the region.
Speaking earlier on Georgian television, Saakashvili accused Russia of sending aircraft to bomb Georgian territory, which Russia denied. Russia's Defense Ministry said it was sending reinforcements for its peacekeepers, and Russian state television and Georgian officials reported a convoy of tanks had crossed the border. The convoy was expected to reach the provincial capital, Tskhinvali, by evening, Channel One television said.
Georgian State Minister for Reintegration Temur Yakobashvili said government troops were now in full control of the city. "We are facing Russian aggression," said Georgia's Security Council chief Kakha Lomaya. "They have sent in their troops and weapons and they are bombing our towns."
Putin has warned that the Georgian attack will draw retaliation and the Defense Ministry pledged to protect South Ossetians, most of whom have Russian citizenship. Chairing a session of his Security Council in the Kremlin, Russian President Dmitry Medvedev also vowed that Moscow will protect Russian citizens. "In accordance with the constitution and federal law, I, as president of Russia, am obliged to protect lives and dignity of Russian citizens wherever they are located," Medvedev said, according to Russian news reports. "We won't allow the death of our compatriots go unpunished."
An AP reporter saw tanks and other heavy weapons concentrating on the Russian side of the border with South Ossetia - supporting the Russian TV reports of an incursion. Some villagers were fleeing into Russia. "I saw them (the Georgians) shelling my village," said Maria, who gave only her first name. She said she and other villagers spent the night in a field and then fled toward the Russian border as the fighting escalated.
Yakobashvili said Georgian forces have shot down four Russian combat planes over Georgian territory. He gave no details. Russia's Defense Ministry denied an earlier Georgia report about one Russian plane downed and has had no immediate comment on the latest claim.
Yakobashvili said that one Russian plane had dropped a bomb on the Vaziani military base near the Georgian capital, but no one was hurt. More than 1,000 U.S. Marines and soldiers were at the base last month to teach combat skills to Georgian troops.
(Copyright 2008 by The Associated Press. All Rights Reserved.)
Haggis
Army.ca Veteran
- Reaction score
- 2,616
- Points
- 1,140
And it would seem that Russia has now invaded the Republic of Georgia. (shared with the usual dislciamer)
DZHAVA, Georgia - Russia sent columns of tanks and reportedly bombed Georgian air bases Friday after Georgia launched a major military offensive to retake the breakaway province of South Ossetia, threatening to ignite a broader conflict. Hundreds of civilians were reported dead in the worst outbreak of hostilities since the province won de facto independence in a war against Georgia that ended in 1992. Witnesses said the South Ossetian capital of Tskhinvali was devastated.
"I saw bodies lying on the streets, around ruined buildings, in cars," said Lyudmila Ostayeva, 50, who had fled with her family to Dzhava, a village near the border with Russia. "It's impossible to count them now. There is hardly a single building left undamaged."
The fighting broke out as much of the world's attention was focused on the start of the Olympic Games and many leaders, including Russia's Prime Minister Vladimir Putin and U.S. President George W. Bush, were in Beijing.
The timing suggests Georgian President Mikhail Saakashvili may have been counting on surprise to fulfil his longtime pledge to wrest back control of South Ossetia - a key to his hold on power.
Saakashvili agreed the timing was not coincidental, but accused Russia of being the aggressor. "Most decision makers have gone for the holidays," he said in an interview with CNN. "Brilliant moment to attack a small country."
South Ossetian separatist leader Eduard Kokoity claimed hundreds of civilians had been killed.
Ten Russian peacekeepers were killed and 30 wounded when their barracks were hit in Georgian shelling, said Russian Ground Forces spokesman Col. Igor Konashenkov. Russia has soldiers in South Ossetia as peacekeeping forces but Georgia alleges they back the separatists.
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 has angered Russia by seeking NATO membership - a bid Moscow regards as part of a Western effort to weaken its influence in the region.
Speaking earlier on Georgian television, Saakashvili accused Russia of sending aircraft to bomb Georgian territory, which Russia denied.
