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POPSRussia Charges US Is Rearming Georgia
This is abut the USA, Israel and the West trying to get oil and gas from the Caspian Sea. Georgia is critical for the pipeline. Amazingly, the Georgian Defense Minister is an Israeli (!) and an Israeli general is a prime advisor to their Georgian Army and was involved in starting last year's war. U.S. troops also there, on the ground; and NATO as well, even though Georgia is not in NATO but the West is trying to get it in. This headline is made at the same time, the same day, that Russian nuke subs are reported off the East Coast of the USA, the Cold War quickly being microwaved reheated. I think we should BUY and oil and natural gas we need and invest and develop more alternative energy and our own oil reserves if we have to. I hope we don't have to listen to any more propaganda about fighting for "peace and democracy," or twist it around to make it sound like Russia is the aggressor (on it's own border, while we're 12,000 miles from home) It's another war for B
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POPSAmerica Being Taken Less Seriously These Days By Our Friends And Our Enemies men arrested on suspicion of having ties to al Qaeda. While none of these events amounts to the foreign policy crisis that Vice President Joseph R. Biden Jr. said during the campaign would test the new president in his opening months, Mr. Obama's reaction will shape foreign perceptions of the new U.S. leader's mettle. Any substantive policy changes toward Pakistan are awaiting the outcome of a trip to the region this week by Mr. Obama's representative for Pakistan and Afghanistan, Richard C. Holbrooke, as well as a strategic review by Gen. David H. Petraeus, the commander of U.S. Central Command. In some ways, the Iranian satellite launch was the biggest rebuke for Mr. Obama, who on the campaign trail promised to begin constructive engagement with Iran in an effort to get the Islamic republic to suspend its uranium enrichment program.
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POPSWashington asks Israel To Clarify First Sale Of Spy Drones To Russia A drone transaction with Moscow would give the Russian army a technological-intelligence edge over Caucasian and Caspian nations, like Georgia and Azerbaijan, and therefore place in doubt their future arms purchases from Israel. Jerusalem consulted with Washington over the deal, as required under the US-Israel 2006 security pact covering Israeli weapons transfers to third countries. The advanced state of Israel-Russian negotiations indicates its approval by the outgoing Bush White House and incoming Obama administration in line with their efforts to improve relations with Moscow.
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POPSGeorgia Says Russia Has Massed 7,000 Troops In South Ossetia Russia recognized the independence of South Ossetia and another breakaway region, Abkhazia, from Georgia on Aug. 26. Only Nicaragua has followed suit. Russian President Dmitry Medvedev said on Sept. 8 that his decision to recognize the regions was ``final'' and ``irrevocable.'' Defense Minister Anatoly Serdyukov said the following day that Russia had agreed to deploy about 3,800 soldiers in each region. A European Union-brokered cease-fire agreement that ended the fighting in Georgia requires Russia to remove its forces to their pre-conflict positions. Russia sent about 10,000 soldiers into Georgia during the fighting, according to state-run news service RIA Novosti.
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POPSSeparatists 'to host Russia bases' Maybe it was a good move to have Palin as a candidate - prevents Alaska from breaking away as the Russian states did. America could give Alaska to the neocons and tell em all to go live there. They could rename the State, Armageddon.
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POPSAbkhazia asserts control over Kodori Gorge in dispute with Georgia Dzhonua scoffed at Tbilisi’s assertions that Georgian forces stationed in the Upper Kodori Gorge had been acting in a law-enforcement capacity, rather than as regular soldiers. "Police don’t need bunkers, grenade launchers howitzer batteries," Dzhonua said. "Do your police in America need this? ? Everything that was needed to start a war, it was all there." Georgian officials were in Geneva for the October 15 talks with Russia and were not immediately available to respond to Abkhaz allegations. Abkhaz officials say that a ban has been put on media visits to the Upper Kodori Gorge so long as unexploded ordnance remains in the area. "There’re a lot of mines, unexploded ammunition, explosive devices, so we stopped journalists from visiting," de facto Deputy Defense Minister Maj. Gen. Gari Kupalba told Western reporters on September 30.
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POPSEthnic Georgians face citizenship dilemma in Abkhazia Not all Gali residents are concerned with the passport situation. Zura B., an unemployed man who asked not to be identified, said he would probably take an Abkhaz passport since he cannot visit Moscow with his Georgian passport. "They won’t take away my Georgian passport and I won’t swear to anything. There are ways to get around such things," Zura said.
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POPSTajikistan asks Russia to extradite activist Tajik officials have long been interested in muzzling Atovullo, but Moscow had not been receptive to the idea of shipping him back to Dushanbe - at least until very recently. Conditions have changed dramatically in the weeks following Russia’s incursion into Georgia, the Vremya Novostei article suggested. Seeking as much diplomatic support as possible for its diplomatic positions in the Caucasus and Central Asia, Russia now seems much more interested in making sure Rahmon is happy. Observers in Moscow have noted that, to date, the Tajik government has remained silent on Russia’s decision to recognize the independence of the separatist territories of Abkhazia and South Ossetia. Dushanbe’s reticence could be a ploy to extract maximum political and economic benefits from the Kremlin
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POPSThree major points from Russian-Georgian war
The West appears to have underestimated the strength of the Kremlin’s negative reaction toward NATO’s eastward expansion. Russia’s reluctant acquiescence to the Baltic states’ joining the Atlantic alliance was clearly misleading: Moscow did make some noise, but it was in no position to take any active measures of resistance, as Russia back then was still relatively weak. For the Kremlin, the establishment of a NATO foothold in Georgia would be an intolerable development that could spark a domino effect across the Caucasus. It would start with the internationalization of peace process in Abkhazia and South Ossetia, causing Russia to lose its monopoly on "peacekeeping" operations, and culminate with Moscow losing control over the South Caucasus - with the grave consequences for stability in Russia’s volatile North Caucasus autonomous republics. To prevent this from happening, the Kremlin "preempted" the Western move and, in a risky gambit, radically changed the situation on the ground.
