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georgia and mother russia
- Thread starter barty boy
- Start date
Neither side has covered themselves with glory. Russia has fuelled problems with inflammatory actions such as giving Russian passports to Georgian Southern Ossetians. Georgia brought intervention on themselves by shelling Southern Osssetian towns, killing and injuring many civilians. Of course the oil pipelines across Georgia providing Europe with an alternative to Russian oil is a big motivator.
Of course the disturbing spectre of US geopolitical strategy also seems to be muddying the waters, with the arming and training of the Georgian army. Along with this, we have the US building a missile shield solo in Poland, with the Russian reaction being that it makes Poland a potential nuclear target. Scary times.
Of course the disturbing spectre of US geopolitical strategy also seems to be muddying the waters, with the arming and training of the Georgian army. Along with this, we have the US building a missile shield solo in Poland, with the Russian reaction being that it makes Poland a potential nuclear target. Scary times.
The boom in oil and metals prices has been very good for Russia and it's economy.
After being a shambles and shamed for a decade or so, watch for it to start re-asserting itself in international politics.
This is just a start to the friction it'll cause ahead.The new cold war is begining in my view.
After being a shambles and shamed for a decade or so, watch for it to start re-asserting itself in international politics.
This is just a start to the friction it'll cause ahead.The new cold war is begining in my view.
I suspect the Georgians are quite disillusioned with the west. Their pro-western stance (I read they have the third highest troop numbers in Iraq after USA and GB) has amounted to *smile* all support.
Yes, it seems the Russians may have started to grow balls again. Worrying signs.
evo said:
Yes, it seems the Russians may have started to grow balls again. Worrying signs.
mld said:
I said on numerous threads about the US involvement in Iraq was due to oil....and to protect this region from the gaining strength of Iran and their newly developed nuclear capability from taking over vital oil areas in this region, as well as preventing Iranian and Iranian-backed terrorists from holding the Western economy to ransom.
My posts caused a lot of division on this forum...but what is happening in Georgia is just an extension of this.
Here we have a county just north of Iran...bordering Turkey..and bordering Russia.
Vital for oil/gas pipelines as well as helping encircle and cut off supply between Russia and Iran.
It is all part of the master plan. Just sit back, relax, and enjoy the show.
barty boy said:
Both!
Western economy runs on oil....and the US is at the forefront of this economy.
They want to protect their/our standing in the world.....and for our sake, we should be grateful for that....not moaning about it.
barty boy said:
Thats my take on this. Watch Ukraine next. The only other of the former Soviet republics that has gone hard towards open democracy.
Seems Russia may have issues with liberal democracies on their borders, not that they are an autocracy of course.
Liverpool said:
It didn't help unfortunately that the Georgians were first to send their boys in.
That being said, its clear the Russians had been looking for an excuse for some time now (how many times have they turned off the gas in recent years, giving russian passports to Georgian citizens in the disputed regions).
Tiger74 said:
I might have misread something, but isn't/wasn't the region part of Georgia anyway?
Legends of 1980 said:
this is where is gets messy.
historically the issue is under debate. The Russians claim the areas were traditionally Russian, they just fell under Georgian borders during the Soviet era.
My understanding (and I'm not fully up on this, just reading the papers) is that the areas have been legally still under Georgian sovereignty, but because the locals were arguing for independance, Russian peacekeepers have been stationed there to effectively have a state of detente (something both sides were reluctantly supporting). There has been niggly agro between the two since the last presidential election, but just before the Olympics the Georgians moved in opening fire on the disputed zones. The Russians then responded in kind, pretty much taking control of much of Georgia.
Personally I think the Russians have been stirring for the fight, but the Georgians were never in a position to win this one by force. They probably thought the US support they have would ensure their protection, but this never eventuated.
