The specter of their crimes against the Serbian nation in Kosovo came back today to haunt the West. Today we witnessed a historic moment when Russian President Dimitry Medevedev signed decrees that in effect officially recognized the independence of Abkhazia and South Ossetia. Needless to say, tensions are continuing to mount between Washington and Moscow.
We may be heading towards a major confrontation between Russia and the West. No sane person wants a war. However, there are powerful demons within Western governments today that are steering the global community towards a major crisis. The evidence of this agenda have been and continues to be as numerous as it is obvious: NATO's aggressive push eastward despite strong Russian objections; Missile defense shield being setup around the periphery of Russian Federation despite strong Russian objections; the Bush administration's annulment of the Anti-Ballistic Missile treaty despite strong Russian objections; Western support for anti-Russian Islamic insurgency within the Caucasus and Central Asia despite strong Russian objections; Western support for color revolutions within former Soviet republics despite strong Russian objections; the egregious crimes against the Serbian nation despite strong Russian objections; the illegal invasion of Iraq by the West despite strong Russian objections; the threatening of Iran and Syria by the West despite strong Russian objections. The list is quite long.
The West has been embarked on a long-term agenda to isolate and undermine the Russian Federation. Thus, sooner-or-later, Moscow had to react to the overt hostility it has had to endure. On August 8, 2008 the Russian Federation was provided with a legitimate excuse. Washington's puppet regime in Tbilisi, feeling emboldened and empowered by the aid it was receiving from the West and elsewhere, provided Moscow with the historic opportunity to reshape regional geopolitics. As the world watched in awe, Georgia's NATO and EU aspirations were effectively crushed under the sheer weight of Russian tanks. The message was unmistakably loud and clear: The Russian Bear has reawaken and it's on an angry prowl.
However, a question remains: Why did the West choose confrontation with Russia instead of embracing it when it had a genuine chance to do so after the Soviet collapse? The answer seems to be: Russia's great potential due to its vast geography, virtually limitless natural resources and its lethal nuclear armed military; the Western world's economic decline and political impotence; and the Western world's almost instinctual/historical fear of Russia. Thus, it was only inevitable that despite Russia's major transfiguration in 1991, the political and financial establishment in the West would continue viewing Moscow as a hostile nation and would resort to many measures to undermine the fledgling state.
Nevertheless, with the reemergence of a truly independent state apparatus under Putin's capable rule, the Russian nation was finally able to bury the shameful legacy of the 1990s. Today, the West's global hegemony has finally been checked, in large part thanks to the Russian Federation. With its vast natural wealth and a highly capable nuclear armed military, I personally believe that the Russian Federation is the only political entity on earth today that can effectively stop demons in the West from realizing their global agenda of enslavement, exploitation and the spreading of a new form of communism - globalization. Russia, perhaps the last bastion of Christendom, has been and continues to be a natural bulwark against American imperialism, Zionism, NATO expansionism, Globalism, pan-Turkism and Islamic fundamentalism.
I don't wish to see another war in Russia for it has seen far too many wars in its history. However, the sad reality is that Russians will sooner-or-later face yet another major war in defense of their much coveted land. Periodic bloodshed in defense of Mother Russia seems to be their national curse. As a Christian Armenian nationalist, I simply want the Russian people to prevail and I am confidant that they will. I am also confidant that the Armenian republic will firmly stand by its great ally to the north in this time of need. I have been looking forward to the full reawakening of the Russian Bear for some years now. Thank God, the momentous time has finally arrived.
I stated a while back that the situation in Kosovo, regardless of its outcome, was a win-win opportunity for Moscow. Had the West backed-off from its agenda in Kosovo, Moscow would have come out of the situation as a hero and NATO/EU would have suffered a major regional setback. Had the West pushed its agenda in Kosovo despite Russian objections (as it did), Moscow would use the situation to its political advantage elsewhere, like what it is doing now in the Caucasus.
We may be heading towards a major confrontation between Russia and the West. No sane person wants a war. However, there are powerful demons within Western governments today that are steering the global community towards a major crisis. The evidence of this agenda have been and continues to be as numerous as it is obvious: NATO's aggressive push eastward despite strong Russian objections; Missile defense shield being setup around the periphery of Russian Federation despite strong Russian objections; the Bush administration's annulment of the Anti-Ballistic Missile treaty despite strong Russian objections; Western support for anti-Russian Islamic insurgency within the Caucasus and Central Asia despite strong Russian objections; Western support for color revolutions within former Soviet republics despite strong Russian objections; the egregious crimes against the Serbian nation despite strong Russian objections; the illegal invasion of Iraq by the West despite strong Russian objections; the threatening of Iran and Syria by the West despite strong Russian objections. The list is quite long.
