Georgia must pursue bid to join NATO, says German minister: report
Tehran Times - Iran
BERLIN (AFP) -- Georgia's candidacy as a potential NATO member must be pursued despite conflict between Georgian and Russian forces in South Ossetia, ...
http://www.tehrantimes.com/index_View.asp?code=175316

Civilians bear the brunt in Gori + Riz Khan: The South Ossetian conflict
Posted: 13 Aug 2008 07:50 AM CDT
Dandelion Salad AlJazeeraEnglish Georgian troops flee Gori- 12 Aug 08 Jonah Hull reports on the evacuation of Gori. “Civilians bear the brunt in Gori “, posted with vodpod Civilians bear the brunt in Gori - 13 Aug 08 The official end to the fighting came too late for at least five people in the Georgian town of Gori.

Analysis: Lee Sustar
HOW IMPERIAL RIVALRIES STOKED WAR IN GEORGIA
Missing from the mainstream account of the Russia-Georgia war is the role of U.S. imperialism, which has sought to incorporate Georgia into NATO.
socialistworker.org/2008/08/12/stoked-war-in-georgia

GEORGIA: Israeli Arms Sales Raise New Concerns
Peter Hirschberg
JERUSALEM – With the eruption of fighting between Russia and Georgia, Israel has found itself in an awkward position as a result of its arms sales to Georgia, caught between its friendly relations with Georgia and its fear that the continued sale of weaponry will spark Russian retribution in the form of increased arms sales to Iran and Syria.
www.ipsnews.net/news.asp?idnews=43524

Tel Aviv to Tbilisi: Israel’s role in the Russia-Georgia war
By admin
The Electronic Intifada. From the moment Georgia launched a surprise attack on the tiny breakaway region of South Ossetia last week, prompting a fierce Russian counterattack, Israel has been trying to distance itself from the conflict. …
www.thecornerreport.com/index.php?title=tel_aviv_to_
tbilisi_israel_s_role_in_the&more=1&c=1&tb=1&pb=1

US calls NATO ministerial meeting over Georgia
San Diego Union Tribune – United States
By David Brunnstrom BRUSSELS – The United States has called a meeting of NATO foreign ministers next week over the crisis in Georgia, …
www.signonsandiego.com/news/world/
20080813-0732-georgia-ossetia-nato.html

Russia’s victory over Georgia marks a watershed
Telegraph.co.uk – United Kingdom
Georgia’s ambition to join Nato is pivotal to this crisis. By taking punitive action against President Mikheil Saakashvili, Russia is demonstrating the risk …
www.telegraph.co.uk/news/2547899/Russias
-victory-over-Georgia-marks-a-watershed.html

Outside View: Kosovo spark, Ossetia fire
Middle East Times – Cairo,Egypt
The South Ossetians and Abkhazians have cited Kosovo’s independence as an argument for their own separatist ambitions; the Russians have referred to Kosovo …
www.metimes.com/Security/2008/08/13
/outside_view_kosovo_spark_ossetia_fire/f646/

Analyst: South Ossetia is not related to Kosovo
New Kosova Report – Gothenburg,Sweden
Janusz Bugajski, Senior Fellow at the influential Center for Strategic and International Studies in Washington and expert on Kosovo and post-Sovier space, …
www.newkosovareport.com/200808131122/Views-and-
Analysis/Analyst-South-Ossetia-is-not-related-to-Kosovo.html

Analyst: South Ossetia is not related to Kosovo
New Kosova Report – Gothenburg,Sweden
Janusz Bugajski, Senior Fellow at the influential Center for Strategic and International Studies in Washington and expert on Kosovo and post-Sovier space, …
www.newkosovareport.com/200808131122/Views- and-Anal
ysis/Analyst-South-Ossetia-is-not-related-to-Kosovo.html

Russia’s attack on Georgia was revenge for Kosovo, say analysts
Massive Russian military intervention to counter Georgia’s effort to bring a separatist region to heel has brought Moscow revenge for its humiliatio…
www.thestandard.com.hk/breaking_news_detail.asp?id=2807

What Does South Ossetia Mean to NATO?
By Bree Bang-Jensen
At the Bucharest summit in April, NATO promised that Georgia would
eventually become a member, although a time frame was never established. Despite NATO’s hesitancy to formally commit, the signs of courtship are clear – Georgia has …
oxfordir.org.uk/2008/08/13/what-does-south-ossetia-mean-to-nato/

Georgia, Russia Claim Cease-Fire Violations
www.truthout.org/article/georgia-russia-claim-cease-fire-violations
CNN: “Georgia and Russia have accused each other of violating a cease-fire only 24 hours after it was agreed. The six-point deal was meant to end the fighting over the breakaway regions of South Ossetia and Abkhazia, but both sides traded accusations Wednesday.”

