Russia Moves In On Georgia…Again!
Russia seems ready to make another move on Georgia and may also be instigating the unrest in Georgia to oppose and oust the current President and administration that is “Western-leaning” and more conservative.
Russia has stationed its forces just 25 miles (40 kilometers) from the Georgian capital, in violation of the EU-brokered cease-fire that ended last year’s brief war. And in recent weeks, it has sent even more troops and armored vehicles to within striking distance of the city ahead of street protests against Georgia’s president.
The ongoing protests, which began April 9, drew about 10,000 people Tuesday, and opposition leaders said they would continue daily until President Mikhail Saakashvili resigned.
The demonstrations have been fed by public anger over Georgia’s humiliating defeat in the August war, which left Russian troops on previously Georgian-controlled territory and drove tens of thousands of Georgians from their homes.
By reinforcing its military presence at a time of potential political instability, Russia appears determined to maintain pressure on Saakashvili, whom Moscow has openly said must be replaced before relations can be repaired.
Georgia’s Western-leaning government, meanwhile, has accused the Kremlin of hoping to capitalize on political unrest to restore its influence over the former Soviet republic, which for almost 200 years was ruled by Moscow.
The presence of the Russian troops poses a dilemma for Washington as it aims to improve relations with Moscow. Georgia worries that the Obama administration will be reluctant to pressure Russia to comply with the cease-fire while seeking its cooperation on priority issues such as the war in Afghanistan and North Korea’s nuclear program.
Tensions over Georgia also complicate efforts to restore ties between Russia and NATO, which broke off contacts following the war. Russia has strongly objected to NATO military exercises scheduled to begin May 6 in Georgia and has warned the United States against helping Georgia to rebuild its army.
The military checkpoint near Akhmaji enforces a new boundary between Georgia and South Ossetia, the Russian-supported region that was at the center of the fighting. After routing the Georgian army, Russian troops took over entire districts of South Ossetia that had long been under Georgian control.
The question is how will The United States react? We already know that the United Nations and NATO are weak and will most likely only send a “strongly worded letter,” to Russia.
I fear that the United States may also be taking lessons from the U.N. and NATO with its recent “Blame America Tour,” and universal appeasement.
But Wait a minute. Didn’t Gov. Tim Kaine say Obama had solved this problem last August? Here’s what he said back then: “It was a bad crisis for the world. It required tough words but also a smart approach to call on the international community to step in. And I’m very, very happy that the Senator’s request for a ceasefire has been complied with by President Medvedev.”
Sadly, nothing was done about this last summer either. Russia stopped because they wanted to stop not because they were pushed into a corner or were forced. I personally feel that Russia is pleased that Obama is president because they have a real window of opportunity to take back Georgia and begin their conquest of becoming the great USSR again. This has been long planned by Russia and it will be interesting to see how it all plays out.
If NATO would let Ukraine in, which it won’t, much of this probably could have been resolved.
The United States and Russia are also wrong in how they use Moldovaas a pawn in this political game.
Unfortunately, many also see Georgia as toast at this point. NATO won’t do anything, the U.S. won’t do anything, and Georgia has nowhere near the artillery or military to defeat Russia. Moscow is now issuing requests to NATO to stop Georgia’s military exercises. Many would wonder why? I think the answer is obvious and as stated above, without Ukraine in NATO, Georgia doesn’t have a leg to stand on.
Obama Pushes for Turkey’s Acceptance to the EU
Obama’s last stop on his European tour was to Turkey. During his brief stint in the country he gave another campaign/stump speech and pushed for Turkey’s acceptance into the European Union.
Some of Obama’s quotes:
“Let me say this as clearly as I can,” Obama said. “The United States is not and never will be at war with Islam. In fact, our partnership with the Muslim world is critical … in rolling back a fringe ideology that people of all faiths reject.”
Calling for a greater partnership with the Islamic world in an address to the Turkish parliament, Obama called the country an important U.S. ally in many areas, including the fight against terrorism. He devoted much of his speech to urging a greater bond between Americans and Muslims.
I seem to remember that in March 2003, the Turks refused to allow the U.S. Army’s 4th infantry Division to disembark there and attack into Iraq from the north. That decision left Saddam and his cronies an escape route once Baghdad fell, and ultimately cost (at least) hundreds of American lives in the insurgency that broke out later that year.
“We will convey our deep appreciation for the Islamic faith, which has done so much over so many centuries to shape the world for the better, including my own country,” Obama said. (which country? Giggle…)
Al Jazeera and Al Arabiyia, two of the biggest Arabic satellite channels, carried Obama’s speech live.
Upon hearing of Obama’s words, President Sarkozy of France, a long time opponent of Turkey’s acceptance, said “I have always been opposed to this entry and I remain opposed.”
Sarkozy’s love-in with Obama was brief if it was even true to begin with. In layman’s terms he basically told Obama to mind his own business and leave Europe to deal with the European Union.
One of the issues that those in Europe, opposing Turkey’s acceptance, have is that Turkey would become the largest and most populated country in the Union. Their Union acts in much the same way our states do. The more populated the state, the more representatives you can have in Congress. This could mean that Turkey would have more influence over Europe because it would have more MEPs and more power over European decisions and policy-making.
