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TechnoratiVladimir Putin, Russia's prime minister, said yesterday that the Caucasus crisis was started by the US as an election ploy.
![[A patriarch blesses coffins of unknown Georgian soldiers in Mukhadgverdi, west of Tbilisi. (Photograph: Olivier Laban-Mattei/AFP/Getty Images)]](http://www.commondreams.org/files/article_images/georgiasoldiers.jpg "georgiasoldiers.jpg")
As Moscow found itself increasingly isolated internationally for invading Georgia and recognising two breakaway regions of the country as independent states, Putin suggested that the Georgia war had been cooked up in Washington to create a neo-cold war climate that would strengthen Republican candidate John McCain's bid for the White House.
After Wednesday's denunciation of Russian conduct by the G7 group of leading industrial democracies, Russia's key allies also resisted Moscow's pressure yesterday for support over Georgia.
At a summit in Tajikistan of the Shanghai Cooperation Organisation, which Putin set up seven years ago, China and four ex-Soviet central Asian countries called for respect for the territorial integrity of states and criticised the use of force to redraw borders, a rebuke of Russian conduct.
President Dmitry Medvedev went to Dushanbe, Tajikistan's capital, to try to drum up support for Russia's position. But the summit statement only served to highlight Russia's worsening isolation. "Russia does not feel isolated and is not afraid to be isolated," said Yevgeny Chizhov, the Russian ambassador in Brussels.
He warned the EU that it would come off worse than Russia if a summit of EU leaders on Monday decided to impose sanctions on Russia, as suggested yesterday by Bernard Kouchner, the French foreign minister.
The EU summit, called by France, is the first such emergency meeting since the lead-up to the war in Iraq in 2003.
"Certain countries have asked that sanctions be imposed," said Kouchner. "Sanctions are being considered and many other measures."
He said the aim on Monday was to demonstrate strongly that Europe did not accept what had happened in Georgia.
EU ambassadors are to meet in Brussels today to debate how to respond to the Georgia crisis. Despite Kouchner's words, economic or trade sanctions are not likely to be imposed by the European leaders whose countries depend on Russian gas and oil supplies and whose big business has much at stake in Russia.
There is some pressure for diplomatic retaliation against Moscow and to call off scheduled negotiations on a new strategic pact between the EU and Russia.
But the European commission said the next Russia-EU negotiations were still scheduled for next month and Chizhov said he knew of no plan to cancel them.
Sergei Lavrov, the Russian foreign minister, treated the talk of European sanctions with contempt. "That's a demonstration of complete confusion, the product of a sick mind," he said.
Sanctions, said Chizhov, "will be to the detriment of the EU as much if not more than to Russia. I certainly hope reason and common sense will prevail".
Jean-Pierre Jouyet, France's minister for Europe, made it plain that Paris did not want to sever channels of communication with Russia. "The essential aim [of the summit], following the latest Russian declarations, is to show Europe's unity and capacity to act, balancing the need for dialogue and the need for firmness towards Russia," he told a meeting of diplomats.
In an interview with CNN, Putin, seen as the main force behind Russia's hammering of Georgia, amplified conspiracy theories aired in the Russian media - that the war was created by Dick Cheney, the US vice-president, and McCain to create an international crisis and fan anti-Russian hostility that would undermine Barack Obama's chances of getting to the Oval Office. "The suspicion arises that someone in the United States especially created this conflict to make the situation more tense and create a competitive advantage for one of the candidates fighting for the post of US president," Putin said.
The White House said Putin's allegations were "patently false" and the state department said it was "ludicrous" for the Russians to say they were not responsible for what had happened in Georgia.
20 Comments so far
Show AllI have finally located a transcript of Putin's CNN interview, http://www.cnn.com/2008/WORLD/europe/08/29/putin.transcript/
It make very intersting reading and is a very good counter to the West's Propaganda System. AS in the other link I posted, Putin refers to the presence in Georgia of US miltry advisors and tariners who could not have avoided knowing of the rather overt moves by Georgia's miltary. The back-peddeling of the US to way after-the-fact announce that the US had tried to deter Saakishvili's intentions ring hollow and are clear attempts at damage control.
Did you know that the Defence Minister in Georgia is an ISRAELI?
Are we the Prisoner of Akbhazia yet?
America's 'foreign policy' is more like a Soap Opera every day.
I wrote to my rep. years ago to avoid puting ABMs on the Russian border lest we fall into
JFK's Cuban Missile Crises trap again. Who remembers where our fallout shelters are?
Here are some gems from Amnesty International:
"Possible ethnic targeting
Civilians in Georgia and the Russian Federation remain vulnerable to ethnically motivated attacks. Irregular armed groups, reported to have formed in and around the region of South Ossetia, have carried out human rights abuses.
