World War Three Thread....

[Aplomb]

http://www.dailytimes.com.pk/default...1-9-2008_pg4_8

Russia ‘stakes it all’ in face-off with US
By Christopher Boian

Russia would like to lower the temperature but is also unswervingly determined to attenuate a US power that it regards as abusive and anti-Russian

RUSSIA has turned a corner in its standoff with the West over Georgia and is now firmly determined that the crisis bring about a deep rethink of a global system dominated by the United States, analysts say.

Though it knew the stakes in repelling an attack by a key US ally on a pro-Russian separatist enclave were high, the Kremlin was genuinely shocked by the instant outpouring of Western support for the Tbilisi government. Moscow saw that response as one-sided and scripted by Washington, which in turn galvanized its decision immediately to grant recognition to two breakaway Georgian provinces, certain that trying to explain itself was a non-starter.

Now, say experts, Russia would like to lower the temperature but is also unswervingly determined to attenuate a US power that it regards as abusive and anti-Russian, whether it wins any outside support for its cause or not. “It appears that Moscow has decided to stake it all and assume the role of gravedigger for what is in many ways a perverse system of international relations,” according to Fyodor Lukyanov, an independent Russian analyst.

In an analysis published on the liberal news website Gazeta.ru, Lukyanov said Russia had begun an “extremely risky game” in granting formal recognition to South Ossetia and Abkhazia, and outlined several explanations why it did so. Chief among them, he said, was the fact that the Russian leadership, like the majority of Russian society, was “openly shocked at the large-scale and united support” that Georgian President Mikheil Saakashvili got from the West.

“Moscow truly does not understand how Europe and the US could amicably stand side by side” with a leader Moscow says is guilty of war crimes, and who has “trampled on everything the ‘civilised world’ stands for,” Lukyanov wrote. “In the West’s stance, Russia sees not just double standards but undisguised cynicism beyond the bounds of normal political practice,” he added.

The West says its quick backing for Georgia was motivated by alarm at the deep penetration by Russian forces into uncontested Georgian territory and fears of ethnic cleansing in the conflict zone. Analysts say the US and European drive to make Kosovo independent from Serbia despite having approved UN resolution 1244 calling for preservation of Serbia’s “territorial integrity” has also deeply influenced Kremlin policy.

That was underlined again by Russia’s powerful prime minister, Vladimir Putin, who made clear that Moscow regarded the Kosovo case as proof of US duplicity in world affairs and of Europe’s subservience to Washington. “The White House gave the order and everyone carried it out,” Putin said in an interview with German television over the weekend.

“If European countries continue to make their policy in this way, then we may as well talk to Washington about European affairs,” Putin said. So far, Russia’s efforts to win any hearts and minds beyond its own borders have fallen flat despite a more intensive public relations campaign than experts on the country recall ever having witnessed.

After failing to rally anyone in the West to its cause, Russia turned last week to the East, notably to China, and there too was unable to win anything other than a tepid, non-specific expression of support. “Russia is alone, angry and absolutely unbending,” was how Maria Lipman, a political analyst with the Carnegie Moscow Center think-tank, summed up Moscow’s present position in the crisis.

She and other experts caution however that the international crisis unfolding from the conflict in Georgia is still only in its infancy and say it is too soon to know how the world’s nation states will behave as it evolves. “There is clearly a need to sit down and very seriously rethink a number of the most important issues like: What is Russia? How should we develop relations with Russia? How is the world governed?

“I would say we are in for a very, very difficult, confrontational and dangerous time,” Lipman said. Analysts say the Russian argument for a reassessment of the global system is predicated on the notion that the United States, though stronger and richer than any other state, has no innate right to call the shots for the world.

And the basic ideological conflict that separated East from West during the Cold War no longer exists, Russia maintains, negating the automatic US claim to the moral high ground in defence of human rights and free markets. The United States rejects Russia’s thesis that it acts in the world only to attain its own goals, but in the current crisis both are operating not just with politics in mind but from a sense of moral righteousness, experts say. “Countries have already made their choice between Russia and America,” said Yevgeny Volk, a political analyst with the conservative US-based Heritage Foundation think tank. “But now there is a very narrow window of opportunity to change their orientation. This is very unlike during the Soviet era, when a lot of countries could proclaim themselves ‘socialist’. “This is about American leadership,” Volk said.

Lipman agreed, saying that in the absence of any effective higher authority it was the perception of being in the right - along with economic interest - that would determine the behaviour of other states as the crisis unfolds. “It’s obvious there is no arbiter. In these circumstances it is moral righteousness that counts,” she said. Analysts say that both Russia and the West are uncertain how to move ahead in a way that allows each to stick to their principles while averting any escalation of already-soaring international tensions. They warn however that despite its own nervousness about the future course of events, Russia has no intention of turning back from what both its leadership and its population now identify as a worthy strategic course.

