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POPSThose Who Ignore History... History didn't listen to us," said Tabeyev, who's now 81. "All our efforts to restore peace in the country . . . this was a flop in the end." The fundamental problem in Afghanistan is that it isn't a country in the way the West thinks of countries, said retired Lt. Gen. Ruslan Aushev, who did two tours there and left as a regimental commander. "There has never been any real centralized state in Afghanistan. There is no such nation as Afghanistan," said Aushev, who's a former president of the Russian Caucasus republic of Ingushetia and now heads a veterans group in Moscow. "There are (ethnic groups of) Pashtuns, Uzbeks and Tajiks, and they all have different tribal policies." As a result, any occupation force will spend much of its time propping up a government that has little relevance outside Kabul and trying to corral disparate ethnic groups and tribes into a national army that's often unwilling to fight, Aushev said.
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POPSU.S. Backs Away From Missile Shield
Analysis: Demise of U.S. shield may embolden Russia hawks The U.S. move on the shield -- due to be announced later on Thursday but already flagged by Czech and Polish officials -- removes at a stroke the biggest outstanding obstacle to bilateral relations between the former superpowers and will be hailed by the Kremlin as a big victory. Russia's leaders have fiercely resisted the missile shield, saying it would upset regional security because it could be used to neutralise Moscow's vast nuclear arsenal. Ignoring U.S. assurances that the system was not targeted at Russia, President Dmitry Medvedev threatened last year to station missiles in a Russian enclave near Poland if the United States implemented the plan. But the shield's demise in its originally planned form may also have unintended consequences in the former Soviet bloc. Russian diplomacy is largely a zero-sum game and relies on projecting hard power to force gains, as in last year's war with Georgia over the . .
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POPSWhy Didn't She Believe in God? If you want a copy of Enjoy Life on Earth Forever! and “Look! I Am Making All Things New” or would like to have someone call to conduct a free home Bible study, please write to Watchtower, 25 Columbia Heights, Brooklyn, NY 11201-2483 *** g98 6/22 p. 32 Why Didn’t She Believe in God? ***
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POPSMore U.S. Weapons to Republic of Georgia?
The Caspian Sea contains the largest know reserves of Oil and natural gas. Those of us who think stealing and exploiting natural resources think this is the reason for U.S. & Israeli military support of Georgia...and the reason for Russia pushing back against Georgia recent failed attempt at expansion. Expansion? -- Expansion to consolidate it's drip on Caspian Sea oil. Expansion for the BTC pipeline (See: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/File:Baku_pipelines.svg) This has routes that would take the greatest reserves of oil and natural gas in the world from the Caspian Sea to the Black Sea and to the EU/NATO countries. Also it goes through Turkey to the Mediterranean for export. Formerly all this oil and natural gas belonged to the Soviet Union. The final major part of this plan is an underwater Israeli-Turkish pipeline to the Israeli port of Ashkelon. For more info, contact British Petroleum's (BP) CEO, Lord Browne. This is why our troops kill & die: : for BP, not
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POPSTurkey takes go slow approach to former Soviet states It’s unlikely that Turkey would ever be in position to become a strategic partner of Russia’s due to Ankara’s desire to gain influence in the Caucasus and Central Asia, Erdem said. But, he added, that fact doesn’t preclude expanded commercial ties with the Kremlin. Russia recently became Turkey’s largest trading partner, he pointed out. Erdem voiced understanding for Russia’s position on the potential expansion of NATO into Georgia and Ukraine, as well as for Moscow’s concern over US plans to build missile defense systems in Poland and the Czech Republic.
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POPSHow Oil and its Pricing is Manipulated, and by Whom This book is getting rave reviews even from oil investors. This author has documented just why oil prices do not move according to normal market factors (supply and demand) and why pricing seems like it must be manipulated...because it is! Radio interview on Coast to Coast Jan. 6th here . Look at this endorsement: His unique conclusions may be controversial, but they are certainly compelling. The Oil Card proves that oil and politics are closely linked.” –– Fadel Gheit ; Managing Director, Oil & Gas Research, Oppenheimer & Co.
