"From Tbilisi to Teheran" Heightens Suspicions of Motive in Georgian Crisis
Jerusalem Post (Me) | 14.08.2008 01:46 | Anti-militarism | World
Since the attacks by Georgia which sparked the fighting (which, alone, suggests Georgia had been promised the support of a larger power) took place on the day that the last two US carrier groups started for the Strait of Hormuz, it would appear that one motive (besides the pipelines from the Caspian which rival the new ones the US built in Afghanistan) appears to be tying up and/or demonizing Russia, in order to minimize its response to US/Israeli Aggression towards Iran.
The following article from the Jerusalem Post appears to support this, as does the US/Israeli line seen today, as well as the willingness of the bulk of the Western press to so horribly misrepresent this conflict.
The following article from the Jerusalem Post appears to support this, as does the US/Israeli line seen today, as well as the willingness of the bulk of the Western press to so horribly misrepresent this conflict.
From Tbilisi to Teheran
By MICHAEL FREUND
As the Russian bear plunges its claws into the heart of its much smaller neighbor Georgia, few outside the region seem to appreciate the danger posed by Moscow's latest aggression.
(This author ignores the fact that Russian actions were a response to the aggression of US and Israel-backed forces, against the civilians in the south, and Russian military personnel. This was so conspicuously a deliberate provocation, intended to spark a war.)
While many might have difficulty finding Georgia on the map, that in no way detracts from the significance of the situation. Israel and the West would be making a grave error if they merely shrug and issue a few perfunctory press releases in response to this perilous development.
(Indeed. The West needs to regain control over its governments, as this and so many other recent crises demonstrate.)
How this crisis plays out will have a direct impact on the ability of Israel and the US to confront an even greater menace that lies just around the corner - Iran and its stubborn drive to build nuclear weapons.
(There is no "stubborn drive to build nuclear weapons", and that's the opinion of both the UN's IAEA and the world intelligence community. The only "stubborn drive" here is on the part of Israeli and American Extremists, who are plotting to once again ignore International Law, and attack another country without justification. But this statement DOES support the belief that this war was intentionally started in order to limit Russia's response to an act of aggression towards Iran ...)
Here's why: Russian Prime Minister Vladimir Putin is testing the West's mettle. He senses weakness, and is using the conflict with Georgia, a close ally of Washington, to see to what extent the US and Europe will stand up for their friends and their own interests.
(He is most certainly exploiting their weakness, but the US deliberately started this, and handed the moral high ground to the Russians in doing so.)
In recent years, Russia has become increasingly assertive on the international stage, frequently seeking to undermine Western policy.
(That's because "Western" - read: "American" - policy towards Russia has become increasingly hostile, belligerent, and provocative.)
From North Korea's nuclear program to Kosovo's drive for independence from Serbia, Moscow has taken stances directly opposed to those of the US.
But the invasion of Georgia constitutes a serious escalation, as Russia is no longer confining its mischief to the realm of diplomacy.
(Again ... Russia responded to US/Israel-supported AGGRESSION.)
THE SMALL Caucasus nation has been an outspoken friend of Washington, steadfastly supporting the war on terror and maintaining a sizable troop presence in Iraq. Just four months ago, at a summit in Bucharest, NATO agreed to invite Georgia to join the alliance. By raping Georgia in public, Putin is thumbing his nose at the entire Western alliance.
(No he's not. The CIA has been inciting seperatist movements in the region as part of its program designed to encircle Russia, in order to undermine its power.)
So far, the success of his little experiment has been clear. Putin pounces on his neighbor with abandon, violating Georgia's sovereignty and territorial integrity and indiscriminately bombing innocent civilians with little more than ineffectual expressions of outrage from Paris, London and Washington.
(This is not what happened at all, and no Israeli or American Propagandist has any place tossing such allegations about, considering the brutal and abhorrent, criminal behaviour of both Regimes in those increasingly-Extremist nations.)
Ostensibly, the Kremlin claims it is merely acting to protect the large Russian population that lives in the breakaway Georgian regions of Abkhazia and South Ossetia. But it is easy to see through the smoke screen of Russian propaganda.
(Actually, the Georgians were targeting civilians, so the facts support the Russian line, while they also make it easy to see through the all-too-visible smokescreen being laid out by the belligerent parties.)
