Russia/Georgia Situation News & Updates

U.S. says it has redeployed some of its intelligence assets away from other duties to focus on the Georgian conflict more directly.

The United States has repositioned some of its intelligence assets to provide the Bush administration with direct information about the conflict in Georgia and Russian military movements, a U.S. defense official told CNN Thursday.

The official would not disclose what type of assets were moved, but it is believed that satellites that were tracking developments in Iraq and Afghanistan were repositioned over the weekend when it became clear the situation on the ground in Georgia was escalating.

www.cnn.com...

reply to post by I3LiP


I think that Ukrain will carry out what their president has decided yesterday, hence the statement that the militairy will carry out those decrees.

Sevatopol is indeed leased by Russia, so I think that during the lease they are the rightful user of the leased ground. But in order to get to that harbour, they will have to pass through Ukrainian terratorial waters. And that is the catch I think.

I don't think that Russia is going to be happy about that.

U.S. Secretary of Defense says the United States does not seek a new Cold War with Russia.

WASHINGTON, Aug 14 (Reuters) - The United States does not want a return of Cold War relations with Russia following Moscow's military action in Georgia, U.S. Defense Secretary Robert Gates said on Thursday.

"That certainly is not our desire," Gates told reporters. "We have been pretty restrained in this."

Gates was responding to questions about the future of U.S.-Russia relations after Moscow sent troops into Georgia and the United States dispatched military aircraft to deliver humanitarian aid to Georgians.

www.alertnet.org...

Note that this is the same URL I posted earlier that said Gates believes there should be consequences for Russia's actions. It appears to have changed or to have been updated.

Ok minor recap. Russia is all over Georgia. They have said time and again one thing and time and again done the opposite. The S.O. folks are being allowed to loot plunder and pillage and Russia says they can do nothing about it. Russia has also said that Poland (another former soviet state) must answer for its opinion about the conflict. And that the Ukraine is subject to Russia.

I don't know what this looks like to you, but this kind of posturing looks like the Russians want all the territories they lost back in the collapse back under their control. One nation at a time.


.....

I guess the real test of this theory will be in their actions after they secure Georgia.

reply to post by I3LiP


This is true.

Viktor Yushchenko`s decree Wednesday requires Russia`s Black Sea Fleet to submit a request to return to its base in the Crimea 10 working days before its planned return.

Originally posted by I3LiP
As far as I understood Ukraine was preventing the ships RETURNING to Sevastapol.

That is correct, and the reason given was that they DIDN'T tell Ukraine where they were going

reply to post by Becker44


given the rubbish georgia has been coming out with over the last week , he is employed by them as well....

reply to post by AceWombat04


Oh that's just swell! The Taliban keep killing our troops in Afghanistan, but Bush and Cheney are diverting resources from there to cover Saakashvili's [SNIP]!

Mod Edit: Profanity. Please Review This Link.



[edit on 14-8-2008 by sanctum]

[edit on 14-8-2008 by sanctum]

I think the local militias,drunk soldiers,rogue soldiers,looting soldiers and mercenaries are making a big mess of any hope of a back down or cease fire. I'm not saying these factors are the only problems but they don't make it easy.

U.S. Secretary of Defense says Russian forces now appear to be withdrawing from Georgia and back into the zone of conflict:

US DEFENSE SECRETARY GATES SAYS RUSSIA APPEARS TO BE WITHDRAWING TO ZONE OF CONFLICT

www.alertnet.org...

[edit on 8/14/2008 by AceWombat04]

www.defensenews.com...

U.S. Navy to Provide Aid to Georgia

President Bush directed U.S. Defense Secretary Robert Gates on Aug. 13 to oversee a "rigorous and ongoing" air and naval humanitarian mission to Georgia, saying the United States is "seriously concerned" that Russia is not following the preliminary cease-fire agreement reached less than 12 hours earlier.


Navy spokesman Lt. Sean Robertson said Wednesday afternoon that the Navy is "considering a wide range of options," but declined to discuss details.

reply to post by AceWombat04


Seems a bit bizarre after the Reuters latest:

Russia moves in

Russian troops and armor moved in or around at least three Georgian towns, ignoring demands by Washington that Moscow respect Georgia's territorial integrity.

(Reuters)

Originally posted by titorite
I don't know what this looks like to you, but this kind of posturing looks like the Russians want all the territories they lost back in the collapse back under their control. One nation at a time.

Yeah, that's pretty much what it looks like. They're basically telling Poland, the Ukraine and others to take a good look at what's happening in Georgia. If they don't tow the Russian line, they're going to be next.

Ironically, all Russia is doing is driving the wedge between themselves and these states even deeper and pushing them further toward NATO.

afp.google.com...

WASHINGTON (AFP) — A second C-17 US military cargo plane carrying humanitarian aid for conflict-torn Georgia arrived in the capital Tbilisi on Thursday, the State Department said.

"The second C-17 carrying humanitarian assistance commodities to Georgia arrived in Tbilisi today," department spokesman Robert Wood said.

Cargo from the first plane, he said, was being moved to a nearby government wharehouse for distribution to those affected by the Georgia-Russia conflict.

Over the past few days close to two million dollars in humanitarian aid has been provided by the United States to the Georgian people in the form of medical supplies, tents, blankets and water, Wood said.

U.S. Secretary of Defense warns that Russia's relationship with the United States may be damaged for years if Russia does not disengage from the Georgian conflict:

Russia's relationship with the US could be "adversely affected" for years if the Kremlin does not step back from the conflict in Georgia, the US defence secretary has warned.

Sky News

Originally posted by Digital_Reality


www.defensenews.com...

U.S. Navy to Provide Aid to Georgia

looks like Ukraine, US, and georgia are looking to box in russian ships. not sure that is a good idea.

[edit on 14-8-2008 by JSR]

Mass Jailbreak in Western Georgia

Up to 150 inmates escaped from the high security prison in Khoni, western Georgia, Justice Minister, Nika Gvaramia, said at a press conference on August 14.

source

Russian President Medvedev tells separatist region leaders that they are victorious because justice was on their side.

Sharpening the confrontation with the United States over the future of Georgia, Medvedev received in the Kremlin on Thursday the leaders of the two separatist regions at the heart of the week-old conflict and promised them Moscow's backing.

"You defended your land and justice was on your side," a stern-looking Medvedev said in televised remarks at the meeting. "That is why you won, with the assistance of Russian peacekeepers...I think that is an appropriate outcome."

www.alertnet.org...

reply to post by AceWombat04


It's all very intriguing, isn't it, Ace?

Have you noticed over the past few days that every time it looks like being sort of resolved, something ends up happening to kick it off again?

...Only time will tell, eh.

reply to post by AceWombat04


They may have been 'victorious' in the battle, but they certainly lost the war of opinion. Through their own actions, they've set back relations with the United States and Eastern Europe, in particular, a decade or more. I haven't heard too many (read that: any) statements in support of the Russians' action in Georgia coming from *any* nation, for that matter.