Russia Invades Georgia

Professor S · 08-11-2008, 12:44 PM

http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/world/europe/7553144.stm

This is rather fascinating. Georgia invades independent South Ossetia and Russia blow sthe hell out of them and pushes back HARD. Tough to name a bad guy in all this, but Georgia probably should have left well enough alone. After all, the preach about democracy and freedom and such, yet invade an independent province? Odd.

I get the feeling we don't really know what is going on with all of this. Much of it doesn't seem to make sense.

uber_paddler · 08-11-2008, 01:54 PM

Yeah, I saw this on the news yesterday, it's pretty ridiculous.

Jonbo298 · 08-11-2008, 02:00 PM

I wonder what ol' Dick meant by "must not go unanswered" in regards to what we may do to Russia for this. I guess we'll see what we are actually going to do in response if any.

KillerGremlin · 08-11-2008, 02:02 PM

Could Florida be next?

Hurricanes and Russians...sucks.

Professor S · 08-11-2008, 04:09 PM

http://www.cnn.com/2008/WORLD/europe...sia/index.html

Now I think Rusia is simply testing the West to see if we'll blink at the thought of Russia retaking one of the Caucuses... and I don't think we will. I'll be surprised if Russia leaves without taking their pound of flesh when all is said and done.

Bond · 08-11-2008, 06:01 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Professor S

I get the feeling we don't really know what is going on with all of this.

I think that statement describes the entirety of Russian history. Such a fascinating, depressing, and interesting country.

Yoda9864 · 08-11-2008, 09:55 PM

We better not do anything. Why does the US bud its head into everything?

Professor S · 08-12-2008, 08:47 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Yoda9864

We better not do anything. Why does the US bud its head into everything?

Well it doesn't look like we will do anything, but in the long run I still think we are in for a long ugly relationship with Putin's Russia. This was a statement of warning to the former soviet states that are now democratically elected: Don't get too used to this freedom thing or we'll smack you around.

I've been thinking about this, and while there are no real white hats in this affair, Russia is by far the biggest offender. Here is why:

1) South Ossetia is a part of Georgia that does not get along with Georgia proper, and has been in political conflict with Georgia since 1992. Now while you can disagree with the tactics Georgia used to re-unify their nation, and I do, they were under their rights to send military into their own nation.

2) Russia has had "peace keepers" in South Ossetia for a long time. Russian troops stationed on Georgian soil essentially occupying it.

3) When Georgia sent the troops in to the province in their own country, Russia butted THEIR heads into georgia's business and started to whoop that ass. Andd they whooped it almost back to the capital, LYING to the world the entire way, denying they had bombed infrastructure and Gori. Russia claims acts of genocide on Georgia's part as justification for their involvement, but witnesses of this outside of Russian claims are few and far between while there are many independent reports of Russian brutality.

So to put this into Western terms, lets say Maine wanted to secede from the US, and the US said no. So Canada sends troops into Maine, even though it is none of their business, and the US is left to wonder if Canada is trying to claim Maine by defacto ownership. When the US sends troops in to reclaim Maine, Canada goes apeshit and throws everything have at the US and marches all the way down to Washington DC.

IMO Russia's motivation was two-fold:

1) Scare the hell out of Westernized caucus nations.

2) See how far they could push before anyone pushed back.

They succeeded on both fronts.

Vampyr · 08-12-2008, 08:54 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Yoda9864

We better not do anything. Why does the US bud its head into everything?

Georgia is also an ally of the United States, and they do have or did have troops in Iraq.

Professor S · 08-12-2008, 08:57 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Vampyr

Georgia is also an ally of the United States, and they do have or did have troops in Iraq.

We airlifted their troops back to Georgia, which really upset poor little Putin, who sees hinmself as such a white knight in all this.

And for anyone who believes Putin's Russia isn't all that bad...

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Alexand...enko_poisoning

Former KGB run the country and I think they drool at the thought of another cold war.

Jonbo298 · 08-12-2008, 09:36 AM

Perfect opportunity for Russia to do another cold war with us seeing how stretched thin we are militarily (which obviously if it ever escalated enough we can divert all troops but its the principle of the matter), our economy is shit, and if we ever went to war with Russia, oil prices would go through the roof thus screwing all even moreso.

Vampyr · 08-12-2008, 09:48 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Jonbo298

Perfect opportunity for Russia to do another cold war with us seeing how stretched thin we are militarily (which obviously if it ever escalated enough we can divert all troops but its the principle of the matter), our economy is shit, and if we ever went to war with Russia, oil prices would go through the roof thus screwing all even moreso.

On the flip side, years down the road, our economy would boom with all the movies and video games made based on it.

magus113 · 08-12-2008, 02:43 PM

Thanks war economy.

This world is fucked, if I do say so myself.

Typhoid · 08-12-2008, 08:17 PM

Personally, I just think Russia felt gyped after the whole USSR thing, and just wants land back. They want to be known as a power again.

It seems they feel it's justified to take back the land they had under communism now - because it's no longer a communist state.

I don't think this is the end of this at all. After they fully occupy and control Georgia, they will undoubtedly assimilate it back into Russia as another Province, and then keep moving on from there, but more agressively.

But that's just be.
I don't think it ends with Georgia - at all.

Jonbo298 · 08-13-2008, 02:27 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Typhoid

Personally, I just think Russia felt gyped after the whole USSR thing, and just wants land back. They want to be known as a power again.

Oh yeah, Russia definitely feels that way. How would the US Government feel if we fell as a superpower, Texas seceded, then anywhere from Dallas/Ft. Worth and north to the panhandle decided to secede from Texas and make their own mini-country also.

We'd be pissed and try to get Texas and the smaller "country" back also.