For one thing, Georgian President Mikheil Saakashvili agreed over the weekend to a cease-fire and began withdrawing his country's troops from South Ossetia.
That didn't stop Putin from pressing forward with disproportionate attacks, as Russia sent armored columns deeper into Georgian territory.
(Why should it? And again, no Israeli has any authority to speak of "disproportionate attacks", especially since the numbers demonstrate Russian restraint.)
Moreover, it is hard to take Russia's claims seriously, if only because of their transparent hypocrisy. When the province of Chechnya sought to break away from Russia, Moscow refused to countenance the idea and instead bombed the region into submission.
(And then the Westy stepped in, and further bombed the region into submission ...)
But when South Ossetia and Abkhazia seek to secede from Georgia, Russia chooses to defend their right to do so, despite the glaring contradiction in Moscow's stance.
(There is no contradiction. In both cases, the groups Russia opposed were created and supported by the CIA, as part of American's continuing hostility towards Russia.)
Russia is motivated by one principle alone: the pursuit of its own interests - even if that means storming an internationally recognized border and threatening to bring down the democratically elected government in Tbilisi.
(That government has proven itself to be brutal and corrupt, symbolically elected or not. Russia crossed the border in response to aggression, which is a legitimate action. Again, against the backdrop of the International Crimes of the US, Israel, and other states over the past few years, it's laughable for them to toss these accusations about - especially since they're not true.)
This can not be allowed to stand. Russia's move into Georgia will have ramifications far beyond the Caucasus. It will send a shiver down the spines of decision-makers in countries such as Poland, Ukraine and Kazakhstan, all of whom might now think twice before deepening their romances with the West.
(That's great. Since the "West" intended to use those states as another portion of its encirclement of and hostility towards Russia, this will stop them in their tracks, perhaps avoiding future conflict in the process.)
And if allowed to go unanswered, the attack on Georgia will strengthen Russia's resolve to further undercut key Western interests.
(Oh, it will not. And the "Western" interests at play here aren't anything to mourn the loss of.)
THAT IS where Iran comes into play. The ayatollahs are glued to their television screens, waiting to see how the West responds.
(To hear the American and Israeli Extremists and Neo-Fascists tell it, Arab leaders spend all their time watching TV ...)
After all, in recent years Moscow has stood by Iran's side in the face of mounting Western pressure.
(Or American/Israeli belligerence, conspiracy, and hostility ...)
Russia has been supplying Iran with materials for its nuclear program.
(So what? There is nothing wrong with this, as the program is concerned only with the development of nuclear energy. Meanwhile, both countries plotting to attack it maintain covert programs of nuclear, chemical, and biological weapons, and have both been caught illegally aiding the weapons programs of other states.)
And the Kremlin is planning to ship advanced anti-aircraft systems to the Iranians that are aimed at making it harder for Israel or the US to take out their nuclear installations.
(The Israeli/American plot to attack Iran has nothing to do with its nuclear program. That's simply their excuse, like Iraqi WMD and 911 & Afghanistan. Since Israel and the US are plotting to illegally attack the country, Russia again finds itself with the moral uppoer hand. If I knew of a planned attack to come, I'd be investing in these systems too.)
While Moscow has thus far voted in favor of three UN Security Council resolutions imposing sanctions on Teheran, it has only done so after it succeeded in watering them down and delaying their implementation.
(That's because the entire process is the usual game of creating the illusion of a crisis, in the name of leveraging a feigned justification for a war which has been long-premeditated. Investigations are currently underway into allegations that the US coerced countries into voting with it at the UN.)
But a newly emboldened Russia will prove to be even more troublesome when it comes time to confront Iran and stop its drive toward nuclear weapons.
(Again, the author hints that the motivation for this aggression was about limiting a Russian response to aggression against Iran. The fact that this is happening, as forces mass in the Gulf, suggests that the US and Israel are gearing up for their illegal war.
There is no need to "confront Iran", and there is no Iranian drive towards nuclear weapons ... The ONLY people claiming otherwise - entirely without evidence - are the same criminal Extremists who LIED about Iraq in order to start that illegal war.)