Moscow’s decision formally to recognise South Ossetia and Abkhazia as independent, over the vocal objections of the United States and Europe, shows it has consciously taken its game beyond a point of no return, they say. “This does not testify to self-confidence, but to being prepared to take a huge risk,” Lukyanov said. afp

[Aplomb]

http://www.latimes.com/news/nationwo...,7817402.story

Russia-Cuba ties worry U.S.


[COLOR=#333333 ! important]Amid tensions over Georgia, Moscow has been signaling that it wants to restore its relationship with Havana that included military and intelligence cooperation.[/COLOR]
[COLOR=#999999 ! important]By Paul Richter, Los Angeles Times Staff Writer
September 1, 2008 [/COLOR]
WASHINGTON -- Amid rising tensions over Georgia, U.S. officials are increasingly concerned that Russia is moving to rebuild one of the most dangerous features of the old Soviet Union's security structure -- its alliance with Cuba.

Moscow has been signaling that it wants to restore a long relationship with Havana that included not only economic ties, but also military and intelligence cooperation. The relationship brought the world to the brink of nuclear war during the Cuban missile crisis of 1962, when Russia secretly installed nuclear missiles on the island.

U.S. officials believe that Russian statements are partly bluster, intended to dissuade the United States and its allies from moving the NATO alliance and military equipment, including missile defense sites, closer to the Russian border. And some experts question how interested Cuba is in rebuilding close ties with Russia.

But at a time when Russia has intervened forcefully in Georgia and is extending the global reach of its rebuilt military, some senior officials fear it may not be only bluster.

Russia "has strategic ties to Cuba again, or at least, that's where they're going," a senior U.S. official said recently, speaking, like others, on condition of anonymity because of the sensitive implications of the assessments.


The officials said they doubted the Russians would risk stationing nuclear bombers on Cuba. But some believe that Moscow might seek to restore its once-energetic intelligence cooperation with Havana, and to resume limited military cooperation, possibly including refueling stops for aircraft and warships.

In the current environment, such contacts would make U.S. officials uneasy, serving as a reminder of a military relationship between Havana and Moscow that stretched from the Cuban Revolution in 1959 until a weakened, post-Soviet Russia finally closed a massive electronic intelligence complex in Lourdes near Havana in 2001.

One senior military officer said a return of Russian ships or planes could force additional U.S. deployments in the region. But the Bush administration and Pentagon declined to comment publicly on the implications.

"It is very Cold War retro," said a government official. "The topic couldbe reminiscentof the Cuban missile crisis, and that is a chapter that people don't want to revisit."

The Russian Defense Ministry dismissed a report in the newspaper Izvestia in July that quoted an unidentified Russian official as saying the government intended to begin basing Tupolev Tu-160 Blackjack and Tupolev Tu-95 Bear nuclear bombers in Cuba.

However, the report was taken seriously enough in Washington that Gen. Norton A. Schwartz, the new Air Force chief of staff, said during his Senate confirmation hearing at the time that sending the bombers would cross a "red line in the sand."

Last month, Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice complained about Russia's increasing reliance on its military to remind the world of its power. She criticized the Russian military advance into Georgia, a former Soviet republic, and its increasingly frequent patrols by long-range nuclear bombers in U.S.- and NATO-patrolled ocean lanes near northern Europe, Alaska and elsewhere.

As it rebuilds forces that withered during the impoverished 1990s, Russia also has been looking for new air and naval bases far from home. It is negotiating with Syria to resume use of naval bases in Tartus and Latakia, Russian officials have said. There has also been talk in Moscow of approaching Vietnam about using Cam Ranh Bay.

Russian Prime Minister Vladimir Putin in late July sent one of his closest aides, Deputy Prime Minister Igor Sechin, and a large delegation to meet with Cuban President Raul Castro. The meeting was primarily about economic cooperation, including possible oil exploration off Cuba. But Russian officials made it clear that they were exploring resumption of other aspects of the relationship as well.

Nikolai Patrushev, who is secretary of the Russian Security Council and former director of the FSB, the domestic successor agency to the KGB, met with the Cuban defense and interior ministers on the trip. Afterward, the council issued a statement saying that the two countries planned "consistent work to restore traditional relations in all areas of cooperation."

Afterward, Putin said, "We need to reestablish positions in Cuba and in other countries."

Some Russian analysts remain skeptical of the Kremlin's intentions, seeing the whispers of renewed military activity in Cuba as a tactic meant to rattle the United States.

Russian officials "understand that the restoration of even an intelligence-gathering base in Lourdes would be a declaration of a new Cold War on the part of Russia," said Alexander Golts, defense analyst with the online publication Yezhednevny Zhurnal. "The Kremlin will never do it, because they cannot afford it."

