Georgia planned the military operation against its breakaway republic of South Ossetia a year in advance, a source in one of Russia’s security bodies said Saturday.
The source also told RIA Novosti that the operation was coordinated with NATO’s plans to strengthen its naval presence in the Black Sea.
“The statements of some NATO representatives that the maneuvers of the alliance’s ships in the Black Sea were planned a year ago are evidence that attacks on South Ossetia and Abkhazia were planned earlier, maybe even last year,” the source said.
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A NATO representative earlier said that the three-week deployment – which includes stops at Romanian and Bulgarian ports – was planned at least a year ago, well before the conflict in Georgia.
Already under strain due to NATO’s courting of Ukraine and Georgia, and over U.S. missile defense plans in Eastern Europe, relations between the alliance and Russia have frayed badly since Georgia’s attack on South Ossetia and Russia’s subsequent military operation.
In the opinion of the source, NATO’s buildup of naval force in the Black Sea under the cover of providing humanitarian aid to Georgia, sets a dangerous precedent and may sharply destabilize the situation in the region.
Speaking Friday at RIA Novosti news conference, the deputy chief of the Russian military’s general staff expressed doubts whether it is necessary to have NATO vessels in the Black Sea delivering humanitarian aid to Georgia.
“Now that the conflict [with South Ossetia] is exhausted, there are NATO vessels [in the Black Sea]. What for and with what aim?” Col. Gen. Anatoly Nogovitsyn said.
He also said Russia would reply swiftly to all provocations against its Black Sea Fleet.
August 24th, 2008 at 12:39 pm
ofcourse it was planned but not a yr ago people goto youtube and punch in “ghost recon” and watch the video trailer intro
August 24th, 2008 at 3:31 pm
What is happening in the Caucasus?
The conflict between South Ossetia and Georgia is in effect a conflict between Russia and the United States. It is a conflict that has been building for some time.
To understand recent developments it is crucial to put it in context.
Since the dissolution of the Soviet Union both South Ossetia and Abkhazia, who were opposed to the break-up, have exercised self-rule. While many of the east European states fell under the economic and political control of the United States, these two areas, and similarly Belarus, did not; preferring to maintain their close relationship with Russia. Indeed in 1996 Belarus and Russia formed ‘the Union of Sovereign Republics.’
In contrast to this the United States, through the National Endowment for Democracy and other agencies, was creating and funding the so-called ‘colour revolutions’ in the Ukraine (the Orange Revolution) and Georgia (the Rose Revolution), which brought to power governments favourable to the US and governments that would open up their economies to the IMF and World Bank and oversee the wholesale privatisation of their state-run industries and the introduction of ‘free market’ economic measures. Moreover this strategy brought pro-US regimes onto Russia’s doorstep with the added threat to Russia being the stationing of US missile bases in Poland and the Czech Republic and the urging by the Bush administration for both the Ukraine and Georgia to become members of NATO.
The US strategy of isolating and encircling Russia has been ongoing since 1991 with the ultimate aim being the destruction of an independent Russia and gaining access to its massive natural resources, particularly oil and gas.
On 31st July this year the German daily newspaper Junge Welt (jungewelt.de) ran an interview with Phillip Corwin who was the highest ranking United Nations civilian official in Yugoslavia during the 1990s. In the interview he was asked why the United States wanted to destroy Yugoslavia. This is his reply:
“I think the main reason for the destruction of Yugoslavia was the ambition of NATO to move eastward. Although the Cold War had ended, the Cold Warriors were still in power. Washington still felt Russia was its biggest threat because it had so many nuclear weapons, and Washington wanted to move up to the borders of the former Soviet Union. (jungewelt.de 31st July 2008).
The Georgian attack on South Ossetia was part of the US/NATO strategy of moving towards the Russian border. Georgia is a US client state. Its President, Mikheil Saakashvili, is Harvard educated and a former employee of the New York law firm Patterson, Belknap, Webb and Tyler. The Georgian army is armed and trained by the US.
It is inconceivable that Georgia took military action without the approval of the United States.
One month before Georgia launched its attack the US Secretary of State, Condoleezza Rice, visited Tbilisi and met with President Saakashvili and issued a provocative statement denouncing Russia and giving US backing for Georgia’s NATO membership.
What the Bush administration thought Russia’s response to the Georgian aggression would be is not known. But for the first time Russia militarily hit back at the US foreign policy strategy and immediately was accused by President Bush of ‘not respecting the sovereignty of nations.’ One wonders whether to laugh or cry at such hypocrisy.
Nevertheless, the announcement that US troops are being sent to the region, under the guise of ‘humanitarian aid’ only emphasises that this whole US strategy carries with it the inherent threat of further conflicts and the unthinkable prospect of a nuclear war.
August 24th, 2008 at 4:27 pm
http://www.onemorepromethean.com
August 24th, 2008 at 6:28 pm
This is just more lies and propaganda from this nation of drunks and bandits. Everywhere Russians go they are despised for being criminals. They are incapable of any honest actions. Any fool can see that it was the Kremlin, not Georgia, which had this operation planned for months.
August 25th, 2008 at 12:12 am
Wow, the Russian propaganda machine is vying for truther naivete along with Alex Jones. Whom will the sheep follow? Stay tuned to find out!
August 25th, 2008 at 3:21 am
I heartily suggest the readers to watch this incredible video:
Rare year 1982 video with G. Edward Griffin & Norman Dodds
Part 1: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=C8cC21jB9EE
Dodds reveals that the US and USSR were working hand in hand all along during the Cold War.
Dodds’ research assistant committed suicide when she learned the truth. Poor thing was so brainwashed, she believed every word of the propaganda she was being fed.
You, in imagining that the US and Russia are on oppositie sides, are making the same mistake that your American Grandparent and Parents made during the Cold War.
The only two sides here is World Gov’t against We the People.
Over the last 20 years one million Russians were brought to Israel. At least half of them, and some say as many as 2/3, aren’t Jewish and feel no loyalty whatsoever to either Israel or the Jews. They retain Russian citizenship.
The first wave of Russian immigration, twenty years ago, brought half a million Russians here in a flood – into a country whose population all told at the time was 5.5 million.
Within five years they, except for the many old people who were brought here to place a drag on the ecoomy, were all employed – doctors, including psychiatrists and neurologists; scientists of all kinds and engineers filled every nook and cranny of the health system of Israel, the military-industrial complex, as well as the civil service and, of course, the army.
How they were all housed virtually immediately and employed in their fields of expertise within 5 years remains a mystery.
Upon their arrival, the entire atmosphere of Israel changed. We just don’t speak as freely in public places as we once did.
On my floor of the building there are three apartments. We are the only Israeli family. I think twice about speaking about political matters with the door open. I never used to before they came.
The once open, warm, friendly atmosphere of Israel is not what it was. Before talking poltics in public everyone glances to around to see if there are any Russians.
Israeli boys do not want to marry their women and Israeli women less so because they drink so.
So, they take up with Arabs, hostile Arabs in the main, in large numbers.
They’re all installed, all awaiting instructions. It dwarfs Project Paperclip. Imagine a country of 5.5 million people absorbing one million Russians, most of whom do not so much as make the pretense of caring about this country.
They speak in Russian among themselves. They arrange concerts for themselves, the notices are only in Russian. They treat us with disdain in the public and private sectors.
Would the US had allowed this were they not in cahoots with Russia. Would they have allowed a virtual army of highly trained professionals to flood their most trusted and subservient suzerainty if it was not part of their plan?
D2