Destruction in Tskhinvali
‘I’ve never heard anything so monstrous as people shelling a hospital’ By Tom Parfitt
A convoy of three buses and an escort of armed Russian Special Forces soldiers travelled across the border with Russia into South Ossetia yesterday, in a trip organised by the Kremlin for foreign media to witness first hand the destruction in Tskhinvali.
www.informationclearinghouse.info/article20509.htm
 
In the guise of humanitarian aid Bush Dispatches US Military Forces to Georgia By Barry Grey
In a major escalation of the conflict with Russia over Georgia, President George W. Bush on Wednesday announced a “vigorous and ongoing” deployment of US military forces to its key ally in the Caucasus. Bush appeared in the White House Rose Garden for the second time in three days, this time flanked by Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice and Defense Secretary Robert Gates, and announced the military buildup, casting it as a humanitarian relief operation.
www.informationclearinghouse.info/article20513.htm
 
Russia Warns US Against Encouraging New “Tragic Scenario” By AFP
Russia on Thursday warned the U.S. against encouraging Georgia’s leaders to take action that might lead to a repeat of the “tragic scenario” of recent days.
www.informationclearinghouse.info/article20514.htm
 
Russia Vows to Support Two Enclaves, in Retort to Bush By ELLEN BARRY and C.J. CHIVERS
The comments did not stake out a new position, but together, they offered a sharp retort to President Bush’s insistence a day earlier that “the sovereign and territorial integrity of Georgia be respected.” The Russian rebuke came as Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice headed to the region to work for a settlement and to show support for the Georgian president, Mikheil Saakashvili.
www.informationclearinghouse.info/article20515.htm
 
Russian Triumph as Saakashvili’s Gamble Fails By Gwynne Dyer
The three-day war in South Ossetia is settled, and the Georgians have lost. There may be some more shooting yet, but it is now clear that Georgia will never regain control of the rebel territories of South Ossetia and Abkhazia. Also that President Mikhail Saakashvili has handed Russia a major victory, and that Georgia’s hopes of joining NATO are gone. Pretty impressive work for one long weekend.
www.informationclearinghouse.info/article20517.htm
 
Rice: This isn’t 1968 Czechoslovakia Invasion By Associated Press , THE JERUSALEM POST
The Bush administration demanded Wednesday that Russia end all military activities in neighboring Georgia and sent US aid to devastated Georgians. “This is not 1968 and the invasion of Czechoslovakia, where Russia can threaten a neighbor, occupy a capital, overthrow a government and get away with it,” Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice said. “Things have changed.” 
www.informationclearinghouse.info/article20512.htm

A Question of Honor
TIME – USA
Moscow claimed Georgian aggression against Russian loyalists in South Ossetia and has objected to both Georgia’s bid to join NATO and the Pentagon’s arming …
www.time.com/time/world/article/0,8599,1832701,00.html

Don’t forget what happened in Yugoslavia
New Statesman – London,England,UK
Largely ignored in Britain, the book reveals unpalatable truths about the west’s intervention in Kosovo, which has echoes in the Caucasus. …
www.newstatesman.com/europe/2008/08/pilger-kosovo-war-nato-serbs

Comparing South Ossetia to Kosovo
New Kosova Report – Gothenburg,Sweden
By Ruben Avxhiu As the conflict between Russia and Georgia escalated this weekend, many international observers have been comparing South Ossetia to Kosovo …
www.newkosovareport.com/200808141129/Views-
and-Analysis/Comparing-South-Ossetia-to-Kosovo.html

Uncertainty surrounds Abkhazia conflict
PRESS TV – Tehran,Iran
Shortly after Kosovo declared independence this year, the Abkhazian parliament, located in the capital, Sukhumi, called for international recognition. …
www.presstv.ir/detail.aspx?id=66563&sectionid=3510304

Outside View: Kosovo spark, Ossetia fire
By ayekikan
It is obvious that the current conflict in Georgia has been greatly influenced by the United States’ and the European Union’s decision to initiate, support and recognize Kosovo’s independence. Over the last few days this connection has …
ayekikan.wordpress.com/2008/08/14/
outside-view-kosovo-spark-ossetia-fire/