Tel Aviv to Tbilisi: Israel’s role in the Russia-Georgia war – Ali …
By Karin(Karin)
The Electronic Intifada, on 12 August 2008, and is reproduced with the author’s permission. ---------------- From the moment Georgia launched a surprise attack on the tiny breakaway region of South Ossetia last week, prompting a fierce …
1158munich.blogspot.com/2008/08/tel-aviv-to-tbilisi-israels-role-in.html

The Tel Aviv-Tbilisi axis
By A WORLD TO WIN(A WORLD TO WIN)
This is an edited extract of an article by Ali Abunimah, published on The Electronic Intifada, 12 August 2008. Co-founder of The Electronic Intifada, Ali Abunimah is author of One Country: A Bold Proposal to End the Israeli- Palestinian …
aw2w.blogspot.com/2008/08/tel-aviv-tbilisi-axis.html

Georgian MP lauds IDF military training 12 Aug 2008 Georgian Integration Minister Temur Yakobashvili told The Jerusalem Post Monday he “felt proud as a Jew,” thanks to the training Israelis had provided to units in the Georgian military… Yakobasvili’s comments confirmed reports to the Post by an Israeli defense official Sunday that a small number of Georgian elite troops had been trained by Galilee Div. commander Brig.-Gen. Gal Hirsch, who founded the Homat Magen company. “I have to underline that this was not a government-to-government thing,” said Yakobashvili. “This was between the Georgian government and a private Israeli company. They have provided highly qualified training.”
www.jpost.com/servlet/Satellite?cid=1218446175
084&pagename=JPost%2FJPArticle%2FShowFull

Troops from Atlanta will train in Republic of Georgia 14 Jul 2008 A large contingent of Georgia Army National Guard soldiers flew to the Republic of Georgia on Sunday for joint military exercises at a time when tension is brewing in the region. The soldiers, mostly from the metro area, will be part of “Immediate Response 2008,” which will amount to the largest U.S. footprint on the crossroads of Asia and Europe since the Cold War began. The three-week operation also provides practical training for the 48th Infantry Brigade’s 1st Battalion, 121st Infantry Regiment just months before a pending deployment to Afghanistan.
www.ajc.com/news/content/metro/stories
/2008/07/13/georgia_national_guard_.html

U.S. Military Instructors Command Hirelings in Georgia 11 Aug 2008 Thousands of mercenaries are fighting for Georgia in this burning conflict with South Ossetia. They are commanded by the U.S. military instructors, RIA Novosti reported with reference to a high-ranked officer of Russia’s military intelligence. “From 2,500 to 3,000 mercenaries fight against Russia’s peacekeepers on behalf of Georgia,” the unnamed source said. The U.S. military instructors directly command and coordinate actions of mercenaries without being involved in actual fighting, the source specified. According to intelligence data, there are roughly 1,000 military instructors of the United States in Georgia.
www.kommersant.com/p-13081/merc
enaries_Georgia_U.S._instructor/

While Aide Advised McCain, His Firm Lobbied for Georgia 13 Aug 2008 Sen. John McCain’s top foreign policy adviser prepped his boss for an April 17 phone call with the president of Georgia and then helped the presumptive Republican presidential nominee prepare a strong statement of support for the fledgling republic. The day of the call, a lobbying firm partly owned by the adviser, Randy Scheunemann, signed a $200,000 contract to continue providing strategic advice to the Georgian government in Washington.
www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/
article/2008/08/12/AR2008081202932.html

BP shuts down Georgia pipelines 12 Aug 2008 Energy giant BP says it has shut two of three pipelines that run through Georgia as a precautionary measure. [!?!] A spokeswoman for the firm said the oil and gas pipelines, which run from the Caspian Sea into Georgia, had not been damaged by the recent fighting. Another key oil pipeline, which runs from Azerbaijan through southern Georgia into Turkey, is already shut.
news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/business/7556215.stm

Georgia crisis exposes Europe’s diplomatic limits
Los Angeles Times – CA,USA
Both separatist republics have close ties with Moscow, which has been deeply angered by Georgia’s bid to join NATO. • South Ossetia enjoyed broad autonomy …
www.latimes.com/news/nationworld/world/
la-fg-europeans13-2008aug13,0,3166603.story

