President Mikheil Saakashvili of Georgia, left, with President Nicolas Sarkozy of France in Tbilisi (photo by The New York Times)
Radio Free Europe/Radio Liberty has two valuable video clips worth noting: the first is the South Ossetia/Georgia chronology of fighting, the second the rally of Eastern European leaders in Tbilisi three days ago.
The chronology is useful because it shows the confusion about whom provoked whom first, though there is no doubt that the Georgians did start the shelling, giving Russia reason to invade. This, along with the US government failure to figure out what was going on in time to stop it, has to constitute the disaster's precipitating blunder.
The rally video, meanwhile, should be watched by all those who want to discount the Georgian position--such as the Russian parliamentarians who argued recently that Russia should have pressed on to conquer Georgia. Right or wrong, the Georgians were backed by nearly all the Eastern European governmental leaders. That says something. They all seemed to expect a Russian conquest that didn't happen, but they still showed their open anger at Russia. Such regional unity has to be sobering to Russia in this situation, too.
No one looks very adroit at this point, except--can you believe it?--France!
Bruce Chapman served as United States Ambassador to the United Nations Organizations in Vienna, Austria from 1985 through 1988.
Comments
Radio Free Europe/Radio Liberty is a propagandist CIA front "news" service. Figures who have worked there in the past have become high ranking government officials like Zbignew Brezinski. Georgia is a George Soros/Israeli/CIA backed government.
What about all the other info like the use of mercenaries? Russians attacked Gori because units were shelling S. Ossetia from there.
Why have all the western media taken the view point that it was a grand scheme by the Russians to invade Georgia?
Why don’t they consider the possibility that it was a tactic used by the Georgians/Israelis to provoke a response from Russia?
Allied nations have historically used dirty war tactics to provoke a response from a country to get involved in a war. WW1, WW2, Afghanistan 79 and Kosovo.
Posted by: james | August 14, 2008 6:58 AM
Bush dos not know what he is gitting him slef in to
Posted by: matt garland | August 14, 2008 7:55 AM
James,
You still haven't provided any evidence that there are any Israelis on the ground in Georgia. Links, please.
Posted by: John | August 14, 2008 10:57 AM
@John
Go to rense.com
Posted by: james | August 14, 2008 11:27 PM