http://www.cnn.com/2008/WORLD/europe/08/08/georgia.ossetia/index.html

8/8/2008 11:08:14 AM

Quote :

"Georgian President: 'This is the worst nightmare one can encounter'"

i can think of worse

8/8/2008 11:15:55 AM

in soviet russia, nightmare is you

8/8/2008 11:25:07 AM

Does Georgia have oil?

If not, we don't care.

8/8/2008 11:42:46 AM

message_topic.aspx?topic=530011

motherfuck georgia

8/8/2008 11:47:39 AM

If Georgia didn't have oil then I suspect the Russians wouldn't care. Regretfully, they do.

8/8/2008 11:48:13 AM

This really is a clusterfuck of a situation that has been building for quite some time. Regardless of whether Georgia has oil, the US and the west does care. We've been arming and equipping the Georgian military recently and the west has been accused of orchestrating the Rose Revolution that brought Saakashvili to power. I do find the title of the CNN article a bit misleading though. Russia has had a pseudo peacekeeping force in South Ossetia for quite some time now and these forces are certainly engaged in the conflict at the moment. The russian troops coming across the border have been staged there for at least a couple of months under the guise of being reinforcements for their peacekeepers.

8/8/2008 12:03:27 PM

Jeez talk about shock value, I thought they had landed in Savannah and were pushing towards Atlanta

8/8/2008 12:15:49 PM

Georgia invaded the Ossetia region, which spawned the action by Russia. Russia didn't JUST invade Georgia, the Georgians did some dealings of their own.

It's kind of like the Iraq/Kuwait relationship where Kuwait is Ossetia, Iraq is Georgia, and the US is Russia. That's my limited understanding at least.

8/8/2008 12:20:37 PM

ya except the us is ON THE OTHER SIDE OF THE PLANET

8/8/2008 12:23:20 PM

^^ Youre dead on about the georgians initiating this conflict. The russians certainly didnt reinforce their troops without provocation. Im not so sure that I follow your Iraq-Kuwait-US analogy though. For all intents and purposes, South Ossetia (and Abkhazia) are part of Georgia due to their independence declarations not being recognized internationally. Although I suppose that I can understand the US part of your analogy, like the US in the ME, Russia certainly has a dog in this fight. Peacekeepers or not, they have a very well documented bias.

8/8/2008 12:38:14 PM

After reading the article I really have no issue with what Russia is doing.

That said, they better stay the fuck away from the ATL and Club Cheetah.

8/8/2008 12:38:56 PM

Wow, no issue with what Russia is doing?

Separatists attack Georgian military, Georgian military responses, Russia says Georgians are ethnically cleansing villages (what? no actually evidence of this) so they send in forces that they have been gathering on their side of the border for months. Yeah... I mean, Russia couldn't possibly have gotten the Ossetian separatists to initiation this, knowing the Georgians would responde, so they could then move in. Nah, couldn't happen.

8/8/2008 12:49:09 PM

By nearly all accounts, the Georgian military were the ones who violated the ceasefire first this time.

8/8/2008 12:52:10 PM

All accounts? Really?

The Georgians claim that separatists had been increasing attacks the past few weeks and they responded to them.

8/8/2008 1:00:08 PM

Ytsejam, from your account, it seems the Georgians should have done nothing when provoked by the separatists lest an 800lb gorilla jump on them. Best to leave the knats alone, I guess.

8/8/2008 1:10:39 PM

Well, the Georgians were stuck between a rock and a hard place. Do nothing, the separatists increase attacks and become more belligerent, which is something that the Georgian government probably couldn't let happen politically, or fight back and hope for the best, which is what they did.

They have to try and maintain some sovereign integrity, something that Russia has done everything possible to undermine. After what happened in Abkhazia, sorry if I don't trust Russia's good intentions.

8/8/2008 3:25:56 PM

^ Spot on.