Russia's Defence Ministry said it was sending reinforcements for its peacekeepers, and Russian state television and Georgian officials reported a convoy of tanks had crossed the border. The convoy was expected to reach the provincial capital, Tskhinvali, by evening, Channel One television said.
Georgian State Minister for Reintegration Temur Yakobashvili said government troops were now in full control of the city.
"We are facing Russian aggression," said Georgia's Security Council chief Kakha Lomaya. "They have sent in their troops and weapons and they are bombing our towns."
Putin has warned that the Georgian attack will draw retaliation and the Defence Ministry pledged to protect South Ossetians, most of whom have Russian citizenship.
Chairing a session of his Security Council in the Kremlin, Russian President Dmitry Medvedev also vowed that Moscow will protect Russian citizens.
"In accordance with the constitution and federal law, I, as president of Russia, am obliged to protect lives and dignity of Russian citizens wherever they are located," Medvedev said, according to Russian news reports. "We won't allow the death of our compatriots go unpunished."
An Associated Press reporter saw tanks and other heavy weapons concentrating on the Russian side of the border with South Ossetia - supporting the Russian TV reports of an incursion. Some villagers were fleeing into Russia.
"I saw them (the Georgians) shelling my village," said Maria, who gave only her first name. She said she and other villagers spent the night in a field and then fled toward the Russian border as the fighting escalated.
Yakobashvili said Georgian forces have shot down four Russian combat planes over Georgian territory. He gave no details. Russia's Defence Ministry denied an earlier Georgia report about one Russian plane downed and has had no immediate comment on the latest claim.
Yakobashvili said that one Russian plane had dropped a bomb on the Vaziani military base near the Georgian capital, but no one was hurt.
South Ossetia officials said Georgia attacked with aircraft, armour and heavy artillery. Georgian troops fired missiles at Tskhinvali, an official said, and many buildings were on fire.
Georgia's president said Russian aircraft bombed several Georgian villages and other civilian facilities.
"A full-scale aggression has been launched against Georgia," Saakashvili said in a televised statement. He also announced a full military mobilization with reservists being called into action.
A senior Russian diplomat in charge of the South Ossetian conflict, Yuri Popov, dismissed the Georgian claims of Russian bombings as misinformation, the RIA-Novosti news agency reported.
Russia's Defence Ministry denounced the Georgian attack as a "dirty adventure." "Blood shed in South Ossetia will weigh on their conscience," the ministry said in a statement posted on its website.
Russia's President Dmitry Medvedev later chaired a session of his Security Council in the Kremlin, vowing that Moscow will protect Russian citizens.
"In accordance with the constitution and federal law, I, as president of Russia, am obliged to protect lives and dignity of Russian citizens wherever they are located," Medvedev said, according to Russian news reports. "We won't allow the death of our compatriots go unpunished."
Saakashvili long has pledged to restore Tbilisi's rule over South Ossetia and another breakaway province, Abkhazia. Both regions have run their own affairs without international recognition since splitting from Georgia in the early 1990s and built up ties with Moscow.
Relations between Georgia and Russia worsened notably this year as Georgia pushed to join NATO and Russia dispatched additional peacekeeper forces to Abkhazia.
The Georgian attack came just hours after Saakashvili announced a unilateral ceasefire in a television broadcast late Thursday in which he also urged South Ossetian separatist leaders to enter talks on resolving the conflict.
Georgian officials later blamed South Ossetian separatists for thwarting the ceasefire by shelling Georgian villages in the area.
Not a nice little corner of the world. Dirty, violent and corrupt. And that was long before this sh!t started.
DZHAVA, Georgia - Russia sent columns of tanks and reportedly bombed Georgian air bases Friday after Georgia launched a major military offensive to retake the breakaway province of South Ossetia, threatening to ignite a broader conflict. Hundreds of civilians were reported dead in the worst outbreak of hostilities since the province won de facto independence in a war against Georgia that ended in 1992. Witnesses said the South Ossetian capital of Tskhinvali was devastated.
"I saw bodies lying on the streets, around ruined buildings, in cars," said Lyudmila Ostayeva, 50, who had fled with her family to Dzhava, a village near the border with Russia. "It's impossible to count them now. There is hardly a single building left undamaged."
The fighting broke out as much of the world's attention was focused on the start of the Olympic Games and many leaders, including Russia's Prime Minister Vladimir Putin and U.S. President George W. Bush, were in Beijing.
The timing suggests Georgian President Mikhail Saakashvili may have been counting on surprise to fulfil his longtime pledge to wrest back control of South Ossetia - a key to his hold on power.
Saakashvili agreed the timing was not coincidental, but accused Russia of being the aggressor. "Most decision makers have gone for the holidays," he said in an interview with CNN. "Brilliant moment to attack a small country."
South Ossetian separatist leader Eduard Kokoity claimed hundreds of civilians had been killed.
Ten Russian peacekeepers were killed and 30 wounded when their barracks were hit in Georgian shelling, said Russian Ground Forces spokesman Col. Igor Konashenkov. Russia has soldiers in South Ossetia as peacekeeping forces but Georgia alleges they back the separatists.
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 has angered Russia by seeking NATO membership - a bid Moscow regards as part of a Western effort to weaken its influence in the region.
Speaking earlier on Georgian television, Saakashvili accused Russia of sending aircraft to bomb Georgian territory, which Russia denied.
Russia's Defence Ministry said it was sending reinforcements for its peacekeepers, and Russian state television and Georgian officials reported a convoy of tanks had crossed the border. The convoy was expected to reach the provincial capital, Tskhinvali, by evening, Channel One television said.
Georgian State Minister for Reintegration Temur Yakobashvili said government troops were now in full control of the city.
"We are facing Russian aggression," said Georgia's Security Council chief Kakha Lomaya. "They have sent in their troops and weapons and they are bombing our towns."
Putin has warned that the Georgian attack will draw retaliation and the Defence Ministry pledged to protect South Ossetians, most of whom have Russian citizenship.
Chairing a session of his Security Council in the Kremlin, Russian President Dmitry Medvedev also vowed that Moscow will protect Russian citizens.
"In accordance with the constitution and federal law, I, as president of Russia, am obliged to protect lives and dignity of Russian citizens wherever they are located," Medvedev said, according to Russian news reports. "We won't allow the death of our compatriots go unpunished."
An Associated Press reporter saw tanks and other heavy weapons concentrating on the Russian side of the border with South Ossetia - supporting the Russian TV reports of an incursion. Some villagers were fleeing into Russia.
"I saw them (the Georgians) shelling my village," said Maria, who gave only her first name. She said she and other villagers spent the night in a field and then fled toward the Russian border as the fighting escalated.
Yakobashvili said Georgian forces have shot down four Russian combat planes over Georgian territory. He gave no details. Russia's Defence Ministry denied an earlier Georgia report about one Russian plane downed and has had no immediate comment on the latest claim.
Yakobashvili said that one Russian plane had dropped a bomb on the Vaziani military base near the Georgian capital, but no one was hurt.
South Ossetia officials said Georgia attacked with aircraft, armour and heavy artillery. Georgian troops fired missiles at Tskhinvali, an official said, and many buildings were on fire.
Georgia's president said Russian aircraft bombed several Georgian villages and other civilian facilities.
"A full-scale aggression has been launched against Georgia," Saakashvili said in a televised statement. He also announced a full military mobilization with reservists being called into action.
A senior Russian diplomat in charge of the South Ossetian conflict, Yuri Popov, dismissed the Georgian claims of Russian bombings as misinformation, the RIA-Novosti news agency reported.
Russia's Defence Ministry denounced the Georgian attack as a "dirty adventure." "Blood shed in South Ossetia will weigh on their conscience," the ministry said in a statement posted on its website.
Russia's President Dmitry Medvedev later chaired a session of his Security Council in the Kremlin, vowing that Moscow will protect Russian citizens.
"In accordance with the constitution and federal law, I, as president of Russia, am obliged to protect lives and dignity of Russian citizens wherever they are located," Medvedev said, according to Russian news reports. "We won't allow the death of our compatriots go unpunished."
Saakashvili long has pledged to restore Tbilisi's rule over South Ossetia and another breakaway province, Abkhazia. Both regions have run their own affairs without international recognition since splitting from Georgia in the early 1990s and built up ties with Moscow.
Relations between Georgia and Russia worsened notably this year as Georgia pushed to join NATO and Russia dispatched additional peacekeeper forces to Abkhazia.
The Georgian attack came just hours after Saakashvili announced a unilateral ceasefire in a television broadcast late Thursday in which he also urged South Ossetian separatist leaders to enter talks on resolving the conflict.
Georgian officials later blamed South Ossetian separatists for thwarting the ceasefire by shelling Georgian villages in the area.
Not a nice little corner of the world. Dirty, violent and corrupt. And that was long before this sh!t started.
Colin Parkinson
Army.ca Myth
- Reaction score
- 9,141
- Points
- 1,160
Pretty smart to attack during the Olympics, everyone distracted and looking eleswhere.
- Reaction score
- 1
- Points
- 230
I have to say, I'm quite irritated. This could be the start of a major war in Europe, and I can't even watch a damn thing about it on the News because Senator John Edwards cheated on his wife two years ago. Priorities, eh?
Midget
Midget
- Reaction score
- 0
- Points
- 110
I have to say, I'm quite irritated. This could be the start of a major war in Europe, and I can't even watch a damn thing about it on the News because Senator John Edwards cheated on his wife two years ago. Priorities, eh?
Yeah, Midget, you have to go to BBC or any non US media. If the US wins 17 swimming medals over the weekend we may never hear anything about it. Unbelievable.
Yeah, Midget, you have to go to BBC or any non US media. If the US wins 17 swimming medals over the weekend we may never hear anything about it. Unbelievable.
- Reaction score
- 2,526
- Points
- 1,260
uncle-midget-boyd said:
Sadly, it's not America's immediate back yard, so the networks are caught up in the usual herd journalism.
As W&V suggested, BBC is good - here's where else I'm looking.....
Yahoo Full Coverage:
http://news.yahoo.com/fc/World/Georgia;_ylt=AuqWzqPXZjpobp5tQ.QWB8t2y14A
EMM Explorer (a free-access news aggregator run by the European Community - VERY nice):
http://press.jrc.it/NewsBrief/countryedition/en/GE.htm
(et en français aussi)
http://press.jrc.it/NewsBrief/countryedition/fr/GE.htm
NewsNow aggregator:
http://xrl.us/om6vm
not to mention the ubiquitous Google News Search "Georgia+Russia" (sorted with most recent up top):
http://news.google.com/news?hl=en&ned=&q=Georgia+Russia&ie=UTF-8&scoring=n
as well as the OTHER side of the story from Kavkazcenter.com
http://www.kavkazcenter.com/eng/section.php?id=c
and I'm guessing these'll be seeing new posts real soon, too...
http://02varvara.wordpress.com/2008/08/08/the-war-in-south-ossetia-the-second-night/
http://separatism.blogspot.com/
http://www.anti-imperialist.info/vb/forumdisplay.php?f=33
http://caucasus.wordpress.com/
Happy hunting, all!
- edited to add other links -
- Reaction score
- 2,526
- Points
- 1,260
US keeping an eye on things....
Pentagon, U.S. State Department Monitoring Georgian Situation
Gerry J. Gilmore, American Forces Press Service, 8 Aug 08
Article link
The Defense Department is closely watching developments in South Ossetia, in the former Soviet republic of Georgia, a senior Pentagon spokesman said here today.
News reports cite Russian tanks crossing the border into South Ossetia and of fighting between Georgian troops and rebels in and around Tskhinvali, South Ossetia’s capital city.