Despite talk of a return to the Cold War, Golts noted, Russia spends 2.7% of its gross domestic product on defense -- unlike the Soviet Union, which at the height of the Cold War spent 40%.

Although several Bush administration officials who have been hawkish on Russia say they find the Cuba ties worrisome, other U.S. officials say the threat should not be overstated.

"The old days are gone, and people need to keep a sense of perspective," said one U.S. official. "That said, I wouldn't assume these [Cuban and Russian intelligence] services never talk to each other."

That official said Cuban intelligence activities posed a concern even without rekindled Russian ties.

"They were and are aggressive on their own," he said. "If anything, the years that have passed since the end of the Soviet Union have convinced the Cubans that, when it comes to intelligence, they themselves are the only people on whom they can rely."

Since becoming president, Raul Castro has generally avoided provoking the United States, said Brian Latell, a former CIA analyst and Cuba specialist. Latell said he was skeptical that Castro would want to be caught in the middle of the rekindled U.S.-Russian rivalry.

"Why go out on a limb for Putin?" asked Latell, who has written a book, "After Fidel," about Cuba's political transition. "I'm not sure I can discern why the Cubans would want to get themselves wrapped around these great power issues."


Latell added, though, that he was ready to believe that the Cubans would cooperate on intelligence and would resume limited military contacts, such as refueling of aircraft.

The 28-square-mile Russian electronic surveillance complex at Lourdes was Russia's largest such base overseas, and reportedly had as many as 1,500 Russian engineers, technicians and military personnel working there. Less than 100 miles from Key West, Fla., its position made it ideal for snooping on the U.S.

The Russian government ended its involvement there in 2001 because of its high cost as well as the strain it exerted on U.S.-Russian relations.

Mark Hackard, assistant director of the Nixon Center in Washington, said Russia's moves grew out of its sense that, although it has given ground on security again and again since the 1990s, it has received little in return from the United States and its allies. Yet, there are limits to how far the Russians will extend their military, he said.

"They're not seeking a new superpower standoff around the world," Hackard said. "They do want primacy in the former Soviet sphere."

paul.richter@latimes.com

Times staff writers Julian E. Barnes in Washington and Megan K. Stack in Moscow contributed to this report.

[Aplomb]

http://www.haaretz.com/hasen/spages/1015795.html

Last update - 08:27 28/08/2008

Iran's Revolutionary Guards: Zionist Entity in range of our missiles

By Reuters

Iran could hit back with missiles if Israel attacked it and could also rely on allies in the region to strike, the commander of the Islamic Republic's Revolutionary Guards said on Wednesday.

Israel, like the United States, has not ruled out military action against Iran if diplomacy fails to resolve a row over Tehran's nuclear ambitions.

The West and Israel accuse Iran of seeking to build nuclear weapons, despite Iran's insistence that it wants technology to make electricity so that it can save more of its vast oil and gas resources for export.

"Our strategic calculations show that if the Zionist regime wants to make the smallest move against our interests, either independently or with America, in the shortest time all the territories under the Zionist regime's control will become unsafe," Guards commander-in-chief Mohammad Ali Jafari said.

"That country is completely in the range of the Islamic Republic's missiles. The missile capabilities of our armed forces is such that the Zionist regime, with all its capabilities, would not be able to confront it," he added.

Jafari was quoted by Iran's Mehr News Agency.

The Guards are an ideologically motivated arm of Iran's military with an independent command structure to the regular armed forces. They have their own land, sea and air units.

"The Israelis know that if they take action against Iran definitely the capabilities that the Islamic world and especially the Shi'ite world has in the region would deliver a hard blow to them," Jafari said.

He did not mention any names but Iran's regional allies include Lebanon's Shi'ite Muslim militia Hezbollah and the Palestinian militant group Hamas.

Jafari also said U.S. troops were vulnerable because of their presence in the region. Washington has troops based in Iran's neighbours of Iraq and Afghanistan, and naval forces in the Gulf, along which Iran has a long coastline.

"The presence of these forces enables Iran to harm America's interests in different ways...not even using its missile capability," he said.

The Islamic Republic has previously said it would retaliate against U.S. targets if attacked

[samizdat]

Furthermore, Muhammad told his followers that the gates of Heaven would be open all the month and the gates of Hell would be closed. September is ramadan month, and 8 Sept is the BVM's birthday celebration. 11 Sept is assad's birthday. Muhammad erred.

If not deterred, the Soviet's likely ACT II opener would be a Cessna type scud in a bucket emp in a northern Mexican state.

[American Patriot]

FOXNEWS.COM HOME > WORLD

Russia's Foreign Ministry Says U.S. May Have Sent Arms to Georgia With Humanitarian Aid

Monday, September 01, 2008
Reuters

Russia's foreign ministry suggested that the U.S. ships brought military aid to Georgia along with humanitarian help.



