It appears that this weekend's focus won't be that of a Georgian greco-roman wrestler pitted against his Russian opponent but rather Russian tanks and fighter jets pitted against a tiny Georgian military. This breaking news here from CNN:
While there have been numerous calls for a halt to the fighting, even from President Bush, this conflict appears to have gone out of control. And it is my observation that this is Russia's opportunity to vent its frustrations with the West on the nation of Georgia.
Now, even though this area of Georgia called South Ossetia has been a disputed area, we can't look past the point that the separatists there started this all with acts of aggression that killed a number of Georgians. What the world is waiting to see is if the Russians will stop this onslaught in South Ossetia or if the boundarines of their armed attacks fan out.
To say this is all a powderkeg is an understatement. The West is tied closely to Georgia and of course, the Russians are not only pissed off at the West for trying to tamper with its oil pipelines to Europe but also the missile defense systems being placed into eastern Europe. So, one could ask if the Russian bear is taking this opportunity to vent its frustrations on the West or simply trying to protect some of its interests in this area of South Ossetia.
Georgia declared a state of war Saturday as fierce battles with Russia military over the breakaway region of South Ossetia entered their second day.
Russia has launched a full-scale military invasion of Georgia, President Mikhail Saakashvili said during a brief news conference Saturday afternoon.
"We are dealing with absolutely criminal and crazy acts of irresponsible and reckless decision makers, which is on the ground producing dramatic and tragic consequences," Saakashvili said.
Saakashvili compared the Russian invasion, which he called unprovoked, to the 1979 Soviet invasion of Afghanistan.
While there have been numerous calls for a halt to the fighting, even from President Bush, this conflict appears to have gone out of control. And it is my observation that this is Russia's opportunity to vent its frustrations with the West on the nation of Georgia.
Now, even though this area of Georgia called South Ossetia has been a disputed area, we can't look past the point that the separatists there started this all with acts of aggression that killed a number of Georgians. What the world is waiting to see is if the Russians will stop this onslaught in South Ossetia or if the boundarines of their armed attacks fan out.
To say this is all a powderkeg is an understatement. The West is tied closely to Georgia and of course, the Russians are not only pissed off at the West for trying to tamper with its oil pipelines to Europe but also the missile defense systems being placed into eastern Europe. So, one could ask if the Russian bear is taking this opportunity to vent its frustrations on the West or simply trying to protect some of its interests in this area of South Ossetia.
Georgia declares state of war with Russia
President George W. Bush called for an immediate halt to the fighting saying the United States is "deeply concerned."
"We have urged an immediate halt to the violence and a standown by all troops, and call for end to the Russian bombings and a return by the parties to the status quo of August the sixth," he said in a statement Saturday.
Russian paratroopers entered the capital of South Ossetia on Saturday as part of a military operation that Russia said was intended to force the Georgian side to cease fire.
Separatist-backed South Ossetian sources reported about 1,600 people have died and 90 have been wounded in the capital of Tskhinvali after two days of fighting, but Georgian officials said the figure was inflated. The Georgians said they didn't have their own death toll, but it would likely be closer to 100.
Inna Gagloyeva, the spokeswoman for the South Ossetian Information and Press Committee, told the Interfax news agency the capital was being "massively shelled" with artillery guns.
It was also unclear which side was in control of Tskhinvali on Saturday, with the Georgian side saying fighting still raged but the Russians saying they have "liberated" the city.
"Battalion task forces have fully liberated Tskhinvali of Georgian armed forces and started pushing Georgian units out of the area of responsibility of the peacekeeping forces," said General Vladimir Boldyrev, commander of the Russian Ground Forces, in an interview with Interfax.
Colonel-General Anatoly Nogovitsyn, a spokesman for the Russian Defense Ministry, told a news conference that the paratroopers will "implement the operation of enforcing peace" on both sides.
Nogovitsyn also confirmed that Georgians had shot down two Russian aircraft.
Russia said the troops were also reinforcing the Russian peacekeepers already in South Ossetia.
"Our peacekeepers, along with reinforcement units, are currently conducting an operation to force the Georgian side to accept peace," Russian President Dmitry Medvedev said at the Kremlin, according to the RIA-Novosti news agency. "They are also responsible for protecting the population."
Interfax said 15 peacekeepers were killed in the Friday attack by Georgian troops. Russia has opened a criminal probe into their deaths, Interfax reported.
Georgia, a former Soviet Republic, is a pro-Western ally of the United States intent on asserting its authority over South Ossetia and Abkhazia, which both have strong Russian-backed separatist movements.
Russia moved troops into South Ossetia early Friday after Georgia launched an operation in the breakaway region when its unilateral cease-fire was met with what it said was artillery fire from separatists that killed 10 people, including peacekeepers and civilians.
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