“We’re monitoring it very closely,” spokesman Bryan Whitman said of the situation during a briefing with Pentagon reporters.
(....)
Whitman said about 130 U.S. military and civilian personnel are currently located near the Georgian capital of Tbilisi, helping train Georgian troops for an upcoming deployment to Iraq. All the Americans are accounted for, and none has been injured, Whitman said.
The U.S. State Department is the lead U.S. agency regarding the situation in South Ossetia, Whitman said. The State Department is “in close contact with senior Russian and Georgian officials. We’re urging Moscow to press South Ossetia’s de facto leaders to stop firing,” Gonzalo R. Gallegos, acting deputy spokesman for the State Department, said yesterday during a Washington news conference.
(....)
More on link
Pentagon, U.S. State Department Monitoring Georgian Situation
Gerry J. Gilmore, American Forces Press Service, 8 Aug 08
Article link
The Defense Department is closely watching developments in South Ossetia, in the former Soviet republic of Georgia, a senior Pentagon spokesman said here today.
News reports cite Russian tanks crossing the border into South Ossetia and of fighting between Georgian troops and rebels in and around Tskhinvali, South Ossetia’s capital city.
“We’re monitoring it very closely,” spokesman Bryan Whitman said of the situation during a briefing with Pentagon reporters.
(....)
Whitman said about 130 U.S. military and civilian personnel are currently located near the Georgian capital of Tbilisi, helping train Georgian troops for an upcoming deployment to Iraq. All the Americans are accounted for, and none has been injured, Whitman said.
The U.S. State Department is the lead U.S. agency regarding the situation in South Ossetia, Whitman said. The State Department is “in close contact with senior Russian and Georgian officials. We’re urging Moscow to press South Ossetia’s de facto leaders to stop firing,” Gonzalo R. Gallegos, acting deputy spokesman for the State Department, said yesterday during a Washington news conference.
(....)
More on link
- Reaction score
- 63
- Points
- 530
All U.S. trainers in Georgia accounted for
As fighting flares with Russian forces, no plans to pull out American troops
Staff and wire reports
Posted : Friday Aug 8, 2008 17:44:59 EDT
Russian military forces on Aug. 8 invaded the former Soviet republic of Georgia, whose troops receive training from U.S. forces and have been a steadfast ally in the war in Iraq.
Pentagon spokesman Bryan Whitman said that at the time of the attack, some 130 U.S. troops and contractors were in Georgia to prepare the Georgian forces for their next deployment to Iraq. All were accounted for, none had been injured, and there were no plans to pull them out of the country, Whitman said.
He said the trainers were in the area of the Georgian capital, Tblisi, but he would not say exactly where. The capital is well away from the fighting between Georgian and Russian troops.
The U.S. personnel, who answer to the U.S. European Command, are in Georgia on a “semi-permanent basis,” said another defense official who asked not to be identified.
The official emphasized that the trainers are “taking absolutely no part” in the flare-up in Georgia.
“They are there just to assist in the training of Georgia army forces rotating into Iraq,” he said. “That being said, that would not protect them from inadvertent harm caused by the fighting.”
The training program has been temporarily suspended, the official said.
Georgia has about 2,000 troops deployed to Iraq, making it the third largest coalition force contributor behind the U.S. and Great Britain.
The U.S. called for an immediate cease-fire in the conflict, which began when Russia sent columns of tanks and reportedly bombed Georgian air bases after Georgia launched a major military offensive to retake the breakaway province of South Ossetia.
Hundreds of civilians were reported killed in the fighting that broke out.
Operation Immediate Response 2008
One of the air bases reportedly bombed was Vaziani, where in July about 1,000 U.S. Marines and soldiers participated in a combat-skills training exercise with Georgian forces. The exercise, Operation Immediate Response 2008, ended less than 10 days before Russian forces invaded.
The Marines and soldiers taught combat skills to Georgian soldiers, as well as about 30 troops from nearby Armenia, Azerbaijan and Ukraine. The U.S. troops included about 300 reservists with 3rd Battalion, 25th Marines, and about 300 Army reservists with the Winder, Ga.-based 1st Battalion, 121st Infantry Regiment.
