Author
|
Topic: US hypocrisy reaches new heights (Read 524 times) |
|
letheomaniac
Adept
Gender: 
Posts: 267
Reputation: 7.57
Rate letheomaniac
 
|
 |
US hypocrisy reaches new heights
« on: 2008-08-11 10:23:34 » |
 |
Source: Aljazeera.net
Authors: Al Jazeera and agencies
Dated: 11/08/2008
US condemns 'Russian aggression'
The White House has warned Russia that continued military aggression in Georgia could have "significant, long-term impact" on relations with the US and the international community.
George Bush, the US president, said on Sunday that he had told Vladimir Putin, the Russian prime minister, that the violence against Georgia in relation to the South Ossetia conflict was "unacceptable". [letheomaniac] Of course agression is only acceptable if it is being perpetrated by an American. Hello pot, this is kettle...
"I was very firm with Vladimir Putin. I expressed my grave concern about the disproportionate response of Russia," Bush said in Beijing where he was attending the Olympics.
"We strongly condemn bombing outside of South Ossetia."
Bush's vice-president, Dick Cheney, on Sunday called Mikheil Saakashvili, the Georgian president, to offer US backing in the face of what he called a threat to Georgia's sovereignty and territorial integrity.
"Russian aggression must not go unanswered, and ... its continuation would have serious consequences for its relations with the United States, as well as the broader international community," Cheney's office said in a statement.
Cheney's remarks came as Georgia accused Russia of bombing a military base and radar installation near its capital, Tbilisi, after the Georgian government had offered Moscow a ceasefire and peace talks.
War of words
On Sunday Russian and American envoys to the United Nations exchanged sharp remarks over the escalating conflict.
Zalmay Khalilzad, the US ambassador, accused Moscow of seeking "regime change" in Georgia and resisting attempts to make peace after days of deadly fighting.
"Is your government's objective regime change in Georgia, the overthrow of the democratically elected government of Georgia?" Khalilzad asked Vitaly Churkin, the Russian ambassador.
He said the days of overthrowing leaders by military means in Europe were gone and that Russia's nostalgia about the past was being reflected in the present conflict. [lethe] I find this interesting. The US says the Russians are living in the past, and yet they themselves persist in using an obsolete form of warfare against guerilla armies operating in Iraq and Afghanistan, not to mention the pathetic attempts to resuscitate the fossil fuel-based economy - sorry, who was that that was living in the past again? Also intersting is that "overthrowing leaders by military means in Europe" is now a thing of the past, but this quite obviously doesn't apply to countries outside Europe.
Churkin's replied that "regime change is an American expression. We do not use such an expression".
But he added: "But sometimes there are occasions, and we know from history, that there are different leaders who come to power, either democratically or semi-democratically, and they become an obstacle."
The current Security Council president, the Belgian ambassador, confirmed there were initiatives by the US and France which, if passed, would allow the council to take a formal stand on the fighting in Georgia.
Al Jazeera's UN correspondent, John Terrett, said the argument between Russia and the US was reminiscent of the old days of the Cold War, and that the American and French draft resolutions will have to contain wording acceptable to Russia, or they would be vetoed. [lethe] I wish les froggies the best of luck with that...
Mediation attempt
Mediators have begun a mission to end the internationally condemned fighting in the Caucasus region.
Bernard Kouchner, the French foreign minister, on Sunday met Saakashvili in
Tbilisi to push a European Union-backed peace plan aimed at defusing the conflict.
The plan calls for an immediate ceasefire, medical access to victims, controlled withdrawals of troops on both sides and eventual political talks, Kouchner told journalists after the meeting.
"Our task is clear... We must find the means for an immediate ceasefire, accepted by both sides," Kouchner said. "We must talk about negotiations and a political solution, there is no military solution.
"We must move quickly, this is not a diplomatic exercise, it's an exercise of survival."
Kouchner was to travel to Moscow on Monday where he hoped to meet Dmitry Medvedev, the Russian president.
South Ossetia, and the region of Abkhazia, split away from Georgia after fighting in the early 1990s and have run their own affairs without international recognition since.
The two separatist provinces have close ties with Moscow, while Georgia has deeply angered Russia by wanting to join Nato.
Georgia, whose troops have been trained by American soldiers, began an offensive to regain control over South Ossetia overnight on Friday, launching heavy rocket and artillery fire and air strikes that pounded the regional capital Tskhinvali.
Georgia says it was responding to attacks by separatists.
In response, Russia launched artillery shelling and air attacks on Georgian troops and entered South Ossetia to repel Georgia's attempt to retake the province.
[lethe] And now for the Russians' two roubles worth...
Source: Pravda/Information Clearing House
Author: Pravda
Dated: 09/08/2008
War between Russia and Georgia orchestrated from USA
The US administration urged for an immediate cease-fire in the conflict between Russia and Georgia over the unrecognized republic of South Ossetia. [lethe] How's about an immediate ceasefire in Iraq? Afghanistan? No?
In the meantime, Russian officials believe that it was the USA that orchestrated the current conflict. The chairman of the State Duma Committee for Security, Vladimir Vasilyev, believes that the current conflict is South Ossetia is very reminiscent to the wars in Iraq and Kosovo.
“The things that were happening in Kosovo, the things that were happening in Iraq – we are now following the same path. The further the situation unfolds, the more the world will understand that Georgia would never be able to do all this without America. South Ossetian defense officials used to make statements about imminent aggression from Georgia, but the latter denied everything, whereas the US Department of State released no comments on the matter. In essence, they have prepared the force, which destroys everything in South Ossetia, attacks civilians and hospitals. They are responsible for this. The world community will learn about it,” the official said.