The West has been embarked on a long-term agenda to isolate and undermine the Russian Federation. Thus, sooner-or-later, Moscow had to react to the overt hostility it has had to endure. On August 8, 2008 the Russian Federation was provided with a legitimate excuse. Washington's puppet regime in Tbilisi, feeling emboldened and empowered by the aid it was receiving from the West and elsewhere, provided Moscow with the historic opportunity to reshape regional geopolitics. As the world watched in awe, Georgia's NATO and EU aspirations were effectively crushed under the sheer weight of Russian tanks. The message was unmistakably loud and clear: The Russian Bear has reawaken and it's on an angry prowl.
However, a question remains: Why did the West choose confrontation with Russia instead of embracing it when it had a genuine chance to do so after the Soviet collapse? The answer seems to be: Russia's great potential due to its vast geography, virtually limitless natural resources and its lethal nuclear armed military; the Western world's economic decline and political impotence; and the Western world's almost instinctual/historical fear of Russia. Thus, it was only inevitable that despite Russia's major transfiguration in 1991, the political and financial establishment in the West would continue viewing Moscow as a hostile nation and would resort to many measures to undermine the fledgling state.
Nevertheless, with the reemergence of a truly independent state apparatus under Putin's capable rule, the Russian nation was finally able to bury the shameful legacy of the 1990s. Today, the West's global hegemony has finally been checked, in large part thanks to the Russian Federation. With its vast natural wealth and a highly capable nuclear armed military, I personally believe that the Russian Federation is the only political entity on earth today that can effectively stop demons in the West from realizing their global agenda of enslavement, exploitation and the spreading of a new form of communism - globalization. Russia, perhaps the last bastion of Christendom, has been and continues to be a natural bulwark against American imperialism, Zionism, NATO expansionism, Globalism, pan-Turkism and Islamic fundamentalism.
I don't wish to see another war in Russia for it has seen far too many wars in its history. However, the sad reality is that Russians will sooner-or-later face yet another major war in defense of their much coveted land. Periodic bloodshed in defense of Mother Russia seems to be their national curse. As a Christian Armenian nationalist, I simply want the Russian people to prevail and I am confidant that they will. I am also confidant that the Armenian republic will firmly stand by its great ally to the north in this time of need. I have been looking forward to the full reawakening of the Russian Bear for some years now. Thank God, the momentous time has finally arrived.
I stated a while back that the situation in Kosovo, regardless of its outcome, was a win-win opportunity for Moscow. Had the West backed-off from its agenda in Kosovo, Moscow would have come out of the situation as a hero and NATO/EU would have suffered a major regional setback. Had the West pushed its agenda in Kosovo despite Russian objections (as it did), Moscow would use the situation to its political advantage elsewhere, like what it is doing now in the Caucasus.