On a regular basis, 20 to 25 Marines are stationed in Georgia, said Maj. David Nevers, a Marine Corps spokesman.
About six serve as security guards at the U.S. Embassy in the capital of Tbilisi, with the rest training Georgian troops as part of the three-year-old Georgia Sustainment and Stability Operations Program.
Nevers said the program originally was an Army mission but was turned over to the Corps a few years ago. Most recently, Marines have been teaching Georgian soldiers how to drive military vehicles.
“A lot of it’s very basic stuff,” Nevers said. “It’s everything from how to put on a uniform to how to fire and maneuver.”
Nevers said there was no immediate plan to change the Corps’ mission in Georgia, pointing out that the fighting was concentrated away from Tbilisi.
On the same day Operation Immediate Response began, the Russian military announced it had launched its own military training exercise in its nearby North Caucasus region.
A spokesman for the Russian Defense Ministry told the AP there was no connection between the Russian exercises and the U.S.-Georgian training effort.
The clash that erupted Aug. 8 was the worst outbreak of hostilities since South Ossetia won de facto independence in a war against Georgia that ended in 1992.
U.S. diplomacy
The U.S. was sending an envoy to the region to meet with the parties involved to try to end hostilities.
“We support Georgia’s territorial intergrity and we call for a cease-fire,” State Department spokeswoman Nicole Thompson said. “We want all parties to come to the table to de-escalate the situation and avoid conflict.”
Thompson said the U.S. is working on mediation efforts to secure a cease-fire. “We are going to send an envoy to the region to engage with the parties in the conflict,” she said. “The envoy will join some representatives from our European allies, as well.”
The envoy has not yet been named, nor has the meeting place.
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, a staunch U.S. ally, has angered Russia by seeking NATO membership — a bid Moscow regards as part of a Western effort to weaken its influence in the region.
The conflict between Georgia and Russia has great strategic importance because it pits one of Washington’s staunchest allies in the so-called “war on terrorism” against Russia, a re-emerging superpower with vast energy reserves that is showing growing eagerness to assert its will on the international stage.
However, one analyst suggested that Georgia’s unexpected assault on South Ossetia may have been rooted as much in a sense that its NATO bid was faltering as in antagonism with Russia.
Earlier this year, NATO quashed Georgia’s drive to get a so-called “road map” for alliance membership amid alarm that President Mikhail Saakashvili was backtracking on democracy with his violent suppression last year of opposition rallies.
Although Georgia got assurances that it could eventually join, “this pushed Georgia into a philosophy of self-reliance — the idea that Georgia will be able to regain breakaway entities only by its own means,” said Nicu Popescu of the European Council on Foreign Relations.
While the U.S. and other NATO members have sent substantial aid to build up Georgia’s once-shabby military, diplomats often have shown clear discomfort with Saakashvili’s headstrong ways.
As fighting flares with Russian forces, no plans to pull out American troops
Staff and wire reports
Posted : Friday Aug 8, 2008 17:44:59 EDT
Russian military forces on Aug. 8 invaded the former Soviet republic of Georgia, whose troops receive training from U.S. forces and have been a steadfast ally in the war in Iraq.
Pentagon spokesman Bryan Whitman said that at the time of the attack, some 130 U.S. troops and contractors were in Georgia to prepare the Georgian forces for their next deployment to Iraq. All were accounted for, none had been injured, and there were no plans to pull them out of the country, Whitman said.
He said the trainers were in the area of the Georgian capital, Tblisi, but he would not say exactly where. The capital is well away from the fighting between Georgian and Russian troops.
The U.S. personnel, who answer to the U.S. European Command, are in Georgia on a “semi-permanent basis,” said another defense official who asked not to be identified.
The official emphasized that the trainers are “taking absolutely no part” in the flare-up in Georgia.
