MEGVREKISI, Georgia (Reuters) - Tensions over Georgia’s rebel territory of South Ossetia exploded on Friday when Georgia tried to assert control over the region with tanks and rockets, and Russia sent forces to repel the assault.
Fighting between Georgian forces and Russian-backed separatists raged in and around Tskhinvali, the capital of South Ossetia, after Tbilisi sent troops to take back the territory, which broke away in the 1990s.
A senior Georgian security official said Russian jets had bombed the Vaziani military airbase outside the Georgian capital Tbilisi, and President Mikheil Saakashvili said 150 Russian tanks, armored personnel carriers and other vehicles had entered South Ossetia from neighboring Russia.
He also said Georgian forces had downed two Russian jets.
The Russian RIA news agency quoted a source in the regional Russian military headquarters as saying Russian armor had rolled into Tskhinvali, which Georgia had earlier claimed to have “freed”. There was no immediate confirmation from Russia that it had sent bombers.
The crisis, the first to confront Russian President Dmitry Medvedev since he took office in May, looked close to spiraling into full-blown war in a region emerging as a key energy transit route, and where Russia and the West are vying for influence.
The roar of warplanes and the explosions of heavy shells were deafening more than three km (two miles) away from Tskhinvali. Many houses were ablaze.
Marat Kulakhmetov, commander of Russian peacekeepers in the territory, told Interfax by telephone from Tskhinvali: “As a result of many hours of shelling from heavy guns, the town is practically destroyed.”
[quote]Zap Branigan wrote:
Can’t be. Nobody fights a shooting war over territory anymore.[/quote]
Zap,
I think you might have misunderstood us in the other thread, or we didn’t explain ourselves well enough (probably the latter).
Russia is willing to completely de-populate areas filled with the enemy. They killed at least 100,000 Chechans. They are ruthless, which is why the mujahideen are much more wary around them.
We aren’t ruthless, which is why our enemy doesn’t respect us. Hell, we don’t even know what war we’re fighting.
I think conventional wars can still take place, if both sides agree to fight one. Al-Qaeda doesn’t:
[quote]dhickey wrote:
You can almost see the lines being drawn for another WW. Attaching a soveriegn nation to protect an particular ethnic group. Sounds familiar.
So who are we looking at now? Russia, Iran, China, North Korea. Anyone else going to join the dark side.[/quote]
[quote]PRCalDude wrote:
Zap Branigan wrote:
Can’t be. Nobody fights a shooting war over territory anymore.
Zap,
I think you might have misunderstood us in the other thread, or we didn’t explain ourselves well enough (probably the latter).
Russia is willing to completely de-populate areas filled with the enemy. They killed at least 100,000 Chechans. They are ruthless, which is why the mujahideen are much more wary around them.
We aren’t ruthless, which is why our enemy doesn’t respect us. Hell, we don’t even know what war we’re fighting.
I think conventional wars can still take place, if both sides agree to fight one. Al-Qaeda doesn’t:
The problem is, Georgia has helped us in Iraq and lent troops to the effort. If we don’t help them, we look like we don’t help our allies. If we do help them, it won’t make a difference. Georgia will get steamrolled if this goes into a full scale outbreak.
[quote]dhickey wrote:
So who are we looking at now? Russia, Iran, China, North Korea, vietnam, Cambodia, Myanmar. Anyone else going to join the dark side.[/quote]
Not a good prospect at all. Russia and China likely could steamroll most if not all of the eastern hemisphere. America would do well to stay the hell away if something like that happens.
[quote]Blaze_108 wrote:
dhickey wrote:
So who are we looking at now? Russia, Iran, China, North Korea, vietnam, Cambodia, Myanmar. Anyone else going to join the dark side.
Not a good prospect at all. Russia and China likely could steamroll most if not all of the eastern hemisphere. America would do well to stay the hell away if something like that happens.[/quote]
I agree we need to stay out. We’ll squeel in the UN to keep up appearances.
Georgia has been trying to draw us into their conflict with the Russians for years. They may be figuring that this is their last best chance to do so before a new administration comes in that is less likely to stick its neck out for them.
I heard somewhere that the Ossetia regions have a lot of Russians in them, and that they want to merge with Russia, but Georgia doesn’t want that at all and Russia is protecting them from Georgia.
[quote]etaco wrote:
Georgia has been trying to draw us into their conflict with the Russians for years. They may be figuring that this is their last best chance to do so before a new administration comes in that is less likely to stick its neck out for them.[/quote]
Depends on who the next pres will be. McCain has delivered plenty of anti-Russian rhetoric.