If Putin sees that the West is a paper tiger and allows Georgia to be trampled, then he likely will not hesitate to block additional Western efforts to strip Iran of its nuclear ambitions.
(Read: Attack Iran, as has been planned for years now.)
An atomic Iran, Putin realizes, would further expose the powerlessness of the West, as well as heighten its sense of vulnerability. Consequently, he may be tempted to defy the West yet again, on an issue even closer to its heart, in an effort to push the envelope.
The ayatollahs know this all too well, and will be encouraged to continue their mad drive for atomic power, confident in the knowledge that they have little to fear.
(The drive for nuclear power - as all this is - as in "energy" is not "mad", it is a response to the growing demand for energy, in the face of decreasing oil supplies and insufficient petroleum-refining facilities.)
It is therefore essential that strong and immediate measures be taken to punish Russia for its Georgian adventure and strip it of any illusions it may have about a lack of Western resolve. These might include moving quickly to bring Georgia formally into NATO, suspending Russia's membership in the "Group of 8" leading industrialized nations and freezing talks recently launched with the European Union on a new EU-Russia agreement.
(Again, tying up and containing Russia, so that it will be unable to response adequately to a US/Israeli attack on Iran, which this intentionally-created crisis, coupled with recent military preparations and troops movements suggest can only be around the corner.)
Whatever course is decided upon, Moscow must be made to pay a heavy economic, political and diplomatic price for its actions, lest it persist in causing still greater harm.
(The truly assanine thing about this Propaganda is that these Extremists are saying Russia must be "punished" for aggression it isn't guilty of, so that they can limit Russia's ability to respond to real, devastating Aggression these whack-jobs are plotting against Iran, and have already carried out against several states!!)
As the crow flies, the road from Tbilisi to Teheran is more than 1,100 kilometers long. But if the West now fails to act, it may soon find that the distance between the two is far less than it imagined.
(More evidence that this deliberately-created conflict was an attempt to limit Russian's response to long-planned US and Israeli aggression towards Iran. Now that this has occured, how long before we see these nations again attack a sovereign state without justification? Will the world respond this time, or will it continue to Appease this Axis of Evil ... ?)
http://www.jpost.com/servlet/Satellite?cid=1218446184666&pagename=JPost%2FJPArticle%2FShowFull
Bush rebuking Russia? Putin must be splitting his sides
Moscow has to take some of the blame. But it is the west's policy of liberal interventionism that has fuelled war in Georgia
http://www.guardian.co.uk/commentisfree/2008/aug/13/russia.georgia
The Israeli & US Roles in Georgian Conflict
https://publish.indymedia.org.uk/en/2008/08/406604.html
By MICHAEL FREUND
As the Russian bear plunges its claws into the heart of its much smaller neighbor Georgia, few outside the region seem to appreciate the danger posed by Moscow's latest aggression.
(This author ignores the fact that Russian actions were a response to the aggression of US and Israel-backed forces, against the civilians in the south, and Russian military personnel. This was so conspicuously a deliberate provocation, intended to spark a war.)
While many might have difficulty finding Georgia on the map, that in no way detracts from the significance of the situation. Israel and the West would be making a grave error if they merely shrug and issue a few perfunctory press releases in response to this perilous development.
(Indeed. The West needs to regain control over its governments, as this and so many other recent crises demonstrate.)
How this crisis plays out will have a direct impact on the ability of Israel and the US to confront an even greater menace that lies just around the corner - Iran and its stubborn drive to build nuclear weapons.
(There is no "stubborn drive to build nuclear weapons", and that's the opinion of both the UN's IAEA and the world intelligence community. The only "stubborn drive" here is on the part of Israeli and American Extremists, who are plotting to once again ignore International Law, and attack another country without justification. But this statement DOES support the belief that this war was intentionally started in order to limit Russia's response to an act of aggression towards Iran ...)
Here's why: Russian Prime Minister Vladimir Putin is testing the West's mettle. He senses weakness, and is using the conflict with Georgia, a close ally of Washington, to see to what extent the US and Europe will stand up for their friends and their own interests.
(He is most certainly exploiting their weakness, but the US deliberately started this, and handed the moral high ground to the Russians in doing so.)
In recent years, Russia has become increasingly assertive on the international stage, frequently seeking to undermine Western policy.
