Мы видим, что российские войска вполне обоснованно ответили на нападение на миротворцев РФ в Южной Осетии. Но теперь эти силы перешли на грузинскую землю, и территориальная целостность Грузии оказалась под угрозой.

http://www.kommersant.ru/doc.aspx?DocsID=1014311

Translation:

We see that the Russian forces completely justifiably responded to an attack on the Russian peacekeepers in South Ossetia. Now these forces have crossed over to the Georgian land, and the territorial integrity of Georgia is under threat.

The price of oil went up about $5 a barrel today, so the Russians got what they wanted.

Just one more reason to drill.

freevillage, that sounds entirely plausible to me (and great advice at that) but still looks like an attempt at deflection on your part. Don’t jack the thread, please. Allah and Ed are both available by e-mail if you have posting suggestions.

I’m glad you think this is plausible. I could point you to quite a number of people here who think that that Georgia has started this mess is Russian propaganda.

I’m not jacking threads. First, it’s very hard to do it if noone wants to respond. They invariably do though despite the local vegetables calling me a troll. Secondly, I don’t support what Russia does beyond an initial response to the attack. So you won’t even have me defend an opposing point of view on the topic of this thread.

I’d remain skeptical of [Russia's] intentions in even this modest measure.

Dude, you are so cynical!

OK, sure, Russia’s leaders lied to us about this exact same thing several times just over the past week. But you have to remember, they’ve been doing this kind of crap for well over a hundred years.

So it’s safe to assume they must must be getting really, really close to having it all out of their systems by now.

MB4, pursuant to your question at 12:36pm (and seriously, I want to know), what’s the military man’s perspective on why all the training and equipping of Georgia (such as it was) didn’t seem to prepare them for dealing with Russian armor? I had always tended to think that the “Fulda Gap scenario” informed much of our thinking about what forces bordering the USSR and its successor state might have to be prepared to do…

DEBKA – August 20, 2008, 11:24 PM (GMT+02:00)

Deputy chief of the Russian army general staff Col. Gen. Anatoly Nogovitsyn told reporters Aug. 20: “The president ordered us to stop where we were. We are not pulling out or pulling back troops behind this administrative border into South Ossetia,” he said.

He pointed out the proposed Russian positions on a map, one just outside the Georgian city of Gori. Moscow planned to establish 18 long-term checkpoints including at least eight in undisputed Georgian territory outside the pro-Russian enclave of South Ossetia, said the general. They will be staffed by hundreds of Russian troops.

The plan appears to flout the terms of the French-brokered ceasefire deal signed last week by the presidents of Russia and Georgia. Moscow says its peacekeeping mandate and the ceasefire terms give it access to a “security zone” along the Georgian-South Ossetian border.

Nogovitsyn said at least 64 Russian soldiers were killed and 323 injured in the fighting sparked by an “unprovoked surprise attack” by Georgia on the South Ossetian capital.

http://www.alertnet.org/thenews/newsdesk/LL89172.htm

“(The Russians) are making fun of the world,” he declared.

Bigfoot on August 21, 2008 at 11:43 AM

I think we should get on it. The Russians are blocking their port.

Retreating?

Why wasn’t I told?

Retreating because they are taking massive loses to Georgians using American supplied anti-tank weapons against them or retreating under the massive assault of American air power?

MB4 on August 21, 2008 at 12:36 PM

Nah, they’re retreating becuase OBI-Condi used her Farce Powers… “this is not the invasion you were looking for… move along…”

Russian forces retreating?

Retreating?

Why wasn’t I told?

Retreating because they are taking massive loses to Georgians using American supplied anti-tank weapons against them or retreating under the massive assault of American air power?

If they run out of vodka, they will head home. This is the only modern army I have ever heard of that is doing door-to-door liqueur searches.

Losers.

Face it folks, our diplos will believe what you tell them, and it takes months or years for us to get off our collective rear ends and do anything further about it…

Take Iran and nukes… they continue to talk, and we continue to do nothing.

Syria? Hezbollah? Say the right things, then put troops in where ya want anyway.

The international community no longer holds countries responsible for their word… there is no consequencs for lieing…

The US will involve itself heavily in rebuilding Georgia’s military, according to the American commander of operations for NATO in Europe. General John Craddock expects the Pentago to start that process soon, although he remained vague on the speed and amount of support Tbilisi could expect.

You’d think we’d have a good bit of surplus or recently retired equipment that could be mobilized. Though, getting it there might be an issue. Lavrov’s WSJ piece indicated they want to impose an arms embargo against Georgia.

BadgerHawk on August 21, 2008 at 11:41 AM

Ahhh true. Not for the sucking part. But for the non-governmental issues with children being taken from parents and trained at the age of 3.

I see. Russia plans on “starving” Georgia economically to get them to bend to their will.

If it becomes necessary, how about a replay of the Berlin Airlift in Georgia?

Full disclosure: My father, as an Army Air Corps teletypist, was involved in the original one.

Only hope that if it is still going, out Olympians will actually protest and not go.

upinak on August 21, 2008 at 11:31 AM

That doesn’t really do any good. It’d be better to there and kick their ass. It’s great how well we do at the olympics, given that we’re only of the only countries that doesn’t have federal funding for our athletes. We’re kind of sucking this year, though.

Blindfolded, bound and gagged Georgian officials remain skeptical…….

………….. fixed it for ya.

BadgerHawk on August 21, 2008 at 11:29 AM

Only hope that if it is still going, out Olympians will actually protest and not go.