Arevordi
***
Medvedev backs independence for Abkhazia and South Ossetia: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=z2GOce2295U
August, 2008
Defying the US and Europe, Russian president Dmitry Medvedev announced that he has signed a decree recognising the independence of the breakaway Georgian territories of South Ossetia and Abkhazia. Few other nations are likely to follow Russia's lead but the move is sure to further escalate tensions between Moscow and the West. "This is not an easy choice but this is the only chance to save people's lives," Medvedev said in a televised address a day after Russia's Kremlin-controlled parliament voted unanimously to support the diplomatic recognition. Medvedev's declaration came as Russian forces remain in Georgia after a war, staking out positions beyond the de-facto borders of the separatist regions. Abkhazia and South Ossetia have effectively ruled themselves following wars with Georgia in the 1990s. Russia's military presence seems likely to further weaken Georgia, a Western ally in the Caucasus region, a major transit corridor for energy supplies to Europe and a strategic crossroads close to the Middle East, Iran, Afghanistan, Russia and energy-rich Central Asia. Russian tanks and troops drove deep into the US ally's territory in a five-day war this month that Moscow saw as a justified response to a military threat in its backyard and the West viewed as a repeat of Soviet-style intervention in its neighbouring states. Medvedev said Georgian President Mikhail Saakashvili had forced Russia's hand by launching an August 7 attack to seize control of South Ossetia by force. "Saakashvili chose genocide to fulfil his political plans," Medvedev said. "Georgia chose the least human way to achieve its goal"
Source: http://ukpress.google.com/article/AL...yotDvcnZgS39Dg
Confrontational Russia
TO GEORGIAN fury, Western consternation and strong support at home, Russia’s government recognised two breakaway regions of Georgia as independent countries on Tuesday August 26th. The map of Europe is different, and darker, as a result. The planned dispatch of Russian diplomats to open embassies in Sukhumi and Tskhinvali, the main cities in Abkhazia and South Ossetia respectively, marks the formal dismemberment of Georgia: until very recently, Russia had at least in theory accepted its neighbour’s territorial integrity. As long as Russia kept up its recognition of Georgian territorial integrity, it could claim that its soldiers in both places were peacekeepers operating under international mandates. Cynics, such as Georgia's president, Mikheil Saakashvili, had long joked that the Russian forces should be called “piece-keepers”, whose real role was to maintain the Kremlin's influence in the former empire. Russia says that its forces are protecting the Abkhaz and Ossetians from Georgian attack. Diplomatic historians may find that the two new countries will not make for enduring study. The next act in the drama may well be that both new countries ask to become part of the Russian Federation. That underlines Russia’s dramatic military victory against Georgia in this month’s war, giving it a permanent presence south of the Caucasus mountains, close to the vital oil and gas pipelines that bring energy from the Caspian region and Central Asia to Turkey and beyond. Russia likes to draw parallels with Kosovo—a state carved out of Serbia as a result of Western military intervention. But the parallel is superficial. Few embassies will open in South Ossetia. Close Russian allies such as Belarus and Tajikistan will be keen to put on a show of support. Others may be more chary of recognising Russian puppet states as independent countries. Moldova and Azerbaijan, for example, have headaches with similar entities, Transdniestria and Nagorno-Karabakh. Like South Ossetia and Abkhazia, they are the result of ethnic flare-ups in the dying days of the Soviet Union.
Source: http://www.economist.com/world/europ...ry_id=11998649
Russia cruiser to test weapons in crowded Black Sea
Russia's flagship cruiser has re-entered the Black Sea for weapons tests hours after the Russian military complained about the presence of US and other Nato naval ships near the Georgian coast. The 'Moskva' had led a battle group of Russian naval vessels stationed off the coastline of Georgia's breakaway region of Abkhazia during Russia's recent conflict with Georgia and sank smaller Georgian craft. The assistant to the Russian Navy's commander-in-chief told Russian news agencies the cruiser had put to sea again two days after returning to its base at the Ukrainian port of Sevastopol. "'Moskva' has today departed toward the Black Sea Fleet's naval training range to check its radio-controlled weapons and onboard communications systems," Captain Igor Dygalo was quoted as saying by Interfax. The Russian navy's press office was unable to confirm his comments when contacted by Reuters. The presence of so many ships from Nato countries earlier drew the ire of a Russian military spokesman during a daily media briefing on the conflict. "The fact that there are nine Western warships in the Black Sea cannot but be a cause for concern. They include two US warships, one each from Spain and Poland, and four from Turkey," Anatoly Nogovitsyn, the deputy chief of the Russian military's General Staff said. On Sunday, the US guided missile destroyer USS McFaul arrived with aid including camp beds, bedding, tents and mobile kitchen units, the US Defence Department spokesman Bryan. Whitman said. Separately, the US Coast Guard cutter Dallas has been dispatched with aid, while a third vessel, the Navy command ship USS Mount Whitney, is being loaded in Italy with humanitarian supplies for Georgia, he said. The Nato ships in the Black Sea are carrying more than 100 'Tomahawk' cruise missiles, with more than 50 onboard the USS McFaul alone that could hit ground targets, reported RIA news agency, quoting unnamed sources in Russian military intelligence.
