Putin Walks into a Trap

[unhappycamper]

Putin Walks into a Trap
by Mike Whitney | August 15, 2008 - 10:54am

The American-armed and trained Georgian army swarmed into South Ossetia last Thursday, killing an estimated 2,000 civilians, sending 40,000 South Ossetians fleeing over the Russian border, and destroying much of the capital, Tskhinvali. The attack was unprovoked and took place a full 24 hours before even ONE Russian soldier set foot in South Ossetia. Nevertheless, the vast majority of Americans still believe that the Russian army invaded Georgian territory first. The BBC, AP, NPR, the New York Times and the rest of the establishment media has consistently and deliberately misled its readers into believing that the violence in South Ossetia was initiated by the Kremlin. Let's be clear, it wasn't. In truth, there is NO dispute about the facts except among the people who rely the western press for their information. Despite its steady loss of credibility, the corporate media continues to operate as the propaganda-arm of the Pentagon.

Former Russian President Mikhail Gorbachev gave a good summary of events in an op-ed in Monday's Washington Post:

"For some time, relative calm was maintained in South Ossetia. The peacekeeping force composed of Russians, Georgians and Ossetians fulfilled its mission, and ordinary Ossetians and Georgians, who live close to each other, found at least some common ground....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....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...Russia had to respond. To accuse it of aggression against "small, defenseless Georgia" is not just hypocritical but shows a lack of humanity." ("A Path to Peace in the Caucasus", Mikhail Gorbachev, Washington Post)

The question for Americans is whether they trust Mikhail Gorbachev more than the corporate media?

Russia deployed its tanks and troops to South Ossetia to save the lives of civilians and to reestablish the peace. Period. It has no interest in annexing the former-Soviet country or in expanding its present borders. Now that the Georgian army has been routed, Russian president Medvedev and Prime Minister Putin have expressed a willingness to settle the dispute through normal diplomatic channels at the United Nations. Neither leader is under any illusions about Washington's involvement in the hostilities. They know that Georgian President Mikail Saakashvili is an American stooge who came to power in a CIA-backed coup, the so-called "Rose Revolution", and would never order a major military operation without explicit instructions from his White House puppetmasters. Most likely, the orders to invade came directly from the office of the Vice President, Dick Cheney.

[CrispyQ]

1. During one of his first reports from Georgia,

CNNs Michael Ware made a comment to the effect that the Americans were more involved in the initial conflict than was being reported. Cafferty also made a comment implying American involvement from the start. Since then, nary a word. I've no doubt they were both reminded that corporate toady's who want to keep their six figure jobs better stick to the corporate script.

I was without internet for about two weeks recently & I could not bring myself to watch the corporate news, knowing I couldn't verify the omissions & outright lies. It outrages me that they call themselves "The most trusted name in news."

Our media is complicit.

k&r

[sourmilk]

2. If Putin walked into a trap, he dragged the US in after him.

The US comes out of this looking like weak-kneed, ass-kissing pamsies. They have lost the trust of one of their few partners in the Caucasus, and if Saakashvili manages to hold on in power, I cannot think that he will ever trust his USAsian "partners" and "advisors" so much ever again. The USA really left him holding a bag of shit on this one. This was absolutely premeditated, but badly executed and the Russian response was both effective and way too quick for the Georgians to handle on their own.

Here's some more wierd shit:
International Large-Scale Military Exercise ‘Immediate Response 2008’
http://georgiandaily.com/index.php?option=com_content&task=view&id=4981&Itemid=65

Anyone else find it strange that the USA would call a joint exercise designed to "envisage a peacekeeping operation in Iraq," "Operation Immediate Response 2008?" It took place from July 15-31, 2008.

Think THAT sounds weird? Try this on, then:

"Settlement models were arranged on Vaziani airport where the soldiers were trained how to battle within inhabited areas. Their main purpose was to create and implement a full range of operational tasks; to set up check-points, seize settled areas, convey information, patrol, etc."

Certainly doesn't sound like a "PEACE-KEEPING" scenario, to me. Sounds a little more like the failed occupational exercise they attempted a week later in South Ossetia...

What a criminal bunch of mass-murdering morons.

[underpants]

11. I agree- this article must have been written to satisfy a deadline

Putin didn't walk into a trap he just put everyone on notice (were they all still in Beijing?) that Russian is back in the game. They have more money than anyone in Europe AND they control the oil pipelines into Europe.

Granted it could look bad ala Israel bombing Beirut but the Russians destroyed the Georgian army so quickly and so completely (before much media could get in there) that they have complete control of the land as well as the story.

As posted later in this thread the reason Rove wasn't in town to testify in front of Congress was because he was IN Georgia. Couple that with the fact that everyone in the international field knew this was about to happen (Carter and Brezinewski wrote an article warning Georgia about this a month ago-same time as the Rove visit) and we have heard that Cheney was egging the Georgians on..... okay that's enough--this was fully expected so there is no way Putin walked into anything. Sadly W&Co. got completely "played" once again both in reality and in perception.

[HooptieWagon]

3. Article is self-contradictory...

"The attack was unprovoked and took place a full 24 hours before even ONE Russian soldier set foot in South Ossetia."

"For some time, relative calm was maintained in South Ossetia. The peacekeeping force composed of Russians, Georgians and Ossetians fulfilled its mission,..."