Internationally this is a very uneasy and gray area for anyone to be involved in. Georgia owns S. Ott. even if it granted them semi-autonomy. They are in Georgia sovereign boundaries. Georgia may have intitated it, but they are fighting their separatists. Where does Russia come in? They want S. Ott back in their fold.

Where does the world fall on this? Basically praying that Georgia can hold their own and Russia does not press an attack into their country.

8/8/2008 4:05:29 PM

The United States certainly has some interest in supporting the Georgians (I believe one article I read said they had 1,000 soldiers in Iraq supporting us though they're being withdrawn to fight the Russians). However, there's nothing that the United States can really do, especially since the Georgians are battling the Russians directly in a province directly adjacent to Russia proper.

I wonder if the timing with the Olympics will have any real impact. Will this overshadow the Chinese big Olympics spectacular? Will the backlash against the Russians be muted because the story is overshadowed by the Games?

8/8/2008 4:50:44 PM

I thought Russians said they were all about territorial integrity when Albania broke away.

8/8/2008 5:52:07 PM

Russians only say that when it benefits them directly or indirectly (much like most countries in the world).

8/8/2008 7:19:21 PM

WTF RUSSIA only USA#1 is allowed to roll around and invade countries that we don't like.

8/8/2008 7:20:52 PM

Georgia? OMG they better not take South Carolina!


Funny how the Russians picked the perfect day to do something like this, everyone here is more interested in who Edwards fucks...

[Edited on August 8, 2008 at 8:01 PM. Reason : ]

8/8/2008 8:00:49 PM

LOOK OUT RALEIGH THEY ARE COMING!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!1111






sorry, had to

[Edited on August 8, 2008 at 8:06 PM. Reason : .]

8/8/2008 8:05:27 PM

Lead by General Shermanski

8/8/2008 8:08:14 PM

Why Georgia, why?

8/8/2008 8:21:52 PM

More like Shermanskhasvilli

8/8/2008 8:22:13 PM

Go Dawgs.
I've got my money on the bums in Atlanta

8/8/2008 8:25:14 PM

Man I hope there isn't a RUSSIA vs GEORGIA match in the olympic shooting competition!

8/8/2008 8:27:47 PM

I thought there was supposed to be a cease fire during olympics.

8/8/2008 8:59:22 PM

Georgia attacked during the Olympics because Putin was in Beijing and Medvedev was on vacation and because noone expected it. They needed to take the whole region quickly to stand a chance as there's only one tunnel into the area from Russia. Seems it didn't work out.

Georgia may be justified in taking back South Ossetia but distance shelling and bombing was the wrong way to go about it.

In one night, killing 1400 people in a region that has a population of 70,000 more than a little questionable. 1.5% of South Ossetia may have died today.

[Edited on August 8, 2008 at 9:35 PM. Reason : .]

8/8/2008 9:34:36 PM

Wow CNN. Real shit is happening, such as the topic of this thread, and John Edwards not being able to control the wang is the main story. Wow.

8/8/2008 9:58:35 PM

^^ thats the best damn summary ive read yet. very insightful and accurate.

8/8/2008 10:39:17 PM

I hear they have better healthcare

8/8/2008 10:46:28 PM

Georgia has declared a state of war and claims Russia has initiated a full scale invasion of the country.

http://www.cnn.com/2008/WORLD/europe/08/09/georgia.ossetia/index.html

8/9/2008 9:25:55 AM

Cold War 2: THE FREEZE ZONE!

Starring Christian Bale

8/9/2008 10:07:36 AM

It will be interesting to see what role the US will play in this if escalation continues, Georgia has 2000 troops in Iraq in support of our war efforts, and we've always supported Georgia's independence

8/9/2008 11:50:00 AM

Why can't we invade Georgia? If those truely are peace-keeping soldiers Russia had in Georgia, then why not send some of our peace-keepers in? I'm sure Georgia would happily invite them.

Could there be a connection between Russia military efforts and Putin's shutting down of the last independent TV station a year or so ago? It makes it hard for people to get upset about events which were over by the time they read about them...

