Here is a chronology of events in South Ossetia:
November 1989 – South Ossetia declares autonomy from the Georgian Soviet Socialist Republic, triggering three months of fighting.
December 1990 – Georgia and South Ossetia begin a new armed conflict which lasts until 1992.
June 1992 – Russian, Georgian and South Ossetian leaders meet in Sochi, sign an armistice and agree to the creation of a tripartite peacekeeping force of 500 soldiers from each entity.
November 1993 – South Ossetia drafts its own constitution.
November 1996 – South Ossetia elects its first president.
December 2001 – South Ossetia elects Eduard Kokoity as president. In 2002 he asks Moscow to recognize the republic’s independence and absorb it into Russia.
January 2005 – Russia gives guarded approval to Georgia’s plan to grant broad autonomy to South Ossetia in exchange for dropping its bid for independence.
November 2006 – South Ossetia overwhelmingly endorses its split with Tbilisi in a referendum. Georgia’s prime minister says this is part of a Russian campaign to stoke a war.
April 2007 – Georgia’s parliament approves a law to create a temporary administration in South Ossetia, raising tension with Russia.
June 2007 – South Ossetian separatists say Georgia attacked Tskhinvali with mortar and sniper fire. Tbilisi denies this.
October 2007 – Talks hosted by the Organisation for Security and Cooperation in Europe between Georgia and South Ossetia break down.
March 2008 – South Ossetia asks the world to recognize its independence from Georgia following the West’s support for Kosovo’s secession from Serbia.
March 2008 – Georgia’s bid to join NATO, though unsuccessful, prompts Russia’s parliament to urge the Kremlin to recognize the independence of South Ossetia and Abkhazia.
April 2008 – South Ossetia rejects a Georgian power-sharing deal, insists on full independence.
August 2008 – Georgian forces attack South Ossetia’s capital Tskhinvali to re-take the breakaway region. Russia says its troops were responding to the assault and Georgia’s Saakashvili says the two countries were at war.
And – Here’s a Fox News video of survivors thanking the RUSSIANS for protecting them from the GEORGIANS!!!
Way too complicated for me. Luckily, the Olympics are one. OOOOHHH…Another shiny medal.
oh u guys didnt know it was Georgia who opened fire first? lol, thats some brainwashing u getting there….
for lazy ppl
1) 2 regions within georgia were at war coz they wanted to be independant
2) at the end georgia and those regions signed a document saying georgian troops have to keep distance AND russian peacetroops are to be placed there
3) georgia attacks
4) russia sends military in
This video gives a good background.
oh, it does not matter who fired the first shot.
fact is – there ain’t no good guys in this thing. Georgia wants to extend its control over a territory (two, actually) that does not want it.
The Soviets … oops, Russians … invaded Georgia, not to protect the poor, downtrodden South Ossetians, but rather to teach the leaders of the Near Abroad, former Warsaw Pact and their friends in the West not to screw with General Secretary … sorry – “Prime Minister” Putin.
This was geopolitical arse-kicking, nothing more, nothing less.
What is the lesson for the West? It is damn dangerous to take into your fold a country that has an unresolved ethnic conflict that can serve as the pretext for this sort of thing.
What is the lesson for the Near Abroad? Don’t tease the Bear, baby, or you gonna get clawed.
Truth, yes. But it still doesn’t make it right. There is recent USA induced tendency to allow any local power-grab hungry group to “declare independence” and separate from the legal existing country. This have been initially done for the breakup of pro-ex-Soviet (or anti-NATO, whichever way you prefer to see it) countries. Well, now it have came back to bite piece of pro-NATO country.
As always there is an internal conflict. And, up to now every breakup group was exalted for its “democratic” values (even when those were only on paper).
What the International Law stipulates? No such breakup of country is legal. But, USA thought it can thumb nose at such laws as superpower. Until now when the other superpower finds itself in the strategic position from which it can do the same…
The only solution is to stop this nonsense and return “breakaway regions” to their legitimate countries. But, I don’t think that will happen. Too much to be gained tearing small defenseless countries for geopolitical advantages.
Example of such doubletalk from my country of origin: when hundreds of thousands of Albanians were refugees USA/NATO were quick to act and declare province of Serbia independent. Now, there are hundreds of thousands Serbian refugees from Kosovo but no one cares “problem solved”. Why are those people not in their homes. One example:
http://www.maletic.org/260.html
this 13th century fresco and the monastery it was in survived 500+yrs of Turkish occupation with just eyes gouged out. After NATO took over the whole thing was dynamited (fresco and the monastery and the people within). No punishment. Make your own conclusions…
The devil putin went down to Georgia, he was lookin’ for a republic to steal…
#3 – doug
The march into Georgian territory is definitely related to the US missile defense system. The Russians do not want it in their neighborhood.
#5. “There is recent USA induced tendency to allow any local power-grab hungry group to “declare independence” and separate from the legal existing country.”
‘splain that to the Kurds, amigo. We are sticking them with the New Iraq whether they want it or not.
Which they don’t.
My point is – there is no principle involved here. Before the Russian invasion, US officials repeatedly and explicitly told the Georgian government not to stir things up with South Ossetia. The Georgian government ignored those warnings and went ahead, anyway. And so the US left them hanging out to dry.
“Stop, Prime Minister Pootie! Stop, or … we’ll say stop again!”
You know who should be drawing a lesson from this?
Taiwan.
I knew as soon as Dumbya came out against Russia, the McBush made his silly statement about 21st-century nations not involving other nations, that Georgia was the aggressor.
When two people as stupid as Dumbya and McBush start criticizing ANYTHING, whatever the other side is, they’re the good guys.