BRUSSELS, Belgium — Russia warned the West on Monday against supporting Georgia's leadership, suggesting that the United States carried weapons as well as aid to the ex-Soviet republic and calling for an arms embargo until the Georgian government falls.

The remarks by Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov and his spokesman came as European Union leaders delicately approached their relations with Russia, weighing how to punish Moscow for its invasion of Georgia without isolating the continent's major energy supplier.


The latest Russian rhetoric was likely to anger the United States and Europe and enrage Georgian President Mikhail Saakashvili, who has said Russia's goal all along has been to remove him from power.


"If instead of choosing their national interests and the interests of the Georgian people, the United States and its allies choose the Saakashvili regime, this will be a mistake of truly historic proportions," Lavrov said.
At the EU emergency summit talks, leader debated a draft statement condemning Russia for putting relations with the EU "at a crossroads" and urging it "not to isolate" itself from Europe.


It called Russia's invasion of Georgia unacceptable and said the EU is ready to bolster ties with Georgia. There was, however, no mention of sanctions against Russia or of sending EU soldiers to Georgia.



A copy of the draft statement was obtained by The Associated Press.
Hours after Lavrov's comments, the spokesman for the Foreign Ministry suggested U.S. ships that carried humanitarian aid to Georgia's Black Sea coast following last month's war may also have delivered weapons.


Without naming a specific country, Foreign Ministry spokesman Andrei Nesterenko said there were "suppositions" that the cargo of military ships bringing aid to Georgia may also have included "military components that will be used for the rearmament" of Georgia's military.



He provided no evidence, but said such suspicions were a reason for Russia's call for an arms embargo.


Lavrov reserved particular criticism for the United States, which has trained Georgian troops, saying such aid had failed to give Washington sufficient leverage to restrain the Georgian government. Instead, he said, "It encouraged the irresponsible and unpredictable regime in its gambles."


Neither the State Department nor the Pentagon had immediate comment.


Human Rights Watch said Monday that Georgia — as well as Russia — dropped cluster bombs during the conflict. The rights group said Georgia's government has admitted it, while Russia continues with denials.


"These indiscriminate attacks violate international humanitarian law," said Bonnie Docherty, arms division researcher at the New York-based body, who said the casualty toll in only four Georgia villages from cluster bombs and their leftover duds was 14 dead and dozens wounded.
The revelation could provide fuel for Russia, which has traded allegations with Georgia over controversial weapon usage, human rights violations and disinformation.


In the Georgian capital, Tbilisi, as many as 100,000 protesters jammed the main avenue, chanting their country's name. The Tbilisi demonstration started with people holding hands to form "human chains" in an echo of the so-called Baltic Chain of 1989 in which residents of then-Soviet Lithuania, Latvia and Estonia stretched the length of their homelands to protest Soviet occupation.


On arrival at the EU summit, German Chancellor Angela Merkel said the EU must stress the importance of "the territorial integrity of Georgia" but that the lines of communication with Moscow "should not be cut off."
British Foreign Secretary Gordon Brown said the "27 members of the European Union are totally united in condemning the aggression of the Russian Government."


"While we do want good relations with Russia, I think it is pretty clear from what has happened over these last few weeks it cannot be business as usual. Indeed it will not be business as usual until things improve."


Russia supplies the EU with a third of its oil and 40 percent of its natural gas — a dependence the European Commission says will rise significantly in the future.


Germany relies on Russia for 34 percent of its oil imports and 36 percent of its natural gas consumption. Slovakia, Finland and Bulgaria depend on Russia for more than 90 percent of the gas that heats homes, cooks meals and powers factories.


The Europeans appeared to focus more on bolstering Georgia. The draft statement called for a free trade pact with Georgia, visa-free travel and reconstruction aid.


It said a "peaceful and lasting" solution to the conflict in Georgia must be based on respect for the country's sovereignty and borders.
"Each state in Europe has a right to determine freely its foreign policy and its alliances" — an apparent reference to Moscow's fierce opposition to Georgia's bid to join NATO.


In Brussels, Vladimir Chizov, Russia's ambassador to the EU, said the Europeans exaggerate the Russian-Georgian war's significance with references to another Cold War.


'"The Cold War was clearly about ideologies," Chizov told a pre-summit conference of the German Marshall Fund of the United States.


"We are living in a different world today. There is no ground for talking about a second Cold War," Chizov said. He added Georgia's "trigger-happy" president, Mikhail Saakashvili, started the war.


On Aug. 7, Georgian forces attacked South Ossetia, hoping to retake the province, which broke away from Georgia in the early 1990s. Russian forces repelled the offensive and pushed into Georgia. Both sides signed a cease-fire deal in mid-August, but Russia has ignored its requirement for all forces to return to prewar positions.


Moscow has insisted the cease-fire accord lets it run checkpoints in security zones of up to 4 miles into Georgian territory.