Medvedev Orders Halt to Fighting
By Nabi Abdullaev / and Nikolaus von Twickel
President Dmitry Medvedev ordered a halt to the Russian military operation in Georgia on Tuesday, saying troops had accomplished their mission of restoring safety to civilians and its peacekeeping forces in Georgias breakaway republics of South Ossetia and Abkhazia.
www.themoscowtimes.com/stories/2008/08/13/001.html

Opinion
Russia Has Crossed the Line
By Richard C. Holbrooke and Ronald D. Asmus
In weeks and years past, each of us has argued that Russia was pursuing a policy of regime change toward Georgia and its pro-Western, democratically elected president, Mikheil Saakashvili.
www.themoscowtimes.com/stories/2008/08/13/006.html

Gulliver’s Battles
By Yulia Latynina
Late Thursday night, after destroying as much of Tskhinvali as it could with truck-mounted missiles, the Georgian military took control of the city.
www.themoscowtimes.com/stories/2008/08/13/007.html

Georgia Caused This War
By Vadim Mukhanov
The war in South Ossetia must be understood for what it really is — Georgia’s one-sided escalation of the conflict. This places full responsibility for the bloodshed on Georgia’s side.
www.themoscowtimes.com/stories/2008/08/13/008.html

News
Sarkozy Clinches a 6-Point Plan for Peace
By Anna Smolchenko and Anatoly Medetsky / Staff Writers
President Dmitry Medvedev said Tuesday that Georgia should agree to a cease-fire, the return of its troops to their bases and the continued deployment of Russian peacekeepers in its breakaway regions of Abkhazia and South Ossetia.
www.themoscowtimes.com/stories/2008/08/13/002.html

Youth Hold Anti-Georgian Rally
The Moscow Times
Fanning anti-Georgian sentiment, pro-Kremlin youth groups rallied Tuesday to demand that Georgias president be tried as a war criminal, and ultranationalists volunteered to track down Georgians living here illegally.
www.themoscowtimes.com/stories/2008/08/13/012.html

Georgian Enclave Virtually Cut Off
By Christopher Torchia / The Associated Press
The Russian troops sprawled on top of the tanks in a 135-vehicle convoy looked relaxed, with bandannas on their heads rather than helmets. Some smoked, one ate a chunk of watermelon.
www.themoscowtimes.com/stories/2008/08/13/013.html

Russians Have Introduced Ballistic Missile Launchers Into South Ossetia.
Democracy Now Interviews Col. Sam Gardiner, retired Air Force Colonel. – Transcript and Audio
The Russians put into their doctrine a statement, and have broadcast it very loudly, that if the United States were to use precision conventional weapons against Russian troops, the Russians would be forced to respond with tactical nuclear weapons.
www.informationclearinghouse.info/article20492.htm
===
From his office in clouded cuckoo land:
Cheney: “Russian Aggression Must Not Go Unanswered”
“The vice president expressed the United States’ solidarity with the Georgian people and their democratically elected government in the face of this threat to Georgia’s sovereignty and territorial integrity,” Cheney’s office said in a statement.
www.informationclearinghouse.info/article20491.htm
===
Propaganda And Presstitute Alert
McCain Accuses Russia of Bidding to Wipe Out Georgia
By AFP
Republican White House hopeful John McCain said Monday Russia appears bent on extinguishing Georgia’s independence as he demanded a united Western front to protect the former Soviet republic. – “In the face of Russian aggression, the very existence of independent Georgia and the survival of its democratically elected government are at stake,” the Arizona senator said.
www.informationclearinghouse.info/article20494.htm
===
A Path to Peace in the Caucasus
By Mikhail Gorbachev
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.
www.informationclearinghouse.info/article20493.htm
===
US, Allies Weigh Punishment for Russia
By MATTHEW LEE
Scrambling to find ways to punish Russia for its invasion of pro-Western Georgia, the United States and its allies are considering expelling Moscow from an exclusive club of powerful nations and canceling an upcoming joint NATO-Russia military exercise, Bush administration officials said Tuesday.
www.informationclearinghouse.info/article20497.htm
===
Propaganda And Presstitute Alert:
Brzezinski: Russia’s Invasion of Georgia Is Reminiscent of Stalin’s Attack on Finland:
By Nathan Gardels:
Fundamentally at stake is what kind of role Russia will play in the new international system. Unfortunately, Putin is putting Russia on a course that is ominously similar to Stalin’s and Hitler’s in the late 1930s. Swedish foreign minister Carl Bildt has correctly drawn an analogy between Putin’s “justification” for dismembering Georgia — because of the Russians in South Ossetia — to Hitler’s tactics vis a vis Czechoslovakia to “free” the Sudeten Deutsch.
www.informationclearinghouse.info/article20496.htm
===
The Reality Behind Western Propaganda Regarding War In Georgia
By Damian Lataan
Georgia would not have made any such move into South Ossetia without the backing of the US. It now seems, though, that both the US and Georgia have badly misjudged the Russian reaction and the US are unable to move.
www.informationclearinghouse.info/article20495.htm