“They are there just to assist in the training of Georgia army forces rotating into Iraq,” he said. “That being said, that would not protect them from inadvertent harm caused by the fighting.”
The training program has been temporarily suspended, the official said.
Georgia has about 2,000 troops deployed to Iraq, making it the third largest coalition force contributor behind the U.S. and Great Britain.
The U.S. called for an immediate cease-fire in the conflict, which began when Russia sent columns of tanks and reportedly bombed Georgian air bases after Georgia launched a major military offensive to retake the breakaway province of South Ossetia.
Hundreds of civilians were reported killed in the fighting that broke out.
Operation Immediate Response 2008
One of the air bases reportedly bombed was Vaziani, where in July about 1,000 U.S. Marines and soldiers participated in a combat-skills training exercise with Georgian forces. The exercise, Operation Immediate Response 2008, ended less than 10 days before Russian forces invaded.
The Marines and soldiers taught combat skills to Georgian soldiers, as well as about 30 troops from nearby Armenia, Azerbaijan and Ukraine. The U.S. troops included about 300 reservists with 3rd Battalion, 25th Marines, and about 300 Army reservists with the Winder, Ga.-based 1st Battalion, 121st Infantry Regiment.
On a regular basis, 20 to 25 Marines are stationed in Georgia, said Maj. David Nevers, a Marine Corps spokesman.
About six serve as security guards at the U.S. Embassy in the capital of Tbilisi, with the rest training Georgian troops as part of the three-year-old Georgia Sustainment and Stability Operations Program.
Nevers said the program originally was an Army mission but was turned over to the Corps a few years ago. Most recently, Marines have been teaching Georgian soldiers how to drive military vehicles.
“A lot of it’s very basic stuff,” Nevers said. “It’s everything from how to put on a uniform to how to fire and maneuver.”
Nevers said there was no immediate plan to change the Corps’ mission in Georgia, pointing out that the fighting was concentrated away from Tbilisi.
On the same day Operation Immediate Response began, the Russian military announced it had launched its own military training exercise in its nearby North Caucasus region.
A spokesman for the Russian Defense Ministry told the AP there was no connection between the Russian exercises and the U.S.-Georgian training effort.
The clash that erupted Aug. 8 was the worst outbreak of hostilities since South Ossetia won de facto independence in a war against Georgia that ended in 1992.
U.S. diplomacy
The U.S. was sending an envoy to the region to meet with the parties involved to try to end hostilities.
“We support Georgia’s territorial intergrity and we call for a cease-fire,” State Department spokeswoman Nicole Thompson said. “We want all parties to come to the table to de-escalate the situation and avoid conflict.”
Thompson said the U.S. is working on mediation efforts to secure a cease-fire. “We are going to send an envoy to the region to engage with the parties in the conflict,” she said. “The envoy will join some representatives from our European allies, as well.”
The envoy has not yet been named, nor has the meeting place.
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, a staunch U.S. ally, has angered Russia by seeking NATO membership — a bid Moscow regards as part of a Western effort to weaken its influence in the region.
The conflict between Georgia and Russia has great strategic importance because it pits one of Washington’s staunchest allies in the so-called “war on terrorism” against Russia, a re-emerging superpower with vast energy reserves that is showing growing eagerness to assert its will on the international stage.
However, one analyst suggested that Georgia’s unexpected assault on South Ossetia may have been rooted as much in a sense that its NATO bid was faltering as in antagonism with Russia.
Earlier this year, NATO quashed Georgia’s drive to get a so-called “road map” for alliance membership amid alarm that President Mikhail Saakashvili was backtracking on democracy with his violent suppression last year of opposition rallies.
Although Georgia got assurances that it could eventually join, “this pushed Georgia into a philosophy of self-reliance — the idea that Georgia will be able to regain breakaway entities only by its own means,” said Nicu Popescu of the European Council on Foreign Relations.
While the U.S. and other NATO members have sent substantial aid to build up Georgia’s once-shabby military, diplomats often have shown clear discomfort with Saakashvili’s headstrong ways.
