Georgia sees little sign of Russian withdrawal

[WriteDown]

Source: AP

GORI, Georgia - Russian tanks and troops roamed freely around Gori on Monday and made forays toward the Georgian capital, keeping control of the highway that slices through Georgia's midsection despite Russia's announcement that a withdrawal had begun.
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The movements of Russian forces around the key city of Gori raised questions about whether Russia was fulfilling its side of the cease-fire intended to end the short but intense fighting that reignited Cold War tensions.

The deputy chief of the Russian general staff, Col.-Gen. Anatoly Nogovitsyn, told a briefing in that "today, according to the peace plan, the withdrawal of Russian peacekeepers and reinforcements has begun" and said forces were leaving Gori.

But Russian military vehicles roared along roads in and around Gori on Monday and Russian troops were restricting access to the city, where shops were shut and people milled around on the central square with its statue of the Soviet dictator and native son Josef Stalin......

Read more: http://news.yahoo.com/s/ap/20080818/ap_on_re_eu/georgia_russia;_ylc=X3oDMTI1NzZyc3Q3BFJfYWlkAwRSX2RtbgN5YWhvby5jb20EUl9maWQDYmRhMGMzMzU0NTFiYmY2YjY0Y2Q0MWRlYjBiYWRlNDYEUl9sdHADMQ--

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Not a surprise.

[provis99]

1. maybe Georgia will think a little more before starting another war

Serves them right.

[WriteDown]

2. Serves Chechnya right too, right?

And soon it will serve Venezuela right to for taking in the Russian navy? Both sides in the conflict hold plenty of blame.

[provis99]

3. Russia is going to attack Venezuela?

Excuse me, 1984 called. It wants its anti-Russian phobia back.

As for Chechnya, even the rabidly anti-Russian neocons took Russia's side against the Chechens. But if you want to go ahead and defend child murdering Islamic terrorists, go right ahead.

[Igel]

4. Apparently the first deaths in this exchange occurred on 8/5 or 8/6.

It was the Russian dead that signified the start of the war; the Georgian dead that happened first, eh.

Caused by S. Ossetians. So it really shows who's right. Not principle, not law.

Just those with a big gun.

Perhaps we can invade Cuba in a serious way. After all, we could just shell them, do a serious embargo, etc., etc., until they decide they have to do something. And if they don't, it's just imperialism. What's good for the bear is good for the eagle.

Or am I missing something?

[provis99]

5. the South Ossetians were attacked by the Georgians

just because the Georgians got killed when they attacked the Ossetians does not make the Georgian side right. If you are attacked by a mugger, and you kill him, does that mean the mugger was on the just side, and you were in the wrong?

I swear, some people on this board absorb MSM lies so much they repeat them without even realizing it. Until we lose this mentality that the US government always tells the truth, the MSM never lies, and the Russians are the James Bond bad guys, there's no hope for reality to sink through.

To be consistent, I want to hear everyone that supports the Georgians also say they were for the Serbians and against the Kosovars, when the US bombed Serbia. Because the situations are identical, only with the US playing the role in Kosovo that the Russians played in South Ossetia, with the added factor that apparently over a thousand Ossetians with Russian citizenship were killed (what would we have done had a thousand Kosovars with American citizenship been killed by a Serbian attack?)

[razorman]

8. The Russian invasion was not simply a response to Georgia's recent mistreatment of the Ossetians.

The Russians were preparing this invasion for months. It is not possible to launch a military operation of that magnitude in a few days. They have planned to go in for a long time, and were just waiting for an excuse.

[maddezmom]

6. Russians stay in Georgia, worry the West

Russians stay in Georgia, worry the West 18 Aug 2008 22:37:06 GMT
Source: Reuters
By James Kilner

TBILISI, Aug 19 (Reuters) - Russian troops and tanks were still deployed in several areas of Georgia on Tuesday, apparently defying pressure from the West to withdraw quickly.

Armed Georgian policemen and Russian soldiers guarded separate checkpoints only a few hundred metres apart in the village of Igoeti in central Georgia, about 45 km (28 miles) from the Georgian capital, Tbilisi.

Russia's Defence Ministry has said the army's withdrawal from Georgia has started, but on Monday a Reuters correspondent who travelled to the central town of Gori saw little evidence of a pullout from the area.

The conflict began 10 days ago when Georgian forces tried earlier this month to recapture South Ossetia, which broke free from Tbilisi in a war during the 1990s. Russia launched an overwhelming counterattack to support the separatists.

more: http://www.alertnet.org/thenews/newsdesk/LI239157.htm

[robcon]

7. I don't think the Russians will ever leave.

They've taken over part of Georgia. For good.

[hogwyld]

9. There's absolutely no reason why they should leave

That is thier part of the world, and those 2 provinces want to be a part of Russia. The Georgian government deserves this for their ties to the current criminal misadministration.

[question everything]

10. Despite pledge to withdraw, Russians seize more ground in Georgia

Source: McClatchy

By Tom Lasseter and Shashank Bengali, McClatchy NewspapersMon Aug 18, 6:02 PM ET

IGOETI, Georgia — Despite assurances that it would withdraw troops from Georgia starting Monday, the Russian military operated with impunity as its forces moved convoys in and out of the city of Gori and plowed through a police roadblock in this town some 25 miles northwest of Tbilisi , the capital.

