1,400 are feared killed Georgians shell rebels Russian troops move in IT'S WAR

[seemslikeadream]

http://www.mirror.co.uk/news/top-stories/2008/08/09/it-s-war-115875-20689966/


IT'S WAR
By Chris Hughes Security Correspondent 9/08/2008

1,400 are feared killed Georgians shell rebels Russian troops move in Moscow bombs airbase

Up To 1,400 people were killed as Georgia tried to retake a breakaway province from Russia bringing the two nations to the brink of war.

Georgia - which became independent from Moscow in 1991 - shelled South Ossetia's capital Tskhinvali killing more than a thousand people including 12 Russian peacekeepers.

Russia hit back in tit-for-tat offensives on Thursday, bombing Georgian military bases.

And last night it was moving a convoy of tanks towards the province where the majority of people hold Russian passports.

Lyudmila Ostayeva, 50, who fled Tskhinvali said: "I saw bodies lying in the streets, around ruined buildings and in cars. It's impossible to count them now. There is hardly a single building left undamaged." The International Red Cross said: "It is a situation where ambulances cannot move. Hospitals are reported to be overflowing, surgery is taking place in corridors."

Georgia last night said it was calling up reservists and bringing home a thousand troops from Iraq. The fighting broke out as the world's attention was focused on the Olympics with Russian PM Vladimir Putin and President George Bush both in Beijing.

Georgian President Mikhail Saakashvili was quoted saying on CNN: "Most decision makers have gone for the holidays, brilliant moment to attack a small country." Russia vowed emergency measures and put forces on a war footing. Three Georgian soldiers died when it dropped bombs on Marneuli airbase 25 miles from the Georgian capital Tbilisi.

[seemslikeadream]

1. Georgian Side Brings Down Three Russian Attack Aircrafts

http://news.trendaz.com/?show=news&newsid=1266160&lang=EN

Georgian Side Brings Down Three Russian Attack Aircrafts
09.08.08 12:11

Georgia, Tbilisi, 9 August /corr. Trend News N.Kirskhalia / During the last night Georgian Air Forces brought down three additional Russian attack aircrafts, the Deputy Minister of Defense of Georgia, to Batu Kuteliya, briefed the media on 9 August.


According to him, this occurred in Tskhinvali region.


Generally in two days of bombings of the different regions of Georgia, 6 Russian military aircrafts were brought down.



http://voanews.com/english/2008-08-09-voa3.cfm
Fighting Spreads

[Captain Hilts]

2. SeemsLikeANightmare scenario. Thanks for posting these. It's bad. nt

[uppityperson]

3. shit k & r

[seemslikeadream]

4. United States Seeks Emergency Mediation to Defuse Georgia Crisis

http://finchannel.com/index.php?option=com_content&task=view&id=17869&Itemid=13

The FINANCIAL -- Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice is urging Russia to halt its attacks in Georgia’s breakaway region of South Ossetia as the United States reaches out to its European allies to assemble an emergency mediation effort to defuse the crisis. “We urgently seek Russia’s support,” she said.

“We call on Russia to cease attacks on Georgia by aircraft and missiles, respect Georgia’s territorial integrity, and withdraw its ground combat forces from Georgian soil,” Rice said in an August 8 statement as Russian troops, warplanes and tanks crossed into the MOSCOW -backed breakaway region to drive back a Georgian offensive to take back the South Ossetian capital, Tskhinvali, following several days of cross-border clashes. Georgian and South Ossetian officials have accused each other of initiating the hostilities.

State Department spokesman Gonzalo Gallegos said the United States is sending an envoy to the region. Envoys from the European Union and the Organization for Security and Cooperation in Europe also were heading to Georgia.

President Bush is being updated regularly on the crisis while attending opening ceremonies for the 2008 Olympic Games in Beijing, says White House spokeswoman Dana Perino, who also confirms that Bush has spoken with Russian Prime Minister Vladimir Putin on the sidelines of the event.

[LeftishBrit]

5. Thanks for posting. This is really horrific.

[TheWatcher]

6. THE most important story of the day

And what gets the most attention on DU?

Olympic Shiny and John Edwards' Penis.

Absolutely Breathtaking.

Oh, in a completely irrelevant story, we have more Carrier Groups Steaming Toward Iran.

But don't worry America, there will be more Olympic Shiny for the next three weeks.

And how about that Stock Market?

[Karenina]

7. . .

:kick: and recommended! Can we get a few more???

[Donald Ian Rankin]

8. Note that the 1400 civilians killed figure comes from a South Ossetian independence leader

Who has an obvious interest in exaggerating the number.

