Russia invades Georgia with tank convey

motivez · 08-08-2008, 09:38 AM

Russian tanks are rolling into Georgia right now on television.. apparently there has been fierce fighting, two Russian planes have been shot down according to the AP...

There's a quote by Putin saying that it's a "real war"

They're putting on the Georgian President, Mikhail Saakashvili, on CNN right now (I've been flipping back and forth)

He's saying Russian tanks are moving in, civilians are being targeted, some Russian planes dropped bombs on a marketplace full of people.. he's saying they're being forced to defend themselves

He just confirmed the AP report that they had shot down two Russian fighters in self defense, one of them had apparently attacked a Georgian hospital..

He said Russia has been preparing for this for awhile...

motivez · 08-08-2008, 09:40 AM

He's saying that they're suffering because they want to be free.. and close ties to the US.

He said America should help by standing up for Georgia because it's fighting for the same ideals the US holds..

He said this was timed purposely, the Olympics are going on, an election coming up, which makes it hard for the US to commit..

motivez · 08-08-2008, 09:45 AM

They're also saying that Russia is funding the rebels in this area, many of them have Russian citizenship, which gives them an excuse to attack Georgia in response to their attempts to gain control over their territory

Ardentfrost · 08-08-2008, 10:06 AM

I think America's response will be to refuse to admit it's a war for as long as possible so we don't have to get involved right now.

Although, GW only has a few months left in office, who knows what he'll do.

WickedLou9 · 08-08-2008, 11:25 AM

It's honestly pretty scary what Putin is trying to do in Russia. He is activly trying to turn Russia back into the soviet powerhouse that it was in the cold war days. At whatever cost.

Ardentfrost · 08-08-2008, 12:16 PM

From what CNN just said, my predictions will be wrong. They said there is an important oil pipeline that runs through Georgia so it can avoid Russia and Iran.

If that's the case, we'll be there tomorrow. Gotta protect the oil!

Schrödinger's Cat · 08-08-2008, 01:28 PM

Video: Russian tanks enter South Ossetia | World news | guardian.co.uk
Russians have been funding the South Ossetian separatists. Another ethnic war kicks off.

Rouger2 · 08-08-2008, 01:53 PM

There is not much we can do, but put pressure on Russia to pull back, or to control the rebels. We are not going in Russia has nukes. This story is so familiar. Russia when it was big Russia sent Russians in who made Georgia their home and had most of the authority, and would have evenually grown to dominate. Now they are rebels because the Georgians are in charge now.

C4Casey · 08-08-2008, 04:44 PM

RUSSIA AND GEORGIA JUST WENT TO WAR! HOLY SHIT!

FOXNews.com - Russian Army Moving Against Georgian Forces Controlling Capital of Breakaway Province South Ossetia - International News | News of the World | Middle East News | Europe News

C4Casey · 08-08-2008, 04:51 PM

This looks like it could get really bad. Russia has sent tanks into Georgia, and bombed Georgian air bases. Georgia is a strong U.S ally, with 2,000 troops in Iraq, the third largest commitment behind the U.K and U.S. They are now being called home to fight off the Russians. The war started when Russia intervened after Georgia made an attempt to re-take the break-away region of South Ossetia.

kombayn · 08-08-2008, 05:14 PM

I read about this last night. Putin's balls have been growing and growing for the past decade. He was even pissed off about the whole Kosovo independence as well.

WickedLou9 · 08-08-2008, 05:51 PM

Hey maybe we can fund, arm and train the "Freedom Fighters" there just like we did in Afghanastan...

Smull · 08-09-2008, 03:32 AM

Originally Posted by WickedLou9

Hey maybe we can fund, arm and train the "Freedom Fighters" there just like we did in Afghanastan...

We have been for awhile now
Did the U.S. Prep Georgia for War with Russia? | Danger Room from Wired.com
Georgia is one of the largest troop contributors to Iraq, and America has been very helpful to them because of this.

That said America won't and shouldn't intervene militarily. Georgia attacked a region that had repeatedly voted for and declared independence from them for the past 20 years. At one point they asked to be absorbed into Russia. Besides, the U.S. had no defensive pacts with Georgia we just gave them some military aid. While tragic, this strikes me as a very boneheaded move by Georgia.

links:
Georgia- South Ossetia: conflict chronology - Telegraph
Defense Tech: Georgia v. Russia
Lawyers, Guns and Money: The War for South Ossetia

C4Casey · 08-09-2008, 04:26 AM

If the Georgians can cut off the mountain tunnel the Russians are using to fery armor into the country, then they have a good chance of winning. In fact, they just have to hold on until winter. The tunnel becomes unpassable at this time because of snow.

