Powell had role in departure of Georgian leader Shevardnadze

[Robb]

WASHINGTON (AP) Ñ Secretary of State Colin Powell played a discreet off-stage role in the resignation of Georgia's president, Eduard A. Shevardnadze, making a critical weekend telephone call to signal the longtime leader and U.S. favorite that his time was running out.

Powell also weighed in with Russian Foreign Minister Igor Ivanov, as Ivanov arrived Saturday in Tbilisi, the Georgian capital. While details of their telephone conversation were not disclosed, the Bush administration long has been mindful of Russian interest in the former Soviet republic and neighbor to the south.

Ivanov apparently played the key last-minute role in mediating between the opposition and Shevardnadze, who resigned Sunday after three weeks of protests over disputed parliamentary elections.

But as Shevardnadze's interim successor, Nino Burdzhanadze, reaffirmed Georgia's pro-Western stance and protests in the capital began on Monday to give way to order, Powell's intervention became clear.

(more)

[Paschall]

1. Astounding

<snip> At the White House on Monday, deputy press secretary Clare Buchan made clear where the administration stood in Shevardnadze's struggle with the Georgia opposition, led by Mikhail Saakashvili.

"We're supportive of what the Georgian opposition party did to restore the integrity of Georgian democracy, in terms of using peaceful demonstrations to overturn a fraudulent parliamentary election," she said. </snip>

Surely, ShrubCo would not have been as supportive of a boycott--say--of this Supremes Selected Administration!

[rjbcar27]

2. The irony is delicious isn't it?

:eyes:

[TheLastMohican]

3. A mob assaulting the parliament building is called restoring democracy

these days. You should've seen the video of georgians storming the building of parliament, people waving flags and breaking bottles in the front seats of the parliament chairman. Shevarnadze with terrified face was pulled out of the building by his security guards.

Peaceful demonstrations they say? That was one violent mob of people.

But hey, remember that 1984 Orwell thing: black is white, freedom is slavery and so on.

[rjbcar27]

4. Oh poor Eduarde, he was terrified?

Well, tough shit. He made the bed, he had to lie in it.

[DUreader]

6. I hear James Baker made Shevy's bed.

[aneerkoinos]

7. Yes, it is.

But perhaps democracy was never a very popular consept for those that prefer to call people 'a mob'.

As for Shevardnadze, after ending up jobbless, he didn't size the power in Georgia by democratic revolution but by hiring mafia mobsters and other goons to start a civil war and got rid of the then legally elected leader, Gamsahurdian.

No, but when elections get stolen in US, you don't want to use mob power to protect democracy, why might that be?

[fshrink]

5. Just follow the pipeline. As usual. (nt)