www.ditl.org

I'm not denying that. Reason Bush makes a good president for the neocons.

To be fair Afganistan (and Kosovo) are rather different situations than Iraq. How I wish he'd just stopped at Afganistan.

My personal feelings on what should happen in Georgia will depend on whether the ethnic cleansing charges turn out to be valid or Soviet style propoganda.

And at any rate I don't want to see annexations. At least you can't accuse the US doing that in recent history.

I'm not sure If I'd mind an independent South Osseta. Really my opinion of much of the Balkains is that you gotta keep 'em seperated.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=3eOCQSt71Zk should probably be the theme for the whole region.

Captain Seafort wrote:To be fair to Bush, he's right. The fact that it's the pot calling the kettle black doesn't change that the kettle is black.

Perfectly put, and I really don't think he can tell why that's ironic.

This just in:
Russia attacks deep into Georgia proper

The U.N. Security Council met for the fourth time in four days, with U.S. Ambassador Zalmay Khalilzad accusing Moscow of seeking "regime change" in Georgia and resisting attempts to make peace. Russian Ambassador Vitaly Churkin said Russians don't use the expression, but acknowledged there were occasions when elected leaders "become an obstacle."

That section bothers me, particularly the "become an obstacle" bit. That was probably the worst possible thing he could have said aside from using the word Comrade when addressing Ambassador Khalilzad...

I've only seen bits and pieces about this on the news recently. I saw a BBC reporter getting shot at by the Russians then hiding with the Georgians... probably not the smartest move he could make.

Ahhhh, the beginning of Earth's third world war has started I see. Still, only less than 50 years until it all gets better eh?

Third world war? More like another Afghanistan for the Russians.

What do they care? They've got a never-ending supply of cannon fodder to throw at the world....

Let me hear your balalaikas ringing out!

I've never heard of the Russians caring about body counts. So long as they are fighting they don't seem to care who.

Things seem to have quietened down a bit now though they said they had a cease fire before. Russians seemingly stopped about an hour away from the Georgian capital.

They need to just go at it for a month then just go the hell home.

colmquinn wrote:Things seem to have quietened down a bit now though they said they had a cease fire before. Russians seemingly stopped about an hour away from the Georgian capital.

In the Balkains/Causcaus area that isn't saying much. That part of the world is special in that if you start anywhere, drive for an hour straight, you're probably in a region of a different ethnicity, and they'd probably like to kill you.

Sounds like Russia is content to control the breakaway provinces. It's going to hard to apply much pressure on them or get them to let Georgia technically control them again. I'm not sure how, but I'd think we should try and prevent annexation but instead just go for independence.

sunnyside wrote:Sounds like Russia is content to control the breakaway provinces. It's going to hard to apply much pressure on them or get them to let Georgia technically control them again. I'm not sure how, but I'd think we should try and prevent annexation but instead just go for independence.

It would be exactly the same result either way. To be honest I think it's got to the stage where the Russians have won the war, and all that's left is for everyone else to realise it. This isn't an invasion to gain land, in the typical empire-building style, but to gain power. By smashing the Georgian armed forces, and making it perfectly clear that they could overrun the country within days if they wanted to, the Russians have won a powerful pychological victory, and made it clear that they, not the Georgian government, will be the ones who determine South Ossetia's future. Whether it remains nominally part of Georgia, becomes an indepentent state, or is annexed by Russia, it will be well within the Russian sphere of influence, as to a great extent will the rest of Georgia.

Personaly I think the entire Georgian government should be awarded honourary Darwin Awards. They might not be dead, but it isn't from lack of trying.