Category:

Georgia

Tue 26 Aug 2008

Who started the South Ossetia War?

Tuesday, Aug 26th, 2008 at 7:38 am
Categories: War; Russia; Georgia
Posted by Administrator
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Stop Russia poster, Tblisisi

It’s very difficult — perhaps impossible — to know the truth about war. For what it’s worth:

Virtually everyone believes Georgian President Mikheil Saakashvili foolishly provoked a Russian invasion on August 7, 2008, when he sent troops into the breakaway district of South Ossetia. “The warfare began Aug. 7 when Georgia launched a barrage targeting South Ossetia,” the Associated Press reported over the weekend in typical fashion.

Virtually everyone is wrong. Georgia didn’t start it on August 7, nor on any other date. The South Ossetian militia started it on August 6 when its fighters fired on Georgian peacekeepers and Georgian villages with weapons banned by the agreement hammered out between the two sides in 1994. At the same time, the Russian military sent its invasion force bearing down on Georgia from the north side of the Caucasus Mountains on the Russian side of the border through the Roki tunnel and into Georgia. This happened before Saakashvili sent additional troops to South Ossetia and allegedly started the war.

- Michael J. Totten: Link.

Via Wired.com: Link.

See Also

Gorbachev on war and peace in the Caucasus



Thu 14 Aug 2008

Gorbachev on war and peace in the Caucasus

Thursday, Aug 14th, 2008 at 3:03 pm
Categories: War; Russia; Georgia
Posted by Administrator
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“Small nations of the Caucasus do have a history of living together. It has been demonstrated that a lasting peace is possible, that tolerance and cooperation can create conditions for normal life and development. Nothing is more important than that.”
- Mikhail Gorbachev

Georgia, Ossetia, Russia, Abkhazia

What happened on the night of Aug. 7 is beyond comprehension. The Georgian military attacked the South Ossetian capital of Tskhinvali with multiple rocket launchers designed to devastate large areas. Russia had to respond. To accuse it of aggression against “small, defenseless Georgia” is not just hypocritical but shows a lack of humanity.

Mounting a military assault against innocents was a reckless decision whose tragic consequences, for thousands of people of different nationalities, are now clear. The Georgian leadership could do this only with the perceived support and encouragement of a much more powerful force. Georgian armed forces were trained by hundreds of U.S. instructors, and its sophisticated military equipment was bought in a number of countries. This, coupled with the promise of NATO membership, emboldened Georgian leaders into thinking that they could get away with a “blitzkrieg” in South Ossetia.

In other words, Georgian President Mikheil Saakashvili was expecting unconditional support from the West, and the West had given him reason to think he would have it. Now that the Georgian military assault has been routed, both the Georgian government and its supporters should rethink their position.

- Mikhail Gorbachev @ Washingon Post, 12 August 2008: Link.

2008 South Ossetia War @ Wikipedia