Russia invades Georgia! (1 Viewer)

[jonessed]

So, getting serious here: what should the response of the United States be? Do we publicly condemn this invasion? Do we threaten Russia with economic action of some sort? Do we publicly reaffirm that we will militarily defend NATO countries if they are threatened? And if we sit back and allow this, will Putin figure nobody is going to stop him from taking back all of the lands of the former Soviet Union? (He's probably right about this.)

Timing not coincidental with Olympics starting. Story will be swamped by coverage, US probably will just bluster and talk smack, but ultimately do nothing.

What should the US do?

Invade. People will be so caught up in the WWIII Cold War replay that they won't even notice when we nuke Iran on the side.

 

[T Bell]

So, getting serious here: what should the response of the United States be? Do we publicly condemn this invasion? Do we threaten Russia with economic action of some sort? Do we publicly reaffirm that we will militarily defend NATO countries if they are threatened? And if we sit back and allow this, will Putin figure nobody is going to stop him from taking back all of the lands of the former Soviet Union? (He's probably right about this.)

Timing not coincidental with Olympics starting. Story will be swamped by coverage, US probably will just bluster and talk smack, but ultimately do nothing.

What should the US do?

Unleash Spurrier on them. He owns Georgia.

 

[shining path]

So, getting serious here: what should the response of the United States be? Do we publicly condemn this invasion? Do we threaten Russia with economic action of some sort? Do we publicly reaffirm that we will militarily defend NATO countries if they are threatened? And if we sit back and allow this, will Putin figure nobody is going to stop him from taking back all of the lands of the former Soviet Union? (He's probably right about this.)

I think shaking our fist in impotent rage is the play here.

 

[higgins]

I have no desire to turn this into a political thread, but if this recent turn of events troubles you in any way shape of form, I would trust McCain far more to deal with it than I would Obama.

linky 1

linky 2

McCain said, "I looked into Putin's eyes and I saw three letters -- a K, a G and a B."

"If I'm in the Kremlin, he's not my No. 1 candidate," Andrew Kuchins, head of the Russia program at the Center for Strategic and International Studies, said of McCain.

 

[McJose]

Hi, new to the thread. Has anybody made any jokes 'confusing' the country of Georgia with the U.S state of Georgia yet?

Thanks.

 

[shining path]

Hi, new to the thread. Has anybody made any jokes 'confusing' the country of Georgia with the U.S state of Georgia yet?Thanks.

I'm a little disappointed at the lack of Beatles lyrics in here so far.

 

[T Bell]

Hi, new to the thread. Has anybody made any jokes 'confusing' the country of Georgia with the U.S state of Georgia yet?Thanks.

Don't make me change to deceased Rams owner riffs!

 

[Redwes25]

So, getting serious here: what should the response of the United States be? Do we publicly condemn this invasion? Do we threaten Russia with economic action of some sort? Do we publicly reaffirm that we will militarily defend NATO countries if they are threatened? And if we sit back and allow this, will Putin figure nobody is going to stop him from taking back all of the lands of the former Soviet Union? (He's probably right about this.)

I think shaking our fist in impotent rage is the play here.

I was thinking we should go for Lepanto we don't want to get steamrolled by a Russian/Turkish alliance.

 

[Disco Stu]

As Garry Kasparov has noted, this guy Putin is the sort of guy that the Russians want. Again, refuting the argument, spread by this President and others, that everyone in the world wants democracy and freedom. The Russians felt insecure when they had political freedom; they prefer having a strong man tell them what to do. Whether it is a Czar, or Stalin, or Putin, they desire, perhaps need a strong man to give them orders and make them feel safe.

So Russia = a woman?

 

[T Bell]

As Garry Kasparov has noted, this guy Putin is the sort of guy that the Russians want. Again, refuting the argument, spread by this President and others, that everyone in the world wants democracy and freedom. The Russians felt insecure when they had political freedom; they prefer having a strong man tell them what to do. Whether it is a Czar, or Stalin, or Putin, they desire, perhaps need a strong man to give them orders and make them feel safe.

So Russia = a woman?

Somehow I think they need more than the back of my hand.

 

[riverrat]

After reading updated news stories, it seems that this city broke from Georgia in favor of Moscow back in 1992. Georgia then chose a time when many of Russia's leaders, including Putin, are in China to attack. It seems that Georgia is the aggressor here.

 

[Sammy Traveller]

FFA Board Safety Tip #362:

Please don't crack any jokes in here about Georgians being "hicks". You will have a nice season. Uncle Joe is watching.

Nyet. Nyet. I won't.

 

[flufhed]

Did anyone read the Time Magazine man of the year article on Putin.

At first I thought you were kidding. But yes, Time did in fact make Putin their Man of the Year in 2007. Unbelievable and pretty embarassing for them I think.

Why?You do know that "Man of the Year" <> "Best Man of the Year," right? It just means someone who had a major affect on world affairs that year. Putin seems to fit the bill.

 

[jonessed]

After reading updated news stories, it seems that this city broke from Georgia in favor of Moscow back in 1992. Georgia then chose a time when many of Russia's leaders, including Putin, are in China to attack. It seems that Georgia is the aggressor here.

The city in question is part of Georgia.

 

[flufhed]

As Garry Kasparov has noted, this guy Putin is the sort of guy that the Russians want. Again, refuting the argument, spread by this President and others, that everyone in the world wants democracy and freedom. The Russians felt insecure when they had political freedom; they prefer having a strong man tell them what to do. Whether it is a Czar, or Stalin, or Putin, they desire, perhaps need a strong man to give them orders and make them feel safe.

Democracy and freedom are not universal maxims. Some people for social reasons, religious reasons or others, want to be told what to do.

Now I suppose you could argue that if everyone was stripped of their social moreys and religious dogma, they would naturally choose freedom. That is interesting philosophically, but has zero relatiion to the real world.

 

[flufhed]

But if you want a quick way to understand how revolutionary the American Revolution and the ideas behind it really were (and are), look no further than the way that people tend to revert to think and be treated like sheep elsewhere in the world.

x 100

 

[Redwes25]

After reading updated news stories, it seems that this city broke from Georgia in favor of Moscow back in 1992. Georgia then chose a time when many of Russia's leaders, including Putin, are in China to attack. It seems that Georgia is the aggressor here.

The city in question is part of Georgia.

Yeah it technically is part of Georgia but it has been quasi independent and self ruled for at least a decade. Though really it has just been a bunch of cease fires.

 

[Disco Stu]

As Garry Kasparov has noted, this guy Putin is the sort of guy that the Russians want. Again, refuting the argument, spread by this President and others, that everyone in the world wants democracy and freedom. The Russians felt insecure when they had political freedom; they prefer having a strong man tell them what to do. Whether it is a Czar, or Stalin, or Putin, they desire, perhaps need a strong man to give them orders and make them feel safe.