Source: http://www.stuff.co.nz/4668809a12.html
Russian Mediterranean warships placed under Black Sea Fleet command
The Russian Navy chief, Adm. Vladimir Vysotsky announced Sunday, Aug. 24, that its warships in the Mediterranean region have been placed under the command of Russia’s Black Sea Fleet. At the same time, the American aircraft carrier, the Iwo Jima Expeditionary Strike Group heading a six-vessel contingent set sail this week for the Mediterranean and Persian Gulf, with 6,000 sailors and marines aboard. Then on Monday, the Russian general staff took the further step of announcing regular searches of all cargoes transiting the Georgian port of Poti. DEBKAfile’s military sources report extreme concern in Israel’s military and navy. Washington and Jerusalem both regard the link-up of Russian naval operations in the two waters a further aggressive Russian step in the Cold War spreading out of Georgia to the Black Sea, the Ukraine, and other parts of the Caucasian region. Moscow’s Black Sea Fleet headquarters at the Ukrainian port of Sevastopol will henceforth be in command of the flotilla to be deployed at the Syrian port of Tartus. The Black Sea’s flagship, the Moskva missile cruiser, was accordingly detached Saturday, Aug. 23, from the Russian naval contingent heading for Syria and recalled to Sevastopol. Henceforth, the Moska will act as joint flagship for the Black Sea and Mediterranean fleets, linking to two under a single command. Moscow’s announcement Monday that Russian forces would search cargoes transiting Poti underscored its determination to retain its grip on the strategic Black Sea port. At the opposite end of the new Russian maritime chain, US and Israeli satellites have recently observed large dredgers operating at the Syrian port of Tartus. They are believed to be preparing the small Mediterranean port to serve as permanent base for large Russian naval vessels, such as the Admiral Kuznetsov – right opposite the US Sixth Fleet and in close proximity to Israeli waters and shores. Boosting the US naval buildup in the region, Tuesday, Aug. 26, the USS Iwo Jima leaves Norfolk for the Mediterranean and Persian Gulf at the head of a large group which includes the USS San Antonio amphibious transport dock ship.
Source: http://www.debka.com/index1.php
Medvedev Exclusive: We’re Not Afraid of Cold War
Medvedev`s exclusive interview with RT: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=VXFP3xD0ozU
With the Russian parliament backing the independence of the breakaway republics of Abkhazia and South Ossetia, President Dmitry Medvedev gives his views on the issue in an exclusive interview with RT.
RT: Immediately after Kosovo’s independence was recognised, Moscow said this could become a precedent for South Ossetia and Abkhazia. Today, you made a decision to support these republics’ independence. Why did Russia do it? Does this square with international law?
Medvedev: I'll start with your second question. This is fully in line with international law. When the case of Kosovo arose, my colleagues said this was a special case, or, as experts in international affairs say, casus sui generis. Well, each case of such recognition is a special case. The situation in Kosovo was special, and the situation in South Ossetia and Abkhazia is special as well. In our situation, it is quite obvious that we made this decision in order to prevent genocide and annihilation of these peoples, and to help them to come to their feet. These unrecognised republics have been struggling for their independence for seventeen years now. Despite all attempts by the international community, no progress was made during this time. Until just recently, we tried to help restore the state unite of Georgia. However, it didn’t work. The decision to launch an aggression buried all hopes of achieving an agreement. Thus, under current circumstances, the only way to preserve these peoples is to recognise them as subjects of international law, to recognize their state independence. That is why our decision is fully in line with international law, the UN Charter, Helsinki declarations and other international documents.
RT: Is Russia prepared for a long and tough confrontation with leading world powers that the decision it made today may lead to? And, in general, aren’t we afraid of the prospect to enter another Cold War?
Medvedev: We are not afraid of anything, the prospect of another Cold War included. Of course, we don't want that. In this situation, everything depends on the stand of our partners in the world community, our partners in the West. If they want to preserve good relations with Russia, they will understand the reason for making such a decision, and the situation will be calm. But if they choose a confrontational scenario, well, we‘ve been through all kinds of situations, and we’ll survive.
RT: You have signed the six-point agreement. One of the points says Russia should pull its troops out of Georgia. Nevertheless, Russia is still being accused of not meeting this obligation. Is this true? Are there Russian troops left in Georgia?
Medvedev: That's not true. Russia has fully met its obligations stemming from the six principles of the so-called Medvedev-Sarkozi agreement. Our troops have been withdrawn from Georgia, except for the so-called security corridor.
RT: The presidential campaign is underway in the US. Both candidates have spoken more than once on Russia’s actions in Georgia. Don’t you think this situation is being used as an instrument for the political struggle inside the US?