In the meantime, it became known that the Georgian troops conducted volley-fire cleansings of several South Ossetian settlements, where people’s houses were simply leveled.
“The number of victims with women, children and elderly people among them, can be counted in hundreds and even thousands,” a source from South Ossetian government in the capital of Tskhinvali said.
The head of the Russian Foreign Ministry, Sergei Lavrov, told reporters that Georgia’s actions in South Ossetia question its consistency as a state and as a responsible member of the international community, Interfax reports.
"Civilians, including women, children and elderly people, are dying in South Ossetia. In addition to that, Georgia conducts ethnic scouring in South Ossetian villages. The situation in South Ossetia continues to worsen every hour. Georgia uses military hardware and heavy arms against people. They shell residential quarters of Tskhinvali [the capital] and other settlements. They bomb the humanitarian convoys. The number of refugees continues to rise – the people try to save their lives, the lives of their children and relatives. A humanitarian catastrophe is gathering pace,” Russia’s Foreign Minister said.
The minister added that the Georgian administration ignored the appeal from the UN General Assembly to observe the Olympic truce during the Beijing Olympics. [lethe] Olympic truce!? What kind of new and ridiculous stupidity is this? Like when the two sides involved in WW1 declared a truce to celebrate Xmas!
The Georgian administration has found the use to its arms, which they have been purchasing during the recent several years,” Lavrov said. “The fact that Georgian peacemakers in the structure of joint peacemaking forces opened fire on their Russian comrades from one and the same contingent speaks for itself, I think,” the minister added.
“Now it is clear to us why Georgia never accepted Russia’s offer to sign a legally binding document not to use force for the regulation of the South Ossetian conflict,” Lavrov said. “Not so long ago, before the military actions in South Ossetia, Georgia’s President Saakashvili said that there was no point in such a document because Georgia would not use force against its people, as he said. It just so happens that it is using it,” Sergei Lavrov said.
Sergei Lavrov believes that the international community should stop turning a blind eye on Georgia’s active deals to purchase arms.
“We have repeatedly warned that the international community should not turn a blind eye on massive purchases of offensive arms, in which the Georgian administration has been involved during the recent two years,” Lavrov said.
|
"You can't teach an old dogma new tricks." - Dorothy Parker
|
|
|
Blunderov
Archon
Gender: 
Posts: 3160
Reputation: 8.30
Rate Blunderov
"We think in generalities, we live in details"
|
|
Re:US hypocrisy reaches new heights
« Reply #1 on: 2008-08-11 12:57:06 » |
|
[Blunderov] Let's not forget the Kosovo hypocrisy.There the USA approves of seperatism.
|
|
|
|
|
Hermit
Archon
Posts: 4289
Reputation: 8.50
Rate Hermit
Prime example of a practically perfect person
|
|
Re:US hypocrisy reaches new heights
« Reply #2 on: 2008-08-12 03:19:39 » |
|
In counterbalance to the above, it is worth mentioning that Abkhazia and South Ossetia (but see also http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Alania) were Georgian territory (back to 1033CE in the case of Ossetia, or in Georgian, Samochablo) and which were settled by the Ossetians and Abkhazians as a reward by Stalin for their roles in the transportation and elimination of some 80% of the Georgian population in the 1920s and 1930s during the supression of Georgian autonomy. After the collapse of the Soviet Union these areas, strongly backed by the Russians, revolted, leading to about 200,000 Georgians being forced out of their homes and the region in Abkhazia between 1989 and 1994 while a further 100,000 were forced from Ossetia in the same period. This resulted in a tripartite peace process where-in Russia, Georgia and the rebel regions became jointly responsible for the territorial security until the situation was resolved. At that time, Russia did not complain of genocide or ethnic cleansing. Many of the Georgians whose houses are occupied by Abkhazians and Ossetians are still alive today. This is not a wound healed by time.
Russia has showed ever increasing partiality in the intervening years, particularly since 2001, strongly supporting and funding the insurrections while simultaneously providing Russian Federation passports to the Abkhazians and Ossetians which gives them a great deal of ability to posture that they are protecting Russian citizens, much as Hitler had to defend the German Sudetenlander in the 1930s.
My own reading is that this is a case of Putin, 22 moves ahead, playing Saakashvili and Bush for the fools that they are, with the Russians building up a rapid reaction force and staging areas along the borders since the US forced the Kosovo agreement down the bear's throat; then triggering Georgia's immune system with a wave of attacks out of Abkhazia on the eve of the Olympics with world leaders unavailable for consultation due to their travel arrangements; thereby triggering a military response by the autocratic and temperamental Saakashvili, clearly anticipating American backing when the Russians overreacted (which they were practically guaranteed to do). Instead, the Russians have taken over a broad swath of Georgia, destroyed more and the US is waving its hands to cover the fact that not only are there no options but that its last route to Central Asian oil is being shut down by the Russian Federation which is definitely feeling its oaties. Europe too, can be silenced at any time, simply by the Russian Federation squeezing the gas supply. Meanwhile Putin warned Latvia and Estonia that expressions of support for Georgia would be regarded as acts of war by the Federation and would lead to the severest consequences. As the Baltic states are now part of NATO (part of the reason the Russian Federation is unhappy), most European governments are now thoroughly squeezed between a rock and a hard place. Particularly as Russia, China and India purchase oil and gas rights across North Africa limiting hopes of stable alternative supplies - at any cost.
Where does this end? Who knows. Not good for any of the people involved is practically guaranteed.
Kind Regards
Hermit
|
With or without religion, you would have good people doing good things and evil people doing evil things. But for good people to do evil things, that takes religion. - Steven Weinberg, 1999
|
|
|
|
Logged