Georgia On Our Mind By Jeff Berg

www.countercurrents.org/berg120808.htm
Georgia has no significant oil or gas reserves of its own but it is a key transit point for oil from the Caspian and central Asia destined for Europe and the US. Crucially, it is the only practical route from this increasingly important producer region that avoids both Russia and Iran. It is however those matters that are outside of the question of energy that are leading this relatively banal struggle for economic advantage to turn violent

Its Oil Again Stupid By David Truskoff

www.countercurrents.org/truskoff120808.htm
For the first time the world is learning of Israelis’ involvement in Georgia. Including the sale of Advanced weapons to Georgia and the training of the Georgian army’s infantry forces. I wonder who paid for that? OK so what is the military action really about?

Russia ‘ends Georgia operation’:
Russian President Dmitry Medvedev has ordered an end to military operations against Georgia, the Kremlin says. He told officials that the safety of Russian citizens and peacekeepers in South Ossetia had been restored
news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/europe/7555858.stm

Kremlin accepts Sarkozy ceasefire deal for Georgia:
President Sarkozy won the Kremlin’s agreement today on the conditions for a cessation of hostilities in Georgia that would see both sides return to their initial positions before fighting erupted last week.
www.timesonline.co.uk/tol/news/world/europe/article4516025.ece

Russia leaves open chance of further strikes into Georgia :
Russia also used a show of military force to warn Georgia against taking strategic advantage of Moscow’s decision to end hostilities. Within an hour of the order to halt action, the Daily Telegraph witnessed Russian helicopter gunships launch missile strikes deep inside undisputed Georgian territory.
tinyurl.com/63pj6b

Georgian army flees in disarray as Russians advance:
The Georgian Army was in complete disarray last night after troops and tanks fled the town of Gori in panic and abandoned it to the Russians without firing a shot.
www.timesonline.co.uk/tol/news/world/europe/article4509692.ece

Georgian troops fire at refugees:
Authorities in South Ossetia say Georgian troops have shelled the road being used for evacuating people from the conflict zone, according to Russian Interfax news agency. Attacks are continuing in the South Ossetian region, despite claims from Georgia that it was imposing a ceasefire.
www.russiatoday.com/news/news/28838

Bush warns Russia to pull back in Georgia :
Bush warned Russia in his strongest comments since the fighting erupted over Georgia’s separatist South Ossetia region last week to “reverse the course it appears to be on” and abandon any attempt it may have to topple Georgia’s pro-western government.
www.breitbart.com/article.php?id=D92GC5G80&show_article=1

U.S. troops still in Georgia:
The U.S. European Command said on Monday that there were no plans at this time to withdraw the U.S. military trainers from the country. There are still 127 U.S. trainers in Georgia, where the American forces had been preparing the Georgian army
www.stripes.com/article.asp?section=104&article=56704

Russia angered by Israeli drone sale to Georgia:
Georgia has credited Israeli military assistance after claiming the destruction of at least 11 Russian combat aircraft and 50 main battle tanks.
www.worldtribune.com/worldtribune/
WTARC/2008/eu_georgia0419_08_11.asp

Israeli Has $1 Billion Invested in Georgia:
The Jewish state and private investors have provided military assistance and advisors to Georgia, where pipelines pump oil destined for Israel. A new pipeline is being built to bypass Russian territory.
www.israelnationalnews.com/News/Flash.aspx/151211