So Russia = a woman?

Somehow I think they need more than the back of my hand.

Swift punch to the ovaries?

 

[Disco Stu]

But if you want a quick way to understand how revolutionary the American Revolution and the ideas behind it really were (and are), look no further than the way that people tend to revert to think and be treated like sheep elsewhere in the world.

x 100

That was one revolutionary Revolution.

 

[flufhed]

So, getting serious here: what should the response of the United States be? Do we publicly condemn this invasion? Do we threaten Russia with economic action of some sort? Do we publicly reaffirm that we will militarily defend NATO countries if they are threatened? And if we sit back and allow this, will Putin figure nobody is going to stop him from taking back all of the lands of the former Soviet Union? (He's probably right about this.)

Timing not coincidental with Olympics starting. Story will be swamped by coverage, US probably will just bluster and talk smack, but ultimately do nothing.

What should the US do?

Unleash Spurrier on them. He owns Georgia.

I would like to nominate this as the best Georgia cross-over joke of this thread.Well played, sir!

 

[HellToupee]

Russia's Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov meanwhile said Moscow had received reports that villages in South Ossetia were being ethnically cleansed, according to Reuters.com."We are receiving reports that a police of ethnic cleansing was being conducted in villages in South Ossetia, the number of refugees is climbing, the panic is growing, people are trying to save their lives," he was reported saying.Russian President Dmitry Medvedev, quoted by the Russian news agency Interfax, said Russians had died because of Georgia's operations.Russia "will not allow the deaths of our compatriots to go unpunished" and "those guilty will receive due punishment," he said. "My duty as Russian president is to safeguard the lives and dignity of Russian citizens, wherever they are. This is what is behind the logic of the steps we are undertaking now."

interesting

 

[Ozymandias]

As Garry Kasparov has noted, this guy Putin is the sort of guy that the Russians want. Again, refuting the argument, spread by this President and others, that everyone in the world wants democracy and freedom. The Russians felt insecure when they had political freedom; they prefer having a strong man tell them what to do. Whether it is a Czar, or Stalin, or Putin, they desire, perhaps need a strong man to give them orders and make them feel safe.

So Russia = a woman?

That's why they call it the Motherland.

 

[riverrat]

After reading updated news stories, it seems that this city broke from Georgia in favor of Moscow back in 1992. Georgia then chose a time when many of Russia's leaders, including Putin, are in China to attack. It seems that Georgia is the aggressor here.

The city in question is part of Georgia.

Yeah it technically is part of Georgia but it has been quasi independent and self ruled for at least a decade. Though really it has just been a bunch of cease fires.

And most of it's residents are Russian citezens and there have been Russian "peacekeepers" there since 1992. I prefer our allies the Georgians to the Russians too, but in this particular action the Georgians are the aggressors. Puts us in a sticky situation.

 

[jonessed]

After reading updated news stories, it seems that this city broke from Georgia in favor of Moscow back in 1992. Georgia then chose a time when many of Russia's leaders, including Putin, are in China to attack. It seems that Georgia is the aggressor here.

The city in question is part of Georgia.

Yeah it technically is part of Georgia but it has been quasi independent and self ruled for at least a decade. Though really it has just been a bunch of cease fires.

I understand that, but it's still part of Georgia. You can't just invade a country's sovereign territory and call them the aggressor when they defend it.

 

[NorvilleBarnes]

You can't just invade a country's sovereign territory and call them the aggressor when they defend it.

Wat?- Signed George W Bush

 

[Redwes25]

After reading updated news stories, it seems that this city broke from Georgia in favor of Moscow back in 1992. Georgia then chose a time when many of Russia's leaders, including Putin, are in China to attack. It seems that Georgia is the aggressor here.

The city in question is part of Georgia.

Yeah it technically is part of Georgia but it has been quasi independent and self ruled for at least a decade. Though really it has just been a bunch of cease fires.

I understand that, but it's still part of Georgia. You can't just invade a country's sovereign territory and call them the aggressor when they defend it.

I agree but it is not very clear cut. Since Georgia sent in troops yesterday as well.

 

[shining path]

Russia "will not allow the deaths of our compatriots to go unpunished" and "those guilty will receive due punishment," he said. "My duty as Russian president is to safeguard the lives and dignity of Russian citizens, wherever they are. This is what is behind the logic of the steps we are undertaking now."

interesting

Oof. Not a good sign.

 

[shining path]

Russia: We strenuously protest against the bruises to our knuckles resulting from the unprovoked attack by Georgia's face.

 

[HellToupee]

http://english.pravda.ru/opinion/columnist...ofacedgeorgia-0

The two-faced, underhanded foreign policy of Georgia

Ask anyone in the Caucasus region, and they will tell you never to trust a Georgian because they would shake your hand with a smile and then stab you in the back. On Friday morning, we saw a perfect example of this treachery, when hours after declaring a ceasefire, Georgian military units launched a savage attack on the civilians of South Ossetia.

Hours after Georgia President Mikhail Saakashvili, the pro-western Washington-backed anti-democratic stooge (attacks on opposition policians in Georgia are rife) declared a unilateral ceasefire, the Georgian army lanched a savage attack on the capital of the province of South Ossetia, Tskhinvali, with tanks and infantry, while the air force bombed a village and strafed a Russian humanitarian aid convoy.

According to South Ossetian government sources, there were many civilian casualties in the city of Tskhinvali, a large part of which was destroyed. The Parliament house has burned down and several buildings are on fire. Apart from this, Georgian Su-25 Frogfoot aircraft strafed civilians in the village of Kvernet and attacked a Russian humanitarian aid convoy.

Yet where is the criticism of the West against this blatant act of war crimes perpetrated by the criminal and murderous regime of failed lawyer Saakashvili? While the Russian Foreign Ministry has been issuing daily reports about the escalating tension in the area, and while Moscow has bent over backwards to find a peaceful and mutually acceptable solution, the Western media have consistently ignored the story while Georgia has consistently snubbed all efforts towards peace, while carrying out cowardly underhanded and treacherous attacks such as we have seen today.

Then when there is a retaliation, Tblisi goes whining like a cry-baby to the UN Security Council, playing the victim. The question remains, what is behind Tblisi’s policy? Is it the USA, launching a war by proxy against Russia, using its puppet in the area to start a full-scale confrontation? What does Washington hope to gain with such a policy? Is this Custer’s last stand, as the Bush-Cheney regime flushes down the sewer where it belongs, a last-gasp attempt at world domination by provoking the only country capable of standing up to Washington’s imperialist plans?