What we know:
Russians were in South Ossetia.
Some act provoked a response from Georgian soldiers, who over-reacted.
Russians then over-reacted in invading Georgia.
While the situation was being escalated act by act, the US failed to immediately respond - Congress was on vacation, dimson was sobering up from his Bejing binge, and State Dept was caught flat-footed and indecisive.

If Georgia was having problems with the Russian peacekeepers, they probably would have been better served by lobbying to have UN peacekeepers substituted for the Russian ones in South Ossetia. Counting on dimson to come to their defense was definately a big mistake. dimson has greatly weakened the US militarily, diplomatically, and morally. This weakness emboldened Russia to reassert their power in their neighborhood... Moscow's "Monroe Doctrine" , so to speak.

[file83]

4. Good point and nice catch.

Something provoked the Georgian army to react (even if it was a misguided overreaction, like the way the U.S. does it).

Never-the-less, Russian troops were in fact in South Ossestia before the Georgians attacked it.

[formercia]

5. I think the Russians were on top of this all along

This is their back yard and former Soviet territory. They are sure to have intelligence networks within the Georgian Administration and military and were well aware of the Georgian plan to attack long before it happened.

They prepositioned their armor in North Ossetia in anticipation of an attack.

http://www.time.com/time/world/article/0,8599,1832771,00.html

From Russia there is only one way to get in and out of South Ossetia. The Transcaucasian Highway, or Transkam, runs from Vladikavkaz, the capital of the semi-autonomous republic of North Ossetia to the 3.5 km-long Roki Tunnel, which opens into South Ossetia. All the men and material that Russia is now using to fight Georgia came along this road.

--snip--

The probable goal of the Georgian 'blitzkreig' was to overwhelm the Russian peace keepers and drive North to the Roki tunnel which could then be blocked, preventing the Russians from re-enforcing their troops in South Ossetia. Anticipating this obvious plan, the Russians created strong points along the route to delay the Georgians and allow their re-enforcements to transit the Roki Tunnel and drive South in a counterattack into Georgia proper.

Once the Geoorgians committed their forces into South Ossetia, the trap was sprung.

[truedelphi]

12. Thank you for all this information.

It really is their backyard.

And we of course have no idea what if anything goes on between "Russia" and Bush and Condi Rice. I am sure that some of their communiques with our government point out that we would not like their installing major weapon systems in Cuba.

But our media has made it look like it is the Russians who were the aggressors. Etc.

Oops. Don't mean our media. I mean, Our ministry of propaganda.

[gaspee]

6. Right

But isn't South Ossetia a part of Georgia and not Russia?

And while Georgia's actions in South Ossetia were 100% wrong, isn't it part of their country - not an invasion of Russia?

I understand it like this.

Suppose The Canadian province of Quebec actually had tried to leave Canada and join the US, back when the whole Quebec separatist idea had more traction. Canadian troops poured into Quebec, destroying Montreal and creating thousands of refugees into the US.

Then the US invaded to kick the Canadian army out.

Now, I do believe that both parties would be in the wrong, but the big losers would the the Quebequois people.

In this situation, I think the Georgians are wrong for using excessive force in a part of their own country and I think the Russians are wrong for invading a sovereign nation.

And as in all wars the losers are the civilians.

[bhikkhu]

8. Georgia has never ruled South Ossetia

...in spite of how the map is drawn. It was only a part of the old Soviet region of Georgia at the whim ofStalin, who drew the original border. At the breakup of the USSR the Ossetians fought a successful war for independence and have been self governing since, though the only country that recognizes them is Russia. The rest of the world would still place them as subjects of their supposed Georgian overlords. So it is no surprise that they have only one ally and no standing or voice in the UN or anywhere else.

The worst part of this whole episode, aside from the miserable media coverage and idiotic political rhetoric, is that any resolution of the mess is off the table - the world still refuses to officially allow the Ossetians an inch of their own land.

[Maat]

7. The author lays out the whole truth here ...

particularly the part about Obama and his advisors.

Read the whole article; it's very good.

[fasttense]

9. He has some of the facts but he is missing several big pieces.

"Now, powerful members of the US foreign policy establishment (Brzezinski, Albright, Holbrooke) have regrouped behind the populist "cardboard" presidential candidate Barak Obama and are preparing to redirect America's war efforts to the Asian theater. Obama offers voters a choice of wars not a choice against war."

The neocons purposely started Georgia on it's ill conceived attack and somehow it has become Obama's war? The only time this writer decides to mention Obama, and misspells his first name, it is to give him the motives of the neocons. He doesn't even mention McCain's involvement.

He also failed to point out that about a month before Georgia attacked, Rove was meeting with their president. Rove was suppose to be testifying before Congress but congressional subpoenas mean nothing to criminals and he was busy talking into the ear of Georgian President Mikail Saakashvili.

Since Rove is strictly a political operative, we can assume he was pushing the Georgian president to strike in order to make McInsane look tough and give him political clout. Like the failed efforts in South America to make it appear as if McInsane saved the day with the hostages, this was just another political maneuver but with more dire consequences. Yet compared to the war in Iraq, the ultimate US presidential political war, fewer lives lost.

[Maat]

10. Yes, I take those facts into account.

I don't agree that it is Obama's war either; I guess I'm just concerned that Rove, Kissinger (the Monster) and Condi influence the Rethugs, and Brzezinski influences Obama. I want a peace president, not someone who is going to permit the same corrupt defense contractors making out, while thousands of innocent civilians die. I plan to hold Obama's feet to the proverbial fire (Peace Now)(no more using young adults as pawns in globalist resource wars)!