Russian Cameraman: CNN Aired Misleading Footage —Broadcaster showed Georgian forces attacking South Ossetia, claimed it was Russians attacking Gori By Paul Joseph Watson 12 Aug 2008 CNN is airing misleading footage of the war between Georgia and Russia, skewing public opinion in favor of the Georgians, according to a Russia Today cameraman interviewed this morning. The Russia Today satellite TV company aired the interview on its English language news channel… The Russian cameraman charged that CNN had used his footage of Georgian forces attacking Russian civilians in Tskhinvali, the provincial capital of South Ossetia, but then claimed it showed Russians attacking Georgians in the Georgian town of Gori.
www.prisonplanet.com/russian-cameraman
-cnn-aired-misleading-footage.html

Top Georgian intelligence officer arrested in Russia 12 Aug 2008 Russian security forces have arrested a top Georgian intelligence officer on charges of collecting data on Russian troops in the North Caucasus and breakaway South Ossetia’s president, the FSB said on Tuesday. The Federal Security Service gave the intelligence officer’s surname as Kherksladze, and said the suspect had described himself as the deputy head of Georgia’s Foreign Intelligence Service. The FSB said Kherksladze has been running a network of agents in Russia collecting information, “including on military and strategic facilities in the Southern Federal District.”
en.rian.ru/russia/20080812/115981425.html

Israeli reporter hurt in Georgia 12 Aug 2008 An Israeli journalist was wounded in Georgia. Yediot Achronot reporter Tzadok Yehezkeli suffered serious chest wounds Tuesday while covering the fighting between Georgian and Russian forces in Gori, his newspaper said. Yehezkeli was evacuated to a hospital in Tbilisi and was in stable condition. Several journalists have been killed or wounded in the war that erupted last week over Georgia’s breakaway South Ossetia region.
www.jta.org/cgi-bin/iowa/breaking/109894.html

Brown issues coded threat to Putin on G8 status 12 Aug 2008 Gordon Brown, the Prime Minister, has condemned Russia’s actions in Georgia as “unjustified” and warned that the escalation in tension risked destabilising the entire region. In a strongly worded statement, he signalled that Moscow was putting its international reputation on the line with its “continued aggression” against the independent country. That remark will be interpreted as a coded warning about Russia’s status as a G8 member. [Oh. Why hasn’t Bush been deep-sixed as a G8 member for his ‘continued aggression’ in Iraq and Afghanistan?]
news.scotsman.com/latestnews/Brown
-issues-coded-threat-to.4378217.jp

Widening Russian action in Georgia affecting global oil supplies 11 Aug 2008 Oil traders on Monday shrugged off Russia’s widening invasion of neighboring Georgia, but if the conflict spreads further it could threaten nearly 1 million barrels per day of needed global crude supplies from the Caspian Sea, most of it bound for Europe.
www.mcclatchydc.com/255/story/47617.html

Bush: Why don’t you shut up? (Timothy Bancroft-Hinchey) 12 Aug 2008 Taking the words of the illustrious King of Spain, in his imbecillic retort to President Hugo Chavez, we use them not as a response to a diatribe but rather, a just retort to an imbecile. President [sic] George W. Bush, why don’t you shut up? President Bush, Why don’t you shut up? In your statement on Monday regarding the legitimate actions of the Russian Federation in Georgia, you failed to mention once the war crimes perpetrated by Georgian military forces, which American advisors support, against Russian and Ossetian civilians. Kinda embarrassing, eh? President Bush, Why don’t you shut up? Your faithful ally, Mikhail Saakashvili, was announcing a ceasefire deal while his troops, with your advisors, were massing on Ossetia’s border, which they crossed under cover of night and destroyed Tskhinvali, targeting civilian structures just like your forces did in Iraq. Kinda humanitarian, eh?
english.pravda.ru/opinion/columnists/106067-0/

McCain: Add ‘plagiarizer’ and ‘lying sack of sh*t’ to his resume: Did McCain Plagiarize His Speech on the Georgia Crisis? 11 Aug 2008 A Wikipedia editor emailed Political Wire to point out some similarities between Sen. John McCain’s speech today on the crisis in Georgia and the Wikipedia article on the country Georgia. Given the closeness of the words and sentence structure, most would consider parts of McCain’s speech to be derived directly from Wikipedia.
blogs.cqpolitics.com/politicalinsider/2008/
08/did-mccain-plagarize-his-speec.html

Bush’s War In Georgia By Mike Whitney

www.countercurrents.org/whitney120808.htm
Washington’s bloody fingerprints are all over the invasion of South Ossetia. Georgia President Mikhail Saakashvili would never dream of launching a massive military attack unless he got explicit orders from his bosses at 1600 Pennsylvania Ave. After all, Saakashvili owes his entire political career to American power-brokers and US intelligence agencies