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POPSOSCE talks on observers for Georgia stalled Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov speaking in Tskhinvali recently said "There is no sense in monitoring agreements that Saakashvili broke," He also said that, from Moscow’s viewpoint, it is now up to "independent and sovereign" South Ossetia to decide whether to let the OSCE monitors redeploy. "Russia is a member of the OSCE and, as such, we guarantee that no longer will issues concerning South Ossetia be discussed at the OSCE in the absence of Tskhinvali’s representatives,"
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POPSNATO to Georgia-war with Russia won't stop membership push Moscow, however, takes a different line. The Kremlin has made clear that it believes that a NATO membership for Georgia would pose a threat to its own security, and has categorically denounced the country's NATO aspirations. The Alliance, for its part, has refused to restore ties with the Kremlin until Russian troops withdraw from Georgia's disputed territories in compliance with the August 12 European Union-brokered peace deal.
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POPSAzerbaijan tries to walk tightrope with Russia Some Azerbaijani officials are evidently concerned that if Baku expressed support for Georgia, then Azerbaijan’s own efforts to regain control of Karabakh would suffer. During the Moscow visit, Russian officials reassured Aliyev that he need not be concerned about Karabakh - yet. Medvedev stressed that the Kremlin did not see a connection between Karabakh and Georgia’s separatist entities. "Russia’s position has not changed," Medvedev said, referring to the Karabakh peace process. "We also support continuation of direct talks between Azerbaijani and Armenian presidents." Neither Aliyev nor Medvedev touched on the possible Russian large-scale purchase of Azerbaijani gas. Experts in Baku believe that Aliyev’s administration has yet to reach a decision on the matter, and is playing for time.
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POPSRepublican Congressman: Russia was Right! But you won't hear this from McCain or Palin, nor Obama or other democrats, who all parrot the LIE of the neocon's official story. A bold republican Congressman is quoted, virtually paraphrasing the piece written by Pat Buchanan earlier (which I clipmarked, "Georgia Started It, Russia Finished It"). The tide against the propaganda is turning. Buchanan, Savage, now this Congressman and many more. Now this is from a Russian news agency, so to be objective I see no citation of the title that "US Intelligence" (not just the Congressman quoted) takes this view. But then the MSM does not report intelligence usually. They usually parrot the neocon propaganda. Note the unreported toll on civilians in just a few days in S. Ossetia, from Georgia's assault! More than 1500 civilians were killed in that time, according to South Ossetian authorities.
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POPSSaakashvili’s Days Numbered Okruashvili also said that after 2006 Georgia didn't have the possibility for success by military means. “The Russians had repositioned and improved their military infrastructure in the North Caucuses, Abkhazia, and South Ossetia. He also criticized the United States for unwavering support towards President Saakashvili’s administration. “ “Lack of criticism from the U.S. allowed him to go too far,” Okruashvili said.
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POPSAbkhazia, Ossetia and Iran – Risks of Spreading Conflicts What is puzzling after reading all the press on Ossetia and the US involvement is why does the US really have interest. Thinking more and doing some Google Earth it seems that Georgia area has great position in terms of range to Iran. So what if the US an ally worked out a deal to use that as a launching point on Iran? Might that not piss off Putin and Russia who has publicly acknowledge providing nuclear power guidance,etc. So with that in mind, Putin/Medeved could easily say - get out of our region. Not sure what is more scary - the idea that the US/allies might have been planning to attack Iran or the fact Putin and crew are willing to possibly defend Iran.
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POPSBush Wants $1 Billion to Georgia for Attacking South Ossetia The NYT finally admits that Georgia was the aggressor: "fighting that began on the night of Aug. 7 when Georgia tried to establish control over a breakaway region, South Ossetia, only to be driven back by Russian forces". And to put that $1 billion figure in perspective the articles says: The aid would dwarf the $63 million the United States provided to Georgia last year, roughly a third of it for training its soldiers, police officers and border guards. Excluding Iraq, the infusion would make Georgia one of the largest recipients of American foreign aid after Israel and Egypt. That Dick Cheney was "sent" by Bush is indicative of the neocon agenda. Georgia did not attack without US or Israeli knowledge, but with their full support. So in essence, the US is to pay $1billion to Georgia for a defeated military invasion and attempt to capture South Ossetia--i.e. for a proxy war.
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POPSMoscow’s Plan is to Redraw the Map of Europe: Mikheil Saakashvili
Since Russia’s invasion, its forces have been “cleansing” Georgian villages in both regions – including outside the conflict zone – using arson, rape and execution. Human rights groups have documented these actions. It hopes the west will forget ethnic cleansing in Abkhazia drove out more than three-quarters of the local population – ethnic Georgians, Greeks, Jews and others – leaving the minority Abkhaz in control. Last week Vaclav Havel, the former Czech president, put us on alert: “Russia does not really know where it begins and where it ends.” He noted that the Moscow regime is “a lot more sophisticated” than the Soviets under Leonid Brezhnev. He should know – he was on the front line the last time Russia invaded a European country. Backing Georgia with Europe’s political and financial institutions is a powerful response. The most potent western response to Russia is to stay united and firm by providing immediate material and political support.
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POPSRussian praises EU over sanctions This is a perfect example of why we shouldn't care what others think of us (US in this case). Because as this example clearly shows - the others are mostly... what's that English expression relevant in this case...??? Oh yeah - it's Chicken S**t.
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