Houses in ethnic Georgian villages in South Ossetia have been burned and looted and there have been reports of civilians killed. Looting and burning of houses also took place in the Gori region of western Georgia."
So much for the Russian lie of "2,000 S Ossetians" dead:
"Amnesty International is concerned that some of the bombardments both in South Ossetia and in parts of Georgia proper during the conflict may have amounted to indiscriminate or direct attacks on civilians, which constitute war crimes. There is still a lack of precise numbers of civilians killed during the conflict. On 20 August, Russian authorities reported that 133 South Ossetian civilians had been killed, and on 21 August Georgian authorities reported that 69 Georgian citizens, who were civilians, had been killed during the conflict."
From Human Rights Watch:
"Georgia: Civilians Bear the Brunt of Conflict
In the Russian-Georgian military conflict civilians have suffered disproportionately. Indiscriminate shelling by Georgian and Russian military forces killed and injured civilians and left many homeless. Russian-backed Ossetian militias have attacked, abducted and killed ethnic Georgian civilians and have looted and burned Georgian villages. Russian cluster munition attacks have killed and injured civilians and unexploted cluster submunitions continue to threaten the civil population. Tens of thousands of people have been displaced by the conflict."
"Georgia: Satellite Images Show Destruction, Ethnic Attacks
Russia Should Investigate, Prosecute Crimes
Recent satellite images released by the UN program UNOSAT confirm the widespread torching of ethnic Georgian villages inside South Ossetia, Human Rights Watch said today. Detailed analysis of the damage depicted in five ethnic Georgian villages shows the destruction of these villages around the South Ossetian capital, Tskhinvali, was caused by intentional burning and not armed combat."
"What, exactly, was the "terrorism" that the Georgians engaged in, by the
way. Almost all of the Russian propaganda has been proven to be lies."
I believe all the American propapanda used to get us into Iraq has also
been proven to be lies. And after those lies why should any of us believe
anything Bush, McSame or the "media" feeds us. Maybe if we kept our asses
out of other countries, the whole world would be a better place. It seems
that anywhere there is trouble, we are there "advising and training". We
are in Georgia, as advisers of course, and Bush is pushing his missile
system into Russia's back door. Why wouldn't Russia be upset? Weren't we
upset when they sent missiles to Cuba in the 60's? And where does Bush
get the right to scold Russia for attacking someone when we are currently
occupying TWO countries?
I'm not saying what they did was right, just that America was just as
wrong.
Are you arguing that because America was wrong in Iraq, thugs everywhere have a free hand? That is real progressive...
I can just imagine:
"No, president Chavez, you cannot complain about the Columbian agression on Ecuatorian territory. You see, the Americans are wrong in Iraq...".
Let's be realistic. Putin is protecting "its" sphere of control and all the big states are doing the same. They can afford now to show some teeth. Do we like it or not ( I don't) they are a superpower again, this time because of energy resources. But should be any questions that Republicans need an outside threat to elect a war-compentent president? What else do they have in their sleeve than generating another national threat?
For the people responsible for the last eight years winning election may be seen in terms of "live or die". If Republicans win - no problem. If Dems do - who knows what they can do if things get worse (and they will)? So much is on stake.
If you understand that Georgia is so keen to get to NATO, isn't it easy to manipulate them? This all is very simple. Tragic, scary but simple. The only good thing about it may be that after all they will not attack Iran. The oil market balance is so fragile that the Iran disaster is truly not acceptable to anyone. Angry Gustav can do it enough havoc. How much power does it then give to Russia which controls the oil valve big way!
"How one can oppose the illegal invasion of Iraq and not oppose the equally illegal invasion of Georgia utterly escapes me."
The USA illegally moved its military tens of thousands of miles across the planet to illegally invade a sovereign nation that was not threatening its neighbours, based on the most patent lies, without a UN Mandate, and against the expressed will of the majority of the planet.
Russia was in its next door neighbour South Ossetia in a peackeeping role, had been since the early 1990's, had full UN mandate to be there, and was brutally attacked by the US backed psycho from Georgia using US weapons and US military advisors.
Does THAT make it any clearer, my simple minded friend?
"The only means of strengthening one's intellect is to make up one's mind about nothing, to let the mind be a thoroughfare for all thoughts." - John Keats
I repeat, How can one oppose the ILLEGAL invasion of Iraq while not opposing the equally ILLEGAL invasion of Georgia?
Or are you arguing that it was NOT illegal? What UN mandate allowed the Russians to invade? Without one, it was illegal, my close minded friend.
