Both Bush and Obama are expected to make comments on the situation in Georgia within the hour. I’m sure Bush will echo much of the same rhetoric that John McCain doled out earlier. However, I don’t really know if he will announce any concrete measures to pressure Russia. As for Obama, I really have no idea where he will go. But I will be shocked if he doesn’t broadly support Bush’s policy. He may discuss how Bush’s missteps have led us to this point. But I don’t expect him to diverge dramatically from the goal of getting Russia to vacate Georgian (and disputed Georgian) territory. We will see.
About The Author
BooMan
Martin Longman a contributing editor at the Washington Monthly. He is also the founder of Booman Tribune and Progress Pond. He has a degree in philosophy from Western Michigan University.
sowing his inexperience and backed by Bolton and Vice Dick:
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Russia made an appeal to the Security Council of the UN – August 7, 2008
"But I will not let myself be reduced to silence."avoid pesky facts – they get in the way of the spin.
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The goal of Russia is clear, just read their statements. Abkhazia to be an independent state and a certain autonomy for S Ossetia. Georgia must withdraw from the territory of South Ossetia and state its readiness to sign an agreement on the non-use of force with South Ossetia. There are no Russian troops in Gori and Russian ‘peacekeepers’ have left Senaki. The Russians do want to press charges of war crimes against Georgian leadership. Saakashvili has improved his popularity by going to war.
‘Invasion of Georgia’ a ‘3 a.m. moment’
"But I will not let myself be reduced to silence."Hmmmm. Maybe the prize of my stamp collection will be worth something after all. It’s a “back of the book” special from the Republic of Abkhazia, sold specifically to get money from stamp collectors with no thought of its ever being used for actual postage (hence the “back of the book” designation). It’s . . . well, it’s something of a reflection on their Marxist/Leninist past. Sort of.
they stole that idea from the Firesign Theater
I distinctly remember the cover to “How Can You Be In Two Places At Once”
But it’s still pretty funny, even if it is a ripoff.
Didn’t that seem staged to you?
A hell of a time for Obama to be on vaction.
Anyway…
http://www.israelnationalnews.com/News/News.aspx/127135
Just a note. Most information we are getting is coming from the Georgian government. Earlier today they had breathtaking accounts of Russians invading Mori and splitting their country in half. Now… not so much. They’ve retreated from the Russians even being in Mori.
Right now the Russians are systematically destroying all those radar and weapons systems the U.S. sold them, are destroying military bases, and the roads and bridges between Georgia and the breakaways. Regime change? Hell, let the Georgians deal with what’s left. What I’m curious about is whether the Russian claim of recovered American bodies (read: CIA trainers) is true. And if so, where were they recovered, Georgia or South Ossetia? Maybe they taught the Georgians how to throw hand grenades into basements.
That’s Gori, birthplace and childhood home of Jossip Stalin.
Just saw this over at AngryBear. July 15, 2008 – 1,000 US Troops began military training in Georgia. Post has some good questions.
The Lehrer News Hour just showed two ITN segments about the events in Georgia. What caused Russia to invade wasn’t even mentioned! Utter propaganda. Pitiful.
Now the US ambassador to the UN is on. (Why can’t they get someone who speaks English without an accent?) He was very muted and reasonable sounding, with absolutely no saber rattling. Thank God Bolton is out!
So: the reporting was utterly slanted, but judging from the ambassador’s remarks, the administration is giving no hint of treating this like an international crisis, which is a relief, but not unexpected. Like I said, US foreign policy tends to be rational, except where Israel is involved. The administration is probably beginning to realize that the Georgian government is a bunch of jokers.
MSM continues to act as if there are no alt media.
The report on NBC Nightly News was much more even-handed. Although no details where given about the Georgian onslaught into South Ossetia, it was made clear that the Georgians started the conflict and that they made a big blunder. They even had Putin on for a couple of seconds, something the News Hour didn’t do, which is pitiful.
I’m pretty sure that if the US and UK hadn’t intervened all over the world since the Cold War ended, this would be playing considerably worse in the US. I have the feeling that on a certain level, American officials and news media realize that to raise too much a fuss would be ludicrously hypocritical.
Also, having a very professional military and diplomatic corps (something that obviously cannot be said for the fledgeling state Georgia), I’m sure that Russia has gone out of its way to assure the US and NATO that they will not touch the oil pipe line. Russia has probably even briefed NATO on what its intentions are; NATO and the US just aren’t making public what they’ve been told.