[Edited on August 9, 2008 at 12:13 PM. Reason : .,.]

8/9/2008 12:01:27 PM

Quote :

"Why can't we invade Georgia? If those truely are peace-keeping soldiers Russia had in Georgia, then why not send some of our peace-keepers in? I'm sure Georgia would happily invite them."

That would probably mean a direct confrontation of US and Russian troops. Is that something we really want?

8/9/2008 1:50:16 PM

^YES


georgia has removed all troops from iraq

8/9/2008 1:57:59 PM

Jim Hacker: "Oh, this is nice. The Americans are delighted by our little visit to St. George's Island. That's good, isn't it?"
Sir Humphrey: "Excellent..."
Jim Hacker: "They say they have got a whole airborne division ready if we want reinforcements."
Sir Humphrey: "Reinforcements of what?"
Jim Hacker: "Reinforcements of goodwill, Humphrey!"

8/9/2008 2:01:59 PM

Quote :

"Funny how the Russians picked the perfect day to do something like this, everyone here is more interested in who Edwards fucks..."

yeah no shit. who cares about the economy or international confrontations. The real issues is who is having an affair, brittany spear's cellulite buildup on her legs, and gay marriage!!

8/9/2008 2:47:44 PM

Reading more press now, it's pretty obvious that we've been boosting their military confidence with equipment and training. However, it was still their decision to march into South Ossetia, knowing full well that the Russians were itching for a fight. Even with America at the height of its influence in the 1990s, there was still no way we would be able to do anything for the Georgians if push came to shove.

Also reading the press, this has been a trainwreck in the making, driven in part by reckless American foreign policy since the end of the Cold War.

8/9/2008 4:10:10 PM

I wonder how long it would take for someone to blame America.

8/9/2008 4:45:35 PM

^^
^

yea no shit.

BLAME AMERICA

fucking dumb shit

8/9/2008 5:21:54 PM

Ah, RedGuard, that old anti-American.

(Be careful, y'all.)

8/9/2008 5:24:09 PM

One of the better articles for those new to the Georgian-Russian situation:

http://www.nytimes.com/2008/08/10/world/europe/10georgia.html?pagewanted=1&_r=1

8/9/2008 7:06:15 PM

Quote :

"Ah, RedGuard, that old anti-American."

Me, accused of being anti-American? I thought I've heard it all.

No, this whole mess is on the heads of both the Russians and the Georgians. The United States isn't directly involved per say, but to say that we're complete observers without any real role is ignorant of what we've been doing in that nation.

The United States helped arm and train the modern Georgian military, boosting their confidence in their own military. I'm simply pointing out that this may have given the Georgians a touch of false confidence that the United States would back them up if the Russians decided to pour tanks into the country. I'm not saying the United States ordered the Georgians to invade or something, but for better or worse, we may have led them on a bit in just how much support we could or would truly provide in this situation. I just can't think of any other rational reason as to why they would poke the Russians like this, especially a Russia run by a strong nationalist like Putin and Medvedev who are both itching for a chance to flex newly rebuilt Russian military muscle.

Also, the Russians were probably much more willing to use force against the Georgians after the entire Kosovo mess in the late 1990s. The Clinton administration then treated the Russians and their Serbian allies roughly to say the least. To say the Russian actions in Georgia today are not in part motivated by a Russian desire to reassert themselves against the Americans and NATO is ignorant at best.

I have a serious grudge against the last two administrations: Bill Clinton for squandering a short-lived opportunity in the post-Cold War era to create a better global political environment and clean up the Cold War leftovers, and George W. Bush for recklessly throwing around American political capital.

8/9/2008 10:39:01 PM

why the fuck!!

8/10/2008 2:47:50 AM

can someone post if ^^ is accurate or not? i read it and it sounds like its probably pretty accurate...just curious cause someone called him "anti-american" earlier

8/10/2008 2:55:52 AM