SOCHI, Russia (CNN) — Russian Prime Minister Vladimir Putin has accused the United States of orchestrating the conflict in Georgia to benefit one of its presidential election candidates. In an exclusive interview with CNN’s Matthew Chance in the Black Sea city of Sochi on Thursday, Putin said the U.S. had encouraged Georgia to attack the autonomous region of South Ossetia.
Putin said his defense officials had told him it was done to benefit a presidential candidate — Republican John McCain and Democrat Barack Obama are competing to succeed George W. Bush — although he presented no evidence to back it up.
“U.S. citizens were indeed in the area in conflict,” Putin said. “They were acting in implementing those orders doing as they were ordered, and the only one who can give such orders is their leader.” White House spokeswoman Dana Perino blasted Putin’s statements, saying they were “patently false.”
“To suggest that the United States orchestrated this on behalf of a political candidate just sounds not rational,” she said. U.S. State Department deputy spokesman Robert Wood concurred and labeled Putin’s statements “ludicrous.”
“Russia is responsible for the crisis,” Wood said in an off-camera meeting with reporters in Washington on Thursday. “For the Russians to say they are not responsible for what happened in Georgia is ludicrous. … Russia is to blame for this crisis, and the world is responding to what Russia has done.”
When told that many diplomats in the United States and Europe blame Russia for provoking the conflict and for invading Georgia, Putin said Russia had no choice but to invade Georgia after dozens of its peacekeepers in South Ossetia were killed. He told Chance it was to avert a human calamity
Wait, I thought the consensus was that Georgia was the aggressor. Didn’t Washington get the memo?
THIS is the scandal the Dems should focus on.
This actually has merit, one of Dick Cheney’s men was in Georgia just days before Georgia invaded South Ossetia and started the mess.
http://latimesblogs.latimes.com/presidentbush/2008/08/georgia-war.html
“Wait, I thought the consensus was that Georgia was the aggressor.”
Clue for the clueless: Russia has been meddling in those “breakaway republics” for years, handing out Russian passports like candy and arming the local “revolutionaries.”
And wasn’t it an amazing coincidence that Russia just happened to have a massive army poised to invade the moment Georgian forces went in?
“THIS is the scandal the Dems should focus on.”
Yes, I urge leftards to focus in real hard on this. Make it an issue. Say that it’s a Bush/Cheney plot. Make your talking points known far and wide. It’s all a plot! Bush stole the election! Bush blew up the WTC! Bush gave my dog the farts! Bush ordered the Georgian military to launch a war so that McCain would get elected! (I am not sure how Bush would order a sovereign nation to launch a war, but the sweet nectar of leftard paranoia is fun to drink!)
#2 – Milli Vanilli – And wasn’t it an amazing coincidence that Russia just happened to have a massive army poised to invade the moment Georgian forces went in?
It’s not like Georgia is in the neighborhood or something… or that Russia already had troops in South Ossetia (and Abkhazia for that matter).
Seems to me the “proof” of BushCo’s involvement in the Georgia mess is on par with or stronger than the evidence Bush used to invade Iraq.
The USA does lead the world.
how nice of putin and company to help his best buddy bush and company along……..
Better late than never on this topic. #5 already nailed it: This is about what’s best for Russia, and Georgia means little to that future.
Just another flavor of Russian propaganda, nothing to see here, move along…
I don’t believe that the US was directly involved. But it does appear that many are not happy with the Georgian leader in their own country.
I would have to say we did no better with Iraq. Some Iraqi’s wanted us there some do not. It does appear the US thinks its actions are alway proper and everyone else’s is wrong. At one time we were helping Iran fight the Iraqi’s. How times change. All conflicts appear to not be what they really are anymore.
Putin is playing with fire if possible President Sarah Palin end up taking Putin to the woodshed. Don’t mess with a beauty queen that came in second place. The finger nails are out.
More smoke and mirrors from the dictator of Russia, presid.. oh sorry.. prime minister Putin.
If Bush/Cheney can make up lies that kill 3,000+ Americans and tens of thousands of innocent Iraqi’s, we should allow Putin to distort the truth for his own invasion. At least Putin pulled out.
For such a blithering idiot, that Bush sure can come up with some devious plots! And somehow they never leak!
Looks like Russia is on its own on this one. Not even their former communist friend, China, will support them. With the exception of its nukes, Russia is no more a super power then France is.
jescott418, we were helping the Iragi’s fight Iran. In fact, we supplied Iraq with the poisonous gas used on the Kurds and the Iranians. A friend of mine went AWOL from the Iranian army during one of those gas attacks. He wound up spending a year in a military prison being tortured almost daily. He escaped and received permission to come to the U.S.. The incredible/unimaginable number of scars on his body lead me to believe he was telling the truth.
Another source for this mess, “Putin using CNN” is here.
Bush/Cheney didn’t need CNN, they had Fox News in their pocket.
After 7 1/2 years of the W camp, nothing would surprise me.
I’m just waiting for the coloured terror warning chart to come out.After we are told about internet chatter.
I guess that will come out when, it might look like Obama is winning.
I wonder what the money line is on weather we will see it this election.
Russia is planning to fight back with an oil embargo, if Europe punishes Russia in any way.
Between this and Gustav, enjoy your sub $5 a gallon gas while it lasts!
Isn’t ot rather odd, though, that McCain’s foreign policy adviser was a Georgian lobbyist for four years, essentially helping to arm the Georgians? McCain still has this guy on his payroll. Is this not a conflict of interests? Scheunemann’s firm made about $700k and Scheunemann himself made at least $70k. This is perfectly acceptable..that is, if you think war profiteering is ethical. Oh, and timing an invasion to go along with your bid for the presidency (while you run off to Georgia to play hero, clamoring for war with the sleeping Bear…how nicely things fall together.
>> tehgamer said,
>> Isn’t ot rather odd, though, that McCain’s foreign policy adviser was a Georgian lobbyist for four years, essentially helping to arm the Georgians?
Yes, odd indeed.
Even more odd was that Karl Rove was “vacationing” in Crimea just before the war broke out.
Who the hell vacations in Crimea?
Putin – one crazy dude! He really miss the old times…
I have now idea what it is Russian, but Adolf called it ‘lebensraum’.
It walks like a duck, it quacks like a duck….
Why can’t we just hold the election next Tuesday? I’m tired of waiting for the next shoe to fall. What are we in for in the next sixty-some days?
Ironic isn’t it? .. We in the good old USA, after 8 years of republican lies, now have to look to Russia for the truth.