Possible EU actions against Russia include a boycott of the 2014 Winter Olympics in Sochi — a Russian city near the Georgian border — or holding off on talks for a broader economic partnership with Moscow.

[American Patriot]

EU summit to review Russia ties
bbc ^

EU leaders are to hold an emergency summit in Brussels to discuss the crisis between Georgia and Russia.

They are expected to condemn Moscow's recognition of independence for Georgia's breakaway regions of South Ossetia and Abkhazia.

Russian President Dmitry Medvedev says his decision is irrevocable.

Correspondents say that despite talk of sanctions from the French foreign minister last week, such a tough response now looks highly unlikely.

Georgian demonstrators are planning to hold rallies in Tbilisi and in other European capitals to coincide with the special EU summit in Brussels when it opens on Monday.

The EU's 27 members are united in their alarm at Russia's action in Georgia, but divided about how to respond, says BBC Europe correspondent Jonny Dymond in Brussels.

'Fundamental choice'

But calls for a fundamental change in the relationship with Russia are unlikely to get the support required, he says.

Many EU states are wary of alienating Russia, an important trading partner and a major energy supplier, our correspondent says.

The event is expected to bring a pledge for more monitors on the ground, substantial economic aid, a free trade agreement and easier travel arrangements for Georgians, says the BBC's Oana Lungescu in Brussels.

Russian President Dmitry Medvedev Dmitry Medvedev warned Moscow would retaliate against any sanctions

The summit comes a day after British Prime Minister Gordon Brown called for a root-and-branch review of the EU's relationship with Russia, saying no nation should be allowed to exert an energy stranglehold over Europe.

But German Foreign Minister Frank-Walter Steinmeier warned Europe would only hurt itself if, as he put it, it were to get emotional and slam the doors.

France, which currently chairs the EU and brokered a peace deal between Russia and Georgia, has called the meeting...

(Excerpt) Read more at news.bbc.co.uk ...

[American Patriot]

The Soviet Union Rhetoric has returned..




Russia anounces ‘spheres of interest’

By Charles Clover in Moscow

Published: August 31 2008 18:59 | Last updated: August 31 2008 18:59

Russia’s president Dmitry Medvedev on Sunday announced Moscow’s intention to preserve geographical spheres “of privileged interest” on or near its borders as part of a five point foreign policy statement in a television interview.

The announcement, in the wake of the recent conflict in Georgia, is likely to raise the political temperature in neighbouring states, especially those with significant Russian minorities, as they try to gauge Russia’s appetite for future conflicts in the region.
EDITOR’S CHOICE
Editorial Comment: EU must be firm on Russia - Aug-31
Comment: Firm west can prevent new cold war - Aug-31
EU leaders to unite in opposing Russia - Aug-31
US presses for response over Georgia - Aug-31
Russian pledges fail to reassure refugees - Aug-29
In depth: South Ossetia crisis - Aug-14

He said that Russia would defend “the life and dignity” of Russian citizens “no matter where they are located”. He was referring to Russia’s intervention in Georgia with the declared aim of defending Russian citizens in South Ossetia against Georgian forces.

Mr Medvedev announced that Russia would provide aid – including military help – to the enclaves of South Ossetian and Abkhazia.

In the announcing his five-point foreign policy, he emphasised Russia’s wish to avoid confrontation or international isolation as the result of the recent conflict, which has been widely criticised in the west. “Russia does not intend to isolate itself. We will develop, as much as possible, our friendly relations with Europe and the United States, and other nations of the world”

He also focused on a commitment to international law, and again expressed Moscow’s now familiar antipathy to a “unipolar” world dominated by Washington, saying “this type of world is unstable and threatens conflict”.

Mr Medvedev’s announcement that Russia has “regions of priviledged interest” is likely to be greeted with concern in the west, where it might be interpreted as the announcement that Moscow has imperial ambitions in the former Soviet Union. It is also likely to resonate in Crimea, the province of Ukraine that is dominated by ethnic Russians, ethnically Russian northern Kazakhstan, and Baltic states with large Russian minorities.

"Russia, like other countries in the world, has regions in which it has privileged interests” said Mr Medvedev. “In these regions are located countries which have friendly relations…Russia will work attentively in these regions" he said, adding these "privileged" regions included states bordering Russia, but not only those.

[American Patriot]

Moldova rebel region recognises S.Ossetia, Abkhazia
reuteurs ^ | 9/1/09 | By Dmitry Chubashenko

TIRASPOL, Moldova, Aug 31 (Reuters) - Moldova's breakaway region of Transdniestria followed Russia's lead on Sunday by recognising Georgia's breakaway Abkhazia and South Ossetia as independent states.

But the move is unlikely to ease Russia's diplomatic isolation: Transdniestria itself is not recognised internationally and no state has so far joined Russia in recognising the two Georgian regions.

(Excerpt) Read more at alertnet.org ...