The position of the Russian Federation has been consistent, clear and as usual, by the book of diplomacy. Mocow has worked tirelessly behind the scenes, convening peace councils, trying to mediate between the two sides, always respecting both positions and constantly stressing the need to find a solution which satisfies Tblisi as well as Tskhinvali. The Foreign Ministry has been careful to inform all media outlets of what has been going on and of the growing escalation in the region.

It seems that nothing changes. The West remained silent, as if nothing was happening then when Georgia gets a hiding, suddenly become interested, but fail to report who started the conflict. It seems that nothing changes. Georgia declares a ceasefire one minute and within hours commits war crimes in savage attacks against civilians.

It seems that nothing changes. Georgia’s most infamous exports are its undrinkable wines and disgusting, low-quality dangerous food products while its most famous export was Josef Stalin. Maybe he should have stayed at home and concentrated more of his efforts there.

 

[T Bell]

http://english.pravda.ru/opinion/columnist...ofacedgeorgia-0

The two-faced, underhanded foreign policy of Georgia

Ask anyone in the Caucasus region, and they will tell you never to trust a Georgian because they would shake your hand with a smile and then stab you in the back. On Friday morning, we saw a perfect example of this treachery, when hours after declaring a ceasefire, Georgian military units launched a savage attack on the civilians of South Ossetia.

Hours after Georgia President Mikhail Saakashvili, the pro-western Washington-backed anti-democratic stooge (attacks on opposition policians in Georgia are rife) declared a unilateral ceasefire, the Georgian army lanched a savage attack on the capital of the province of South Ossetia, Tskhinvali, with tanks and infantry, while the air force bombed a village and strafed a Russian humanitarian aid convoy.

According to South Ossetian government sources, there were many civilian casualties in the city of Tskhinvali, a large part of which was destroyed. The Parliament house has burned down and several buildings are on fire. Apart from this, Georgian Su-25 Frogfoot aircraft strafed civilians in the village of Kvernet and attacked a Russian humanitarian aid convoy.

Yet where is the criticism of the West against this blatant act of war crimes perpetrated by the criminal and murderous regime of failed lawyer Saakashvili? While the Russian Foreign Ministry has been issuing daily reports about the escalating tension in the area, and while Moscow has bent over backwards to find a peaceful and mutually acceptable solution, the Western media have consistently ignored the story while Georgia has consistently snubbed all efforts towards peace, while carrying out cowardly underhanded and treacherous attacks such as we have seen today.

Then when there is a retaliation, Tblisi goes whining like a cry-baby to the UN Security Council, playing the victim. The question remains, what is behind Tblisi’s policy? Is it the USA, launching a war by proxy against Russia, using its puppet in the area to start a full-scale confrontation? What does Washington hope to gain with such a policy? Is this Custer’s last stand, as the Bush-Cheney regime flushes down the sewer where it belongs, a last-gasp attempt at world domination by provoking the only country capable of standing up to Washington’s imperialist plans?

The position of the Russian Federation has been consistent, clear and as usual, by the book of diplomacy. Mocow has worked tirelessly behind the scenes, convening peace councils, trying to mediate between the two sides, always respecting both positions and constantly stressing the need to find a solution which satisfies Tblisi as well as Tskhinvali. The Foreign Ministry has been careful to inform all media outlets of what has been going on and of the growing escalation in the region.

It seems that nothing changes. The West remained silent, as if nothing was happening then when Georgia gets a hiding, suddenly become interested, but fail to report who started the conflict. It seems that nothing changes. Georgia declares a ceasefire one minute and within hours commits war crimes in savage attacks against civilians.

It seems that nothing changes. Georgia’s most infamous exports are its undrinkable wines and disgusting, low-quality dangerous food products while its most famous export was Josef Stalin. Maybe he should have stayed at home and concentrated more of his efforts there.

And they smell bad too! Yeah!

 

[HellToupee]

very very interesting.....

In military terms, four years into the recent round of violence, the Russian military still cannot even seal the borders of Chechnya— a small state, even if its terrain is difficult. The fact that Chechnya-based terrorists could repeatedly strike into Russia proper, including Moscow, and that the recent mass kidnapping took place in North Ossetia, historically the most pro-Russian (and the only Orthodox) of all the northern Caucasian regions, only underscores this fact.Nor has Russia’s policy of blackmailing the southern Caucasus states of Georgia and Azerbaijan in an effort to elicit their help in dealing with Chechnya been successful. Indeed, what is the incentive for Georgia, which borders Chechnya, to help the Russians seal the border, with Moscow openly arming and encouraging separatists in Georgia’s Abkhazia and South Ossetia? Or why should nearby Azerbaijan stop arms shipments to Chechnya, if Moscow is encouraging Armenia to annex a third of the Azeri territory?So far, Moscow’s response to the school kidnapping has been to convene a meeting of the UN Security Council. What exactly Moscow intends by this— to have blue helmets replace the Russian troops in the Caucasus mountains? to ask the UN declare the Chechen resistance a terrorist organization?— is not clear.That said, the Chechen conflict has clearly become an open-ended problem in international politics. Unless some drastic— and improbable— reforms make the Russian military become efficient and the government pulls itself together, Moscow will have no “victory” any time soon. At the same time, the increasingly Islamist Chechen leadership, with its persistent use of terrorism and its close ties to international terrorist networks, makes the possibility of a Chechen state a frightening, if remote, prospect. Indeed, even before Chechnya was infiltrated by Islamists, during the country’s brief independence (1996-99), the Chechens had demonstrated a complete inability to operate as an independent state. Chechnya (or “Ishkeria) became a black hole of criminal gangs, smuggling, and crossborder violence— and matters have only gotten worse since.The Chechnya conflict has itself begun to spawn international terrorists. According to France’s antiterrorist judge Jean-Louis Bruguiere, the authors of a planned 2003 chemical attack in Paris that was prevented at the last moment were a network of Islamists trained in Georgia’s Pankissi Gorge area. Their leader was one Menad ben Chellali, the oldest son of a radical imam from near Lyons who had trained in Afghanistan in 2001. Menad’s brother and imitator, Murad, was captured in Afghanistan, detained in Guantanamo, and is now in a French jail.

 

[Redwes25]

http://english.pravda.ru/opinion/columnist...ofacedgeorgia-0

The two-faced, underhanded foreign policy of Georgia

Ask anyone in the Caucasus region, and they will tell you never to trust a Georgian because they would shake your hand with a smile and then stab you in the back. On Friday morning, we saw a perfect example of this treachery, when hours after declaring a ceasefire, Georgian military units launched a savage attack on the civilians of South Ossetia.