Medvedev: Well, as far as I know, usually during the elections in the United States of America, voters are quite indifferent to what is happening abroad. But if one of the candidates managed to use this question, well, godspeed him. The main thing is that it should not lead to international tensions. I have no doubt that both candidates will try to spin this situation for his purposes. But such are the rules of the election campaign.
Medvedev: I'll start with your second question. This is fully in line with international law. When the case of Kosovo arose, my colleagues said this was a special case, or, as experts in international affairs say, casus sui generis. Well, each case of such recognition is a special case. The situation in Kosovo was special, and the situation in South Ossetia and Abkhazia is special as well. In our situation, it is quite obvious that we made this decision in order to prevent genocide and annihilation of these peoples, and to help them to come to their feet. These unrecognised republics have been struggling for their independence for seventeen years now. Despite all attempts by the international community, no progress was made during this time. Until just recently, we tried to help restore the state unite of Georgia. However, it didn’t work. The decision to launch an aggression buried all hopes of achieving an agreement. Thus, under current circumstances, the only way to preserve these peoples is to recognise them as subjects of international law, to recognize their state independence. That is why our decision is fully in line with international law, the UN Charter, Helsinki declarations and other international documents.
RT: Is Russia prepared for a long and tough confrontation with leading world powers that the decision it made today may lead to? And, in general, aren’t we afraid of the prospect to enter another Cold War?
Medvedev: We are not afraid of anything, the prospect of another Cold War included. Of course, we don't want that. In this situation, everything depends on the stand of our partners in the world community, our partners in the West. If they want to preserve good relations with Russia, they will understand the reason for making such a decision, and the situation will be calm. But if they choose a confrontational scenario, well, we‘ve been through all kinds of situations, and we’ll survive.
RT: You have signed the six-point agreement. One of the points says Russia should pull its troops out of Georgia. Nevertheless, Russia is still being accused of not meeting this obligation. Is this true? Are there Russian troops left in Georgia?
Medvedev: That's not true. Russia has fully met its obligations stemming from the six principles of the so-called Medvedev-Sarkozi agreement. Our troops have been withdrawn from Georgia, except for the so-called security corridor.
RT: The presidential campaign is underway in the US. Both candidates have spoken more than once on Russia’s actions in Georgia. Don’t you think this situation is being used as an instrument for the political struggle inside the US?
Medvedev: Well, as far as I know, usually during the elections in the United States of America, voters are quite indifferent to what is happening abroad. But if one of the candidates managed to use this question, well, godspeed him. The main thing is that it should not lead to international tensions. I have no doubt that both candidates will try to spin this situation for his purposes. But such are the rules of the election campaign.
Source: http://www.russiatoday.com/news/news/29490
In related developments, an inbred redneck and a bloodthirsty Zionist spew their vile venom:
Russia's Aggression Is a Challenge to World Order
By LINDSEY GRAHAM and JOE LIEBERMAN
In the wake of Russia's invasion of Georgia, the United States and its trans-Atlantic allies have rightly focused on two urgent and immediate tasks: getting Russian soldiers out, and humanitarian aid in. But having just returned from Georgia, Ukraine and Poland, where we met with leaders of these countries, we believe it is imperative for the West to look beyond the day-to-day management of this crisis. The longer-term strategic consequences, some of which are already being felt far beyond the Caucasus, have to be addressed. Russia's aggression is not just a threat to a tiny democracy on the edge of Europe. It is a challenge to the political order and values at the heart of the continent.
For more than 60 years, from World War II through the Cold War to our intervention in the former Yugoslavia in the 1990s, the U.S. has fostered and fought for the creation of a Europe that is whole, free and at peace. This stands as one of the greatest strategic achievements of the 20th century: the gradual transformation of a continent, once the scene of the most violent and destructive wars ever waged, into an oasis of peace and prosperity where borders are open and uncontested and aggression unthinkable. Russia's invasion of Georgia represents the most serious challenge to this political order since Slobodan Milosevic unleashed the demons of ethnic nationalism in the Balkans. What is happening in Georgia today, therefore, is not simply a territorial dispute. It is a struggle about whether a new dividing line is drawn across Europe: between nations that are free to determine their own destinies, and nations that are consigned to the Kremlin's autocratic orbit.
