http://www.haaretz.com/hasen/spages/1011720.htmlOur friends in Georgia
Talking to official Israeli representatives in Georgia can be confusing. One moment they're bragging about their close ties with senior members of the local government "He's our man, he's been working with us for years," they say of a government minister and the next they're emphasizing that Israel does not support either side, and is trying to keep its head above the murky waters of the Caucasian swamp.
It can be said almost with certainty that Israel bet on the wrong horse here, and is trying to limit its damage which may turn out to be particularly serious as swiftly as possible.
Israel wanted to play a central role in Georgia. Ostensibly, this was a perfect opportunity. A pro-Western government that controls a central oil transport junction, with senior officials who are Jewish and were even educated in Israel, and an army thirsty for Israeli weapons and knowledge. On top of all that, our American ally was also a senior partner in the Georgian project.
Many diplomatic and business opportunities opened there, and battalions of former generals, diligent entrepreneurs and middlemen quickly swooped down on them. Now, as the Russian media, guided by the Putin government, is emphasizing Israel's contribution to "the Georgian aggression," the Israeli Foreign Ministry is suddenly quick to mention that it always has warned against the wholesale weapons export permits issued by the Defense Ministry. Our friend Mikheil Saakashvili, who was supposed to bring the two nations' partnership to new heights of cooperation, has now become a "crazy provocateur," who can blame only himself for playing into Vladimir Putin's hands. The West's impotence in the face of the Russian attack and the segmentation of a sovereign country, and the total lack of diplomatic sanctions, are even more prominent in the face of Israel's reaction.
Moscow does not recognize nuances. It is giving Israel a clear choice: Stand with Georgia, like the Bush administration, which condemned Russia and even flew Georgian soldiers home from Iraq, thus entering an open confrontation with the Kremlin or preserve far more important interests.
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and
http://www.haaretz.com/hasen/spages/1011298.htmlGeorgia president denies Israel halted military aid due to war
Georgian President Mikheil Saakashvili denied on Wednesday night that Israel has suspended its military aid to the country. "I haven't heard anything about that, and I haven't had time to think about that issue for some days," he told Haaretz.
Saakashvili said he is aware of problems with supplying the pilotless drones that his army ordered from Israeli companies, but not of the stopping of any other shipments of military aid.
"The Israeli weapons have proved very effective," he said at a press conference at his office. When asked whether the Israeli arms played a role in the military successes he claimed the Georgian army had achieved, he joked: "Are you asking me as a representative of Elbit or of Israel Aerospace Industries?"
To a reporter's question about Jews who have fled the fighting and come to Israel, he said: "We have two Israeli cabinet ministers, one deals with war
, and the other with negotiations , and that is the Israeli involvement here: Both war and peace are in the hands of Israeli Jews."
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they have all gone mad - what is it? greed? male power tripping?
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