In Washington , senior defense officials cited "troubling" intelligence that Russia had set up short-range ballistic missile launchers in South Ossetia . The SS-21 missiles have a range of 40 to 70 miles, meaning they can reach the capital from practically any part of South Ossetia , which Russian forces now occupy. The officials, who refused to be identified due to the sensitivity of the subject, also said there was no significant Russian movement out of Georgia .

(snip)

The deputy head of the Russian military's general staff, Col. Gen. Anatoly Nogovitsyn , told reporters in Moscow Monday that Russian troops were being drawn back to the breakaway region of South Ossetia , which sits just on the Georgia - Russia border. McClatchy journalists working in both the west and center of the country saw little to indicate that was happening. As has been the case throughout the 10-day conflict - which began with a Georgian military move into South Ossetia - Russian commanders seemed intent on showing they controlled the ground.

Russian forces dominated the country's vital road and rail arteries, held military bases they had seized from the Georgian army, and occupied Gori, a strategically important city and the birthplace of the late Soviet dictator Josef Stalin. Military convoys continued to move in and out of Gori all afternoon, including tanks and an anti-aircraft gun. The day before, dozens of Russian supply trucks were seen driving from the direction of South Ossetia into the city.



Read more: http://news.yahoo.com/s/mcclatchy/20080818/wl_mcclatchy/3021530

[Tutonic]

11. Yeah what was that about Poland Mr. Bush? Putin just handed

you your lunch--in a bottle.

[Ghost Dog]

12. Misleading headline. Sounds like they're just consolidating the line

behind which they withdraw, leaving a secure buffer zone which 'peacekeepers' will patrol, as per the ceasefire agreement.

[muriel_volestrangler]

13. Smashing tanks through a Georgian police roadblock 25 miles from the capital?

That is not 'peacekeeping'. They're only meant to be 6 km outside South Ossetia.

Under the cease-fire, about 1,500 Russian peacekeepers are allowed to remain inside, and can do patrols about 6 kilometers outside, the "zone of conflict," a reference to South Ossetia and Abkhazia.

They are not permitted to patrol in Gori and other Georgian cities and cannot hamper aid distribution or control ports, highways or railroads, the officials said. The limited exception for the Russian peacekeepers is allowed only until a more robust international peacekeeping force can be deployed.

http://edition.cnn.com/2008/WORLD/europe/08/15/georgia.russia.war/index.html

[sourmilk]

14. I am not sure where CNN gets the 6 km figure.

Text of Cease-fire proposal:
http://www.timesonline.co.uk/tol/news/world/europe/article4522496.ece

Description:
http://www.nytimes.com/2008/08/18/world/europe/18georgia.html?pagewanted=2&_r=1&hp

I have heard different measurements, from different sources...and the text of the agreement does not seem to delineate where the “conflict zone” around Tskhinvali begins and ends, or the size of the “security corridor,” which apparently could extend eight or twelve miles into Georgia, depending on the paper you read.

All CNN seems to report is whatever BS Saakashvili is spouting at the time.

[maddezmom]

15. Russian military unit leaves Georgian town...main withdrawl in 3 days

Russian military unit leaves Georgian town 19 Aug 2008 13:42:04 GMT
Source: Reuters
* Reuters reporter sees Russian tanks leave Georgian city

* Russia says additional "peacekeeping" posts needed

* NATO calls on Russia to respect ceasefire and pull out

* Moscow says Georgia planning attacks inside Russia

By Dmitry Solovyov

GORI, Georgia, Aug 19 (Reuters) - A column of Russian tanks and armoured vehicles left the Georgian town of Gori on Tuesday, but Russian officials said the main withdrawal demanded by the West would not happen for three more days.

NATO ministers, meeting in Brussels, said business as usual with Russia was impossible until it had fully pulled out of Georgia, but did not announce any specific sanctions or moves to speed up Georgian accession to the military alliance.

Col-General Anatoly Nogovitsyn, deputy head of Russia's General Staff, told a briefing that the withdrawal was "flowing slowly now because a pressing need has arisen to create new posts for peacekeepers".

This, he said, "would stabilise the situation with uncontrolled movements of armed people".

more:http://www.alertnet.org/thenews/newsdesk/LI239157.htm

[The Stranger]

16. I love it how the SS-21 "intelligence" appeared on DU over a week ago.

Now it is apparently reaching the White House.

[chatnoir]

17. Russian soldiers take prisoners in Georgia port

RUISI, Georgia (AP) — Russian soldiers took 20 Georgian troops prisoner at a key port in western Georgia on Tuesday and commandeered American Humvees awaiting shipment back to the United States after taking part in earlier U.S.-Georgian military exercises.

The move came as a small column of Russian tanks and armored vehicles left the strategic Georgian city of Gori in the first sign of a Russian pullback of troops from Georgia after a cease-fire intended to end fighting that reignited Cold War tensions. The two countries on Tuesday also exchanged prisoners captured during their brief war.

However, Russian soldiers took Georgian servicemen prisoner at a key port and commandeered U.S. Humvees. An Associated Press photographer saw Russian trucks and armored personnel carriers leaving the port with about 20 blindfolded and handcuffed men riding on them.

Port spokesman Eduard Mashevoriani said the men were Georgian soldiers.


More: http://ap.google.com/article/ALeqM5gDNLWfQWKrQc48pITBUg9KT_6oVwD92LCT0G3