Germany, the Netherlands and Denmark, have deep reservations about Turkey’s acceptance. Austria and France are completely and openly against it.
Turkey Prime Minister Recep Tayyip Erdoğan rejected attempts to call Turkey the representative of moderate Islam. “It is unacceptable for us to agree with such a definition. Turkey has never been a country to represent such a concept. Moreover, Islam cannot be classified as moderate or not,”Erdoğan said, speaking at the Oxford Centre for Islamic Studies last Thursday.
Olli Rehn, the EU Enlargement Commissioner, called last week on Turkey to renew its focus on reforms to meet Union entry criteria for democracy and workers’ rights. “The pace of negotiations depends on the pace and intensity of the reforms in your country,” he said.
The Turkish press said yesterday that the country had secured concessions for dropping its objections to Anders Fogh Rasmussen, the Danish Prime Minister, becoming the next Nato Secretary-General.
New Era of Peace in Europe!? NATO Protests Turn Violent
STRASBOURG, France – Black-clad protesters attacked police and set a customs station ablaze Saturday on a bridge linking France and Germany that served hours earlier as the backdrop for a show of unity by NATO leaders.
AP photographers saw other protesters storm a nearby Ibis hotel, setting fires and pilfering alcohol from its bar.
Stacks of old tires were also set ablaze, unleashing thick plumes of black smoke that could be seen from across the river. Near the bonfire was a sign welcoming visitors to Strasbourg.
First lady Michelle Obama and other spouses canceled a visit to a cancer hospital out of concern for security, the French president’s office said. Some 1,000 protesters were staked out near the hospital they were to visit.
Some of the protesters say they want an end to war and call NATO a tool of Western imperialism. Others simply appear bent on causing chaos.
But…But… I thought if we elected Obama we would have a new era of peace and love across the world? Everyone would love each other and the United States?
I know – liberals will never get it – they will just continue to point the finger and blame Bush…
No NATO Support for Obama
Barack Obama couldn’t even garner a significant amount of support from his allies in NATO. Some said that his G20 summit and first real international introduction has been a disaster. Some of his foreign blunders this week have included, giving the Queen of England an iPod, Michelle Obama touching the Queen, Obama, flummoxed on several questions, one of which was in regards to the fault of the economic crisis, and without his teleprompter could not speak well, his town hall in France where out of the 5 questioners, 3-4 of them were American and his speech was done through a teleprompter again, bowing down to the Saudi’s, or his snub of President Sarkozy’s wife, Bruni.
Some said that if he couldn’t get more spending committed to by the countries at the G20 and couldn’t bolster more support for the War in Afghanistan that his trip could be considered a failure. It will be interesting to see how his pet media personnel spin this in his favor, since some Democrats were on panels recently state the same thing. He only got $1T from all the countries involved at the G20 and the media screwed up his schedule as well. That $1T is less than half of what Obama was hoping for and now he has been snubbed by many of the NATO countries, who will not commit to backing the United States by sending more troops into Afghanistan.
Barack Obama made an impassioned plea to America’s allies to send more troops to Afghanistan, warning that failure to do so would leave Europe vulnerable to more terrorist atrocities.
But though he continued to dazzle Europeans on his debut international tour, the Continent’s leaders turned their backs on the US President.
Gordon Brown was the only one to offer substantial help. He offered to send several hundred extra British soldiers to provide security during the August election, but even that fell short of the thousands of combat troops that the US was hoping to prise from the Prime Minister.
Gordon Brown Hails the Beginning of the New World Order… Obama is Still Clueless
Using words like collective, meaning collectivism, this should be very concerning to those who are still very patriotic and take pride in knowing that their country is free, relies on capitalism and is the last super power in the world. However, this appears to be falling by the wayside as world leaders, including Obama, are set to “collectively” come together and possibly create a “one world economy” which could have tremendous negative consequences in the future. Regulation will occur under what? The guise of the United Nations for every business industry? This is some scary stuff happening in these tough times!
Meanwhile, there are still more protesters in Europe who plan on distracting and disturbing the meetings. They have estimated that anywhere from 30,000 to 60,000 protesters could show up for the NATO meeting at the end of this week. Police are ready with teargas. Police already used teargas on Thursday (European time) for a smaller rally.
It still never ceases to amaze me that Captain Obvious, Barack Hussein Obama, makes statements in his travels to Europe such as the following:
President Barack Obama says the world is a lot more complicated than it was in 1944.
That’s when the countries that were victorious in World War II met to establish the financial architecture for the postwar era.Obama says negotiating is easy if it’s just Franklin Roosevelt and Winston Churchill in a room, talking over brandy.
But he says that’s not the world we live in now.
Obama spoke at a news conference Thursday after a meeting in London of the world’s 20 largest and developing economies. The countries were meeting to address the worst economic crisis since World War II.
I didn’t realize that Obama was that old and knew how difficult or easy it was to negotiate with world leaders back then. You learn something new everyday!
