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POPSPutin warns Ukraine over arms Pointing to a report published in Russia's Izvestiya newspaper this week, Mr Putin said Ukrainian weapons and military experts may have been used in combat against Russian troops during the brief war with Georgia in August. "If this is confirmed, this will be what I have called a crime, because this is termed 'direct involvement in an armed conflict', pitting the Russian and Ukrainian peoples against each other," he added. If Russia received proof of Ukraine's military involvement, Moscow would "build its relations accordingly with those who allowed this to happen", he said. Ms Tymoshenko said she was confident that "such facts not be confirmed".
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POPSThe Core Misconceptions In The "War On Terror" "Terrorism is a particular tactic of political violence. Wars are conducted between states. Declaring a war on terror is like declaring war on serial murderers. War is what al-Qaeda wants. Such language elevates the terrorists to the level of warriors in a battle. The terrorists are criminals, not warriors, and should be treated accordingly. "
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POPSTamil Tigers and Their Own People Tigers have bombed civilian targets to force the government not to negotiate but to grant their demands in full. No government of 83% of the people will agree to self-rule by 12% of the population. Instead Tigers should demand for equal oppurtunities for Tamils, the minority community. But Tiger Leader prefers on-going war so that the Tamils could be kept under his thumb, even though they face unwanted atrocities by both sides of the conflict.
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POPSDid the Surge Work? more: "Essentially, our interpretation is that violence has declined in Baghdad because of intercommunal violence that reached a climax as the surge was beginning," said lead author John Agnew, a UCLA professor of geography and authority on ethnic conflict. "By the launch of the surge, many of the targets of conflict had either been killed or fled the country, and they turned off the lights when they left." "If the surge had truly 'worked,' we would expect to see a steady increase in night-light output over time, as electrical infrastructure continued to be repaired and restored, with little discrimination across neighborhoods,"
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POPSRepublican Congressman: Russia was Right! But you won't hear this from McCain or Palin, nor Obama or other democrats, who all parrot the LIE of the neocon's official story. A bold republican Congressman is quoted, virtually paraphrasing the piece written by Pat Buchanan earlier (which I clipmarked, "Georgia Started It, Russia Finished It"). The tide against the propaganda is turning. Buchanan, Savage, now this Congressman and many more. Now this is from a Russian news agency, so to be objective I see no citation of the title that "US Intelligence" (not just the Congressman quoted) takes this view. But then the MSM does not report intelligence usually. They usually parrot the neocon propaganda. Note the unreported toll on civilians in just a few days in S. Ossetia, from Georgia's assault! More than 1500 civilians were killed in that time, according to South Ossetian authorities.
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POPSGeorgia's war planning questioned Similarly, soldiers who fought in South Ossetia suggest that decisions about Georgian army movements were made on the fly. At worst, a proxy confrontation with Russian forces -- akin to the first South Ossetian conflict in 1991-1992 -- was considered, said Georgian National Security Council Secretary Alexander Lomaia. After the debacle of Russia’s two wars in Chechnya, no one thought that Moscow would further risk its international reputation by invading a sovereign country, said Deputy Defense Minister Batu Kutelia. "We expected that the Russians would fight with the hands of the separatists," Lomaia told EurasiaNet.
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POPSThe rising cost of the Iraq 'surge' Cont.... In other words, the big-name journalists don’t want a discussion about the decision to illegally invade Iraq under false pretenses in 2003 (presumably because they almost all were cheering the invasion on), but instead they want the debate to center entirely on their latest false assumption, that the “surge” has virtually won the war. In reality, the “surge” of about 30,000 additional troops sent to Iraq appears to have been only one factor and – according to military officials interviewed for Bob Woodward’s new book, The War Within – possibly a secondary one in explaining the drop-off in the violence that had made Iraq a living hell.
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POPSMoving Beyond 9/11 The article goes on to say "The deliberate, systematic connection of Iraq with 9/11 has led America into a philosophical and moral cul-de-sac as over 1 million Iraqis and over 4,155 U.S. soldiers have died in a war which will cost over $3 trillion. Additionally, soldiers from 23 other countries have died in the Iraq war. The heartbreaking loss of the lives and injuries to America troops further bind us to the administration’s illogic of the Iraq war: We remember our troops’ sacrifice by demanding more sacrifice; we support our troops by continuing the war. America needs to be restored from "living with lies to living with truth". Reconciliation begins by "bringing forward those who committed crimes against the people." We need to go through this process in order to begin to heal from what our leaders have brought upon us. Only then can we once again be a United States.