US Troops in Georgia; Russia Not Backing Down
www.truthout.org/article/us-troops-georgia-russia-not-backing-down
Ellen Barry and C.J. Chivers, The New York Times: “President Dmitri Medvedev of Russia on Thursday said that Russia would act as an international guarantor of South Ossetia and Abkhazia, the two pro-Russian enclaves at the center of the crisis that have long desired separation from Georgia. As Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice headed to the region for discussions on the crisis and to show support for Georgian President Mikheil Saakashvili, the Russian position seemed to be a direct challenge to President Bush who said a day earlier that he ‘insists that the sovereign and territorial integrity of Georgia be respected’… On Wednesday, the United States and Georgia called the Russian advances into Gori and another strategic Georgian city a violation of the cease-fire agreement struck only hours earlier. In response, Mr. Bush sent American troops to Georgia to oversee a ‘vigorous and ongoing’ humanitarian mission, in a direct challenge to Russia’s display of military dominance over the region. Mr. Bush demanded that Russia abide by the cease-fire and withdraw its forces or risk its place in ‘the diplomatic, political, economic and security structures of the 21st century.’ It was his strongest warning yet of potential retaliation against Russia over the conflict.”

Washington Risks Nuclear War by Miscalculation
By F William Engdahl
www.marketoracle.co.uk/Article5834.html

Reuters caught with ‘fake’ pictures from Georgia —Media war against Russia 10 Aug 2008 This morning one can read on the BBC news site — Reuters agency posts horrible pictures of Russian bombardments of allegedly civilian residential buildings. But what if you take a closer look? [See: A Georgian man cries next to his brother’s body in the town of Gori, 80 km (50 miles) from Tbilisi, August 9, 2008. REUTERS/David Mdzinarishvili. Here he is again, alone still with some clothes on, or may be he got changed. The man in the checkered shirt keeps returning!]
russia-insider.livejournal.com/25329.html

CNN blamed for using misleading war video 12 Aug 2008
American broadcaster CNN has been accused of using the wrong pictures in their coverage of the conflict in South Ossetia. A Russian cameraman says footage of wrecked tanks and ruined buildings, which was purported to have been filmed in the town of Gori, in fact showed the South Ossetian capital Tskhinvali. Gori was said to be about to fall under the control of the Russian army but the cameraman says the video was actually shot in Tskhinvali, which had been flattened by Georgian shelling.
www.russiatoday.com/news/news/28880

US scraps war games with Russia, mulls other responses 13 Aug 2008
The United States has cancelled upcoming joint military exercises with Russia, its first concrete response to the armed conflict in Georgia, as officials consider broader reprisals following Moscow ‘aggression.’ A senior US defense official, speaking on condition of anonymity Tuesday, said that the August 15-23 exercises involving Russian, French, British and US warships in the Sea of Japan “have been scrapped.”
afp.google.com/article/ALeqM5iqi9FuxxzlQbV9-dL-kcNtRqylSQ

US forces to deliver Georgia ‘aid’ 13 Aug 2008
President [sic] George W Bush has said the US will use military aircraft and naval forces [!] to deliver aid to Georgia following its conflict with Russia. Speaking in Washington, he expressed concern about reports of continuing Russian action in Georgia, and urged Russia to respect a ceasefire accord.
news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/in_depth/7559252.stm

U.S. to take control of Georgian ports: Saakashvili 13 Aug 2008
President [sic] George W. Bush’s pledge to send aid to Georgia means that the U.S. military will take control of the ex-Soviet state’s ports and airports, Georgian President Mikheil Saakashvili said on Wednesday. “You have heard the statement by the U.S. president that the United States is starting a military-humanitarian operation in Georgia,” Saakashvili said in a television address.
www.reuters.com/article/politicsNews/idUSLD49893320080813

As the US occupies Iraq and Afghanistan: Bush Warns Russia to Honor Cease-Fire Agreement 13 Aug 2008
President [sic] Bush today warned Russia to honor a cease-fire agreement in its conflict with Georgia, saying that reports of ongoing military actions by Moscow “raise serious questions about its intentions” and threaten its standing in the world.
www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/
article/2008/08/13/AR2008081301900.html

Rice says Russia ‘must end’ military operations in Georgia 13 Aug 2008
Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice says Russia “must end” military operations in Georgia now. She also says Russia needs to respect a U.S. aid effort getting underway to help the people of Georgia. Rice made her comments Wednesday during a news conference at the State Department just hours before leaving on a diplomatic mission to France and then to Georgia to help resolve foment the crisis.
www.usatoday.com/news/washington/2008-08-13-Rice-Georgia_N.htm

Georgian MP lauds IDF military training 12 Aug 2008
Georgian Integration Minister Temur Yakobashvili told The Jerusalem Post Monday he “felt proud as a Jew,” thanks to the training Israelis had provided to units in the Georgian military… Yakobasvili’s comments confirmed reports to the Post by an Israeli defense official Sunday that a small number of Georgian elite troops had been trained by Galilee Div. commander Brig.-Gen. Gal Hirsch, who founded the Homat Magen company. “I have to underline that this was not a government-to-government thing,” said Yakobashvili. “This was between the Georgian government and a private Israeli company. They have provided highly qualified training.”
www.jpost.com/servlet/Satellite?cid=12184461
75084&pagename=JPost%2FJPArticle%2FShowFull

