Georgia / S.Ossetia / Russia / US Crisis

Georgia/S.Ossetia/Russia/US Crisis

August 19, 2008

Dear CCI friends and funders,

Many of you have called and emailed regarding the Georgia/S.Ossetia/Russia debacle. We've followed the happenings day and night - at times over a hundred emails a day arrived from analysts and experts on Russia. These events occurred right after I arrived from Russia, so this is the first time I've had to write - though I hope you have checked our blog, www.russiaotherpointsofview.com for analyses of NYT, WP, and other articles on these issues.

This following piece is unforgivably long. If you have little time to read, please just scan the following bullets.

UNDENIABLE FACTS REGARDING THE GEORGIAN/S. OSSETIAN/RUSSIAN CRISIS:

* Georgia made an unprovoked military attack on S. Ossetia on August 7 - a fact which is virtually ignored by U.S. media - most reference it as the "invasion by Russia into Georgian territory." This tells us something. Why is the invading country not being faulted? Bush/Rice have castigated Russia for a "disproportionate" response. Can you think of a response to any invasion which has been "proportionate"?
* Russia counter attacked on August 8 after 1400 civilians and Russian peace keepers had been killed. The city was in shambles, with refugees streaming toward Russia to seek refuge.
* Since Georgia became a free state in 1991, S. Ossetia has had de facto independence and have operated as an autonomous area. Our media reports as though these facts don't matter.
* Josef Stalin drew the dividing lines between the two Ossetian communities and placed half of the Ossetians in Georgia, and the other half in Russia. It made no sense. What need is there today to honor Stalin's whim about carving up ethnic groups.
* Ossetians are a totally different ethnic group, they are not Georgian. Many Ossetians are Russians - and many hold Russian passports.
* Ossetians despise and distrust Georgians and want nothing to do with them.
* The South Ossetians fought a vicious war with Georgia in 1991-93 after first Georgian President Gamsakhurdia, a rabid nationalist, stripped them of their autonomy and sent militia in to establish Georgian dominance. The Ossetians finally won and since then have governed themselves with a president and a constitution.
* Russia to date has insured their autonomy for which South Ossetians are grateful.
* Russia has kept a "peace force" in Ossetia for years which was originally approved by Georgia, the US and others, to keep peace in the micro-region where tempers flare frequently.
* Ossetia's autonomy was approved in 1993 by presidents Yeltsin and by Shevardnadze, the then head of state of Georgia. Nothing about this fact has changed since.
* There has been continuous low-level sniping and firing between both Ossetian and Georgian villagers for decades.
* It would be impossible for Georgia to manage a successful takeover of the Ossetians. They would have to raze Ossetia to the ground to beat them into submission.
* U.S. and Israeli military have been stationed in Georgia, providing military hardware and training Georgians in battlefield tactics for some time now.

Despite US media coverage, this situation is not about a "big bad nation" (Russia) beating up on an "innocent little nation" (Georgia). Georgia initiated this all-out war, which they and US advisors could have predicted would turn ugly in a hurry.

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The question is: why would Georgia's president Saakashvili invade a sworn enemy which has a Russian peace keeping force stationed there to defend Ossetia's autonomy? It would appear to be a suicide mission.

Likely reasons: Either Saakashvili was totally deluded, and/or he gambled that Russia would not stand behind their word to the Ossetians, and/or he believed that the U.S. would support him and Georgia in a war against S. Ossetia and possibly Russia.


POLITICAL REALITIES WHICH COMPLICATE THIS PICTURE:

Since the implosion of the USSR in 1990, elements in Washington have encouraged and financially supported the independent states of the former USSR, to align with the the U.S. and Europe, and to forego their former relations with Russia. Some states welcomed this support, since they bristled under USSR rule (Baltic states, Hungary, Poland, Czech Republic and Georgia). Others, part of the Russian Empire, weren't interested in breaking relations. Russia provided incentives to these states and they remain in good political and trade relations.

Why has the U.S. been interested in dividing Russia's neighboring states from Russia? To: 1) to insure that collectively they wouldn't get strong again and become a threat; 2) to help bolster America's hegemony and dominance in the world; and 3) to insure America's energy future - oil and gas supplies along with the pipelines that carry it out to the west. Georgia, one part of this strategy, doesn't have oil or gas, but they do have pipelines, rails and ports and are considered strategically located.