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POPSPutin on Bush: Bush "Not in Charge" of US Affairs This is real interesting. Three things at least can be learned: 1. Putin is on to the neoconservatives, who have Bush's ear, and control him to a great degree. Putin is right: Bush is a Puppet President 2. Putin knows Cheney's influence over Bush, who is driving the Georgia-Russia and NATO-Russia neocon led conflict. Bush is stupid and easily manipulated to a large degree. 3. Putin is naive and stupid to separate Bush the man from Bush policies. He speaks against Russia now, therefore against Putin. Reason? Bush has the ability to make light and "charm" (for lack of better word) others into frivolity and laughter, but which is a decoy from his serious crimes and corrupt actions. I wrote earlier in regard to Russia, Bush treated Putin well at his ranch in Texas after 9/11 (which was an excuse for Putin to trample Chechnyans by branding them "terrorists"), but now he will stab him in the back (missile treaties around Russia for NATO).
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POPSVFP Calls for U.S. Withdrawal From Afghanistan and the Prosecution of Dick Cheney and George Bush fo
This same resolution calls for the U.S. government to provide humanitarian aid to the people of Afghanistan, in non-coercive forms, to help them rebuild their own nation and their lives in cooperation with other nations in the region; and to allow the people of Afghanistan to freely determine their own government without interference by the U.S. "These three statements from our membership represent many of the core values of our organization. We believe that service members have the right to re-evaluate their decision to kill and change their mind. We know that after all the killing is done the individual soldiers must live with themselves and make sense of what they have done. We believe that our political leaders must be held accountable for their actions. This is a critical to a healthy and functional democracy. We realize that to survive the challenges we face today, like global warming, we must find ways to work together and war is not viable." To read full text of the resolu
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POPSWar in the Comix Themes covered include; first-hand & factual accounts from civilians and soldiers, the global arms trade & illegal arms deals, the effects of PTSD and life after conflict, media representation, child soldiers in Sierra Leone & Uganda, Torture Victims in Guantanamo Bay, The Occupation, Genocide and Human Rights abuses in Tibet, propaganda, satire, companies who profit from bloodshed, global and covert wars, asylum seekers/ refugees, community conflict, anti-war, peace and alternatives to conflict and much more
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POPSSudan Army accused of attacking two Darfur towns The five-year conflict in Darfur has led to the deaths of more than 300,000 people and the displacement of two million others, according to UN estimates. The violence began in 2003 when rebel groups complaining of discrimination against black Africans began attacking government targets.
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POPSRussia Defiant Ahead of EU Summit Russian President Dmitry Medvedev said there was "no turning back" on the country's position concerning breakaway South Ossetia and Abhkazia, adding that Moscow was ready to retaliate if the EU opted for sanctions at a summit on Monday. Sunday 31 August 2008 Russian troops entered Georgia on August 8 to push back a Georgian offensive to retake the rebel enclave of South Ossetia, which broke away from Tbilisi in the 1990s with Moscow's backing. Russian troops continue to hold positions in western Georgia, serving in what Moscow describes as a peacekeeping mission. Tbilisi has labelled them an occupation force. By AFP (text) / Romain Goguelin reports from Tbilisi, Georgia (video) video on website http://www.france24.com/en/20080831-russia-defiant-ahead-eu-summit-medvedev-georgia-south-ossetia-abkhazia
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POPSUN: Georgians Effectively Blocked from Homes On Saturday, Sen. Bob Corker, R-Tenn., a member of the chamber's foreign relations committee, visited Gori to observe the distribution of U.S. food aid. Asked whether the United States was considering new military aid, Corker said "these subjects are part of a longer and mid-term discussion" when Congress reconvenes in September. Russia supplies the EU with about a third of its oil and about two-fifths of its natural gas. British Prime Minister Gordon Brown said European nations should adopt a united energy policy to avoid becoming too dependent on Russia. He said the EU nations should "use our collective bargaining power." "Without urgent action we risk sleepwalking into an energy dependance on less stable or reliable partners," Brown wrote in The Observer newspaper. Brown said he spoke with Russian President Dmitry Medvedev by telephone Saturday, and told the Russian leader "to expect a determined European response" to the crisis.
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POPSDrug Smuggeling Submarines Today it is drugs and tomorrow it could be weapons or worse. The other "war", the ones on drugs, since we have soo many, is and has been a loosing battle. All the reasons there is a war on drugs are more pretense in an effort to sell more guns and promote more conflict. No drug programs are available, no money for education and schools, no needle exchange programs. Nothing in the way of stopping the drug consumers in America, or giving people a real chance at a real life and participate in a life worth living instead of drug use. More wars for profit and less and less help where it is really needed. What farce this is.