Hours after Georgia President Mikhail Saakashvili, the pro-western Washington-backed anti-democratic stooge (attacks on opposition policians in Georgia are rife) declared a unilateral ceasefire, the Georgian army lanched a savage attack on the capital of the province of South Ossetia, Tskhinvali, with tanks and infantry, while the air force bombed a village and strafed a Russian humanitarian aid convoy.

According to South Ossetian government sources, there were many civilian casualties in the city of Tskhinvali, a large part of which was destroyed. The Parliament house has burned down and several buildings are on fire. Apart from this, Georgian Su-25 Frogfoot aircraft strafed civilians in the village of Kvernet and attacked a Russian humanitarian aid convoy.

Yet where is the criticism of the West against this blatant act of war crimes perpetrated by the criminal and murderous regime of failed lawyer Saakashvili? While the Russian Foreign Ministry has been issuing daily reports about the escalating tension in the area, and while Moscow has bent over backwards to find a peaceful and mutually acceptable solution, the Western media have consistently ignored the story while Georgia has consistently snubbed all efforts towards peace, while carrying out cowardly underhanded and treacherous attacks such as we have seen today.

Then when there is a retaliation, Tblisi goes whining like a cry-baby to the UN Security Council, playing the victim. The question remains, what is behind Tblisi’s policy? Is it the USA, launching a war by proxy against Russia, using its puppet in the area to start a full-scale confrontation? What does Washington hope to gain with such a policy? Is this Custer’s last stand, as the Bush-Cheney regime flushes down the sewer where it belongs, a last-gasp attempt at world domination by provoking the only country capable of standing up to Washington’s imperialist plans?

The position of the Russian Federation has been consistent, clear and as usual, by the book of diplomacy. Mocow has worked tirelessly behind the scenes, convening peace councils, trying to mediate between the two sides, always respecting both positions and constantly stressing the need to find a solution which satisfies Tblisi as well as Tskhinvali. The Foreign Ministry has been careful to inform all media outlets of what has been going on and of the growing escalation in the region.

It seems that nothing changes. The West remained silent, as if nothing was happening then when Georgia gets a hiding, suddenly become interested, but fail to report who started the conflict. It seems that nothing changes. Georgia declares a ceasefire one minute and within hours commits war crimes in savage attacks against civilians.

It seems that nothing changes. Georgia’s most infamous exports are its undrinkable wines and disgusting, low-quality dangerous food products while its most famous export was Josef Stalin. Maybe he should have stayed at home and concentrated more of his efforts there.

Nothing like the Communist party paper coming back to life. It feels like the cold war all over again. P.S. I always loved the name of this paper. Pravda means Truth in Russian.

 

[HellToupee]

http://english.pravda.ru/russia/politics/0...-southossetia-0

After a mortar attack from Georgian forces, women and children were being evacuated from S. Ossetia. On the night of August 1, six persons were killed by shelling coming from the Georgian side. Seven more were wounded. Tbilisi claimed the shelling of South Ossetia's capital, Tskhinvali, and a neighboring village had been “provoked” by the Republic of South Ossetia.

BREAKING NEWS

Georgia declares war on South Ossetia

Explosions continue to terrorize Russia's Black Sea coast

Prons and cons of vegetarianism

Astonishing aircraft designs

More...

Eduard Kokoity, President of South Ossetia, states that the response of Tskhinvali to Tbilisi’s aggressive actions will be very strong. According to him, South Ossetia "Is forced to respond and protect itself. We reserve the right to attack Georgian towns and we have the facilities to reach them," stressed Kokoity.

Simultaneously, Georgia shut off the water to South Ossetia. In response, South Ossetia declared that "If the water supply to Tskhinvali is not restored by 16.00 on the same day, the government of South Ossetia will not block the actions of youth and public organizations which demand that all irrigation canals passing from Tskhinvali to Georgia should be closed."

There were 280 women and children evacuated. Initially it was estimated that there would be about 500 people. However, it became clear that many of the children have no relatives to look after them in North Ossetia over the Russian border.

Special ambassador Yuri Popov said Russia would defend its citizens living in the conflict zone.

It is reported that so far 300 volunteers from Russia have arrived in South Ossetia in order to fight should it be necessary to defend the country from Georgian aggression. South Ossetia’s President stated that as many as 2,000 volunteers are expected to arrive. But it’s getting serious as the following reports are coming in:

500 Islamic guerilla warriors from Kabardino-Balkaria are ready to go

2000 Cossacks are ready to go

50 Russian Afghan war veterans are ready to go (these will likely train the rest)

Abhazia has also offered to send some of their guerilla fighters and other North Caucasus republics have pledged assistance if war breaks out with Georgia.

President Kokoity referred to earlier Georgian provocations: “Georgia has declared a sniper war on the Republic South Ossetia and again undertook an attempt to unleash a large scale war. The Ukraine and the USA bear responsibility together with Georgia. The Ukraine transmitted to Georgia 40 units of sniper armament, 120 units were transmitted from the USA. Those countries bear responsibility together with Georgia in supporting the pseudo-democratic image of Georgia."

Georgia’s most recent actions have shown the real face of the puppet regime being groomed and incited by the USA Georgia has been getting bolder and bolder in their provocations against South Ossetia. Further past actions within Georgia have also shown the nature of the puppet regime. Opposition leaders are threatened and jailed, the opposition press is closed down or censored and there were many irregularities in the presidential election voting.

The Russian Federation has been undertaking efforts through diplomatic channels and under the auspices of the Joint Force for the Maintenance of the Peace in the zone of conflict to avoid the intensification of military confrontations. Russia is committed to taking steps to finding a mutually acceptable peaceful solution and has declared that the use of force would frustrate all hopes of a resolution of the Georgia-South Ossetia conflict.

 

[HellToupee]

http://english.pravda.ru/opinion/columnist...ofacedgeorgia-0

The two-faced, underhanded foreign policy of Georgia

Ask anyone in the Caucasus region, and they will tell you never to trust a Georgian because they would shake your hand with a smile and then stab you in the back. On Friday morning, we saw a perfect example of this treachery, when hours after declaring a ceasefire, Georgian military units launched a savage attack on the civilians of South Ossetia.

Hours after Georgia President Mikhail Saakashvili, the pro-western Washington-backed anti-democratic stooge (attacks on opposition policians in Georgia are rife) declared a unilateral ceasefire, the Georgian army lanched a savage attack on the capital of the province of South Ossetia, Tskhinvali, with tanks and infantry, while the air force bombed a village and strafed a Russian humanitarian aid convoy.