[American Patriot]

Russia Warns West Against Georgia Support
Fox News.com ^ | September 01, 2008 | AP

MOSCOW — Russia warned the West on Monday against supporting Georgia's leadership and called for an arms embargo against the ex-Soviet republic nation until a different government is in place.

Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov's remarks are likely to anger the United States and Europe and enrage Georgian President Mikhail Saakashvili. He made it clear Moscow wants Saakashvili out of power in Georgia.

"If instead of choosing their national interests and the interests of the Georgian people, the United States and its allies choose the Saakashvili regime, this will be a mistake of truly historic proportions," he said.

"For a start it would be right to impose an embargo on weapons to this regime, until different authorities turn Georgia a normal state," he said in an address at Russia's top foreign policy graduate school.

Lavrov spoke as the European Union prepared for a summit Monday to discuss the Georgia crisis and further relations with Russia.

"Today's EU summit should clear up a great deal. We hope the choice they make will be based on Europe's fundamental interests," he said. He said Russia's relations with NATO are facing a "moment of truth."

(Excerpt) Read more at foxnews.com ...

[American Patriot]

Ukraine fears becoming Russia's next target
gmannews ^ | 9/1/08 | na

KIEV, Ukraine – With Russian troops stationed deep in Georgia, fears run high that Ukraine may be the next victim of a Kremlin drive to reclaim dominance in the former Soviet Union.

Many here believe Moscow has its sights on Ukraine's strategic Crimea peninsula on the Black Sea - once a jewel of Russia's empire.

Officials both here and in the West worry how far Russia might go to stop Ukraine's drive to join NATO and to regain control of Crimea.

Analysts say war between the two nations is highly unlikely. While Georgia is a small nation of 4.6 million, Ukraine is roughly the size of France, with a population of 46 million.

(Excerpt) Read more at gmanews.tv ...

find pro russian section


1 posted on Monday, September 01, 2008 7:39:32 AM by Flavius
[ Post Reply | Private Reply | View Replies | Report Abuse]

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To: Flavius
wow lots of people needing an rescue

[American Patriot]

Iran backs Russia over Georgia
Hindu ^ | Atul Aneja

Iran has blamed Georgia for its confrontation with Russia and in a reference to Israel and the U.S., urged regional countries to unite against foreign interference.

Iran’s Foreign Minister Manouchehr Mottaki said on Saturday Georgia caused the crisis because it miscalculated the reaction to its use of military power in South Ossetia. Speaking earlier on the sidelines of the Shanghai Cooperation Organisation (SCO) Summit, Iran’s President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad said the conflict would not have taken place had Georgia “not allowed countries from outside the region to interfere in their internal affairs.” Analysts say that wary of U.S. troop presence in Iraq and Afghanistan, Iran has reasons to welcome the reduction of American influence in its northern neighbourhood.

(Excerpt) Read more at hindu.com ...

[American Patriot]

Russia warns it will respond to "aggression"
Sun Aug 31, 2008 8:21pm EDT

http://www.reuters.com/article/topNe...edName=topNews

By Christian Lowe

MOSCOW (Reuters) - Russia does not want confrontation with the West but will hit back if attacked, Kremlin leader Dmitry Medvedev said on Sunday, a day before EU leaders meet to draft a response to Moscow's actions in Georgia.

British Prime Minister Gordon Brown said he would press fellow European Union leaders to review ties with Russia in retaliation for Moscow's decision to send troops to Georgia and recognize two Georgian breakaway regions.

But underlining the differences in approach inside the 27-member EU, German Foreign Minister Frank-Walter Steinmeier took a softer line, saying isolating Russia would harm the interests of the bloc.

A senior U.S. diplomat said Washington hoped the EU would express concrete support for Georgia's territorial integrity, and urged Europe to reduce its dependence on Russian energy.

Medvedev faces growing condemnation from the West, which accuses Russia of occupying parts of Georgia, while the Kremlin said it acted to prevent what it called genocide against the separatist regions.

"Russia does not want confrontation with any country. Russia does not plan to isolate itself," Medvedev said in an interview with Russia's three main television stations.

But he added: "Everyone should understand that if someone launches an aggressive sortie, he will receive a response." He said Russian law allowed the Kremlin to impose sanctions on other states, though it preferred not to go down that path.

GEORGIAN CALL Continued...

[American Patriot]

Vladimir Putin demands Asia pipeline as warning to Europe
The Telegraph ^ | 8/31/2008 | Damien McElroy in Tbilisi

Vladimir Putin, the Russian prime minister, intensified the Kremlin's pressure on Europe over energy supplies by demanding a fresh completion date for a pipeline project linking its resources to Asia.

The announcement on the eve of Monday's Brussels summit on Russia's occupation of Georgia To stave off tough measures, including possible sanctions, Moscow has sent a variety of signals that it will use its energy clout to retaliate against any European reprimand for its refusal to implement a ceasefire with Georgia.