A CURSORY RUNDOWN OF RUSSIA'S RESPONSES TO THIS POLITICAL REALITY:

1. In the 1990's when Russia underwent their debilitating transition to a private economy, the country was in massive debt to international lending institutions, and had no choice but to tolerate whatever major powers did, including the beginning of the bitterly resented NATO expansion. Russian leaders and citizens suffered this fate at the time, but not gladly.
2. After 2001 when Putin emerged as Russia's new leader, Russia became stronger by the year, paid off her debts, essentially nationalized the oil and gas industry and became more active in rebuilding Russia's economic interests.
3. By 2003 Putin's power was felt in internal politics and nation rebuilding. Khodorkovsky was imprisoned on tax evasion, but more because of his anti-Putin political ambitions. His incarceration helped rein in other oligarchs. Elements in Washington and US media were hyper critical and into actions seeming to Russia to destabilize her internal interests. U.S. money supported "opposition" politics in Russia and other states of the former USSR, which bristled the Russians. They began to push back.
4. By 2004/5, Georgia's Rose Revolution and Ukraine's Orange Revolution occurred (due to support from American NGOs and exiled oligarchs) which galled Russians since they were increasingly 'encircled by unfriendly nations.'
5. Russia became predictably reactive, clamped down on media, visas and in other spheres. They stopped subsidizing oil and gas to former USSR republics who joined the west, turned their 'portion' off when they refused to pay market prices. Ukrainians pilfered gas for themselves from the pipelines - but cut off contents destined for Europe. This created a squall of "oil politics."
6. By 2007, Putin, at a Munich meeting of heads of states, unveiled Russia's position on the U.S.' unipolar role in global politics - and made Russia's case for a multipolar world. This was a turning point in US-Russia relations - it alerted Washington that Russia no longer accepted their concept of sole superpower status (geopolitically, not militarily). Elements in DC next initiated the effort to put missile systems and monitoring devices on Russia's borders in Poland and the Czech Republic. This was the next-to-last straw for Russia.
7. August 7, 2008 Georgia attacked S. Ossetia's capital with full force. This was the last straw. Russian military responded to the attack within 15 hours, quickly moved down into Georgia proper to destroy military caches, cut off bridges and interrupt transit routes - to the shock of western media.

Ignoring who started the war, who was behind it, the devastation that occurred in S. Ossetia, and the history between the two ethnic groups, western media has spun a story line that looked convincing at first, but doesn't hold water once the facts are known.

Unfortunately, it is clear now that a resurgent Russia is back - and that they will do what is in Russia's best interests in the future - as any country in control of its destiny would.

IT DIDN'T HAVE TO HAPPEN THIS WAY

In the 1990s and even up to 2007, Russia and Russians, more than anything, wanted to be friends with America and to be accepted into the trans-Atlantic world community. As a country, we missed thousands of opportunities by being amazingly arrogant, pushy, resistant and totally insensitive to Russia's plight as it dug out of communism and tried to form a new nation. We at CCI were on the scene ad intimately involved with these years. We watched every little detail and rankled at the behaviors and attitudes we were observing.

The second Cold War really started years ago. In 2001 I began a folder of US newspaper articles which was labeled "The Rebuilding the Cold War" - articles that were demeaning to Russia, forcing them into situations that were "salt in the wounds." Why???? I asked myself, why would we go there again? Surely, we wouldn't! But we did.

It appears that elements of U.S. foreign policy makers and the U.S. media, were never able to let go of 'cold war mentality' and instinctively distorted any situation related to Russia - and often used standards to which they didn't hold other countries and trading partners around the world.

MEDIA - HYPE AND THE LACK OF INVESTIGATIVE JOURNALISM - an example:

On Sunday I watched CNN reporting on the Georgian/S. Ossetia crisis. They did a terrific piece on CCI in 2007 when we brought 100 Russians to DC to talk with Congress members re the US-Russia policy. But this morning I was stunned and disappointed to see how CNN sidestepped the evidence surrounding the Georgia/S.Ossetia/Russia events in subtle nuanced ways the audience would not normally register. For instance:

1. CNN chose only on-ground reporters sitting in the capital of Georgia - none sitting in South Ossetia - where on-ground newscasters reported the worst damage to have occurred. Footage of grim Georgian victims were shown, but no Ossetian tragedies mentioned. Would Russians have let CNN into S. Ossetia's capital city? With pleasure, to show the damage sustained there.

2. CNN chose Zbigniew Brzezinski as the hour's lead foreign policy specialist. This anti-Russia, Polish-American foreign policy specialist can be safely predicted to produce negatively-skewed opinions on anything Russian. Other similar choices of interviewees followed throughout the hour. There are dozens of equally or better-known Russian experts which could have been chosen for interview had facts and balance been of interest (Ambassadors to Russia, National Security Advisors on Russia, high-level academicians).

