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Wednesday, August 13, 2008 |
TheStruggle: "Efforts to beat the drums of war for an attack on Iran's nuclear reactor facilities are promoted in both the USA and Israel scenes. The recent New York Times opinion piece of July 18th, written by the Israeli historian Benny Morris, serves to consolidate those political forces. The Jewish opposition here expresses our outrage in order to forestall this horrendous proposal.
We seek security for all concerned by affirming the right of all to security. While we lend no credibility to the prospect of an inevitable conflict, we nonetheless object to the hysteria promoted by the Iran-bashers who are now desperate in their repeated false starts to create another unnecessary war. The attempt to oblige Iran to comply with Security Council resolutions loses its legal, diplomatic and political force as the United States and Israel consistently ignore UN diplomacy and World Court decisions, relevant to the question of Palestine. We call upon all opposed to a military confrontation with Iran to write their governmental representatives demanding that the State of Israel subject its nuclear facilities to international inspection and sign the nuclear non-proliferation treaty (NPT) as has Iran, rather than issue threats of war."
NYTimes: "Israel will almost surely attack Iran's nuclear sites in the next four to seven months - and the leaders in Washington and even Tehran should hope that the attack will be successful enough to cause at least a significant delay in the Iranian production schedule, if not complete destruction, of that country's nuclear program. Because if the attack fails, the Middle East will almost certainly face a nuclear war - either through a subsequent pre-emptive Israeli nuclear strike or a nuclear exchange shortly after Iran gets the bomb.
It is in the interest of neither Iran nor the United States (nor, for that matter, the rest of the world) that Iran be savaged by a nuclear strike, or that both Israel and Iran suffer such a fate. We know what would ensue: a traumatic destabilization of the Middle East with resounding political and military consequences around the globe, serious injury to the West's oil supply and radioactive pollution of the earth's atmosphere and water."
If Israel does attack Iran the Israeli government will be guilty of war crimes. It will not make Israel a safer place to live, on the contrary. If you want to live in peace, don't attack your neighbours.
11:41:53 AM 
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Saakashvili looks like a murderer who was caught red-handed and then sues the victim for not complying with his evil intentions.
It is clear that Saakashvili is lying time after time when he says Russia was the aggressor. I have heard him answering questions from several reporters and each time insisting, against the knowledge of the reporters, that Russia started firing. Saakashvili is a loose canon who will remain a danger for the region including Georgia.
Apart from a few stubborn propagandist channels, like CNN, and the most right-wing news outlets, nobody in the West believes Saakashvili.
He has deliberately started firing on the citizens of a city in what he considers his own country, Tskhinvali. So he has been firing on his own citizens. Which amounts to genocide and ethnic cleansing. He has created a refugee problem that has displaced 100,000 citizens.
His own power in Georgia was decreasing and he could only remain in power by brutally repressing the many demonstrations against his rule. He has probably assumed that creating a war condition would unite the people behind him. Well, there were a few thousand supporters last night, but soon the opposition will call his bluff and realize he is nothing but a war criminal who has deliberately bombed the citizens of a whole city and deliberately provoked a war with Russia. The Georgian people will soon realise that Russia has restrained itself very responsibly. They could have gone for the pipeline, they could have pressed on towards the Georgian capital Tbilisi, but they are not doing that, even when they simply could without much trouble as the Georgian army made a hasty retreat.
Saakashvili has deliberately exposed his country to an attack by orchestrating his brutal assault on Tskhinvali to provoke a retaliation by Russia. And he must be very glad with the killing of one Dutch reporter, an event that fits very well in his propaganda campaign. His Dutch wife will be conducting the campaign in Holland.
And what does a war criminal do when he risks being accused of war crimes? Indeed, he accuses his opponents of war crimes. Only the insolent dare do such a thing. It is clear Saakashvili will remain an embarrassment for the West as long as he is in power.
TimesOnline: "The Georgian Army was in complete disarray last night after troops and tanks fled the town of Gori in panic and abandoned it to the Russians without firing a shot."
RT: "Authorities in South Ossetia say Georgian troops have shelled the road being used for evacuating people from the conflict zone, according to Russian Interfax news agency. Attacks are continuing in the South Ossetian region, despite claims from Georgia that it was imposing a ceasefire.