That is the reason countries like Poland, Ukraine and the Baltic States are watching what happens in the Caucasus so closely. We heard that last week in Warsaw, Kiev and Tbilisi. There is no doubt in the minds of leaders in Ukraine and Poland -- if Moscow succeeds in Georgia, they may be next. There is disturbing evidence Russia is already laying the groundwork to apply the same arguments used to justify its intervention in Georgia to other parts of its near abroad -- most ominously in Crimea. This strategically important peninsula is part of Ukraine, but with a large ethnic Russian population and the headquarters of Russia's Black Sea Fleet at Sevastopol. The first priority of America and Europe must be to prevent the Kremlin from achieving its strategic objectives in Georgia. Having been deterred from marching on Tbilisi and militarily overthrowing the democratically elected government there, Russian forces spent last week destroying the country's infrastructure, including roads, bridges, port and security facilities. This was more than random looting. It was a deliberate campaign to collapse the economy of Georgia, in the hope of taking the government down with it.
The humanitarian supplies the U.S. military is now ferrying to Georgia are critically important to the innocent men, women and children displaced by the fighting, some of whom we saw last week. Also needed, immediately, is a joint commitment by the U.S. and the European Union to fund a large-scale, comprehensive reconstruction plan -- developed by the Georgian government, in consultation with the World Bank, IMF and other international authorities -- and for the U.S. Congress to support this plan as soon as it returns to session in September. Any assistance plan must also include the rebuilding of Georgia's security forces. Our past aid to the Georgian military focused on supporting the light, counterterrorism-oriented forces that facilitate Tbilisi's contribution to coalition operations in Iraq. We avoided giving the types of security aid that could have been used to blunt Russia's conventional onslaught. It is time for that to change. Specifically, the Georgian military should be given the antiaircraft and antiarmor systems necessary to deter any renewed Russian aggression. These defensive capabilities will help to prevent this conflict from erupting again, and make clear we will not allow the Russians to forcibly redraw the boundaries of sovereign nations.
Our response to the invasion of Georgia must include regional actions to reassure Russia's rattled neighbors and strengthen trans-Atlantic solidarity. This means reinvigorating NATO as a military alliance, not just a political one. Contingency planning for the defense of all member states against conventional and unconventional attack, including cyber warfare, needs to be revived. The credibility of Article Five of the NATO Charter -- that an attack against one really can and will be treated as an attack against all -- needs to be bolstered. The U.S. must also reaffirm its commitment to allies that have been the targets of Russian bullying because of their willingness to work with Washington. The recent missile-defense agreement between Poland and the U.S., for instance, is not aimed at Russia. But this has not stopped senior Russian officials from speaking openly about military retaliation against Warsaw. Irrespective of our political differences over missile defense, Democrats and Republicans should join together in Congress to pledge solidarity with Poland, along with the Czech Republic, against these outrageous Russian threats.
Finally, the U.S. and Europe need a new trans-Atlantic energy alliance. In recent years, Russia has proven all too willing to use its oil and gas resources as a weapon, and to try to consolidate control over the strategic energy corridors to the West. By working together, an alliance can frustrate these designs and diminish our dependence on the foreign oil that is responsible for the higher energy prices here at home. In crafting a response to the Georgia crisis, we must above all reaffirm our conviction that Russia need not be a competitor or an adversary. Since the collapse of the Soviet Union, Democratic and Republican administrations have engaged Russia, sending billions of dollars to speed its economic recovery and welcoming its integration into the flagship institutions of the international community. We did this because we believed that a strong, prosperous Russia can be a strategic partner and a friend. We still do. But Russia's leaders have made a different choice. While we stand ready to rebuild relations with Moscow and work together on shared challenges, Russia's current course will only alienate and isolate it from the rest of the world.
We believe history will judge the Russian invasion of Georgia as a serious strategic miscalculation. Although it is for the moment flush with oil wealth, Russia's political elite remains kleptocratic, and its aggression exposed as much weakness as strength. The invasion of Georgia will not only have a unifying effect on the West, it also made clear that Russia -- unlike the Soviet Union -- has few real allies of strategic worth. To date, the only countries to defend Russia's actions in the Caucasus have been Cuba and Belarus -- and the latter, only after the Kremlin publicly complained about its silence. In the long run, a Russia that tries to define its greatness in terms of spheres of influence, client states and forced fealty to Moscow will fail -- impoverishing its citizens in the process. The question is only how long until Russia's leaders rediscover this lesson from their own history. Until they do, the watchword of the West must be solidarity: solidarity with the people of Georgia and its democratically elected government, solidarity with our allies throughout the region, and above all, solidarity with the values that have given meaning to our trans-Atlantic community of democracies and our vision of a European continent that is whole, free and at peace.