Troops from Atlanta will train in Republic of Georgia 14 Jul 2008
A large contingent of Georgia Army National Guard soldiers flew to the Republic of Georgia on Sunday for joint military exercises at a time when tension is brewing in the region. The soldiers, mostly from the metro area, will be part of “Immediate Response 2008,” which will amount to the largest U.S. footprint on the crossroads of Asia and Europe since the Cold War began. The three-week operation also provides practical training for the 48th Infantry Brigade’s 1st Battalion, 121st Infantry Regiment just months before a pending deployment to Afghanistan.
www.ajc.com/news/content/metro/stories/
2008/07/13/georgia_national_guard_.html

U.S. Military Instructors Command Hirelings in Georgia 11 Aug 2008
Thousands of mercenaries are fighting for Georgia in this burning conflict with South Ossetia. They are commanded by the U.S. military instructors, RIA Novosti reported with reference to a high-ranked officer of Russia’s military intelligence. “From 2,500 to 3,000 mercenaries fight against Russia’s peacekeepers on behalf of Georgia,” the unnamed source said. The U.S. military instructors directly command and coordinate actions of mercenaries without being involved in actual fighting, the source specified. According to intelligence data, there are roughly 1,000 military instructors of the United States in Georgia.
www.kommersant.com/p-13081/mercenaries_Georgia_U.S._instructor/

While Aide Advised McCain, His Firm Lobbied for Georgia 13 Aug 2008
Sen. John McCain’s top foreign policy adviser prepped his boss for an April 17 phone call with the president of Georgia and then helped the presumptive Republican presidential nominee prepare a strong statement of support for the fledgling republic. The day of the call, a lobbying firm partly owned by the adviser, Randy Scheunemann, signed a $200,000 contract to continue providing strategic advice to the Georgian government in Washington.
www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/
article/2008/08/12/AR2008081202932.html

BP shuts down Georgia pipelines 12 Aug 2008
Energy giant BP says it has shut two of three pipelines that run through Georgia as a precautionary measure. [!?!] A spokeswoman for the firm said the oil and gas pipelines, which run from the Caspian Sea into Georgia, had not been damaged by the recent fighting. Another key oil pipeline, which runs from Azerbaijan through southern Georgia into Turkey, is already shut.
news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/business/7556215.stm

Using Georgia to Target Russia by Stephen Lendman
Posted: 13 Aug 2008 01:00 PM CDT
Dandelion Salad by Stephen Lendman Global Research, August 13, 2008 After the Soviet Union’s 1991 dissolution, Georgia’s South Ossetia province broke away and declared its independence. So far it remains undiplomatically recognized by UN member states. It’s been traditionally allied with Russia and wishes to reunite with Northern Ossetes in the North Ossetia-Alania Russian
feeds.feedburner.com/~r/DandelionSalad/~3/364092697/

Ossetian refugees mourn their dead + Kosovo + misery continues
Posted: 13 Aug 2008 12:32 PM CDT
Dandelion Salad Warning . These videos may contain images depicting the reality and horror of war/violence and should only be viewed by a mature audience. RussiaToday As the noise from shooting and shelling die down in the conflict zone, the sound is replaced by crying from desperate victims. Following Georgia’s attack on South Ossetia, it’s now hard to find a
feeds.feedburner.com/~r/DandelionSalad/~3/364078989/

Civilians bear the brunt in Gori + Riz Khan: The South Ossetian conflict
Posted: 13 Aug 2008 07:50 AM CDT
Dandelion Salad AlJazeeraEnglish Georgian troops flee Gori- 12 Aug 08 Jonah Hull reports on the evacuation of Gori. “Civilians bear the brunt in Gori “, posted with vodpod Civilians bear the brunt in Gori – 13 Aug 08 The official end to the fighting came too late for at least five people in the Georgian town of Gori.
feeds.feedburner.com/~r/DandelionSalad/~3/363871014/

Georgia, Russia Claim Cease-Fire Violations
www.truthout.org/article/georgia-russia-claim-cease-fire-violations
CNN: “Georgia and Russia have accused each other of violating a cease-fire only 24 hours after it was agreed. The six-point deal was meant to end the fighting over the breakaway regions of South Ossetia and Abkhazia, but both sides traded accusations Wednesday.”