I think that Zalmay Khaililzad is the most articulate and reasonable of the Cheney/neocon crowd. Unfortunately, he’s a neocon.
have you noticed who’s missing?
Thinkprogress:
Rice refuses to ‘interrupt her holidays’ to deal with Georgian conflict
at least: http://www.barackobama.com/2008/08/09/statement_from_senator_barack_3.php
That’s pretty much what one would expect him to say. Statements about the conflict by Obama as well as by Western leaders amount to a kind of Kabuki theater. I think everyone pretty much knows by now what is going to happen: Russia is going to decimate the Georgian military (NBC news quoted a US military official to that effect), teaching Georgia a “lesson”, leave Georgia proper, continuing to occupy the two breakaway regions, which it will eventually incorporate as (actually) autonomous republics.
I just hope that Russia hasn’t secretly given the US a green flag to attack Iran.
The only American public figure who’s run off half-cocked about this is McCain (and Cheney I guess; I don’t pay attention to him anymore).
I just hope that Russia hasn’t secretly given the US a green flag to attack Iran.
Aww dammit. That was the missing piece of information that suddenly makes this whole moronic episode make sense.
I have to go scream now.
Just don’t take a knife to your chest. Invading break-away S. Ossetia vs. Iranis not quite the trade I’d allow if I were Mr. Putin.
relax z, hat’s a non-starter.
this is a shot across BushCo’s™ bow……“keep running your mouth and letting it override your as and you’re looking for trouble”, as they say in the sticks.
no way in hell the russians have given any assurances that an attack on iran would be seen as anything other than an assault on them…from the way back machine: Attack Iran and you attack Russia.
nothing’s changed, they haven’t suddenly had a come to jesus moment, they’re just making a point…even the US military (was) surprised by speed, timing of Russia military action.
chicken[hawk]s coming home to roost.
This still makes no sense. Surely the Georgians knew the Russians were going to stop them flat, even if they got assurances from the West. They Georgians made the first move and it was the excuse the Russians needed to Ike Turner them into next Thursday.
This was a miscalculation of monumental proportions. There’s something here that the world is missing. A Russian green light to hit Iran would make sense from a US standpoint, but as you have pointed out not a Russian one.
So what is it? What prompted the Georgians to ever consider this to be a GOOD idea?
perhaps the notion that the table’s about to be reset had something to do with it? in addition to israeli and american aid, arms, training, etal; in addition to backroom assurances from cheney’s office and other sources that it would be a “walk in the park”…heard that one before, have you?…saakashvill overplayed his hand in an attempt ” to globalize the conflict and turn it into a central front of a new struggle between Moscow and the West.”
in some regards, that strategy has been effective, but whether it was an attempt to influence the coming elections, or just a major faux pas remains to be seen. nonetheless, it blew up in their faces.
yet another inept bit of the dysfunctional foreign policy of BushCo™, and our SoS, CONdi is on vacationi…“hi, l can’t take your call right now, but leave a message… if it’s important, l’ll call you back”.
161 days and counting.
From here.
couldn’t be bothered to help Americans accept the entire world’s outpouring of aid and support when Katrina wrecked the Gulf Coast. She was too busy shopping for Ferragamo (sp) shoes, and watching Spamalot in New York.
That woman is SO FIRED.
Russia doesn’t want us out of Iraq, not that badly. They like that we are bogged down.
No I think shutting about Iranian Nukes will be Russia’s price to settle for Abkhazia and S. Ossetia instead of re-conquering Georgia.
Some good articles over at AsiaTimes. I am incapable of creating a link without buttons, but it’s not hard to find.
Apparently, President Saak…. was having problems at home running a corrupt regime, jailing his opponents, giving out concessions to his relatives. He may have thought that a good genocidal invasion would take people’s minds off their problems. He’ll either be in New York or Moscow this time next year.
When an oppressed group is convenient to US interests as in Darfur or Bosnia the media is morality personified, when it isn’t as for the Karen people of Burma, the Maya in Guatemala or the South Ossetians,they really don’t give a damn. After the sort of bias mentioned above I recommend reading the Christian Science Monitor or an English web version of a good Scandinavian daily paper just to cleanse your mind of militarist corporate media dreck.
I don’t think all the weapons and training were to be used against Russia. That is just too stupid to contemplate. But the result is that they are now not even capable of being a back stop against any possible action against Iran. All this assumes the clowns are thinking strategically as opposed to thinking just in terms of rewarding the arms industry by handing out business opportunities. I think the problem is that the right wing are not all that serious about war and have a incredibly simplistic view of it. Such as, if the intent is good it’s justified.