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POPSEU Leaders To Discuss Georgia As Russia Flouts West French Foreign Minister Bernard Kouchner warned that Russia could face a deterioration of relations with Europe, Moscow's largest trading partner, including ties involving energy, Russia's main export. Most of the troops left Friday, but Moscow retained its peacekeepers in Kremlin-defined security zones around South Ossetia and Abkhazia. "They are trying to keep instruments to suffocate Georgia and create further trouble at any moment," said Giga Bokeria, Georgia's deputy foreign minister. In Ukraine, meanwhile, pro-Western President Viktor Yushchenko said the conflict in Georgia showed his country needed to accelerate its bid to join the North Atlantic Treaty Organization, speaking at a military parade in honor of Ukraine's independence. Russia opposes the idea of Ukraine joining NATO, which the Kremlin views as an anti-Russian bloc.
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POPSBaku-Tbilisi-Ceyhan Oil Pipeline Back to Normal Operations, BP Says continued...... backing out of the BTC pipeline and diverting its oil through Russia amid the military conflict in Georgia. Now, Erlan Idrissov, Kazakhstan’s ambassador to the U.S., has written in to say that his country plans to continue with the pipeline project. The crux of his letter: I would like to make clear that the allegations made in the article with reference to the Turkish “Referans” newspaper that Kazakhstan is pulling out of the BTC project are very far from likelihood. The article questions Kazakhstan’s commitment to the existing resource transportation agreements saying that “some countries seem to be bailing out of the existing ”. I would like to address here the core of the issue. First of all, Kazakhstan has declared and more than once proved its unwavering commitment to the principle of diversification of the routes of hydrocarbons transportation to the world markets.
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POPSSarkozy Calls Crisis EU Summit on Georgia, Russia German Chancellor Angela Merkel seems to supportive of this view. In a telephone conversation with the French President, she suggested that the EU convene a regional conference to address Georgia's reconstruction and wider stability issues in the region. But the conference would not include Russia, according to Merkel, who will explain her views in an article to be published in Der Spiegel on Monday. Earlier, while on a visit to Tbilisi on 17 August, the German Chancellor had lent her support to Georgia's NATO membership, moving away from a previously more cautious stance about the countries' affiliation to the North Atlantic military alliance. US officials have warned that the conflict in Georgia could affect Russia's membership of international organisations such as the Group of Eight industrialised nations and could undermine its bid to join the World Trade Organisation (WTO).
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POPSNeocons Call for War on Russia Writing in the Washington Post today, Robert Kagan goes even further, suggesting that the Georgia-Russia conflict may be the start of World War III: Do you recall the precise details of the Sudeten Crisis that led to Nazi Germany's invasion of Czechoslovakia? Of course not, because that morally ambiguous dispute is rightly remembered as a minor part of a much bigger drama. The mood is reminiscent of Germany after World War I, when Germans complained about the "shameful Versailles diktat" imposed on a prostrate Germany by the victorious powers and about the corrupt politicians who stabbed the nation in the back.
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POPSRed Primer for Children and Diplomats Part II by Victor Vashi Red Army invasion of Georgia The Red Army invasion of Georgia also known as the Soviet-Georgian War (February 15 – March 17, 1921) was a military campaign by the Soviet Russian (RSFSR) Red Army against the Democratic Republic of Georgia (DRG) aimed at overthrowing the local Social-Democratic (Menshevik) government and installing the Bolshevik regime in the country. The conflict was a result of expansionist policy by the Soviets, who aimed at control of the same territories which had been part of Imperial Russia until the turbulent events of World War I, as well as the revolutionary efforts of mostly Russia-based Georgian Bolshevik elite, who did not enjoy sufficient support in their native country to seize power without foreign intervention. Copy of the New York Times article at link: http://sweetness-light.com/archive/russians-overrun-georgia-republic-1921
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POPSGeorgian blunders lead to quick defeat "In light of the combination of fundamental tactical shortcomings and serious strategic blunders in the Georgian campaign to retake South Ossetia, it seems clear that the flaws in Georgian military planning were based on two key factors: an over-confident assumption of its own combat readiness and capabilities, as well as by a serious underestimation of the scale and scope of the Russian response."
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POPSRussia's Ambassador to NATO, Dmitry Rogozin Brands Saakashvili a "Nazi" The ministry cited new operations by Russia, including the re-occupation of a military base in Senaki in the west of the country where explosions were heard by AFP. US officials said Russia had moved short-range SS-21 missile launchers into South Ossetia since fighting there halted last week, and has yet to give any sign of a significant pullback of its troops from Georgia. Instead, there were indications that Russia was adding troops and equipment to its force in South Ossetia and Abkhazia, strengthening its hold over the breakaway Georgian regions, the officials said. Russia denies deploying the SS-21s. The withdrawal will not be implemented "very swiftly", a defence ministry official was quoted as saying Tuesday in the Russian daily Kommersant. "Nobody is planning to withdraw the Russian contingent very swiftly, as there is no such necessity," he said.