According to South Ossetian government sources, there were many civilian casualties in the city of Tskhinvali, a large part of which was destroyed. The Parliament house has burned down and several buildings are on fire. Apart from this, Georgian Su-25 Frogfoot aircraft strafed civilians in the village of Kvernet and attacked a Russian humanitarian aid convoy.

Yet where is the criticism of the West against this blatant act of war crimes perpetrated by the criminal and murderous regime of failed lawyer Saakashvili? While the Russian Foreign Ministry has been issuing daily reports about the escalating tension in the area, and while Moscow has bent over backwards to find a peaceful and mutually acceptable solution, the Western media have consistently ignored the story while Georgia has consistently snubbed all efforts towards peace, while carrying out cowardly underhanded and treacherous attacks such as we have seen today.

Then when there is a retaliation, Tblisi goes whining like a cry-baby to the UN Security Council, playing the victim. The question remains, what is behind Tblisi’s policy? Is it the USA, launching a war by proxy against Russia, using its puppet in the area to start a full-scale confrontation? What does Washington hope to gain with such a policy? Is this Custer’s last stand, as the Bush-Cheney regime flushes down the sewer where it belongs, a last-gasp attempt at world domination by provoking the only country capable of standing up to Washington’s imperialist plans?

The position of the Russian Federation has been consistent, clear and as usual, by the book of diplomacy. Mocow has worked tirelessly behind the scenes, convening peace councils, trying to mediate between the two sides, always respecting both positions and constantly stressing the need to find a solution which satisfies Tblisi as well as Tskhinvali. The Foreign Ministry has been careful to inform all media outlets of what has been going on and of the growing escalation in the region.

It seems that nothing changes. The West remained silent, as if nothing was happening then when Georgia gets a hiding, suddenly become interested, but fail to report who started the conflict. It seems that nothing changes. Georgia declares a ceasefire one minute and within hours commits war crimes in savage attacks against civilians.

It seems that nothing changes. Georgia’s most infamous exports are its undrinkable wines and disgusting, low-quality dangerous food products while its most famous export was Josef Stalin. Maybe he should have stayed at home and concentrated more of his efforts there.

Nothing like the Communist party paper coming back to life. It feels like the cold war all over again. P.S. I always loved the name of this paper. Pravda means Truth in Russian.

look at the news stories at the lowe left on pravda

NEWS OF THE WEEK

Alexander Solzhenitsyn dies in Moscow at age 89

Radovan Karadzic to be put on trial at The Hague

Man rapes little girl and films it on video in USA

 

[Chaos Commish]

So, getting serious here: what should the response of the United States be? Do we publicly condemn this invasion? Do we threaten Russia with economic action of some sort? Do we publicly reaffirm that we will militarily defend NATO countries if they are threatened?

And if we sit back and allow this, will Putin figure nobody is going to stop him from taking back all of the lands of the former Soviet Union? (He's probably right about this.)

Timing not coincidental with Olympics starting. Story will be swamped by coverage, US probably will just bluster and talk smack, but ultimately do nothing.

What should the US do?

Mind our own business, of course. This is about South Ossetian independence and some brutal repression by Georgia to expand into territories that don't want to be Georgian. The brutality goes both ways and I don't care who threw the first punch. I don't think anybody knows. If Medvedev has to pound Georgia over this, then so be it. Saakashvili has been trying for years to draw Nato into this. It's stupid. We're suckers if we side with Georgia here. It's no secret that ethnic cleansing of the 70,000 Ossetians in South Ossetia would be Georgia's preference without Russia staring them down. Kokoity has been trying to draw Russia into this for years. It's stupid. They're suckers for taking the bait. South Ossetia has been autonomous since the early 90s. Driving them into North Ossetia may be a positive end result for Georgia (and Russia), but it's none of our business how things work out there. Ossetians are a distinct ethnicity in a distinct geographical region with harsh siloviki politics. Georgia never should have tried to assimilate them when the USSR turned into statelets. The smaller the statelets the better I say. South Ossetia and Abkahazia (the bigger problem down the road), are not part of Georgia according to them and ever since the breakup of the Soviets. Russia's mistake has been being wishy washy. They have always sided with South Ossetian independence while internationally recognizing Georgia's agreed upon borders. If South Ossetia wins the recognition of its clearly established independence from Georgia then good for them. If not, oh well, they're mostly greedy thugs repressing people with state control of everything anyway. We have other things to worry about, and have absolutely no business meddling.

 

[HellToupee]

Reading Pravda for the 1st time is very entertaining

California to be wiped off Russia’s map

Front page / Russia

07/28/2008 07:00 Source: Pravda.Ru

Deputies of Russia’s Nizhni Novgorod region intend to liquidate several settlements in the region, including the village of California.

Vladimir Gryzhin, an official of the Sechenovsky district, where the village is situated, said that the village of California was a deserted settlement, which had absolutely no perspectives for development since there was not even a power line in California.

BREAKING NEWS

Georgia declares war on South Ossetia

Explosions continue to terrorize Russia's Black Sea coast

Prons and cons of vegetarianism

Another official of the district, Vladimir Osokin, advised Gryzhin should ask the US Senate for help to recreate California.

California’s last residents moved to the village of Lipovka in the beginning of the 1990s. Nevertheless, the village of California was left on the map and still has its zip code, Lenta.ru reports.

There are several variants to explain the existence of the settlement with such an unusual name in Russia. One of them says that a local landowner visited the USA in the second half of the 19th century and subsequently renamed one of his villages to California.

 

[HellToupee]

I could go all Pravda all the time

http://english.pravda.ru/russia/history/105837-1/

Islam to become Russia’s predominant religion by 2050?

Islam is likely to become the primary religion in the Russian Federation by 2050 due to the high birth rate in Muslim republics.

The current Chinese-led conquest of Russia’s Far East already seems to be a matter of immediate concern for the Kremlin. The ethnic birth rate disproportion in different regions of the country is another problem. The Muslim community may become the largest community by the middle of the current century. Therefore, Islam has all chances to become the predominant religion in Russia.

Ukrainian scientists of politics, Valery Chaliy and Mikhail Pashkov, believe that this is not the only challenge, which Russia has to face nowadays.

“The Russian macroeconomic stability is being shattered with the high inflation rate and growing food prices. Considerable funds are being invested in state-run corporations and are being spent on social needs. Corruption restrains the growth of the national economy. Russia dropped from the 120th to the 14th place among 160 countries on Transparency International’s corruption list. Russian found itself in the company of Gambia, Indonesia and Togo at this point. Russia takes the humble 58th place on the list of 131 countries on the integral rating of the competitive ability of the economy for 2007.