Mr. Graham is a Republican senator from South Carolina. Mr. Lieberman is an Independent Democratic senator from Connecticut.
For more than 60 years, from World War II through the Cold War to our intervention in the former Yugoslavia in the 1990s, the U.S. has fostered and fought for the creation of a Europe that is whole, free and at peace. This stands as one of the greatest strategic achievements of the 20th century: the gradual transformation of a continent, once the scene of the most violent and destructive wars ever waged, into an oasis of peace and prosperity where borders are open and uncontested and aggression unthinkable. Russia's invasion of Georgia represents the most serious challenge to this political order since Slobodan Milosevic unleashed the demons of ethnic nationalism in the Balkans. What is happening in Georgia today, therefore, is not simply a territorial dispute. It is a struggle about whether a new dividing line is drawn across Europe: between nations that are free to determine their own destinies, and nations that are consigned to the Kremlin's autocratic orbit.
That is the reason countries like Poland, Ukraine and the Baltic States are watching what happens in the Caucasus so closely. We heard that last week in Warsaw, Kiev and Tbilisi. There is no doubt in the minds of leaders in Ukraine and Poland -- if Moscow succeeds in Georgia, they may be next. There is disturbing evidence Russia is already laying the groundwork to apply the same arguments used to justify its intervention in Georgia to other parts of its near abroad -- most ominously in Crimea. This strategically important peninsula is part of Ukraine, but with a large ethnic Russian population and the headquarters of Russia's Black Sea Fleet at Sevastopol. The first priority of America and Europe must be to prevent the Kremlin from achieving its strategic objectives in Georgia. Having been deterred from marching on Tbilisi and militarily overthrowing the democratically elected government there, Russian forces spent last week destroying the country's infrastructure, including roads, bridges, port and security facilities. This was more than random looting. It was a deliberate campaign to collapse the economy of Georgia, in the hope of taking the government down with it.
The humanitarian supplies the U.S. military is now ferrying to Georgia are critically important to the innocent men, women and children displaced by the fighting, some of whom we saw last week. Also needed, immediately, is a joint commitment by the U.S. and the European Union to fund a large-scale, comprehensive reconstruction plan -- developed by the Georgian government, in consultation with the World Bank, IMF and other international authorities -- and for the U.S. Congress to support this plan as soon as it returns to session in September. Any assistance plan must also include the rebuilding of Georgia's security forces. Our past aid to the Georgian military focused on supporting the light, counterterrorism-oriented forces that facilitate Tbilisi's contribution to coalition operations in Iraq. We avoided giving the types of security aid that could have been used to blunt Russia's conventional onslaught. It is time for that to change. Specifically, the Georgian military should be given the antiaircraft and antiarmor systems necessary to deter any renewed Russian aggression. These defensive capabilities will help to prevent this conflict from erupting again, and make clear we will not allow the Russians to forcibly redraw the boundaries of sovereign nations.
Our response to the invasion of Georgia must include regional actions to reassure Russia's rattled neighbors and strengthen trans-Atlantic solidarity. This means reinvigorating NATO as a military alliance, not just a political one. Contingency planning for the defense of all member states against conventional and unconventional attack, including cyber warfare, needs to be revived. The credibility of Article Five of the NATO Charter -- that an attack against one really can and will be treated as an attack against all -- needs to be bolstered. The U.S. must also reaffirm its commitment to allies that have been the targets of Russian bullying because of their willingness to work with Washington. The recent missile-defense agreement between Poland and the U.S., for instance, is not aimed at Russia. But this has not stopped senior Russian officials from speaking openly about military retaliation against Warsaw. Irrespective of our political differences over missile defense, Democrats and Republicans should join together in Congress to pledge solidarity with Poland, along with the Czech Republic, against these outrageous Russian threats.
