The temperature at the United Nations Security Council hasn’t been this high in years — and it’s not because the U.N. management raised the thermostat slightly to cut electricity costs. It’s due to the heated exchange of insults and accusations between Russia and the United States, which has reached a fever pitch reminiscent of the Cold War years.
U.S. Ambassador Zalmay Khalilzad accused Russia on Sunday of using the Georgian incursion into Georgia’s breakaway enclave of South Ossetia as an excuse for a massive military assault against its tiny pro-Western neighbor whose ultimate goal is “regime change” in Tbilisi. He also assailed Moscow for waging a “campaign of terror” against the civilian population of Georgia, a former Soviet republic.
Russia’s U.N. Ambassador Vitaly Churkin shot back that regime change is an “American invention” and suggested it was hypocritical of Washington to talk about attacks on civilians in light of what it has done in Iraq, Afghanistan and Serbia. Churkin said Russia is only trying to defend its peacekeepers and protect civilians from Georgian “ethnic cleansing” and “genocide” in South Ossetia, a small pro-Moscow province that threw off Tbilisi’s rule in the 1990s and has been managed by Russian troops since.
There’s a subtext to this dispute and it isn’t just the U.S. and European support for the declaration of independence of Kosovo, a former breakaway region of Serbia that seceded in February. Serbia and its ally Russia were both enraged by what they saw as an unjustified tearing away of a large chunk of Serbian territory in violation of international law. (Of course, the Georgian separatists in South Ossetia and Abkhazia — another Georgian breakaway region — took notice.)
Tensions between Russia and the United States have been simmering for a while.
When the United States announced it was planning to build a missile shield in Poland and the Czech Republic several years ago, then President Vladimir Putin was outraged. He dismissed U.S. statements that the shield was to guard against Iran, not Russia. In February 2007 at a security conference in Munich, Germany, Putin accused the United States of trying to create a “unipolar” world with Washington as its “one single master”. He made clear that Russia would not stand idly by while Washington tried to subjugate the planet. U.S. officials were taken aback at the force of Putin’s speech, which some said sounded like a declaration of a new Cold War.
Russia, richer than ever thanks to its massive oil and gas revenues, has made no attempt to hide its irritation at Washington’s staunch support for Georgia’s NATO aspirations. It views the expansion of NATO towards its borders as an encroachment on its sphere of influence.
Is it possible that when Georgian President Mikheil Saakashvili decided to go into South Ossetia and try to put it back under Tbilisi’s control, he gave Russian leaders a golden opportunity to severely punish Georgia’s pro-Western leadership and show the world that Russia is no longer the weak, economically devastated nation it was in the 1990s?
Perhaps the message is — Russia is back, it’s powerful and it won’t tolerate anyone messing around in its backyard.
Or is there another message here?
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Notice: specially for English-speaking visitors - a word-for-word translation of the post previously published at Osradio.ru
Georgians and their US-masters would never be forgiven for recent mass slaughter in South Ossetia. Brutal massacre of S. Ossetian civilians by Georgian army during the first days of military operation was nothing but an extreme point of man-hatred. A few examples of acts of genocide are given below.
The road from regional hub Znaur to the village of Dzhava is covered with corpses of S. Ossetian civilians - including women, elders and children. It’s still impossible to bury the dead as all moving objects in that area immediately come under fire of Georgian snipers and artillery.
Tkhsinval, August 8, 2008. According to eyewitnesses a group of S. Ossetian children was burnt alive inside two refugee’s minibuses which headed to Vladikavkaz.
The Khetagurovo massacre - another tragedy of Zharsk province. All young ladies of Khetagurovo village were kidnapped and driven away in unknown direction. Other villagers - men, women and elders were blocked in the building of local church and set on fire. Children were murdered separately. Georgians chopped children’s heads off in presence of their parents. Kidnapped girls have been raped and tortured, their genitals disfigured.