3. CNN chose for their last interview, Richard Holbrooke, who always has a one-sided view against Russia. He has been used extensively by the networks over the past ten days. At this point I turned off the television.

~~~~~~~~~

Friends, it seems not long ago that I wrote thousands of you during the build up to the Iraq War. I warned that the hype we were hearing day and night was based more on fiction and lies than reality. In January of 2001, I went to Washington to try to get an open ear. Options to war were offered, such as sending neutral Rotary or other American delegations to Iraq to learn if there were ways we could deal with them, rather than war. It was useless - the momentum for war, on both sides of the aisle, was too great by that time. The media bombardment, truthful or not, had been overly successful. For my efforts and strange thinking, I was labeled "unpatriotic." Months and now years have passed. We have slowly faced the truth about how we were taken into that war. And again in 2008, I am registering panic that we are going in that same dangerous direction again.

I fear the underlying intentions of this current situation are all about oil and gas, global dominance and hegemony - which means a show-down for any who might get in the way. Russia is in the way.

Unfortunately for us, Russia will no longer back down - like she was forced to in the 90s. Today she will go toe-to-toe if pushed; and will probably "over react" due to years of having had NATO shoved up to her borders; neighboring states turned against her; missiles and hi-tech invasive monitoring placed on her periphery; years of having been refused Jackson Vanik trade advantages; living with the endless info-war leveled at her; on and on and on.

The specter today is extraordinarily dangerous. Russia still has thousands of nuclear weapons. With cowboy mentality and brinksmanship in vogue in international politics, it's not inconceivable that WWIII could be launched over such an insignificant little place on earth as South Ossetia.

The only light in this tunnel is that there will be new leadership in Washington in a few short months. Let us hope and pray that which ever candidate wins, they will assess the ominous writing on the wall and create a radically new type of American foreign policy - that they will realize that we are in a totally new 'world-in-the-making' - and that the warring politics of the 20th century won't work in the 21st century - and that we face either change... or extinction.

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I will greatly appreciate your comments on the above. If you are comfortable this point of view, I urge you to send this message to your e-lists.

All the best, --

PS: If you know a local newspaper editor, please ask them if they will print an OpEd on the Georgia/Ossetia/Russia crisis. If so, let me know quickly - I will send one.

PS: Do check our blog, www.russiaotherpointsofview.com for the latest in analyses of NYT, WP and other major papers on the Georgia/Ossetia/Russia issues. You will see the full articles as they appeared in our key newspapers, the criteria by which the contents are judged, and the factual information behind often slanted comments or paragraphs.'

*** Excuse rough writing, no editors are present....

--

Excuse me while I eat my tie...

Forty Years Later, Veterans of the USS Liberty Refuse to Give Up the Ship

40 years Later, Veterans of the USS Liberty Refuse to Give Up the Ship
June 16, 2007 — crescentandcross

There are definitely quite a few people–both in Israel and the United States–who would like the whole affair involving Israel’s treacherous and murderous attack on the USS Liberty to be forgotten, but for the survivors of that attack, amnesia is not an acceptable option. For them, the often-used term that so many hear today of ‘never forget’ means exactly what it implies–never forget–and as such they keep the memory of what took place that day alive.

This past June 8th marked the 40th anniversary of the attack on the USS Liberty by the air and naval forces of the state of Israel, resulting in the deaths of 34 American servicemen and a cover-up that has been maintained throughout the entire period. In remembrance of the day that–for many–will always be a day that will live in infamy, the Liberty Veterans Association (LVA) organized a reunion that included several ceremonies marking the event. Owing to the fact that American Free Press has been covering the Liberty incident throughout the months of April and May, the LVA invited America’s last real newspaper to attend as a special guest.

The ceremonies began on Friday, June 8th with a trip to Arlington national cemetery to honor the Liberty dead buried there. Although it was a blazing hot day and the humidity was high, the heat did not deter these men from making good on their oath of protecting America from all enemies foreign and domestic, just as the rockets and napalm did not deter them 40 years ago. The crowd of about 300 was addressed by various speakers, including incoming-president of the LVA and Liberty veteran Ernie Gallo who spoke of the ultimate sacrifice paid by those interred in the hallowed ground of America‘s most important cemetery. During the ceremony, as in years past, each of the members took turns approaching the mass grave holding the remains of 6 crew members killed that day, salutes, and then announces the name of one of the 34 members who perished. After the last name is read, a bugler in a white Naval uniform played “Taps” in respectful remembrance of the dead.