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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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POPSPutin: Bush Tricked Me Into Invading Georgia To Help McCain Beat Obama Does the US have close ties to Georgia? Yes. Has the US been instrumental in modernizing and backing Georgia’s military? Yes. But did the United States instruct Georgia to use such blunt force against separatists in the areas Russia now wants to be independent? Absolutely not. That was Georgia’s call as a sovereign nation, and Putin’s attempt to lay the blame with President Bush is simply a feint to cover his own country’s aggression in this matter. A feint that smells suspiciously Soviet. Remember when the Soviets would back rebels and invade countries all over the world and then claim they were just opposing American imperialism? Well we’re back to that again.
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POPSCluster bombs used by Russians in Georgia “We were playing with them, as were the Georgian soldiers,” said Tatrishvili. “It was only when one of the bombs exploded after a soldier threw it that we understood that they were dangerous.”
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POPSRussia restricting travel in Georgia French Ambassador Eric Fournier was reportedly stopped on the morning of August 21 near Gori for three hours as he tried to return to Tbilisi from a village further west. Matyas Eorsi, an envoy from the Parliamentary Assembly of the Council of Europe, was initially refused entry to Gori on August 20, before the decision was reversed. In a blow to local sensitivities, the governor of Shida Kartli, Lasha Vardzelashvili, was detained for two hours by Russian forces after trying to secure a humanitarian aid convoy’s passage through a Russian checkpoint.
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POPSRussia pledges to "leave door open" for NATO The Russian top diplomat described as critical Russia's partnership support for NATO, referring to the international operation in Afghanistan, where he said "the alliance's fate is being decided."
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POPSGerman Chancellor Says That Georgia Can Join NATO Any Time It Wants Pounding Georgia, with a small military that isn’t set up for battle with a larger adversary, into submission is one thing. Trying to bluff NATO with a second rate military (and despite its size, it’s not a top shelf force) won’t be so easy. The Russians, of course, were steaming over Georgia’s desire to join NATO in the first place: Moscow is furious at Georgia’s attempt to join NATO. The Western military alliance is divided over how fast to accept Georgia, but has indicated that membership is a matter of when, not if. Hoo, boy, are they gonna hit the roof over this one.
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POPS Obama Takes Experience Lead Over McCain -- Again - there’s only one serious candidate in the race. Sister Toldjah McCain is demonstrating that when it comes to criticial foreign policy issues, his near 30 years in the Senate dealing with foreign issues as well as domestic, along with his long career in the Navy...... Hot Air Now, the media has awakened to truly historical events in the Caucasus, and McCain has commanded their attention with his leadership — while Obama hides in Hawaii. Macsmind You would think with 300 advisers THE ONE would have some words of wisdom from his Mount Olympus. The silence is more than telling and quite possibly a view into how Obama would actually handle such events as President. Surfs Up Dude! The New Republic McCain has had a prominent and strong presence in the news while Obama has been fairly invisible. Obama deserved a vacation but the timing–I assume his team figured the Olympics would drown out any other story.
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POPSHypocrite in Charge I seriously suspect this man is insane. He lied about the Iraq mess, cost the lives of hundreds of thousands of Iraqis plus our own service men and women, bankrupt his nation and stained American prestige at home and abroad. If anyone does not have the right to accuse anyone else of "bullying and intimidation" it's this man.
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POPSRussian Offensive in Georgia Jeopardizes Ties With U.S. Condoleezza Rice rushed to the former Soviet republic with a new cease-fire plan offering concessions to Moscow. The new document would allow Russian peacekeepers who were in the disputed South Ossetia region before the fighting broke out a week ago to stay, and they would now be permitted to patrol in a strip up to six miles outside the area, the officials said. "The United States spent 45 years working very hard to avoid a military confrontation with Russia. I see no reason to change that approach today," Gates said at the Pentagon. Standing alongside, the vice chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff, Gen. James Cartwright, said it appeared Russia was "generally complying" with the truce. But then Georgian leaders said a convoy of more than 100 Russian tanks and other vehicles had moved from the western city of Zugdidi deeper into their nation before stopping. Cartwright had said Russian forces appeared to be forming up in Georgia in preparation for withdrawal.
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