We want to believe that after all Saakashvili’s junta will face adeserved trial soon
- Posted by VladimirSTOP SAAKASHVILI!!!… At 3:30 08.08.2008 tanks of the Georgian army have entered Tskhinvali, the capital of the South Ossetian Republic. GEORGIA HAS KILLED 1600 INNOCENT CIVILIANS!
- Posted by EugeneWhy Saakashvili needs the death of these peace citizens? The current Georgian government is not a democratic power!!!
RUSSIAN OIL AND GAS = GEORGIAN BLOOD! if USA and Europe don’t stop Russia now, than all the ideals of democracy and freedom that the West preaches is ONE BIG LIE. Nobody might care about a tiny nation of hardly 4 million people, but I assure you that Russia will not be content with destroying Georgia, it will move on to the rest of the Caucasus and Eastern Europe, it will invade your countries too if not today, TOMORROW. If the world does not help Georgia today, than what US and Europe stands for in nothing but a JOKE!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
- Posted by EteriAmerica went into Iraq unilateraly and without cause setting a precedent for other countries to justify their own unilateral actions. This is exactly the excuse that the Russians will use to deflect blame. The UN security council is a toothless, political joke. How can an organization that supposedly represents world interests and peace have any credilbility when the power is consolidated to a few powerful countries with self-serving interests and veto power.Unbelievable!
- Posted by DanTruth is always the 1st casualty of war. Do not believe CNN, nor any other “independent news source”. Look at where the refugees are running. Half of Tshinvali residents ran to Russia.
- Posted by otshel'nikOther half is trying to survive in the basements. Nobody ran to Georgia.
We, in Eastern Europe know the russians better then anyone. We have been ocupayed by this red beasts so many decades. Do not trust russia,they are the main enamy of western civilization. To not lose our honor, we must provide our moral, economic, military support to thr tiny republic of Georgia, and for the georgian peoaple that now are facing the full might of the bear.
- Posted by raduRussia has every right to protect its citizens in both south ossetia and abkhazia. As the U.S.A and N.A.T.O also did in the kosovan conflict, they are also within there rights to attack the oggressors own soil too,if it is required. The U.S. N.A.T.O and britain are proving to us all what a bunch of contradictory hypocrits they are, its about time they took a hard look at themselves and the policies they have seen fit to entertain over the previous 10 years. Im proud to be english and european, im sick and tierd of the united states of america imposing its culture, its poor excuse of democracy and trying to bulldoze itself over every square inch of our planet , so it can force us all to bow down at its knees. If this conflict and previous disagreements with russia mean a new cold war is upon us, then maybe its a good thing. Its about time someone stood up to the yanks and showed them that enough is enough, its time america relised how much we are all sick of there bully tactics. If it wernt for lap dogs like my country and others who run up america`s backend, maybe conflicts like iraq, afganistan, kosovo, palestian and now georgia would never off happened.
- Posted by Stu from englandWhy Georgia attacked? A war against Russia is suicide, unless:
What if USA and other European nations promised to back up Georgia, then it sounds different.
Of course now that all the region could be in jeopardy they are leaving Georgia alone and blaming Russia.
Mr. Bush you have caused enought trouble already, don’t tempt Russia to use Cuba as a military base again.
- Posted by Luis ChavezWhy Georgians are tolerating Saakashvili?
- Posted by MikeHe shut down opposition media during his elections, but West recognised him as democratic leader.
May because he is US creauture….
The dirty west and its hypocrisy! You invade nations, you topple elected govts, you massacre innocent people, all in the name of what GOD?? No, Oil, wealth, dominance and supremacy. When some people defend themselves they are rogues, they are thugs, they are whatever. We love you Russia, Go Go Go. Teach the US and its stooges a hard lesson. US and its allies are the real empire of evil and vice.
- Posted by Cindy HainesWhen the Soviet Union invaded and took over Czechoslovakia, Poland, Romania, East Germany, etc. after World War II, they always claimed they were just defending the people of those countries against their own governments. Russia today is using the same inhuman, brutal tactics and the very same justifications as the old evil empire known as the Soviet Union.