Joe Castro · 08-09-2008, 11:52 AM

The first thing i have to ask is, are the Georgian leadership clinically insane or just stupid ? Why start a war to keep control of a people who dont want to be under your control ? The stupidity of this becomes even more clear when you knowq that those people are backed by Russia. The moment Georgia launched their attack i suspect everyone knew it was doomed to failure. They can't defeat Russia themselves, and while the current US administration may be idiots i dont think they are that idiotic.

The other thing that comes to mind is when the west supported Kosovo declaring independance and undermining Serbian sovereignty. I said at the time that they were opening a can of worms that you cannot put the lid back on. Now Bush is saying that Russia should withdraw and respect Gergian sovereignty. That would be just like they respected Serbia's ?

You can only hope for a quick Russian victory, it is the best way to end violence. I am not sure how likely that is, as even the BBC have been reporting the remarkable restraint shown by Russia.

Just hours after Russian forces liberated the South Ossetian capital Tskhinvali, intense artillery fire has begun to shake the city. Russian troops are engaging Georgian artillery positions in the high ground beyond the city while atttempts to rescue civilians and military personnel trapped in the debris are under way.

Georgia denies that Russian forces have captured the city, saying it still controls the area.

Russian forces are now pushing ahead to liberate villages to the north of the city, from where renewed artillery fire threatens the capital.

RT correspondent Mikhail Lebedev is just a mile outside the city. He says: "Tskhinvali is in flames. You can see smoke coming from all over the place. Civilian buildings and the building of the South Ossetian authorities are penetrated by gunfire and artillery fire".

South Ossetia claims more than 2,000 people have been killed in fighting so far. Georgia rejects this figure, saying it has lost only 30 soldiers.

More than 30,000 refugees have fled across the border to Russia's North Ossetial in the past 36 hours.

The Russian military says three peacekeepers died overnight, raising to 15 the number of Russian peacekeepers killed since hostilities began more than 24 hours ago.

Seventy Russian peacekeepers have been wounded in the fighting. Twenty were evacuated to a hospital in Vladikavkas in North Ossetia during the night in a convoy which is reported to have been shelled by Georgian forces. That’s according to Land Forces spokesman Col. Igor Konashenkov.

After a lull in artillery fire late on Friday night, Georgian shelling of Tskhinvali again resumed on Saturday morning.

The Deputy Head of the Russian General Staff, Colonel General Anatoly Nogovitsin, briefed media on Russia's operations in the area in a press conference on Saturday morning

http://www.russiatoday.com/news/news/28698

motivez · 08-09-2008, 07:52 PM

The Georgians are saying that Russia attacked (but missed) one of their major oil pipelines

Schrödinger's Cat · 08-09-2008, 08:27 PM

Originally Posted by Joe Castro

Why start a war to keep control of a people who dont want to be under your control ?

American Civil War, anyone? Giving up your territory to be annexed by Russia (that's what would happen) is an easy decision for outsiders to make.

Schrödinger's Cat · 08-09-2008, 08:55 PM

I found this interesting:

The (US) official said Russia is probably trying to destabilize Georgia politically to kill its chances of joining NATO.

U.S. official: Russia's attack on Georgia is 'disproportionate' - CNN.com

C4Casey · 08-09-2008, 10:03 PM

The Georgians are now claiming to have destroyed the Roki Tunnel, which is the only supply route into Georgia from Russia.

2008 South Ossetia War - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

ÐÐ¾Ð²Ð¾ÑÑ‚Ð¸ - Ð“Ñ€ÑƒÐ·Ð¸Ñ - ÐÐ¾Ð²Ð¾ÑÑ‚Ð¸ Ð“Ñ€ÑƒÐ·Ð¸Ð¸ - Ð“Ð*Ð£Ð—Ð˜ÐÐ¡ÐšÐ˜Ð• Ð’ÐžÐ™Ð¡ÐšÐ Ð’Ð—ÐžÐ*Ð’ÐÐ›Ð˜ Ð*ÐžÐšÐ¡ÐšÐ˜Ð™ Ð¢ÐžÐÐÐ•Ð›Ð¬ - Ð˜Ð¡Ð¢ÐžÐ§ÐÐ˜Ðš

The second link is in Russian but it includes a picture of what they claim to be the Roki Tunnel being destroyed.

The Russians of course are denying all of this.

C4Casey · 08-09-2008, 10:10 PM

American Civil War, anyone? Giving up your territory to be annexed by Russia (that's what would happen) is an easy decision for outsiders to make.

Yeah, this is a blatant land grab by Russia, which is causing me to favor the side of the Georgians. And judging by the fact that the Russians are at least admitting that they haven't yet been able to completely drive the Georgians out of South Ossetia, I'm guessing the Georgians are proving to be a very tough opponent.