Defiant Putin accuses US of 'helping Georgia' as fighting escalates amid fears of ground invasion

[w¡n9Nµ7 §£@¥€r 123]

Russian premier Vladimir Putin today raised the stakes over the conflict in Georgia by lashing out at the U.S. as the fighting continued to escalate in the region.

The Russian prime minister rejected calls from Georgia for a ceasefire and declared that his country would pursue its mission to its 'logical conclusion'.

A day after a face-to-face meeting with President George W. Bush in Beijing who expressed 'grave concern', Mr Putin accused the U.S. of siding with Georgia by ferrying Georgian troops from Iraq to the battle zone.

'It is a shame that some of our partners are not helping us but, essentially, are hindering us,' said Mr Putin. 'The very scale of this cynicism is astonishing.

...

Fears of a ground invasion in Georgia itself were growing today as Russia confirmed it had rolled out tanks into the western part of the country.

Defence ministry spokeswoman Nana Intskerveli said the tanks had seized a Georgian military base in the town of Senaki.

The statement indicated Russian troops had entered the region from a second rebel province of Abkhazia, where troops have been massing since the weekend.

http://www.thisislondon.co.uk/news/article...sion/article.do

[Moto-zutto 0]

Russian premier Vladimir Putin today raised the stakes over the conflict in Georgia by lashing out at the U.S. as the fighting continued to escalate in the region.

The Russian prime minister rejected calls from Georgia for a ceasefire and declared that his country would pursue its mission to its 'logical conclusion'.

A day after a face-to-face meeting with President George W. Bush in Beijing who expressed 'grave concern', Mr Putin accused the U.S. of siding with Georgia by ferrying Georgian troops from Iraq to the battle zone.

'It is a shame that some of our partners are not helping us but, essentially, are hindering us,' said Mr Putin. 'The very scale of this cynicism is astonishing.

...

Fears of a ground invasion in Georgia itself were growing today as Russia confirmed it had rolled out tanks into the western part of the country.

Defence ministry spokeswoman Nana Intskerveli said the tanks had seized a Georgian military base in the town of Senaki.

The statement indicated Russian troops had entered the region from a second rebel province of Abkhazia, where troops have been massing since the weekend.

http://www.thisislondon.co.uk/news/article...sion/article.do

Wow, we are not Russias partners, we are friends with Georgia. Georgia has some 2,000 troops in Iraq helping the U.S. ---besides, look at the size of Russia compared to Georgia.... what do they want to proove?

[doodlebugg 10]

Does anyone know why this all started in the first place? Is this like an attempt to reformate the soviet union?

[w¡n9Nµ7 §£@¥€r 123]

Does anyone know why this all started in the first place? Is this like an attempt to reformate the soviet union?

It's a twofer - a power play to stop the expansion of NATO and to secure access to an oil pipeline.

Putin is smart. He knows no one will lift a finger for Georgia.

[one...two...tree 2,762]

Does anyone know why this all started in the first place? Is this like an attempt to reformate the soviet union?

It's a twofer - a power play to stop the expansion of NATO and to secure access to an oil pipeline.

Putin is smart. He knows no one will lift a finger for Georgia.

Frictions between Georgia and South Ossetia, which has declared de facto independence, have simmered for years, but intensified when Mr. Saakashvili came to power in Georgia and made national unification a centerpiece of his agenda. Mr. Saakashvili, a close American ally who has sought NATO membership for Georgia, is loathed at the Kremlin in part because he had positioned himself as a spokesman for democracy movements and alignment with the West.

http://www.nytimes.com/2008/08/09/world/eu...georgia.html?hp

[HAL 9000 96]

So I wonder now that the US is not willing to keep a clamp on self-declaring independent regions of nations... will the US basically support the self-determination of other regions of other nations that have declared at minimum some kind of sovereignty like autonomy?? I mean, if they do it/don't do it for one can't they apply the same behavior to all??

[w¡n9Nµ7 §£@¥€r 123]

I was reading on another site rumors that the Russians may prevent the USAF from delivering Georgian troops from Iraq to Georgia. If they did that, the US would automatically (and justifiably) get involved in this conflict.

[Ilya R. 0]

Nice knowing you guys, humans made a nice run thought.

[w¡n9Nµ7 §£@¥€r 123]

Nice knowing you guys, humans made a nice run thought.

que

[Trumplestiltskin 5,791]

The US isn't in a position to do anything about this - and short of it turning into another Yugoslavia I don't imagine anyone else will either.

Russia is still militarily a very powerful country. Its not in anyone's interests to mess with that - though the land grabs (for oil) that seem to be going on (first in the arctic, now here) do seem to indicate a worrying trend.

[one...two...tree 2,762]

The whole thing seems so complicated - each side accusing the other of undermining peaceful solutions.

[w¡n9Nµ7 §£@¥€r 123]

The US isn't in a position to do anything about this - and short of it turning into another Yugoslavia I don't imagine anyone else will either.

Russia is still militarily a very powerful country. Its not in anyone's interests to mess with that - though the land grabs (for oil) that seem to be going on (first in the arctic, now here) do seem to indicate a worrying trend.

The US Army is embroiled in Iraq and Afghanistan.

The USAF is still very much available, however.

Make no mistake, if the Russians actually use force to stop the USAF from airdropping Georgian troops in Georgia, not one major American politician will oppose what comes next.

[one...two...tree 2,762]

The US isn't in a position to do anything about this - and short of it turning into another Yugoslavia I don't imagine anyone else will either.

Russia is still militarily a very powerful country. Its not in anyone's interests to mess with that - though the land grabs (for oil) that seem to be going on (first in the arctic, now here) do seem to indicate a worrying trend.

The US Army is embroiled in Iraq and Afghanistan.

The USAF is still very much available, however.

Make no mistake, if the Russians actually use force to stop the USAF from airdropping Georgian troops in Georgia, not one major American politician will oppose what comes next.

I can't imagine they would. Russia's position is that they are protecting South Ossetia from the military agression of Georgia. It seems their military strategy is to cripple Georgia's government into submission. Russia doesn't want to take Georgia...otherwise that would go against them helping the separatists.

[Ilya R. 0]

The US isn't in a position to do anything about this - and short of it turning into another Yugoslavia I don't imagine anyone else will either.

Russia is still militarily a very powerful country. Its not in anyone's interests to mess with that - though the land grabs (for oil) that seem to be going on (first in the arctic, now here) do seem to indicate a worrying trend.

The US Army is embroiled in Iraq and Afghanistan.

The USAF is still very much available, however.

Make no mistake, if the Russians actually use force to stop the USAF from airdropping Georgian troops in Georgia, not one major American politician will oppose what comes next.

You know you are suggesting the end of civilization as we know.

[one...two...tree 2,762]

The US isn't in a position to do anything about this - and short of it turning into another Yugoslavia I don't imagine anyone else will either.

Russia is still militarily a very powerful country. Its not in anyone's interests to mess with that - though the land grabs (for oil) that seem to be going on (first in the arctic, now here) do seem to indicate a worrying trend.

The US Army is embroiled in Iraq and Afghanistan.

The USAF is still very much available, however.

Make no mistake, if the Russians actually use force to stop the USAF from airdropping Georgian troops in Georgia, not one major American politician will oppose what comes next.

You know you are suggesting the end of civilization as we know.

Oh come on now...nobody wants to escalate this conflict.