(That's because "Western" - read: "American" - policy towards Russia has become increasingly hostile, belligerent, and provocative.)
From North Korea's nuclear program to Kosovo's drive for independence from Serbia, Moscow has taken stances directly opposed to those of the US.
But the invasion of Georgia constitutes a serious escalation, as Russia is no longer confining its mischief to the realm of diplomacy.
(Again ... Russia responded to US/Israel-supported AGGRESSION.)
THE SMALL Caucasus nation has been an outspoken friend of Washington, steadfastly supporting the war on terror and maintaining a sizable troop presence in Iraq. Just four months ago, at a summit in Bucharest, NATO agreed to invite Georgia to join the alliance. By raping Georgia in public, Putin is thumbing his nose at the entire Western alliance.
(No he's not. The CIA has been inciting seperatist movements in the region as part of its program designed to encircle Russia, in order to undermine its power.)
So far, the success of his little experiment has been clear. Putin pounces on his neighbor with abandon, violating Georgia's sovereignty and territorial integrity and indiscriminately bombing innocent civilians with little more than ineffectual expressions of outrage from Paris, London and Washington.
(This is not what happened at all, and no Israeli or American Propagandist has any place tossing such allegations about, considering the brutal and abhorrent, criminal behaviour of both Regimes in those increasingly-Extremist nations.)
Ostensibly, the Kremlin claims it is merely acting to protect the large Russian population that lives in the breakaway Georgian regions of Abkhazia and South Ossetia. But it is easy to see through the smoke screen of Russian propaganda.
(Actually, the Georgians were targeting civilians, so the facts support the Russian line, while they also make it easy to see through the all-too-visible smokescreen being laid out by the belligerent parties.)
For one thing, Georgian President Mikheil Saakashvili agreed over the weekend to a cease-fire and began withdrawing his country's troops from South Ossetia.
That didn't stop Putin from pressing forward with disproportionate attacks, as Russia sent armored columns deeper into Georgian territory.
(Why should it? And again, no Israeli has any authority to speak of "disproportionate attacks", especially since the numbers demonstrate Russian restraint.)
Moreover, it is hard to take Russia's claims seriously, if only because of their transparent hypocrisy. When the province of Chechnya sought to break away from Russia, Moscow refused to countenance the idea and instead bombed the region into submission.
(And then the Westy stepped in, and further bombed the region into submission ...)
But when South Ossetia and Abkhazia seek to secede from Georgia, Russia chooses to defend their right to do so, despite the glaring contradiction in Moscow's stance.
(There is no contradiction. In both cases, the groups Russia opposed were created and supported by the CIA, as part of American's continuing hostility towards Russia.)
Russia is motivated by one principle alone: the pursuit of its own interests - even if that means storming an internationally recognized border and threatening to bring down the democratically elected government in Tbilisi.
(That government has proven itself to be brutal and corrupt, symbolically elected or not. Russia crossed the border in response to aggression, which is a legitimate action. Again, against the backdrop of the International Crimes of the US, Israel, and other states over the past few years, it's laughable for them to toss these accusations about - especially since they're not true.)
This can not be allowed to stand. Russia's move into Georgia will have ramifications far beyond the Caucasus. It will send a shiver down the spines of decision-makers in countries such as Poland, Ukraine and Kazakhstan, all of whom might now think twice before deepening their romances with the West.
(That's great. Since the "West" intended to use those states as another portion of its encirclement of and hostility towards Russia, this will stop them in their tracks, perhaps avoiding future conflict in the process.)
And if allowed to go unanswered, the attack on Georgia will strengthen Russia's resolve to further undercut key Western interests.
(Oh, it will not. And the "Western" interests at play here aren't anything to mourn the loss of.)
THAT IS where Iran comes into play. The ayatollahs are glued to their television screens, waiting to see how the West responds.
(To hear the American and Israeli Extremists and Neo-Fascists tell it, Arab leaders spend all their time watching TV ...)
After all, in recent years Moscow has stood by Iran's side in the face of mounting Western pressure.
(Or American/Israeli belligerence, conspiracy, and hostility ...)
Russia has been supplying Iran with materials for its nuclear program.