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POPSSAIC Conflict Case Another story playing up the government's vulnerability as contractors gain clout. Pair this together with last week's reports (http://thehill.com/leading-the-news/cbo-iraq-contracts-close-to-hitting-100-billion-mark-2008-08-12.html) on the military's startling reliance on contractors in Iraq (190,000 there now). An equity analyst (ex-military) I spoke to last week on the topic mentioned that, even if political pressure mounts to rein in contractors, it would be very difficult and expensive for the government to do so.
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POPSGerman Chancellor Says That Georgia Can Join NATO Any Time It Wants Pounding Georgia, with a small military that isn’t set up for battle with a larger adversary, into submission is one thing. Trying to bluff NATO with a second rate military (and despite its size, it’s not a top shelf force) won’t be so easy. The Russians, of course, were steaming over Georgia’s desire to join NATO in the first place: Moscow is furious at Georgia’s attempt to join NATO. The Western military alliance is divided over how fast to accept Georgia, but has indicated that membership is a matter of when, not if. Hoo, boy, are they gonna hit the roof over this one.
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POPS Russian's Break Agreement As Usual 14.08.08 13:19 Declaration of U.S. support to Georgia has increased the aggression of Russia and instead of pulling out from the city of Gori, they have reinforced their positions there, ousted Georgian police and journalists from the city. Reporters say they are hearing explosions from the entrance of the city; Ossetian gunmen have abducted several vehicles of various TV crews, reportedly, Niva, Jeep and Mercedes type cars. Russians did not stop the robbers. Ossetian militant was even threatening the reporter of the Rustavi2 with a gun. Despite numerous evidences of various reporters, Russian general denies the abduction. Georgian Security Secretary, who was waiting for the settlement of situation in the city, and the team of reporters have been evacuated from the city. Russian general says he is no responsible for the security of journalists and says no exact date when Russian will leave the city.
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POPSRussians Defy Cease-Fire: Troops In Georgia Digging In
Elsewhere in Georgia, it appeared very clear that Russian troops were staying put, building ramparts around tanks and posting sentries on a hill near Igoeti, a central Georgia town only 30 miles (50 kilometers) west of Tbilisi. Russian troops still effectively control the main artery running through the western half of Georgia because they surround the strategic central city of Gori and additionally the city and air base of Senaki in the west. Both cities are on the main east-west highway that slices through two Georgian mountain ranges. Russia also confirmed Sunday that it had taken over a major power plant in western Georgia. Rice noted that the text of the cease-fire, negotiated by French President Nicolas Sarkozy, the current leader of the European Union, outlined a very limited mandate for the soldiers that Russia calls peacekeepers who were in Georgia when hostilities escalated. She said these soldiers can go on limited patrols within the two separatist areas but in Georgia
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POPSPolish President Criticizes France, Germany For Being Too Soft On Moscow President Kaczynski accused them of being too soft on Moscow due to their commercial ties with Russia. The statement on the president's Web site also said Kaczynski assured Saakashvili that he would continue to "support Georgia's integration in Euro-Atlantic structures" — a reference to Georgia's NATO aspirations. Poland and the ex-Soviet republics of Latvia, Lithuania and Estonia , all new EU members, have sharply condemned Russia for its military incursion into Georgia amid the conflict in South Ossetia. After the fighting broke out, the presidents of the four countries issued a joint statement calling Russia's policy "imperialist and revisionist" and urging NATO and the European Union to stand up to Moscow. Leaders from those four nations followed that up with a trip in recent days to Tbilisi, joined by Ukraine's President Viktor Yushchenko, to show their support to Georgia. Germany and France have been less critical of Russia. Sarkozy holds the EU's rotating preside
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POPSThe Dangers of Having a "Maverick" as POTUS
McCain’s top foreign policy adviser, Randy Scheunemann, was until recently a paid lobbyist for Georgia’s government. McCain also announced this week that two of his closest allies, Sens. Lindsey O. Graham (R-S.C.) and Joseph I. Lieberman (I-Conn.), would travel to Georgia’s capital of Tbilisi on his behalf, after a similar journey by Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice. The extent of McCain’s involvement in the military conflict in Georgia appears remarkable among presidential candidates, who traditionally have kept some distance from unfolding crises out of deference to whoever is occupying the White House. The episode also follows months of sustained GOP criticism of Democratic Sen. Barack Obama, who was accused of acting too presidential for, among other things, briefly adopting a campaign seal and taking a trip abroad that included a huge rally in Berlin. Obama made a speech and shook hands w/ people. He was criticized for meddling in foreign policy.
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