Russia had no choice but counterattack in S.Ossetia – Gorbachev

RIA Novosti
Wednesday, August 13, 2008

MOSCOW, August 13 (RIA Novosti) – Former Soviet leader Mikhail Gorbachev said Russia had no choice but to launch a counterattack to Georgia’s offensive in breakaway South Ossetia, but it is still possible to find a political solution to the crisis.

“What happened on the night of August 7 is beyond comprehension,” Gorbachev said in an article The Guardian published on Wednesday. “The Georgian military attacked the South Ossetian capital of Tskhinvali with multiple rocket launchers designed to devastate large areas.”

“Russia had to respond. To accuse it of aggression against ’small, defenseless Georgia’ is not just hypocritical but shows a lack of humanity,” he said in the article.

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“Nevertheless, it was still possible to find a political solution. Clearly, the only way to solve the South Ossetian problem on that basis is through peaceful means. The Georgian leadership flouted this key principle,” Gorbachev, a Nobel Peace Prize laureate, said.

Gorbachev told the paper that the Georgian authorities could only undertake the offensive “with the perceived support” of a much more powerful force – an apparent reference to the United States, which has trained Georgian troops and backed the country’s bid to join NATO.

Now that the military assault has been routed, Gorbachev said, “the Georgian government and its supporters should rethink their position.”

Gorbachev said some Western nations’ positions prevented the UN Security Council from acting effectively at the start of the conflict. He also said that by declaring the Caucasus region that is thousands of miles from the American continent a sphere of its “national interest,” the U.S. made a serious blunder.

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4 Responses to “Russia had no choice but counterattack in S.Ossetia – Gorbachev”

1. NG Says:
   August 13th, 2008 at 12:00 pm

   That,s the only language these pigs to understand

2. Lenny Says:
   August 13th, 2008 at 7:05 pm

   Beginning to sound like the Bay of Pigs.

3. Jimmy Promethean Says:
   August 13th, 2008 at 7:31 pm

   Try this website for details of the Russia/Georgia/US situation. http://www.onemorepromethean.com
   The US had 1000 soldiers in Georgia for a training/wargames project called Immediate Response 2008, and have been funding the Georgian military since 2002.

4. molotov Says:
   August 13th, 2008 at 9:20 pm

   strap the leaders of this puppet georgian regime to a large box of maggot infested human waste. then tell petraeous to use hus transport ability to deliver the whole stinkin filthy mess to Tel Aviv, courtesy of the citizens of The United States of America.