I hope you are not going to throw the "2000 dead" S Ossetians lie out either, that has been disproved. As has the "genocide" charges. What has NOT been refuted is Human Rights Watch's claim that the Russians used Cluster Bombs on Gori.
I would be interested in knowing if the people posting here EVER disbelieve any propaganda disseminated by countries opposed to America?
How one can oppose the illegal invasion of Iraq and not oppose the equally illegal invasion of Georgia utterly escapes me.
Then again, I have read on here serious statements that, for example, Zimbabwe is a democracy, and that there is no Chinese oppression in Tibet, so I guess I should not be too surprised.
The leader of Georgia committed an act of Terrorism against the Ossetians. The Russians responded by counterattacking the terrorists, pursuing them to their bases and destroyed their ability to further terrorize their neighbors. Do you understand it now that you've been told the Truth? In fact, Georgian civilians are very lucky at Russia's very measured response. If the US or Israel were doing the responding, you'd be reading about thousands of dead innocent civilians--the famous Collateral Damage.
I'm not saying the Russans are Saints. What they did in Chechnya was an abomination, which is why Bush initially liked Putin. But lets get things straight here. The US Empire is the leading International Terrorist entity, and has had that distinction since the end of WW2, having killed and displaced many millions. It panned Operation Northwoods, a terrorist attack on its own citizens to provide the grounds for a second terrorist attack on the Cuban people. It's very likely that the US government aided some aspect(s) of 9/11/2001. And the Anthrax Killer was definately part of Big War. Enough truth for you yet "Thruth Teller"? You might spend your holiday weekend finding out why the US has a seperate day honoring labor when May 1 is the internationaly recognized day honoring labor.
What UN resolution allowed the Russians to invade a sovereign state? Without one, it was illegal. That is a no brainer.
What, exactly, was the "terrorism" that the Georgians engaged in, by the way. Almost all of the Russian propaganda has been proven to be lies.
I am sure the residents of Gori are happy at the Russian barbarians' "measured" use of cluster bombs.
The Russians have the right to self-defense as their peacekeepers were deliberatly targeted at the evry outsert of Georgia's terror. All war is terrorism, you fool. And you are too gullible.
Thinking people do not trust the corrupt administration you seem to support. It is not a matter of disbelief; it is a matter of trust. After having been caught in so many intentional lies the Bush administration has lost credibility with logically thinking Americans. Many Americans no longer believe the the rhetoric. It's not that they support the illegal invasion of Georgia; its that they no longer believe the POS when he claims he had nothing to do with it. He has cried WOLF!...once too often.
I do not trust Bush. Why do you trust Putin?
I'll say it again -
McCain cannot win on domestic issues.
Chaos and fear-mongering are the Republican platform, in order to create ENEMY for US, so McCain can ride in on his white horse.
The Fear Factory is working overtime. Expect more insanity twixt now and election day.
The one assertion in this piece that may be true is that mccain was to be the beneficiary. I get a kick when I read or hear "Russia isolated" - "Iran isolated" By WHO? - Other than the usual suspects.
This whole Georgia issue is the perfect example to throw in the face of those who believe the MSM is on the left, or even on the right for that matter.
(As if we needed one after the cheer-leading in the lead up to Iraq).
The MSM is corporate, pro neoliberal economics, pro globalization, pro consumerism, pro military-industrial complex.
It is racist, sexist, and ethnocentric.
It has no political affiliation. It wants to sensationalize and it wants to make money. It wants to entertain and distract.
This whole "liberal media" thing will boggle my mind 'till the day I die.
Nothing is above the Republican
Remember
WMD
Niger Uranium
Iraq and 9/11 contact
Nice propaganda piece. In his CNN interview, Putin noted that Georgian military officials went on live television TWICE to say they were declaring war on South Ossetia. Do you see that info in the above item? Of course not. What we have here is a brazen act of Terrorism perpetrated by the Georgian government and allowed to happen by the US and NATO, in much the same manner as Israel was allowed to do the same to Lebanon. The parallels are very striking. Has the Propaganda System condemned Saakashvili as a Terrorist? Where are the cries for him to be arrested like Milosivich and sent to The Hague?
McCain did get a significant upward boost in the polls soon after this Terrosrist act, which was noted by the Propaganda System. There was a lot of talk about who would be best to confront Russia in the New Cold War. What we have here is a clear example of a segment of the Propaganda System working just as the Ministry of Truth was described by Orwell trying to erase the actual tacts of the past and replace them with falsehoods. Finally, we have incontrovertible evidence about just what sort of organization the Guardian is.
For those wanting a better description of Georgia's terroristic act, please go to the following link, http://www.aeronautics.ru/img/lj/The%20War%20in%20Georgia.pdf whose author is a Russian emigre living in the US.