Russia's Asian pipeline is a technically challenging effort to link the oilfields of Eastern Siberia to Russia's Pacific coast thousands of miles to east. Mr Putin visited Kozmino, a giant oil terminal, where the resources will be loaded for transportation to China and Japan.

The two-stage pipeline has been delayed by a year and building costs have soared as constructors grapple with the harsh conditions of the Siberian tundra, where temperatures regularly fall to -50 C and infrastructure is nonexistent.

When it is inaugurated the Kremlin will have succeeded in diversifying its financial dependence on energy sales to the European Union.

Moscow holds the whip hand in that relationship but fears that the continent will eventually find new sources of energy outside its control. In the meantime it uses the dependence of states like Germany as leverage in its foreign policy.

Last week The Daily Telegraph learned that Russian energy chiefs were preparing to implement a reduction in supplies through the Western pipelines as early as Monday. About 70 per cent of Russian output is sold to Europe, but supplies have been severed at times of political tensions.

In the wake of a Czech deal to host an American missile shield, Russia's delivers from the Friendship pipeline fell 40 per cent but "technical" difficulties were blamed for the drop-off.

(Excerpt) Read more at telegraph.co.uk ...

[American Patriot]

Russia promises military aid to South Ossetia
reuteurs ^ | 8/31/08 | reuteurs

Russia's president said Sunday his country will give military aid to the two separatist regions at the center of the war with Georgia — signaling Moscow has no intention of backing down in the face of Western pressure.

(Excerpt) Read more at wiredispatch.com ...

[American Patriot]

Two months guys... two months...



Iran, Russia seek Bushehr completion
J Post ^ | Aug 31, 2008 22:54 | Updated Aug 31, 2008 22:55

Iranians and Russians are meeting this week to discuss the completion of the Bushehr nuclear reactor, which is being constructed with Russian assistance. Technicians work at the...

Technicians work at the reactor building of the Bushehr Nuclear Plant.

A delegation from the Russian power construction company Atomstroyexport will be heading to Iran to discuss the completion of the 1,000-megawatt power plant on Monday. Bushehr, an $800-million project, is Iran's first nuclear power plant and is being built on Iran's coast with Russian assistance under a 1995 contract.

(Excerpt) Read more at jpost.com ...

[American Patriot]

The Russian planes have been challenged by Alaska-based F-22s and F-15s and escorted in the other direction without incident, officials said. ...

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Full article:

NATO: No 'business as usual' with Moscow

The Washington Post
4:41 PM CDT, August 19, 2008

BRUSSELS, Belgium - BRUSSELS, Belgium -- NATO allies said Tuesday there would be no "business as usual" with Moscow until Russian troops withdraw from all parts of Georgia, but members of the Western alliance disagreed on the extent to which Moscow should be more permanently isolated.

An alliance declaration calling on Russia to "demonstrate -- both in word and deed" its commitment to its cooperative relationship with NATO, one U.S. official said, was "better than we thought" could be achieved in the face of reluctance from some European partners.

Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice said, "The United States sought precisely what we got in this statement." But other diplomats said the consensus document was a reflection of the fact that the alliance has few options -- short of military action, which its members have rejected -- to force its will on Russia.

A German diplomat said that his government did not consider NATO the proper place to discuss a global response to the Georgian crisis, suggesting that the United Nations and the Organization for Security and Cooperation in Europe (OSCE) were more appropriate venues.

"There were different perspectives" in Tuesday morning's closed-door meeting, the diplomat said. "Georgia is not a member of NATO. ... What can NATO do?"

In addition to repeating its denunciation of Russian actions in Georgia and calling for an end to what NATO Secretary General Jaap de Hoop Scheffer called its "occupation" of "the greater part of Georgia," the alliance said it would provide technical assistance to rebuild Georgian infrastructure, including its air traffic control system, damaged by Russian strikes. The alliance said it would form a NATO-Georgian commission to help Georgia move toward eventual NATO membership.

Despite Russia's announcement Monday that it would begin to withdraw, de Hoop Scheffer said in a news conference that there were still no confirmed reports that it was doing so. Meanwhile, OSCE said agreement had been reached between Russia and Georgia to immediately send 20 unarmed military monitors to oversee a cease-fire, a number that eventually will be increased to 100.

The monitors will be stationed in the "conflict zone" in Georgia proper, outside the Georgian enclaves of South Ossetia and Abkhazia. Russia says the enclaves should be independent of Tbilisi, and has said its military invasion was precipitated by a Georgian military attack on them.

Asked whether NATO was developing any new military plans to assist the Georgians, de Hoop Scheffer said: "The answer is no. I think we have in place what we should have." He denounced a Russian threat to target Poland in response to a U.S.-Polish missile defense agreement that Rice will sign in Warsaw on Wednesday. "It is pathetic rhetoric," de Hoop Scheffer said of the Russian threats.