[PuraVidaDreamin]

9. I need to understand this geography better

the bordering countries of Georgia are Azabijan, Turkey, Armenia, and Russia correct?

Georgia appears to be somewhat mountainous,yes?

Now does this officially pit Russia against the US (or the other way around)? I vaguely remember
something about US wanting to place missile defense equipment nearby??? Could someone
school me on this issue please?

[Pharaoh]

10. Any video yet of the fighting?

Where the F is the media?

Oh yeah, covering Edwards penis..............nevermind:eyes:

[seemslikeadream]

16. Georgia and Russia go toe-to-toe over S Ossetia - 09 Aug 08

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=VPUZpo2T3uI

[No Elephants]

11. What does it say about us

What does it say about us that the threads about the Edwards affair have more recommendations than something as significant as this story?

[seemslikeadream]

12. How's the new war going this morning?

[seemslikeadream]

13. Violence Escalates In Georgia

http://www.npr.org/templates/story/story.php?storyId=93465251

Georgia on Saturday declared a state of war as Russia sent more troops and hundreds of tanks into the breakaway province of South Ossetia.

President Bush pressed Russia and Georgia to immediately end the fighting.

"The United States is working with our European partners to launch international mediation, and with the parties to restart their dialogue. Russia needs to support these efforts so that peace can be restored as quickly as possible," Bush said in Beijing.

Georgia's President Mikhail Saakashvili said that he supported a stand-down.

Georgia launched a major offensive Friday to retake control of breakaway South Ossetia. Russia, which has close ties to the province and posts peacekeepers there, responded by sending in armed convoys and military combat aircraft.

The air and artillery bombardment left the provincial capital without water, food, electricity and gas. Civilians crawled out of basements hiding places into the streets as fighting eased, looking for supplies.

As part of Saakashvili's proposed a cease-fire, Georgian troops were pulled out of Tskhinvali, South Ossetia's capital, and had been ordered to stop responding to Russian shelling, said Alexander Lomaia, secretary of his Security Council.

Russia did not immediately respond to Saakashvili's proposal. Russian President Dmitry Medvedev had said earlier that Moscow sent troops into South Ossetia to force Georgia into a cease-fire.

Lomaia said that there had been direct fighting between Russian and Georgian soldiers on the streets of Tskhinvali. He estimated that Russia sent 2,500 troops into Georgia. The Russian military has not said how many of its troops were deployed.

Russian military aircraft also bombed the Georgian town of Gori on Saturday.

It is the worst outbreak of hostilities in the region since the province won de facto independence in a war against Georgia that ended in 1992.

[seemslikeadream]

14. Georgia claims downing 10 Russian aircraft, destroying 30 tanks

http://www.focus-fen.net/index.php?id=n148795

Brussels. Georgia has so far shot down 10 Russian aircraft and destroyed up to 30 Russian tanks in the conflict over South Ossetia, the secretary of Georgia's national security council said Saturday AFP reports.
"We have managed to down 10 Russian jets, Alexander Lomaia told reporters in Brussels by telephone, adding that "one of the pilots has been captured and is being treated in a military hospital".
"We have destroyed up to 30 Russian tanks," he continued, adding that Georgia's armed forces had, as of Saturday morning, lost "as many as 40 military servicemen" with more than 100 wounded.
"These numbers have obviously increased," he said, stressing: "It is extremely difficult to count the casualties."
"Losses are also mounting among the civilian population in the cities that have been bombarded by the Russians," he said. "There may very well be now 100 losses for civilians and the military."
He said Georgia was as prepared for such a situation "as any normal country... We had not expected the Russian invaders to hit our civilians, our peaceful cities."

[seemslikeadream]

15. Saturday, August 09, 2008

http://postmanpatel.blogspot.com/2008/08/us-army-exercise-immediate-response.html

Saturday, August 09, 2008
US Army Exercise Immediate Response 2008 exercises completed July 31st to train Georgian forces
This is an interesting note on events in Georgia from a Major's Perspective. (Useful map also) Just over 7 days ago, US forces just left the Air Base that is reporting to have been attacked by Russian Federation Air Force Assets. Here is more information on it from the US European Command News Web page:

VAZIANI TRAINING AREA , Republic of Georgia 25 Km south of Tblisi -- Soldiers, Sailors, Marines, and Airmen from the U.S. - including Company L, 3rd Battalion, 25th Marine Regiment, U.S. Army’s Southern European Task Force, Georgia, Armenia, Azerbaijan and Ukraine participated in training exercise Immediate Response 2008.

