Russians dig in despite promised Georgia pullout

[gLing]

[FONT=Verdana,Sans-serif] POTI, Georgia (AP) - Russian troops held their position in the key town of Gori and were digging in deeper in other strategic areas of Georgia on Friday, the day that Russia's president said a pullback would be complete.
In Igoeti, a major checkpoint on the road from the capital Tbilisi to Gori, Russian troops were allowing aid organizations and local traffic through on Friday.

Red Cross vehicles, mine-clearing jeeps and trucks carrying peaches were seen heading into Gori early Friday. Russian military helicopters buzzed overhead as military trucks shuttled in and out of Gori past the checkpoint, where Russian flags were flapping in the wind.

Further west, near a base at the key Black Sea port of Poti, Russian troops were seen digging large trenches near a bridge that provides the only access to the city. Five trucks, several armored personnel carriers and a helicopter were parked nearby. Another Russian position was seen in a wooded area outside the city.

[/FONT][FONT=Verdana,Sans-serif]A top Russian general said earlier it could be 10 days before the bulk of the troops is gone, and the mixed signals from Moscow left Georgians guessing about Russia's intentions nearly a week after a cease-fire deal.

"The information I have is that if they're leaving it is at a snail's pace," said Gen. John Craddock, commander of U.S. European Command, as he ended a two-day assessment trip in Georgia. "It is far too little and far too slow."
Under the deal, Russian forces are to pull back to positions they held before intense fighting broke out Aug.7 in the Russian-backed Georgian separatist region of South Ossetia.

Russia says it will keep troops in South Ossetia - where Russia had a peacekeeping contingent for more than a decade - and in a buffer zone in Georgia proper around the region's border.
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My Way News - Russians dig in despite promised Georgia pullout

 

[Mystic]

Good for the Russians! Serves that other country bloody right for waging war in the first place... shouldn't have gobbed off in the first place if you don't want the fall back.

I mean think about it...another country says to your country we are waging war against your country.... do ya wait for them to bomb you first or do you protect yourself and bomb the shit out of the....I say bomb before I get bombed.

Now I'm just crossing my fingers Bush keeps his stupid nose out it as Canada is right in the middle and I don't care to be living here if Bush wages another bloody war.

 

[gLing]

I doubt Bush or NATO will wage war with Russia over this. There will be a lot of tough talk but I don't think it will go further than that.
If everybody would stop messing with Russia then there wouldn't be this problem.

 

[Mystic]

I doubt Bush or NATO will wage war with Russia over this. There will be a lot of tough talk but I don't think it will go further than that.

lets hope so...but until Bush is out of seat anything can happen with that moron.

If everybody would stop messing with Russia then there wouldn't be this problem.

:thumbup Exactly... people need to mind their own business.

 

[Tattva]

Messing with russia? They started this. Supporting Georgian separatists in a forceful bit to regain some of the territory that they lost when Georgia broke away. If the majority of the area's citizens wanted back in they should have done it with diplomacy

At any rate, its good that there troops are digging in over the sense that it will provide security so some of the locations of conflict from roving para-military, thats not to say that they should have invaded.

 

[gLing]

I thought Georgia started it by attacking Russian peace keeping forces that have been there for years.

 

[Tattva]

BBC NEWS | World | Europe | Day-by-day: Georgia-Russia crisis

I'm seeing nothing about Russian peace keepers, Georgia fighting separatists, not in an acceptable manor but not against peace keepers.

 

[gLing]

Here is what I found.

ONDON — Fighting broke out Friday between Russia and a strong U.S. ally in the region, the Democratic Republic of Georgia. The violence could significantly destabilize Russia's ties with the West — and even influence the actions of U.S. troops in Iraq. USA TODAY's London correspondent, Jeffrey Stinson, answers some questions about the conflict.

Q. What are Georgia and Russia fighting over?

A: Georgia launched a military strike on the province of South Ossetia, aiming to reclaim it after 16 years of semi-independence. In response, Russia sent tanks in. Moscow says Georgian forces had killed Russian peacekeepers there and were committing acts of "ethnic cleansing" of native Russians living there.

Q: Why does Moscow care what Georgia does in its own provinces?

A: Georgia, which borders Russia, is a former Soviet republic. It declared its independence in 1991 after the collapse of communism. Many of the 70,000 people in South Ossetia speak Russian and carry Russian passports. Relations between the two have been tense, as Moscow tries to reassert influence over nations that border it. Georgia has aligned itself with the West and wants to join NATO — a desire the Bush administration supports.