(So what? There is nothing wrong with this, as the program is concerned only with the development of nuclear energy. Meanwhile, both countries plotting to attack it maintain covert programs of nuclear, chemical, and biological weapons, and have both been caught illegally aiding the weapons programs of other states.)
And the Kremlin is planning to ship advanced anti-aircraft systems to the Iranians that are aimed at making it harder for Israel or the US to take out their nuclear installations.
(The Israeli/American plot to attack Iran has nothing to do with its nuclear program. That's simply their excuse, like Iraqi WMD and 911 & Afghanistan. Since Israel and the US are plotting to illegally attack the country, Russia again finds itself with the moral uppoer hand. If I knew of a planned attack to come, I'd be investing in these systems too.)
While Moscow has thus far voted in favor of three UN Security Council resolutions imposing sanctions on Teheran, it has only done so after it succeeded in watering them down and delaying their implementation.
(That's because the entire process is the usual game of creating the illusion of a crisis, in the name of leveraging a feigned justification for a war which has been long-premeditated. Investigations are currently underway into allegations that the US coerced countries into voting with it at the UN.)
But a newly emboldened Russia will prove to be even more troublesome when it comes time to confront Iran and stop its drive toward nuclear weapons.
(Again, the author hints that the motivation for this aggression was about limiting a Russian response to aggression against Iran. The fact that this is happening, as forces mass in the Gulf, suggests that the US and Israel are gearing up for their illegal war.
There is no need to "confront Iran", and there is no Iranian drive towards nuclear weapons ... The ONLY people claiming otherwise - entirely without evidence - are the same criminal Extremists who LIED about Iraq in order to start that illegal war.)
If Putin sees that the West is a paper tiger and allows Georgia to be trampled, then he likely will not hesitate to block additional Western efforts to strip Iran of its nuclear ambitions.
(Read: Attack Iran, as has been planned for years now.)
An atomic Iran, Putin realizes, would further expose the powerlessness of the West, as well as heighten its sense of vulnerability. Consequently, he may be tempted to defy the West yet again, on an issue even closer to its heart, in an effort to push the envelope.
The ayatollahs know this all too well, and will be encouraged to continue their mad drive for atomic power, confident in the knowledge that they have little to fear.
(The drive for nuclear power - as all this is - as in "energy" is not "mad", it is a response to the growing demand for energy, in the face of decreasing oil supplies and insufficient petroleum-refining facilities.)
It is therefore essential that strong and immediate measures be taken to punish Russia for its Georgian adventure and strip it of any illusions it may have about a lack of Western resolve. These might include moving quickly to bring Georgia formally into NATO, suspending Russia's membership in the "Group of 8" leading industrialized nations and freezing talks recently launched with the European Union on a new EU-Russia agreement.
(Again, tying up and containing Russia, so that it will be unable to response adequately to a US/Israeli attack on Iran, which this intentionally-created crisis, coupled with recent military preparations and troops movements suggest can only be around the corner.)
Whatever course is decided upon, Moscow must be made to pay a heavy economic, political and diplomatic price for its actions, lest it persist in causing still greater harm.
(The truly assanine thing about this Propaganda is that these Extremists are saying Russia must be "punished" for aggression it isn't guilty of, so that they can limit Russia's ability to respond to real, devastating Aggression these whack-jobs are plotting against Iran, and have already carried out against several states!!)
As the crow flies, the road from Tbilisi to Teheran is more than 1,100 kilometers long. But if the West now fails to act, it may soon find that the distance between the two is far less than it imagined.
(More evidence that this deliberately-created conflict was an attempt to limit Russian's response to long-planned US and Israeli aggression towards Iran. Now that this has occured, how long before we see these nations again attack a sovereign state without justification? Will the world respond this time, or will it continue to Appease this Axis of Evil ... ?)
http://www.jpost.com/servlet/Satellite?cid=1218446184666&pagename=JPost%2FJPArticle%2FShowFull Bush rebuking Russia? Putin must be splitting his sides
Moscow has to take some of the blame. But it is the west's policy of liberal interventionism that has fuelled war in Georgia
http://www.guardian.co.uk/commentisfree/2008/aug/13/russia.georgia The Israeli & US Roles in Georgian Conflict
https://publish.indymedia.org.uk/en/2008/08/406604.html
Jerusalem Post (Me)