Russia's continued refusal to withdraw, despite promises made in a cease-fire agreement negotiated by French President Nicolas Sarkozy, has frustrated the alliance. The Bush administration had urged a near-complete shunning of Moscow in international organizations, including the NATO-Russian Council, established after the fall of the Soviet Union to increase cooperation.

De Hoop Scheffer said he saw no prospect of council meetings or programs in the near future. But in an article in Tuesday morning's London Times, British Foreign Secretary David Miliband wrote that "isolation has been tried in the past and didn't work. I favor hard-headed engagement," a phrase that a British diplomat interpreted as meaning "you don't step back from delivering a tough message" at every encounter with Russian officials.

Miliband said he did not favor expelling Russia from the Group of Eight wealthy, industrialized nations, as U.S. presidential candidate Sen. John McCain, R-Ariz., has proposed. "That would encourage Russian sense of victimhood, fuel Russian revanchism and allow the Russians to position themselves as the champion of reform for those currently outside the G-8," he wrote.

Reports Tuesday from Georgia emphasized the ambiguity of the situation on the ground. Russian troops still traveled the country at will and appeared to be entrenching some positions, even though Russian officials in Moscow said a withdrawal was underway.

According to wire service and other reports, a Russian contingent returned to the Black Sea port at Poti, where it destroyed more Georgian equipment and took several Georgian military personnel into custody. Russians also remained in positions around the central city of Gori.

"We stress the urgency of swift, complete and good faith implementations of the (withdrawal) agreement," the statement issued by the 26 NATO countries said. " ... Military action must cease definitively and military forces must return to their positions held prior to the outbreak of hostilities."

Even before the emergency session, there was broad agreement that NATO should try to ensure Moscow follows through on its withdrawal promises, and that the military incursion is not used to redefine the borders of former Soviet states hoping to join the Atlantic alliance.

Rice said Monday that NATO would send a message to Moscow that "we're not going to allow Russia to draw a new line around those states not yet integrated (into NATO) like Ukraine and Georgia." But she said the alliance was unlikely to speed up consideration of their applications to be formally placed on the path toward NATO membership. Requests by the two former Soviet republics were set aside at a NATO summit last spring, to be revisited at a foreign ministers meeting scheduled for December.

She said Tuesday's meeting would also reaffirm support for NATO members in central and eastern Europe, such as the Balkan nations and Poland, which joined following the 1991 collapse of the Soviet Union.

"We're reinforcing the point that they are safely within transatlantic structures," Rice said.

Following the NATO meeting, Rice is scheduled to fly to Warsaw to formalize the U.S.-Polish missile defense agreement made last week.

In comments Monday aboard her aircraft en route to Brussels, Rice for the first time placed the Georgian crisis in the context of what she described as Moscow's stepped-up military taunting of some of NATO's most powerful members, including an increase of strategic bomber flights near the Alaskan coast.

Flights by Russian Tu-95 "Bear" bombers into what the United States considers its "defensive air space" have notably increased during the past six months, U.S. officials have said. The Russian planes have been challenged by Alaska-based F-22s and F-15s and escorted in the other direction without incident, officials said.

"This is a very dangerous game, and perhaps one the Russians might want to reconsider," Rice said. "It is not cost free. ... This effort to somehow assert Russian power or influence by military means is something that we've been seeing for a while." Similar flights, she said, have occurred near the coast of Norway, another NATO member, which shares a border with Russia.

[link to www.chicagotribune.com]

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http://www.chicagotribune.com/news/n...,2772386.story

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[American Patriot]

Owner of Russian opposition website killed
Reuters ^ | Aug 31, 2008 | Unwilling

NAZRAN, Russia (Reuters) - The owner of an opposition Internet news site in Russia's troubled Ingushetia region was shot dead on Sunday after being detained by police, prompting his colleagues to call for a protest rally.

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A lawyer for the site -- which survived repeated official attempts to close it down -- said police met Yevloyev at the steps of the aircraft after he flew in to Ingushetia's airport, put him in a Volga saloon car and drove him away.

"As they drove he was shot in the temple ... They threw him out of the car near the hospital," lawyer Kaloi Akhilgov told Reuters by telephone.

"He was discovered there and they quickly put him on the operating table, which is where he died."

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(Excerpt) Read more at news.yahoo.com ...

[American Patriot]

UK's Brown warns of Russian "energy stranglehold"
focus ^ | 8/30/08 | focus

London. British Prime Minister Gordon Brown warned that Russia must not be allowed to subject Europe to an "energy stranglehold" and said NATO should review relations with Moscow in the light of its actions in Georgia.

further down same link

Germany starts stashing away natural gas

(Excerpt) Read more at focus-fen.net ...