Russia today is identical, no different than the Soviet Union, and just as undemocratic and repressive.
It’s amazing people in the world would see the U.S. and NATO as being in the wrong and Russia as the savior of liberty and democracy. But then again, a lot of delusioned innocents thought the same in during the Cold War.
Cold War II has begun. Thanks Putin!!! It’s nice to know the world still has nuclear weapons too.
- Posted by MattThe message is that Russia is no longer irrelevant.
- Posted by ChrisPeople, open your eyes, Putin is hell-bent on returning Russia back to the glory days of the Soviet Union. The attack on South Ossetia gave them the pretext to secure it’s backyard. Call it Russia’s “Manifest Desity”…
They will invade Georgia proper and they will remove the democratic government of Georgia. This is the “logical conclusion” Putin speaks of…
Now all the war crazy people in Russia and America will get what they want! A World War III. Georgia is the start next iran, syria and israel in war. After that will come Russia, China, USA and EU.
Jippeeeeeee!!!! War war war … isn’t it nice???
- Posted by JuhaRemark: Ossetia(not splited by Stalin then) joined Russia 25 yrs BEFORE Georgia joined. Both made it by goodwill(goal: to leave Turkish genocide).
- Posted by JavSpare us from your twisted delusions, Locus publicus. At least truth is debateable in a democracy, not so in a totalitarian form of government.
- Posted by John BlankHmm, What better time to announce this than during the olympics. There will be plenty of viewers who now think we need to police the world. This is more propaganda the international bankers are using to sustain war. Cant you see ,its the same old story. Sounds just like what we did to Iraq. We cant stay in Iraq for ever. There needs to be a new enemy, to sustain war, to keep the money flowing. Now they will continue to terrorize us until they systematically take over the world. This is a ruse ,to get us onboard for more war.
- Posted by CTYes, that must have been quite funny to hear an accusation of “regime change” from a representative of… the United States. When asked, Mr. Bolton told once the US were entitled to a regime change to protect their interests, even if the regime had been democratically elected. Thus the arguments of the US and the rest of “international community” are ridiculous.
After all, regime change, “humanitarian intervention” and double standards are all Western inventions. Feel like it tastes? Kosovo FULL-criminal pseudo-state should be waiting for fellows.
- Posted by BeorscealcI love all the posts by the single guy who keeps making up names. Saying the same thing every time. Is anyone else even on this forum?
What Georgia did was probably stupid, but what Russia is doing back is very typical Soviet incursion style. I don’t think we can do anything militaristically, but we should chomp down on Russia economically as much as we can and feed Georgia rebuilding money as soon as possible.
- Posted by BrianNo the Russians are the true agressors. What the Georgian military did was only a pre-emptive strike on South Ossetia. The 70.000 Ossetian people are far to dangerous with the 3.000 Russian peacekeapers. Does anyone believe this bla bla?
If the USA and Russia really cared about world peace than their would never have been a war in Rwanda. Israel and Indonesia would be under an embargo for the last thirty years. Democracy would be a debateable political choice rather than the only truth
- Posted by Locus publicus“Or is there another message here?”
The point of Russia isn’t to show anything to anyone, but to stop the bloodshed in the region as soon as possible.
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Today the document of ceasefire, finally, has been signed by Saakashvili(before there were only words). But still the fighting continues. After the signature of the document, russian news twice reported of shelling of Tskhinvali by georgian arms. The document was prepared by two european foreing ministers (France and Finland), who came to Tbilisi earlier. Today they left Georgia and are supposed to meet russian president, Medvedev.
The conditions of the ceasefire document are kept in secret and are not announced to the public.
The document will take effect only after Mr.Medvedev signs it.
Consider, that Russia and other foreing countries have been trying to convince Mr.Saakashvili to sign the document of military non-agression for month before the 8-th of August.
Now, for people to stop dying from shells, we have to hope for ceasefire document to be signed.
Hopefully, it will be so. But the text of the document have to be viewed in order to understand what comes next.
- Posted by Pavel D. (Rostov-on-Don, Russia)