Russia Halts Military Action, Says Georgia "Has Been Punished"

Russian President Dmitri Medvedev ordered a halt to military action in Georgia, saying, "I have taken the decision to end the operation to force Georgian authorities into peace...The aggressor has been punished and suffered significant losses." The aggressor being Georgia, which tried to take back separatist state South Ossetia back, leading to the Russian army to step in. However, fighting has seems to be continuing. Yesterday, President Bush denounced Russia's earlier actions, "Russia has invaded a sovereign neighboring state and threatens a democratic government elected by its people. Such an action is unacceptable in the 21st century," and that the incident had "substantially damaged Russia's standing in the world." The U.S.'s largest Georgian enclave is in NYC, mostly in Brooklyn.

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By Jen Chung in News on August 12, 2008 10:55 AM

Comments [rss]

starrygordon

#8 -- Chechnya isn't as neatly analogous. What's neat about Kosovo/Ossetia is the perfect hypocrisy of the intervening powers.

John Knee

Too bad Obama ain't president now. He would be telling the Russians to inflate their tires to save gas instead of invading their neighbors to obtain more gas for themselves.

NannyState

Putin can make up for this overreaching mistake by handing us Iran. He can have the Ossetians because they adjoin their fellow Ossetians in Russia proper (and let them choose independence from Russia and see how their "friend" Putin likes them). But he can't have Georgia. We want Moldova too. The russians are already there but they are unwelcome. So Iran and Moldova, plus we keep Georgia.

AggieAngst

"Russia has invaded a sovereign neighboring state and threatens a democratic government elected by its people. Such an action is unacceptable in the 21st century,"

Why doesn't lightening strike him?

That's it. From now on I reject Christianity and will pursue a path worshiping mammon. Obviously it's working for this guy...

}:^{

The Edge

#7- And Chechnya?

starrygordon

There is an interesting parallel between this fandango and Kosovo which can be laid out graphically:

case I :: case II

Kosovo :: Ossetia

Serbia :: Georgia

US/The West :: Russia

In case I, it is All Right for a province of a small state to break away because it is ethnically distinct. When the small state tries to subdue it by force, that is wrong. When a large state beats up the small state for using force on the province, that is Good.

In case II, it's just the other way around: it is Not All Right for a province of a small state to break away. When the small state tries to use force to subdue it, that is Right. When the large state beats up the small state, that is Very Bad.

What is the big difference between case I and case II? It's obvious. Everything the American empire does is holy and good. Everything the Russian empire does is evil.

There are many other interesting details here. For example, both small states, Serbia and Georgia, had elections in which a good deal of thuggery was involved; nevertheless, they were elections and probably reflected public will. This makes one small state democratic and the other a dictatorship. Guess which.

I could go on, but -- back to your favorite media dogmadrone.

tingo

"Punish" a nation's political rulers by killing innocent people. Disgusting.

fishfryin

that quote by W isn't all that hypocritical in the whole scheme of W quotes. i mean iraq wasn't exactly a free country before 2003, and georgia is actually a fairly respectable country. (not that iraq is in good shape now either...but for the sake of analyzing the quote)