From there the group went by bus to the Fort Meyers Officer’s Club for a luncheon and small presentation and for a much-needed break from the heat and humidity. It is wind-down time for the attendees as they mingle from table to table, shaking hands or hugging shipmates they have not seen in many years. Some stayed in the air-conditioned room, some wandered outside for a smoke.

From there they boarded the busses again and headed for the Naval Memorial in downtown Washington DC on Pennsylvania Avenue. All took their seats and listened to a series of speeches from several individuals associated directly or indirectly with the LVA, including shipmate Glen Oliphant and former US Ambassador Edward Peck who spoke of the injustice that the men of the Liberty endured in the cover-up of Israel’s attack these last 4 decades. Again, the names of the Liberty victims were recited aloud and a bell was wrung following the recital of each name. Afterwards, a wreath was laid at the Statue of the Unknown Sailor and “Taps” was played to a silent and somber crowd. Following this, the crowd was invited to view the DVD documentary on the Liberty incident by BBC investigative journalist Peter Hounam at a location nearby. Afterwards the ceremonies ended for the day and everyone returned to the Marriot Courtyard Hotel in Tyson’s Corner, Virginia, where a good number of the crew members gathered in the bar on the 2nd floor, threw back a few beers, talked, laughed and cried.

The next day began with a trip to the Annapolis Naval Academy in Maryland where a plaque was presented by that institution in honor of the 3 graduates from the academy–Philip Armstrong, David Lewis and Stephen Toth–who were on the USS Liberty June 8th 1967 during the attack. The ceremony featured speeches from educators from the academy and a very emotional invocation and benediction by former Chaplain George Evans. The plaque was accepted by Lt. Commander Dave Lewis who was the Intelligence Officer onboard the Liberty and a graduate of the academy as well. After the ceremony a traditional American lunch was served right there at the academy consisting of hamburgers, hotdogs, potato salad, and of course, beer. Once the attendees had their stomachs filled, all boarded the bus for the trip back to Virginia.

The bus ride back afforded the best opportunity in seeing the members of the Liberty crew in a manner up close and personal. They sat in the back just as they would have in the mess hall of the ship that day, telling jokes, teasing each other and talking of trivial matters. It was when the talk turned to politics though, politics past and present, that it became obvious these were no longer young men who had not seen the world at its worst. Beginning on June 8th, 1967 and continuing every day since, they had learned how politics in the Zionist occupied territory known as the United States works and had paid dearly during that schooling process. You could see it in their eyes and hear it in their voices. It was clear in the expressions that their faces made when speaking of it all–the betrayal 40 years ago by the same government they swore to serve…the indifference on the part of the American people to what happened to them, their visceral hatred for the people who subjected them to a living hell on earth when missiles, torpedoes and napalm were hurled against their ship for over an hour and who–as of yet–are to pay the price for what they did that day, and last but not least, where it is all going with regards to American involvement in the wars to save Israel taking place today.

That evening, the last of the ceremonies took place, which was the banquet. A wonderful meal was served and there were addresses from several crew members of the Liberty, but most importantly, a member of the US Intelligence community (who insisted that his speech not be recorded nor his name mentioned) confirmed what the members of the Liberty have known all along–that Israel’s attack on their ship 40 years ago was neither an accident nor a case of mistaken identity, as Israel has falsley claimed these last 4 decades. He had the highest clearance possible in the US government and had seen all the raw intelligence dealing with the attack and was able to confirm conclusively that Israel knew the ship was American and that it was the intention of the Jewish state to sink her that day and kill everyone aboard.

At the end of the 3 day ceremony, what the casual observer was left to conclude is that the Liberty boys exemplify the best of what America once was and could be again–loyalty, devotion and the will to fight to the very end to keep their ship afloat, despite all that is brought to bear against them. This casual observer has no doubt about the fact that the men from the USS Liberty will fight to the last man to keep the memory of what happened forty years ago alive and in the finest tradition of the US Navy will do all in their power to protect America from all enemies foreign and domestic, just as they did June 8th 1967 and every day since.

2007 by Mark Glenn–correspondent for American Free Press Newspaper

Mail to AFP

Let me just say this:

Ward Boston, you are my Man Of The Year!

Old age is the ultimate equalizer against the scumbags - what more can they do to you?

You are a true AMERICAN Patriot.

Insider Tells the Truth About the Cover-up of the Attack on the USS Liberty
June 9, 2007 — crescentandcross

‘Son, I spent 2 years as a special agent in the FBI and over 30 yrs in the military, and if it is one thing I learned through all of this, it’s that when you get an order, you say ‘yes sir’ and carry it out with no questions asked’.