Finally, the U.S. and Europe need a new trans-Atlantic energy alliance. In recent years, Russia has proven all too willing to use its oil and gas resources as a weapon, and to try to consolidate control over the strategic energy corridors to the West. By working together, an alliance can frustrate these designs and diminish our dependence on the foreign oil that is responsible for the higher energy prices here at home. In crafting a response to the Georgia crisis, we must above all reaffirm our conviction that Russia need not be a competitor or an adversary. Since the collapse of the Soviet Union, Democratic and Republican administrations have engaged Russia, sending billions of dollars to speed its economic recovery and welcoming its integration into the flagship institutions of the international community. We did this because we believed that a strong, prosperous Russia can be a strategic partner and a friend. We still do. But Russia's leaders have made a different choice. While we stand ready to rebuild relations with Moscow and work together on shared challenges, Russia's current course will only alienate and isolate it from the rest of the world.
We believe history will judge the Russian invasion of Georgia as a serious strategic miscalculation. Although it is for the moment flush with oil wealth, Russia's political elite remains kleptocratic, and its aggression exposed as much weakness as strength. The invasion of Georgia will not only have a unifying effect on the West, it also made clear that Russia -- unlike the Soviet Union -- has few real allies of strategic worth. To date, the only countries to defend Russia's actions in the Caucasus have been Cuba and Belarus -- and the latter, only after the Kremlin publicly complained about its silence. In the long run, a Russia that tries to define its greatness in terms of spheres of influence, client states and forced fealty to Moscow will fail -- impoverishing its citizens in the process. The question is only how long until Russia's leaders rediscover this lesson from their own history. Until they do, the watchword of the West must be solidarity: solidarity with the people of Georgia and its democratically elected government, solidarity with our allies throughout the region, and above all, solidarity with the values that have given meaning to our trans-Atlantic community of democracies and our vision of a European continent that is whole, free and at peace.
Mr. Graham is a Republican senator from South Carolina. Mr. Lieberman is an Independent Democratic senator from Connecticut.
Source: http://online.wsj.com/article/SB1219...=Commentary-US
Cheney to visit Georgia, Iwo Jima sails for Middle East
The Georgian conflict over South Ossetia is spiraling into a contest between the US and Russia over control of the Black Sea region and the eastern Mediterranean. The US Vice President xxxx Cheney will stop over in Georgia, the Ukraine, Azerbaijan and Italy during a trip starting Sept. 2. President Bush “felt it was important to have the vice president consult with allies in the region on our common security interests,” said the White House spokesman Monday, Aug. 25. These steps were Washington’s response to a rapid volley of decisions in Moscow: one was taken by the Russian Navy chief, Adm. Vladimir Vysotsky - as disclosed earlier by DEBKAfile - to place its warships bound for Syria’s Mediterranean port of Tartus under the command of Russia’s Black Sea Fleet headquarters in Sevastopol. At the same time, the American aircraft carrier, the Iwo Jima Expeditionary Strike Group, heading a six-vessel contingent, sets sail Tuesday for the Mediterranean and Persian Gulf, with 6,000 sailors and marines aboard. Also on Monday, the Russian general staff took the further step of announcing regular searches of all cargoes transiting the Georgian port of Poti, tightening its grip on the Black Sea shore. In Sochi, Russian president Dimitry Medvedev said he was considering halting Moscow’s ties with NATO. The Russian upper house unanimously urged him to recognize the two breakaway Georgian provinces as independent republics. This step would defy international recognition of the status of South Ossetia and Abkhazia as breakaway provinces of Georgia for the first time.
Source: http://www.debka.com/index1.php
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New blog commentaries will henceforth be posted on an irregular basis. The comment board however will continue to be moderated on a regular basis. You are therefore welcome to post your comments and ideas.
I have come to see the Russian nation as the last front on earth against the scourges of Westernization, Americanization, Globalism, Zionism, Islamic extremism and pan-Turkism. I have also come to see Russia as the last hope humanity has for the preservation of classical western/European civilization, ethnic cultures, Apostolic Christianity and the concept of traditional nation-state. Needless to say, an alliance with Russia is Armenia's only hope for survival in a dangerous place like the south Caucasus. These sobering realizations compelled me to create this blog in 2010. This blog quickly became one of the very few voices in the vastness of Cyberia that dared to preach about the dangers of Globalism and the Anglo-American-Jewish alliance, and the only voice emphasizing the crucial importance of Armenia's close ties to the Russian nation. Today, no man and no political party is capable of driving a wedge between Armenia and Russia. Anglo-American-Jewish and Turkish agenda in Armenia will not succeed. I feel satisfied knowing that at least on a subatomic level I have had a hand in this outcome.
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