There have been several explosions in the South Ossetian capital, Tskhinvali, after it came under a renewed shelling attack. Several Russian troops have been wounded."
The propaganda war of the West is so blatantly exposed in the reporting on CNN which showed images of the devastated capital Tskhinvali as being images of the city of Gori attacked by the Russians. A complete reversal of the truth.
McCain has again shown to be either a complete moron or a criminal. He either does not understand the situation or what is worse he has evil intentions with Georgia. But lies have a tendency to be exposed sooner or later and to backfire; they certainly are not a sound basis for a global economy.
Telegraph: "But Mr Saakashvili has handed Russia a victory it could scarcely have dreamed of - his decision to invade South Ossetia has left his army humiliated and he could soon be fighting for his political life with no prospect of any meaningful help from his Western allies.
How did he make such a catastrophic blunder?
The answer appears to lie in Mr Saakashvili's own character. While supporters praise him as a passionate and patriotic leader, whose drive and energy have transformed Georgia, critics say he is bombastic, impulsive and confrontational and his suave exterior hides a burning nationalist pride."
FinancialTimes: "Georgia's pro-western president Mikheil Saakashvili is a gambling man of sorts, notorious for betting high in Tbilisi's passionate and cut-throat politics - and usually winning. But by pitting his country's tiny army against mighty Russia, he may have taken one gamble too far.
Many poorer citizens missed out on the new wealth, and many former bureaucrats lost their jobs. Last year a broad opposition coalition accused him of monopolising power and aggravating relations with Moscow. For them, the final blow came late last year, when the president turned riot police on demonstrators.
Even if he survives, his ratings could dive. While Mr Saakashvili has nearly five more years on his term, he could step down or be removed by a snap vote, or possibly by another revolution. Anything seems possible in today's Georgia.
Mr Gachechiladze, a former presidential contender and fierce critic of Mr Saakashvili's autocratic style, said: 'What happened with Georgia, from the Georgian side, is 100 per cent the responsibility of Saakashvili. When you know Russia is ready to do such things, [you should] try everything to prevent it.'"
Mikhail Gorbachev in the Washington Post: "The past week's events in South Ossetia are bound to shock and pain anyone. Already, thousands of people have died, tens of thousands have been turned into refugees, and towns and villages lie in ruins. Nothing can justify this loss of life and destruction. It is a warning to all.
Through all these years, Russia has continued to recognize Georgia's territorial integrity. Clearly, the only way to solve the South Ossetian problem on that basis is through peaceful means. Indeed, in a civilized world, there is no other way.
The Georgian leadership flouted this key principle.
What happened on the night of Aug. 7 is beyond comprehension. The Georgian military attacked the South Ossetian capital of Tskhinvali with multiple rocket launchers designed to devastate large areas. Russia had to respond. To accuse it of aggression against 'small, defenseless Georgia' is not just hypocritical but shows a lack of humanity.
Mounting a military assault against innocents was a reckless decision whose tragic consequences, for thousands of people of different nationalities, are now clear. The Georgian leadership could do this only with the perceived support and encouragement of a much more powerful force. Georgian armed forces were trained by hundreds of U.S. instructors, and its sophisticated military equipment was bought in a number of countries. This, coupled with the promise of NATO membership, emboldened Georgian leaders into thinking that they could get away with a 'blitzkrieg' in South Ossetia."
Reuters has just reported that Georgia has again attacked South Ossetia.
Australian: "At least six Georgian attack helicopters have bombed targets in the region around the South Ossetian capital Tskhinvali, a Reuters witness says.
The action appeared to countermand a Georgian declaration of an end to military activity over the separatist region.
The Reuters reporter said the helicopters flew from Georgia proper and attacked targets just over the de facto boundary with South Ossetia, sending dark smoke billowing into the air."
It is clear that Saakashvili will not heed the warnings of the US or Nato, he has his own agenda and will continue to provoke as long as he is in office. It's the task of the US to take him out now before he does more damage.
I think the Georgian people will come to its senses and soon depose Saakashvili. He has lost on all counts and is a danger for the region and for all Georgians. He is no longer taken seriously by the West, which did not come to his rescue as he overplayed his hand and went solo in the most irresponsible way. Saakashvili has committed war crimes and should be put on trial, preferably in his own country.
11:28:03 AM
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