This was the response given by Capt. Ward Boston, USN (Ret) to this reporter in a series of recent interviews he gave for American Free Press Newspaper. For those not familiar with Capt. Ward Boston, he played what will one day be recognized as one of the most pivotal roles in recent human history. 40 years ago this upcoming June, he was the senior legal council for the Naval Board of Inquiry concerning the June 8, 1967 attack on the USS Liberty by Israeli Air and Naval forces that resulted in 34 Americans killed and 171 wounded. His job in 1967 was to be part of a hastily-called investigation into the attack, and–as he has recently revealed to the shock of many–to rule that Israel’s 90-minute bloodfest waged against America’s young men was all an ‘accident’ that occurred during ‘the fog of war’, all the evidence to the contrary be damned. In 2002, Capt. Ward broke his silence of 3 decades and released an affidavit to the public in which he admitted that the entire investigation was a sham, and that he was under orders (from persons of no less authority than President Lyndon Johnson and Secretary of Defense Robert McNamara) to rule that the bloodiest day in American naval history since WWII took place as a result of ‘mistaken identity’ and that America’s ally, Israel–was innocent of any wrongdoing.

For 35 years Capt. Ward lived with the bitter knowledge that his fellow servicemen had been deliberately murdered in what was an act of war by a foreign power and yet because of the orders he received was powerless to say anything. A conflux of events however led him to make the decision to ‘damn the torpedoes’ and to let the chips fall where they may. ‘I’m an old man’ he told AFP. ‘They can’t threaten my job, and if they throw me into jail, so what? The truth has to be told for the benefit of the survivors and for the American people whose sons and daughters are dying today’.

The first of these events leading him to break his silence was the 2002 release of a book entitled ‘The Liberty Incident’ written by Judge Ahron Jay Cristol at a time when America was being drawn into a series of long-term military engagements with countries that just so happened to be enemies of Israel. Through his book and subsequent speaking tour, Cristol (a slavish, shameless, fanatical apologist for the Jewish State who is on more-than-friendly terms with a number of people in both the military and arms industry in Israel) did the usual song and dance when it comes to discussing the terrorist state that attacked America in 1967, which was to argue for unconditional acquittal, using a collage of sloppy yet deliberate misrepresentations and omissions of fact. In Capt. Boston’s words, it was Cristol’s ‘insidious attempt to whitewash the event that pushed me to speak out’.

‘These rats,’ he said, referring to Israel and her defenders. ‘They lie about everything. You can’t believe a word they say’ he told AFP. What was so important about this statement was that Capt. Boston was not just talking about the past, but about the present and future as well. ‘They’ve completely infested the entire Intelligence and Defense apparatus of the United States’ he said. ‘Perle, Feith, Wolfowitz, and all the rest of them…They’re spies for Israel, every damned one of them’ he said. ‘Just consider the 5 guys who were arrested after 9/11, cheering and celebrating, and then afterwards we come to find out that they were Mossad and then they get sent back to Israel. They knew all about it and yet our government, the government I worked for most of my life did nothing about it. Can you imagine if these guys were Arabs?’ he asked. ‘It’s been the same thing, ever since 1967’ he said with unmistakable aggravation. ‘Protect Israel, protect Israel…In the meantime, our boys are dying over there and those who don’t die are coming back here with all sorts of problems, both physical and psychological’.

It was his visit to Israel some years back that clinched it for this man in terms of his feelings for the ‘great experiment’ in Jewish self-rule. ‘The way they treat the Arabs…it’s unconscionable’ he said. ‘You go into Israel, into the only places where they allow the tourists, and it’s the picture of paradise, just as the Soviets used to do. Then you take a detour off the approved itinerary and you see what it is really like…The poverty, misery, abuse. Arab kids being gunned down in broad daylight. It’s worse than South Africa. Only a person with a ice water in his veins could see the way the Arabs are treated and not be outraged’.

As far as the future goes, Capt. Boston is not hopeful. ‘If either they (the Israelis) or the US launches a war against Iran, it will be the beginning of the end’ he said. ‘Armageddon…You’ll have Muslims pouring into the area from all over the world and no army will be able to stop them. They will tear Israel and the Americans to pieces.’

As far as his reaction to the predictable accusations of ‘anti-Semitism’ that have been leveled against him for telling the truth concerning the attack on the Liberty, he laughs it off. ‘One of my closest friends growing up was Jewish’ he said. ‘I don’t have a prejudiced bone in my body. What we are dealing with here is an act of war initiated against the United States, the country I swore an oath to defend, period. If a proper investigation into the attack on the Liberty had been allowed to take place and the American people made aware of what happened, we would not be in the middle of this mess in the Middle East now.’

2007 By Mark Glenn

2007 by Mark Glenn–correspondent for American Free Press Newspaper

Mail to AFP