Islam is currently the second most widely professed religion in the Russian Federation. It is impossible to provide official statistics of "practicing" adherents of Islam or any other religion in Russia because there is no country-wide census or statistics done on this matter by any governmental organization. Roman Silantyev, a Russian Islamologist has estimated that there are only between 7 and 9 million people who practise Islam in Russia, and that the rest are only Muslims by ethnicity. Muslim communities are concentrated among minority nationalities residing between the Black Sea and the Caspian Sea: Adyghe, Balkars, Chechens, Circassians, Ingush, Kabardin, Karachay, and numerous Dagestani peoples. Also, in the middle of the Volga Basin reside populations of Tatars and Bashkirs, many of whom are Muslims.

There was much evidence of official conciliation toward Islam in Russia in the 1990s. The number of Muslims allowed to make pilgrimages to Mecca increased sharply after the embargo of the Soviet era ended in 1990. In 1995 the newly established Union of Muslims of Russia, led by Imam Khatyb Mukaddas of Tatarstan, began organizing a movement aimed at improving inter-ethnic understanding and ending Russians' lingering misconception of Islam. The Union of Muslims of Russia is the direct successor to the pre-World War I Union of Muslims, which had its own faction in the Russian Duma. The post-Communist union has formed a political party, the Nur All-Russia Muslim Public Movement, which acts in close coordination with Muslim imams to defend the political, economic, and cultural rights of Muslims and other minorities. The Islamic Cultural Center of Russia, which includes a madrassa (religious school), opened in Moscow in 1991.

The majority of Muslims in Russia adhere to the Sunni branch of Islam. About 2% are Shi'a Muslims. In a few areas, notably Chechnya, there is a tradition of Sunni Sufism. The Azeris have also historically and still currently been nominally followers of Shi'a Islam, as their republic split off from the Soviet Union, significant number of Azeris immigrated to Russia in search of work.

Many Muslim citizens, in particular Muslim clerics, often cite instances of arrest and harassment by authorities, as well as ocassional confiscation of Islamic educational sources. The problems have been exacerbated by terrorist attacks linked with Islamic extremism and Chechen independence. Many ordinary Muslims in Russia fear that they have become the victims of a violent backlash.

The rise in the Russian Muslim population, terrorist attacks and the steep decline of the ethnic Russian population have given rise to a greater degree of Xenophobia and Islamophobia in Russia. Violent racist attacks by ethnic Russians, particularly Neo-Nazi skinheads, which used to be mainly conducted against Jews, are becoming increasingly frequent towards Muslims. As such, Muslims bear the brunt of the escalating racist violence in Russia. Racist attacks struck 539 people in 2006, a 17 percent rise over 2005, the Sova analytical center said in a report. Nearly half of the 56 people killed in the attacks were from the overwhelmingly North Caucasus and Central Asia.

 

[Ozymandias]

Reading Pravda for the 1st time is very entertaining

California to be wiped off Russia’s map

Front page / Russia

07/28/2008 07:00 Source: Pravda.Ru

Deputies of Russia’s Nizhni Novgorod region intend to liquidate several settlements in the region, including the village of California.

Vladimir Gryzhin, an official of the Sechenovsky district, where the village is situated, said that the village of California was a deserted settlement, which had absolutely no perspectives for development since there was not even a power line in California.

BREAKING NEWS

Georgia declares war on South Ossetia

Explosions continue to terrorize Russia's Black Sea coast

Prons and cons of vegetarianism

Another official of the district, Vladimir Osokin, advised Gryzhin should ask the US Senate for help to recreate California.

California’s last residents moved to the village of Lipovka in the beginning of the 1990s. Nevertheless, the village of California was left on the map and still has its zip code, Lenta.ru reports.

There are several variants to explain the existence of the settlement with such an unusual name in Russia. One of them says that a local landowner visited the USA in the second half of the 19th century and subsequently renamed one of his villages to California.

You see, THAT's the advantage of having a strong man for President (or pulling the strings as PM).Over here, we're stuck with California and the PAC 10.

 

[Limp Ditka]

Did anyone read the Time Magazine man of the year article on Putin.

At first I thought you were kidding. But yes, Time did in fact make Putin their Man of the Year in 2007. Unbelievable and pretty embarassing for them I think.

Are you kidding me with this? Hitler and Stalin(2X) were both Time Man Of The Year.

 

[shining path]

http://english.pravda.ru/opinion/columnist...ofacedgeorgia-0

The two-faced, underhanded foreign policy of Georgia

Ask anyone in the Caucasus region, and they will tell you never to trust a Georgian because they would shake your hand with a smile and then stab you in the back. On Friday morning, we saw a perfect example of this treachery, when hours after declaring a ceasefire, Georgian military units launched a savage attack on the civilians of South Ossetia.

Hours after Georgia President Mikhail Saakashvili, the pro-western Washington-backed anti-democratic stooge (attacks on opposition policians in Georgia are rife) declared a unilateral ceasefire, the Georgian army lanched a savage attack on the capital of the province of South Ossetia, Tskhinvali, with tanks and infantry, while the air force bombed a village and strafed a Russian humanitarian aid convoy.

According to South Ossetian government sources, there were many civilian casualties in the city of Tskhinvali, a large part of which was destroyed. The Parliament house has burned down and several buildings are on fire. Apart from this, Georgian Su-25 Frogfoot aircraft strafed civilians in the village of Kvernet and attacked a Russian humanitarian aid convoy.

Yet where is the criticism of the West against this blatant act of war crimes perpetrated by the criminal and murderous regime of failed lawyer Saakashvili? While the Russian Foreign Ministry has been issuing daily reports about the escalating tension in the area, and while Moscow has bent over backwards to find a peaceful and mutually acceptable solution, the Western media have consistently ignored the story while Georgia has consistently snubbed all efforts towards peace, while carrying out cowardly underhanded and treacherous attacks such as we have seen today.

Then when there is a retaliation, Tblisi goes whining like a cry-baby to the UN Security Council, playing the victim. The question remains, what is behind Tblisi’s policy? Is it the USA, launching a war by proxy against Russia, using its puppet in the area to start a full-scale confrontation? What does Washington hope to gain with such a policy? Is this Custer’s last stand, as the Bush-Cheney regime flushes down the sewer where it belongs, a last-gasp attempt at world domination by provoking the only country capable of standing up to Washington’s imperialist plans?

The position of the Russian Federation has been consistent, clear and as usual, by the book of diplomacy. Mocow has worked tirelessly behind the scenes, convening peace councils, trying to mediate between the two sides, always respecting both positions and constantly stressing the need to find a solution which satisfies Tblisi as well as Tskhinvali. The Foreign Ministry has been careful to inform all media outlets of what has been going on and of the growing escalation in the region.

It seems that nothing changes. The West remained silent, as if nothing was happening then when Georgia gets a hiding, suddenly become interested, but fail to report who started the conflict. It seems that nothing changes. Georgia declares a ceasefire one minute and within hours commits war crimes in savage attacks against civilians.

It seems that nothing changes. Georgia’s most infamous exports are its undrinkable wines and disgusting, low-quality dangerous food products while its most famous export was Josef Stalin. Maybe he should have stayed at home and concentrated more of his efforts there.

And they smell bad too! Yeah!

Quite possibly the greatest article ever written.

 

[T Bell]

Reading Pravda for the 1st time is very entertaining

California to be wiped off Russia’s map

Front page / Russia

07/28/2008 07:00 Source: Pravda.Ru

Deputies of Russia’s Nizhni Novgorod region intend to liquidate several settlements in the region, including the village of California.

Vladimir Gryzhin, an official of the Sechenovsky district, where the village is situated, said that the village of California was a deserted settlement, which had absolutely no perspectives for development since there was not even a power line in California.

BREAKING NEWS

Georgia declares war on South Ossetia

Explosions continue to terrorize Russia's Black Sea coast

Prons and cons of vegetarianism

Another official of the district, Vladimir Osokin, advised Gryzhin should ask the US Senate for help to recreate California.

California’s last residents moved to the village of Lipovka in the beginning of the 1990s. Nevertheless, the village of California was left on the map and still has its zip code, Lenta.ru reports.

There are several variants to explain the existence of the settlement with such an unusual name in Russia. One of them says that a local landowner visited the USA in the second half of the 19th century and subsequently renamed one of his villages to California.

You see, THAT's the advantage of having a strong man for President (or pulling the strings as PM).Over here, we're stuck with California and the PAC 10.

This isn't a bad deal if we get rid of LHUCKS in the process.

 

[Ozymandias]

http://english.pravda.ru/opinion/columnist...ofacedgeorgia-0

The two-faced, underhanded foreign policy of Georgia

Ask anyone in the Caucasus region, and they will tell you never to trust a Georgian because they would shake your hand with a smile and then stab you in the back. On Friday morning, we saw a perfect example of this treachery, when hours after declaring a ceasefire, Georgian military units launched a savage attack on the civilians of South Ossetia.

Hours after Georgia President Mikhail Saakashvili, the pro-western Washington-backed anti-democratic stooge (attacks on opposition policians in Georgia are rife) declared a unilateral ceasefire, the Georgian army lanched a savage attack on the capital of the province of South Ossetia, Tskhinvali, with tanks and infantry, while the air force bombed a village and strafed a Russian humanitarian aid convoy.

According to South Ossetian government sources, there were many civilian casualties in the city of Tskhinvali, a large part of which was destroyed. The Parliament house has burned down and several buildings are on fire. Apart from this, Georgian Su-25 Frogfoot aircraft strafed civilians in the village of Kvernet and attacked a Russian humanitarian aid convoy.

Yet where is the criticism of the West against this blatant act of war crimes perpetrated by the criminal and murderous regime of failed lawyer Saakashvili? While the Russian Foreign Ministry has been issuing daily reports about the escalating tension in the area, and while Moscow has bent over backwards to find a peaceful and mutually acceptable solution, the Western media have consistently ignored the story while Georgia has consistently snubbed all efforts towards peace, while carrying out cowardly underhanded and treacherous attacks such as we have seen today.

Then when there is a retaliation, Tblisi goes whining like a cry-baby to the UN Security Council, playing the victim. The question remains, what is behind Tblisi’s policy? Is it the USA, launching a war by proxy against Russia, using its puppet in the area to start a full-scale confrontation? What does Washington hope to gain with such a policy? Is this Custer’s last stand, as the Bush-Cheney regime flushes down the sewer where it belongs, a last-gasp attempt at world domination by provoking the only country capable of standing up to Washington’s imperialist plans?

The position of the Russian Federation has been consistent, clear and as usual, by the book of diplomacy. Mocow has worked tirelessly behind the scenes, convening peace councils, trying to mediate between the two sides, always respecting both positions and constantly stressing the need to find a solution which satisfies Tblisi as well as Tskhinvali. The Foreign Ministry has been careful to inform all media outlets of what has been going on and of the growing escalation in the region.

It seems that nothing changes. The West remained silent, as if nothing was happening then when Georgia gets a hiding, suddenly become interested, but fail to report who started the conflict. It seems that nothing changes. Georgia declares a ceasefire one minute and within hours commits war crimes in savage attacks against civilians.

It seems that nothing changes. Georgia’s most infamous exports are its undrinkable wines and disgusting, low-quality dangerous food products while its most famous export was Josef Stalin. Maybe he should have stayed at home and concentrated more of his efforts there.

And they smell bad too! Yeah!

Quite possibly the greatest article ever written.

Well, hardly. It has to compete with the articles written in Germany after the Poles had invaded them in 1939.

 

[T Bell]

http://english.pravda.ru/opinion/columnist...ofacedgeorgia-0

The two-faced, underhanded foreign policy of Georgia

Ask anyone in the Caucasus region, and they will tell you never to trust a Georgian because they would shake your hand with a smile and then stab you in the back. On Friday morning, we saw a perfect example of this treachery, when hours after declaring a ceasefire, Georgian military units launched a savage attack on the civilians of South Ossetia.

Hours after Georgia President Mikhail Saakashvili, the pro-western Washington-backed anti-democratic stooge (attacks on opposition policians in Georgia are rife) declared a unilateral ceasefire, the Georgian army lanched a savage attack on the capital of the province of South Ossetia, Tskhinvali, with tanks and infantry, while the air force bombed a village and strafed a Russian humanitarian aid convoy.

According to South Ossetian government sources, there were many civilian casualties in the city of Tskhinvali, a large part of which was destroyed. The Parliament house has burned down and several buildings are on fire. Apart from this, Georgian Su-25 Frogfoot aircraft strafed civilians in the village of Kvernet and attacked a Russian humanitarian aid convoy.

Yet where is the criticism of the West against this blatant act of war crimes perpetrated by the criminal and murderous regime of failed lawyer Saakashvili? While the Russian Foreign Ministry has been issuing daily reports about the escalating tension in the area, and while Moscow has bent over backwards to find a peaceful and mutually acceptable solution, the Western media have consistently ignored the story while Georgia has consistently snubbed all efforts towards peace, while carrying out cowardly underhanded and treacherous attacks such as we have seen today.

Then when there is a retaliation, Tblisi goes whining like a cry-baby to the UN Security Council, playing the victim. The question remains, what is behind Tblisi’s policy? Is it the USA, launching a war by proxy against Russia, using its puppet in the area to start a full-scale confrontation? What does Washington hope to gain with such a policy? Is this Custer’s last stand, as the Bush-Cheney regime flushes down the sewer where it belongs, a last-gasp attempt at world domination by provoking the only country capable of standing up to Washington’s imperialist plans?

The position of the Russian Federation has been consistent, clear and as usual, by the book of diplomacy. Mocow has worked tirelessly behind the scenes, convening peace councils, trying to mediate between the two sides, always respecting both positions and constantly stressing the need to find a solution which satisfies Tblisi as well as Tskhinvali. The Foreign Ministry has been careful to inform all media outlets of what has been going on and of the growing escalation in the region.

It seems that nothing changes. The West remained silent, as if nothing was happening then when Georgia gets a hiding, suddenly become interested, but fail to report who started the conflict. It seems that nothing changes. Georgia declares a ceasefire one minute and within hours commits war crimes in savage attacks against civilians.

It seems that nothing changes. Georgia’s most infamous exports are its undrinkable wines and disgusting, low-quality dangerous food products while its most famous export was Josef Stalin. Maybe he should have stayed at home and concentrated more of his efforts there.

And they smell bad too! Yeah!

Quite possibly the greatest article ever written.

Well, hardly. It has to compete with the articles written in Germany after the Poles had invaded them in 1939.

And don't forget China's shameful Mukden Incident, when it practically invited Japan into Manchuria.

 

[Chadstroma]

As Garry Kasparov has noted, this guy Putin is the sort of guy that the Russians want. Again, refuting the argument, spread by this President and others, that everyone in the world wants democracy and freedom. The Russians felt insecure when they had political freedom; they prefer having a strong man tell them what to do. Whether it is a Czar, or Stalin, or Putin, they desire, perhaps need a strong man to give them orders and make them feel safe.

What a drastic and poor over simplification about this. It was not democracy and freedom that Russians 'felt insecure' about it was that fact that their economy was in shambles. Most peoples of the world will trade in 'democracy and freedom' in for money in their pocket. The Russian economy has made great strides under Putin while it was a joke under the 'democracy and freedom' regimes before him. Whether it is because of Putin or not is another discussion.

That is the biggest 'single' reason to the popularity of Putin in Russia. But as is the case in almost everything in life, it is not even that simple. Certainly not as simple as "Russians like strong armed leaders".

 

[saintfool]

in russia, georgia invades you!

:yakov:

 

[OddibeMcD]

So, getting serious here: what should the response of the United States be? Do we publicly condemn this invasion? Do we threaten Russia with economic action of some sort? Do we publicly reaffirm that we will militarily defend NATO countries if they are threatened? And if we sit back and allow this, will Putin figure nobody is going to stop him from taking back all of the lands of the former Soviet Union? (He's probably right about this.)

I think shaking our fist in impotent rage is the play here.

I was thinking we should go for Lepanto we don't want to get steamrolled by a Russian/Turkish alliance.

Well played joke. I laughed.

 

[T Bell]

As Garry Kasparov has noted, this guy Putin is the sort of guy that the Russians want. Again, refuting the argument, spread by this President and others, that everyone in the world wants democracy and freedom. The Russians felt insecure when they had political freedom; they prefer having a strong man tell them what to do. Whether it is a Czar, or Stalin, or Putin, they desire, perhaps need a strong man to give them orders and make them feel safe.

What a drastic and poor over simplification about this. It was not democracy and freedom that Russians 'felt insecure' about it was that fact that their economy was in shambles. Most peoples of the world will trade in 'democracy and freedom' in for money in their pocket. The Russian economy has made great strides under Putin while it was a joke under the 'democracy and freedom' regimes before him. Whether it is because of Putin or not is another discussion.

That is the biggest 'single' reason to the popularity of Putin in Russia. But as is the case in almost everything in life, it is not even that simple. Certainly not as simple as "Russians like strong armed leaders".

I normally agree with your perspectives, but first of all I don't believe that he was arguing that this was the only story in something as complex as the story of Russia. Second I would suspect from your prior posts here that you would agree with the proposition that Russia, given its history and culture, has shown itself to be rather unequipped to handle western-style freedoms successfully. They don't have the middle class institutions to do this - in reality they're only about 70 years removed from a largely peasant-based society, and many vestiges of that remain even today. The gravitation to Putin's dictatorial leadership was greatly aided by the corruption that a "free economy" enabled, and the fact that Putin - rightfully in most instances - represented a far better holder of power than did the organized crime bosses and robber barons who rapidly rose to the top of Russian society.

Russia as always is "a riddle, wrapped in a mystery, inside an enigma", to use Churchill's words, but I think it's fair to say that much about

 

[igbomb]

After reading updated news stories, it seems that this city broke from Georgia in favor of Moscow back in 1992. Georgia then chose a time when many of Russia's leaders, including Putin, are in China to attack. It seems that Georgia is the aggressor here.

It doesn't matter if the city broke in 1992. It's an area run by thugs with illegal Russian support. Georgia is perfectly within their rights to move in and take back the city from the separatists.It's no secret that Putin hates the Georgian president and their pro-Western leanings. Russia is simply taking advantage of a leagl Georgian maneuver to vastly overstep their bounds.

 

[Chadstroma]

So, getting serious here: what should the response of the United States be? Do we publicly condemn this invasion?

We make a public call for a ceasefire and work diplomatically to try to calm things down.

Do we threaten Russia with economic action of some sort?

No.

Do we publicly reaffirm that we will militarily defend NATO countries if they are threatened?

No need. Russia is not going to attack a NATO country. Putin is not stupid and there is no reason to reaffirm something that is not in question.

And if we sit back and allow this, will Putin figure nobody is going to stop him from taking back all of the lands of the former Soviet Union? (He's probably right about this.)

I think it is a little bit of a knee jerk reaction to take this conflict as a broader strategy to re-conquer the old Soviet Union break away Republics.

 

[T Bell]

So, getting serious here: what should the response of the United States be? Do we publicly condemn this invasion?

We make a public call for a ceasefire and work diplomatically to try to calm things down.

Do we threaten Russia with economic action of some sort?

No.

Do we publicly reaffirm that we will militarily defend NATO countries if they are threatened?

No need. Russia is not going to attack a NATO country. Putin is not stupid and there is no reason to reaffirm something that is not in question.

And if we sit back and allow this, will Putin figure nobody is going to stop him from taking back all of the lands of the former Soviet Union? (He's probably right about this.)

I think it is a little bit of a knee jerk reaction to take this conflict as a broader strategy to re-conquer the old Soviet Union break away Republics.

on all counts. The Caucusus is like the Balkans, and it's best left as someone else's problem. In this case, it's Russia problem and has historically been well within Russia's sphere of influence.