Q: Why is this happening now?

A: Georgia insists it had no choice but to act after what it says are increasing attacks from separatists. Georgia President Mikhail Saakashvili claims Moscow took advantage of situation to "invade" his country while the world's attention was focused on the Olympics in Beijing.

Q: How bad could hostilities get?

A: It depends on how large a response Russia wants to muster. Russia has an active and equipped armed force of 1.02 million, according to the International Institute for Strategic Studies of London. The institute numbers Georgia's active servicemen and women at 21,150.

Q: How have the United States and the rest of the world reacted?

A: The United States, NATO and the Organization for Security and Cooperation in Europe have called for a halt in hostilities and for Georgia, Russia and South Ossetia to sit down and talk. The U.S. State Department says it supports Georgia's territorial integrity, while calling for an immediate cease-fire. The White House says President Bush and Russian Prime Minister Vladimir Putin have talked about the situation while both are attending the Olympics.

Q: Is there a chance that the United States and the West could be drawn into a confrontation with Russia over this?

A: Georgia is not a member of NATO, so there are no obligations to come to its defense. Georgia so far has asked for diplomatic, not military, assistance from the West. The Pentagon says it has only 125 defense personnel and contractors in Georgia that provide military training for Georgian forces deployed in Iraq.

Q: Could hostilities here affect U.S. military efforts in Iraq and Afghanistan?

A: Georgia's president said Friday he is bringing home the 2,000 troops it had stationed in Iraq. That is a significant blow to coalition forces because Georgia was the third-largest contributor of troops behind Britain and the U.S. Apart from that, direct U.S. military involvement seems unlikely. Although Georgia may look close to Iraq and Afghanistan, it has little in common. Like Russians, Georgians and Ossetians are largely Orthodox Christian.

Questions answered on Russia, Georgia conflict - USATODAY.com

Here is something else

Russian peacekeepers confirmed killed in Georgia

A Russian officer has confirmed that several Russian peacekeepers are among casualties in South Ossetia. Marat Kulakhmetov, Commander of the Joint Peacekeeping Forces in the Georgian-Ossetian conflict zone, confirmed reports of intensifying Georgian artillery fire aimed at Russian peacekeeping positions. Yuri Popov, Russia's Co-Chairman of the Joint Control Commission, who is in the conflict zone, earlier told the Itar-Tass news agency, "The headquarters of the peacekeeping forces have been partially destroyed."

The Georgian military claims it has downed a Russian fighter jet over South Ossetia, but the Russian Foreign Ministry on Friday morning denied it had lost any aircraft in the region.

Meanwhile, in Moscow, Russian President Dmitry Medvedev is heading a meeting aimed at halting the violence.

The Kremlin press service issued a statement saying the meeting was also focusing on measures to protect the civilian population and Russian citizens in the conflict zone.

Russian peacekeepers, said the statement, “have a mandate…to safeguard Russian interests in the region".

Russian Prime Minister Vladimir Putin, currently on a visit to Beijing for the start of the Olympics, warned that Georgia's actions would meet a "response."

RussiaToday : News : Russian peacekeepers confirmed killed in Georgia

Looks like a big mess to me.

 

[Strickland]

lets hope so...but until Bush is out of seat anything can happen with that moron.:thumbup

It truly does not matter how reckless or stupid George Bush is when it comes to the Georgian Situation. Georgia went ahead with their invasion because they assumed they were under the assured protection of the U.S.A. It's too bad those ignorant imperialists didn't realise that the U.S. is so entrenched in the quagmires of Iraq and Afghanistan that those little nations with balls that big are on their own.

In closing, let the Georgians reap what they've sown!

 

[Tattva]

with all due respect to whatever loss of life may have occurred, i remain sceptic over any claims from Moscow or other Russia based sources. Of course there going to say that, there involved in the whole situation.
I'v never particularly trusted Russia since the Alexander Litvinenko assassination
What i'm finding while mooching about for information on this is that its only the two sides that are making claims, i guess it will be a while until any neutral bodies can give an explanation

 

[Strickland]

with all due respect to whatever loss of life may have occurred, i remain sceptic over any claims from Moscow or other Russia based sources. Of course there going to say that, there involved in the whole situation.
I'v never particularly trusted Russia since the Alexander Litvinenko assassination
What i'm finding while mooching about for information on this is that its only the two sides that are making claims, i guess it will be a while until any neutral bodies can give an explanation

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