#7. No they don’t want it nearby. But if this was meant to stall it, it really backfired. The Polish government was on the fence regarding the ABM system, but after the Russian invasion of Georgia, they jumped off with both feet.
The Russians can threaten to nuke the Poles all they want, but Poland is in NATO and that means massive retaliation. I kinda doubt they are going to court annihilation in response to a missile shield that can barely shoot down a single rocket in its heavily rigged tests.
Why on earth would the media want to distort the truth and make out like the Russkie’s are the bad guys?
Oh yeah…theres an election on!
oh, BTW – the “buy a Russian bride” ad right next to this story. classic.
Now I don’t know who to believe. I remain skeptical of everything I read an see and hear.
Who ya going ta trust?
A year from now, will any of this matter?
I’d bet that within a few months, Russia will have withdrawn most of it’s troops. You can bet that Putin has an exit strategy.
Georgia will realize it’s better off sticking with the territory it has left.
And a year from now, President Obama will be trying to explain to the country that while he still intends to withdrawn US troops from Iraq, there will be permanent US bases in Iraq, and most of the troops are just moving a little further East, into Afghanistan.
#4 – “This was geopolitical arse-kicking, nothing more, nothing less”
It is a position of the Neo-Con philosophy that for there to be a lasting peace, one side has to be humiliated.
Russia is just following the Neo-Con line.
With American presidential and congressional elections in full swing, there will be little room for the truth to emerge amidst all the political posturing. Constant repetition that Russia started all this will quickly give it the ring of established “fact.”
Repetition makes it true.
Repetition makes it true.
Repetition makes it true.
Some things about politics make me sick to my stomach.
This is the same way the NEWS MEDIA helped start the IRAQ WAR. The American news media has blood on its hands!
It’s apparent from the big money flowing to republican coffers (namely mcbush) from georgia that the media is going to spin it as an aggressive russian move.
Big money=big media=owned by the republican smear machine.
#18 – This is the same way the NEWS MEDIA helped start the IRAQ WAR. The American news media has blood on its hands!
War is good for the news business as well as defense contractors — all those full page ‘patriotic’ ads from Boeing, Northrup Grumman and Lockheed Martin are what’s kept the Washington Post newspaper solvent.
I wonder where the Georgian apologists are now? The problem is that cold war mentality is still hardened in the minds of many in the west. Russia = Bad is about the extent of their knowledge of the region.
McCain still wants to invade Georgia.
Nevermind !!!
Call me crazy, but I still think this was a gift to GW and the repugs.
I have to say that here in Germany that is what the media told us. Nobody said that Russia invaded anything, but that Georgia started. It is unbelievable that the media in the US feeds you such bullshit…and sad as well. Not that I am trying to defend the Russians. I do not trust Putin and the newguy at all. They are dangerous. But I also know that is all about money aain. The gas that goes thru Georgia etc…
Maybe you need to get online and watch other news than the bs the show on American TV…
having said that…I am outta here
#3
yes, definitely, do trust the Russia Today channel (with strong links to Russian government) to give you objective picture of whether Russia is behaving right or wrong. Do dismiss everything Western media report that do not confirm to the Russia Today view, because none of them is as objective as the Russian channel.
Georgia did attack Ossetia first. This wasn’t nice, and still isn’t. Georgia never invaded Russia though. Russian “peacekeepers” were stationed on foreign land, without international mandate.
Whatever Georgia did, its troops did not enter or attack Russian territory. Russia droped bombs all around Georgia, and occupied Georgian territory outside Ossetia, and, despite numerous promisses given in the last few days, not handing power or withdrawing.
An american girl did thank Russians for saving her. Here’s another story about Russians. http://www.timesonline.co.uk/tol/news/world/europe/article4553499.ece
Georgians do lie a lot. This does not make Russians the good guys. Nor Georgians.
ps.
-TWiT just wouldn’t be the same without you.. 🙁
(buy two vests, just to be sure, no?)
-s
#19 Brian
When the media slams someone in your crosshairs such as any republican then the media is genus, but if it reports something you don’t agree with then the media are owned by republicans.
You sir are an imbecile.
Isn’t there a pipeline that runs through Ossetia? If there is then I bet I can guess the real motives for this war.
Why begin the chronology at 1989? Why not begin it when the Soviets settled Russians in South Ossetia? Or you could start it when the Soviets took Georgia as part of the Soviet Union. Starting your chronology in 1989 is a good way to frame your argument so that it supports your contention, but it doesn’t provide an accurate history of the region.
I’m having a hard time believing that tiny little Georgia with something like 20,000 active troops and less than 400,000 men available for service would even consider starting a war with the Russian bear. They knew there was no way the west would get involved militarily.
As usual, the simplest explanation is best. Russia was smacking them down for trying to join NATO and for basically becoming a puppet of the US, all it took were some shots on the border to spark the conflict.
We would probably behave the same way if someone else was messing around within our sphere of influence.
Don’t believe the media. US started the war, not Mexico!
November 2089 – South Texas declares autonomy from the USA, triggering three months of fighting. 99% of South Texas inhabitants are Mexicans.
December 2101 – South Texas elects Eduardo Komacho as president. In 2102 he asks Mexico to recognize the republic’s independence and absorb it into Mexico.
March 2108 – USA’s bid to join SuperNATO, though unsuccessful, prompts Mexico’s parliament to urge the government to recognize the independence of South Texas and New Mexico.
August 2008 – US forces attack South Texas’ capital San Antonio to re-take the breakaway region. Mexico says its troops were responding to the assault, the US says that it is at war with Mexico.