The maneuvers were held under NATO’ program Partnership for Peace. The US financed the exercises, such maneuvers are held every year for the US’ ally countries. (Tass)

The exercises started on July 17th following an invocation by U.S. Army Chaplain (Lt. Col.) Scott Carson, deputy chaplain for the Southern European Task Force, and a blessing from Georgian Orthodox priest Father Nazzare Guenetadze, Soldiers from the five nations paid tribute to each country's national anthem as they stood in formation, symbolizing the start of the exercise.

At the closing ceremony, July 31st , Army Brig. Gen. William B. Garrett III, exercise director for Immediate Response stated, "I am very pleased to report that all exercise objectives have been met." Garrett highlighted the hundreds of live-fire and situational training exercises; combat lifesaver classes; Improvised Explosive Device training; and the computer-based command post exercise to train the Georgian 4th Infantry brigade staff, as some of the objectives.

What is Immediate Response 2008?

[seemslikeadream]

17. Russia bombs Georgian towns, hostilities escalate

Russia bombs Georgian towns, hostilities escalate
http://www.marketwatch.com/news/story/russia-bombs-georgian-towns-hostilities/story.aspx?guid=%7B17D3B8C3-E20B-409F-8BF1-25595EA55931%7D&dist=hplatest
By Polya Lesova, MarketWatch
Last update: 12:08 p.m. EDT Aug. 9, 2008Comments: 6NEW YORK (MarketWatch) -- Hundreds of Russian tanks and troops moved into the breakaway region of South Ossetia and bombed Georgian towns Saturday as the conflict between Russia and Georgia escalated, leaving scores of people dead and wounded, according to media reports.
The Associated Press reported that Russian forces crossed into South Ossetia Friday after Georgia launched a major military offensive to recapture control of the separatist province on Thursday night.
Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov estimated the death toll at some 1,500 people, but that number couldn't be independently verified, the AP reported.
Witnesses fleeing the fighting said hundreds of people have been killed and South Ossetia's capital, Tskhinvali, was devastated, with the air and artillery bombardment leaving people there without water, food, electricity and gas, according to the AP.

[seemslikeadream]

18. Russia in 'Full Scale Invasion' of Georgia

http://blog.wired.com/defense/2008/08/georgia-latest.html






In front of a destroyed apartment block, a man sat clutching the body of his dead brother, trying to clean blood from his face.
Nearby, a woman knelt screaming over the body of another man killed in the Russian bombing raid on the Georgian town of Gori.

Covered in blood, an old woman stared into the distance. A man sat by the roadside with his head in his hands.

Those who could, scrambled to flee the town with whatever they could pack in their cars on Saturday.

"I can't understand their logic. They are bombing everything. Why are they bombing civilians?" said Nick Kipshidze, a local doctor.

The normally sleepy town of Gori, birthplace of Soviet dictator Josef Stalin, had never expected to come under attack.

The panic after the bombing was a reflection of the shock in Georgia at the ferocity of Russia's response to its attempt to win back control of breakaway South Ossetia from Russian-backed separatists.
http://www.javno.com/en/world/clanak.php?id=170726

[seemslikeadream]

19. Day-by-day: South Ossetia crisis

http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/europe/7551576.stm

The Georgian parliament approves a presidential decree declaring a "state of war", as Russian planes attack the central Georgian town of Gori, not far from border with South Ossetia.

The aircraft appear to target military bases where government troops have been massing. In one of the raids, however, two apartment blocks are hit, leaving scores of civilians killed or wounded.

Russia confirms that two of its planes have been shot down over Georgia.

Earlier, Russian military commanders say their troops had taken the South Ossetian capital, Tskhinvali, after a Georgian attempt to seize it.

Moscow insists more than a thousand civilians have so far been killed - a claim vehemently denied by Tbilisi.

[seemslikeadream]

20. Georgia conflict: Screams of the injured rise from residential streets

Georgia conflict: Screams of the injured rise from residential streets
http://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/worldnews/europe/georgia/2529986/Georgia-conflict-Screams-of-the-injured-rise-from-residential-streets.html



8 hours ago: Georgians stand next to the body of their son in the town of Gori, 80 km (50 miles) from Tbilisi, August 9, 2008. A Russian warplane dropped a bomb on an apartment block in the Georgian town of Gori on Saturday, killing at least 5 people, a Reuters reporter said. The bomb hit the five-story building in Gori close to Georgia's embattled breakaway province of South Ossetia when Russian warplanes carried out a raid against military targets around the town.

[Name removed]

21. Deleted message

Message removed by moderator. Click here to review the message board rules.

[SalmonChantedEvening]

22. K&R!

For my friend. :hug: