Sanity on Cyber War

ThreatsWatch.Org: PrincipalAnalysis: Sanity on Cyber War: "Much has been made about the electronic fight that occurred alongside the physical one between Russia and Georgia. Predictably, talk of “cyber war” and the dawn of a new age of conflict abounds. Never mind that we have seen this before: China vs. Taiwan over Taiwanese independence; China vs. the US over various issues; Islamist Groups vs. the US during operations IRAQI and ENDURING FREEDOM; Serbia vs. the US and NATO during ALLIED FORCE, and numerous other conflicts. Then, as now, we see that conflict in cyber space falls far short of apocalyptic.

To be sure, there are serious threats in cyber space. Chinese intrusions into government, military and commercial networks are legion, but this has been going on more or less unabated for years. Few remember that it was Russian intelligence that used German proxies to break into the networks at a national lab … in the 80s. Whether we are talking about state-sponsored activities or criminal practice, there is a common thread: the need to have the ‘Net up in order to make things happen. This is why cyber war, as many envision it, is a fantasy.

For the sake of argument though, let’s assume there was a threat actor that did want to destroy or degrade the ‘Net – or at least off of our portion of it – for military gain. A quick search online for an Internet traffic map illustrates the folly of the concept of cyber space sovereignty. Georgia’s status as a “cyber locked” country – only one way in and out electronically – is something of an anomaly; generally speaking you cannot just take country X off-line and leave innocents untouched. For some belligerents this might not be an issue, but unless you’re declaring war on the world it make sense to limit potential counter-attackers (true in both the virtual and actual worlds).

Recent discussions on the threat of an Electro Magnetic Pulse (EMP) cannot be ignored here, but some perspective is in order. If an adversary detonates a nuke in the atmosphere over the US, we’ve probably got one or two more issues to deal with before we get around to restoring everyone’s Facebook page. The equipment and power necessary to cause the same effect without a nuke would be, well, about as obvious as a large wooden horse parked outside your door. Not having the ‘Net during such a crisis would hinder recovery, as the ad hoc construction of support and recovery web sites after Hurricane Katrinia and other disasters demonstrated. But catastrophic electronic attack is still largely recoverable and bloodless, unlike the analog in meat space.

Serious analysts of these issues talk about an adversary’s capabilities and do not use “cyber” as an adjective in front of every physical-world equivalent. Why? Because the means isn’t as important as the impact.

Take terrorism for example. Who is terrorized when terrorists or their sympathizers take down a web site? No one. What threat does a terrorist group that launches attacks that were new five years ago pose? Not much. Terrorists do a lot of things online, but fight well is not one of them. Nation-states have much more significant capabilities, but going back to an earlier point about espionage, they are having much more success exfiltrating data to risk destroying the source of said data. Exploiting your adversary’s networks and systems is this age’s neutron bomb; all the pesky people (and potential insurgents) are gone, all the goodies are left to plunder.

There is a reason why few in the kinetic war business take cyber war seriously: people don’t die (that might change soon enough for some), property is easily recovered, territory is not lost, and sovereignty is not threatened. One could argue that in the Estonia example a mode of operation was threatened, but certainly not their way of life or culture. Radovan Karadzic is in the Hague to face charges of war crimes; Dragan Vasiljkovic, who reportedly led Serbian cyber attacks while his colleagues conducted more visceral ones, is not exactly on the fast track for the gallows. I am fairly sure the widows of Srebrenica would have loved to have suffered at the hands of e-brigands vice the real sort.

In fact it is precisely this attitude that “it’s just data” that is the greatest hindrance to success in defending digital assets and having related disciplines taken seriously in a military context. No government official or corporate executive will admit it, but bits play second fiddle to hard assets. No amount of arguing about the nexus of the two, or how you can hardly use the latter without the former makes headway. It is why NIPRnet is consistently owned by various adversaries; why external viruses penetrate internal networks, and why millions of dollars worth of data can be traded illicitly over the ether largely without consequence. When those at the top don’t get it, the best we can hope for is re-action (to the next attack or embarrassment).

As a practitioner in this field for many years it is interesting to note the cycle of hype, spending, work and stagnation that occurs about every ten years. In all that time there has been no great leap forward in defense or security though attacks have gotten more sophisticated, diverse and powerful. Debating the need for an e-weapons proliferation scheme - as if one could regulate computer code as one does fissile material – is what passes for serious thought. There is also a strive to make all of this “new,” when in reality I can pull a nearly 30-year-old book off of my library shelf that documents the same sorts of events we are witnessing today.

Cyber space is a dangerous place, and it always has been, but we need to be preparing for war: period. Every conflict will have a cyber component too it; the next war will not be exclusively electronic. To steal a phrase from the Infantry: If they’re not there, you don’t own it. The Russia-Georgia “cyber war” is only an issue because the Russian Army is physically sitting in Georgia. Absent that, cyber war to date is largely just nationally-motivated digital graffiti. "

Corps wants its Humvees back

Not sure why I have the song from the Chili's commercial going through my head on this.

I want my Hummers back, Hummers back, Hummers back....

This could be a trip wire that starts a war, which the Russians WANT! They want the world to back down from them to prove they are not weak any more.

Corps wants its Humvees back - Marine Corps News, news from Iraq - Marine Corps Times: "U.S. officials continue to negotiate the release of five Marine Humvees seized by Russian forces in the Georgian port of Poti during their August assault on the U.S. ally.

The Humvees were taken Aug. 19, said Navy Lt. Cmdr. Corey Barker, a spokesman for U.S. European Command, and they contained no advanced tracking technology or cryptology hardware — a contrast with Russian news reports, which said the vehicles contained sophisticated communications gear and had been sent to Moscow for examination.

The Humvees were in Georgia as part of Operation Immediate Response, a multinational training exercise involving Marine and Army units, Barker said. They were awaiting commercial transport back to the U.S. when they were seized.

The team of Marines in Georgia — primarily assigned to Brooklyn, N.Y.-based 6th Communications Battalion and a Lexington, Ky.-based detachment with 4th Marine Logistics Group’s Military Police Company — were sent to a hotel in the capital, Tbilisi, when the Russian assault began."

Russia: Another Rhineland

The key part of this article is that the other Russian neighbors are now fearful of also being annexed back into the Soviet block.

Would a Marine Division stationed in Ukraine make the region more stable? Or a mob of peacenik hippies who can tell the Russians how evil they are?



Russia: Another Rhineland: "Russia has announced that it will, in effect, annex the Georgian separatist regions of South Ossetia and Abkhazia. No one is willing to face down the Russians on this issue, which many of Russias neighbors see as the first of many such annexations. There is a precedent for this sort of thing, and it all began on the French-German border in 1936.

Some historians see the German reoccupation of the Rhineland in 1936 as the real beginning of World War II. As part of the treaty that ended World War I, Germany agreed to keep troops out of the Rhineland (a German region on the French border). Going back in was a huge gamble for the Germans, who were in the midst of rebuilding their military, and, in 1936, much weaker than France or Britain. But neither of these countries were willing to risk the violence that might occur if they went after the 32,000 troops and police Germany sent into the Rhineland. This convinced Hitler that he could bully the Western allies, and grab neighboring countries with impunity. This worked for Austria and Czechoslovakia, but triggered World War II when Germany and Russia (by prior agreement) carved up Poland in 1939."

Putin Accuses U.S. Pushing Georgia Conflict to Influence Elections Back Home

I remember how the Soviets used to put out blatant lies just to watch people in the West defend themselves from the lies. Now they are throwing out the lies just to mess with the US. I doubt it will work since this is so obvious.

FOXNews.com - Putin Accuses U.S. Pushing Georgia Conflict to Influence Elections Back Home - International News | News of the World | Middle East News | Europe News: "The White House is rejecting Russian Prime Minister Vladimir Putin's claim that the United States pushed Georgia to war, calling the allegation 'patently false.'

Putin had suggested that U.S. involvement was intended to affect its own domestic politics.

Spokeswoman Dana Perino responded Thursday by saying that 'to suggest the U.S. orchestrated [the crisis] on behalf of political candidates is not rational.'

Putin made the claims in an interview Thursday with CNN, and Russian news agencies report he said the U.S. seemingly encouraged Georgia to use force to resolve its dispute with separatist South Ossetia.

'The American side in fact armed and trained the Georgian army,' ITAR-Tass quoted Putin as saying in the interview. 'Why hold years of difficult talks and seek complex compromise solutions in interethnic conflicts? It's easier to arm one side and push it into the murder of the other side, and it's over.'

According to ITAR-Tass, he also said: 'If my guesses are confirmed, then the suspicion is raised that somebody in the United States purposefully created this conflict with the aim of aggravating the situation and creating an advantage ... for one of the candidates in the battle for the post of U.S. president."

CNN said he provided no evidence, and he apparently did not name a party or candidate."

Shipping limits through the Bosphorus

When it comes to Maritime expertise, I always go to the Eagle. I did wonder why no major ships were taking supplies into the Black Sea.

I also have to wonder why the US Coast Guard is in that area. Any takers? I can't think of any parts of the US coast near Greece!

EagleSpeak: Shipping limits through the Bosphorus: "Interesting read on U.S. intentions with respect to the Black Sea at Oktay Eksi: United States scratches the Montreux Convention itch.

I won't comment on his conjecture about what reasons other than Georgia the U.S. might want access to the Black Sea for, but it should be noted:

The Montreux Convention limits the total weight of a single warship that countries not bordering the Black Sea can deploy to 15,000 tons. Country’s bound by the agreement can deploy warships totaling a maximum of 45,000 tons.

So, if you wonder why we are sending destroyers and a Coast Guard cutter...now you know."

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http://www.eaglespeak.us/2008/08/coast-guard-cutter-dalls-joins-uss.html
The Coast Guard cutter Dallas entered the Dardanelles; as a giant crane unloaded 55 tons of aid from the USS McFaul for refugees in Batumi, 80 kilometers (50 miles) south of another port, Poti, where Russian troops are still present.

This has been the first U.S. humanitarian mission via the sea to Georgia since the start of the conflict on Aug. 8, when Russia sent forces into Georgia to repel an attack on the Moscow-backed separatist region of South Ossetia that Tbilisi had started the day before.

U.S. Navy officials were met by Georgian officials, including Defense Minister David Kezerashvili.

Kezerashvili said that "the population of Georgia will feel more safe from today from the Russian aggression." "They will feel safe not because the destroyer is here but because they will feel they are not alone facing the Russian aggression," he was quoted by the AP as saying.

The McFaul is also outfitted with an array of weaponry, including Tomahawk cruise missiles, which can carry both conventional or nuclear warheads, and a sophisticated radar system. For security reasons the Navy does not say if ships are carrying nuclear weapons, but they usually do not.

The command ship USS Mount Whitney is due to follow the two U.S. warships carrying relief supplies to Georgia. The U.S. has already delivered some aid by military cargo plane but is now shipping in beds and food for the displaced.

NATO-member Turkey has authorized the three U.S. ships to sail through the Turkish straits into the Black Sea.

Moscow: No room for more NATO ships on Black Sea, Moldova should beware

DEBKAfile - Moscow: No room for more NATO ships on Black Sea, Moldova should beware: "America’s decision to redirect its Georgia aid warship from Russian-controlled Poti port to Georgian-controlled Batumi Wednesday, August 27 – on direct orders from the Pentagon - did not cool the escalating Black Sea tension between the two powers. As soon as the US Coast Guard cutter Dallas docked with 34 tons of humanitarian aid, three Russian missile boats, led by the Moskva missile cruiser, anchored to the north at the Black Sea port of Sukhumi, capital of breakaway Abkhazia, for what the Russians called “peacekeeping operations.”

In Moscow, Col. Gen. Anatoly Nogovitsyn said NATO had exhausted the number of forces it can deploy in the Black Sea under international agreements. He warned Western nations against sending more ships. “NATO – which is not a state located in the Black Sea” cannot continuously increase its forces and systems there, he said.

According to DEBKAfile’s military sources, ten NATO warships are present in the Black Sea – American, Turkish, German, Spanish and Polish. Alliance sources have said more vessels would soon be deployed, raising the number to eighteen.

Moldova, another former Soviet Black Sea nation, is the latest target of Russian threats and element in the Russian-US contest over the region.

Tuesday, Russian president Dmitry Medvedev warned Moldovan leaders against repeating Georgia’s mistake of trying to use force to regain control of its breakaway region of Transdniestria. Russian peacekeepers have been posted there since 1990, when provincial separatists fought to break away from Moldova. This dispute mirrors the predicament of Georgia and other former Soviet nations which have large Russian populations.

Moldova is strategically located on the Western shore of the Black Sea, very near the Crimean Peninsula and the big Russian naval headquarters base at Sevastopol, Ukraine.

Wednesday, Russian ambassador Valeri Kuzmin advised Moldova’s leaders to avoid a “bloody and catastrophic trend of events.” He said Moscow had recognizes South Ossetian and Abkhazian independence the day before, because of “Georgian’s aggression.”

Ukraine stepped in Wednesday with a demand to renegotiate the Russian Black Sea fleet’s lease for the use of the Sevastopol base to raise the rent."

Miliband ratchets up the rhetoric against Russia

Russia is scary in their determination to be viewed as a Superpower once again.

Miliband ratchets up the rhetoric against Russia | Opinion | The First Post: "There is a risk that David Miliband could be talking us into a small war as he ratchets up the rhetoric against Russia on his visit to Ukraine. He has called for the 'widest possible coalition against Russian aggression'. This means full Western support if Russia pulls on Ukraine the same trick it has on Georgia - a grab for territory to protect the endangered Russian minority.

The language and mood of the Western allies in Nato and the EU is shifting from containment of Russia to confrontation. The main powers - Germany, France, Britain and the US - are pulling their junior partners together in a way they weren't only last week. France, as the current president of the EU, has called a summit next Monday."

The Truth About Russia in Georgia

Totten gets into the true history behind the Russian-Georgian War. I knew only a smattering of this and I think more people should understand it before they make comments about the War. Too many people only know what the Soviet PR machine has spewed out.

This is a very important lesson! Read this article to get an understanding.

Michael J. Totten: The Truth About Russia in Georgia: "Virtually everyone believes Georgian President Mikheil Saakashvili foolishly provoked a Russian invasion on August 7, 2008, when he sent troops into the breakaway district of South Ossetia. “The warfare began Aug. 7 when Georgia launched a barrage targeting South Ossetia,” the Associated Press reported over the weekend in typical fashion.

Virtually everyone is wrong. Georgia didn't start it on August 7, nor on any other date. The South Ossetian militia started it on August 6 when its fighters fired on Georgian peacekeepers and Georgian villages with weapons banned by the agreement hammered out between the two sides in 1994. At the same time, the Russian military sent its invasion force bearing down on Georgia from the north side of the Caucasus Mountains on the Russian side of the border through the Roki tunnel and into Georgia. This happened before Saakashvili sent additional troops to South Ossetia and allegedly started the war."

Russia halts military work with NATO

Russia is going to stop cooperating with NATO, temporarily, because NATO is not going to cooperate with it? What a spin! I highlighted another key part of this slanted story: it took US pressure for NATO to get off its butt and agree to even send a stern note of protest.

I am NOT an isolationist, but we are trying to protect a world that has forgotten about the wolves at the doorstep! Maybe it is time to pull back and let them go to hell. I wonder how many days it would take for Russia to conquer Europe if the US told them it would not interfere for the first two years? Can the combined militarys of Europe do anything to stop even one Soviet division?

We have been the world's protector for too long. We need to either start forcing the militant countries to calm down, or let the sheep get their way as we neglect them. Shitte or get off the pot! This crud is making me sick.

Russia halts military work with NATO: Norway | International | Reuters: "Doubts surfaced over the future of military cooperation between NATO and Russia on Wednesday after Norway said Moscow had informed it of a decision to freeze all joint work with the alliance in the row over Georgia.

However Russia's ambassador to NATO played down any future steps, saying the decisions were 'of temporary character, of regional character, not global character'. A NATO spokeswoman said it had no notification of a Russian move.

'Norway has noted that Russia has decided for the time being to 'freeze' all military cooperation with NATO and allied countries,' Norway's Defence Ministry said on its website.

A defence ministry spokeswoman told Reuters that Moscow had sent 'a message' to Oslo -- with which it has had warm relations -- about the freeze but declined to provide further details.

On Tuesday NATO countries agreed after U.S. pressure on to freeze regular contacts with Russia until Moscow had withdrawn its troops from Georgia in line with a peace deal."

Russia: Still Second Rate And Unloved

This talks about the fact that the Russians/Soviets have been in the planning stages for the war on Georgia for months and have incited the violence. They know they can get away with it because the UN is worthless and NATO has no teeth left. The US is the only country that can confront the Soviets and the American Left will do almost anything that their communist friends want them to. Traitors.

Of course, I have been called a traitor for thinking that America is great and should encourage the spread of Freedom as much as possible. It seems that the Left hates that kind of thinking. If you think that way, then you can piss off and leave my blog alone.

Russia: Still Second Rate And Unloved: "Still Second Rate And Unloved

August 20, 2008: The Russian military demonstrated great resourcefulness and innovation during its recent campaign in Georgia. This includes the strategic planning, because the war was a set up. Russia used only one infantry division for the invasion, and had held training exercises in July. The increased border violence by South Ossetian forces caused the Georgians think they could retake the lost (in 1991) province. Less than a day after the Georgian forces entered South Ossetia, the Russian force of over 20,000 troops (including combat experienced Chechen counter-terror units and North Ossetian militia groups) came in. The Georgians were not prepared for this, even though the Russians had been making a lot of noise, for weeks, on the Internet about the growing "crises" in South Ossetia. By August 8th, the Russian Cyber War preparations became evident, as most Georgian media and government web sites were shut down by Russian attacks. It was the Internet version of the blitzkrieg, and a blow to military and civilian morale in Georgia. But on the ground, the combat experience of the Russian troops quickly translated in defeats for inexperienced Georgian troops. Despite several years of training under the supervision of Israeli and American combat veterans, the Georgians were still not as effective as the Russians (who have been fighting in Chechnya for over a decade). Although the Georgian anti-aircraft units brought down some Russian jets, the Russians basically ruled the skies and used that to constantly pick apart Georgian units. It was Russian air power the prevented the Georgians from mounting an effective defense.

Russia told the UN that it would veto any UN attempt to pass resolutions urging Russia to hurry up and get out of Georgia. The Russian success in Georgia was very popular inside Russia, where there has been growing unhappiness over Russias loss of empire and superpower status in the early 1990s. Nationalist politicians are talking about rebuilding the empire. This could get tricky, and is one reason the Russians get so excited when another of their neighbors talks about joining NATO. That organization is designed for mutual defense. You attack one NATO member, you attack them all, and two of them (France left NATO in the 1960s, but is considered an associate member) have nuclear weapons. "

Moscow accuses Israel of arming Georgia - day before Assad arrives for big arms purchases

Now the Soviets want to put their nukes everywhere they can to intimidate others. The US pulls their nuclear arsenal back to US soil, so the Soviets do the opposite. They are TRYING to instigate another Cold War. They know from press reports that the US elections are coming and neither candidate looks that strong so the Kremlin can get away with murder and no one will tell them they did wrong.

Nukes in Syria? That sounds like a prelude to a war with Israel. They will not tolerate that kind of direct threat and will destroy the missiles on enemy soil. Let the Syrians and their masters in Iran and Moscow figure out how to clean up the mess.

DEBKAfile - Moscow accuses Israel of arming Georgia - day before Assad arrives for big arms purchases: "The timing was precise. Tuesday, Aug. 19, the Russian Deputy Chief of General Staff Col.-Gen. Anatoly Nagovitsyn accused Israel at a Moscow news conference of arming and training the Georgian military.

Wednesday, Syrian president Bashar Assad arrives in the Russian capital for a two-day visit during which the Kremlin fully expects him to exploit the storm clouds blowing in from Georgia over Russian relations with the West to press for sophisticated weapons systems not so far released by Moscow.

On Aug. 17, DEBKAfile military sources reported Moscow's planned retaliation for America's missile interceptors in Poland and US-Israeli military aid to Georgia may come in the form of Iskandar surface missiles installed in Syria and its Baltic enclave of Kaliningrad.

Russian Baltic and Middle East warships, submarines and long-range bombers may be armed with nuclear warheads.

One plan on the table in Moscow to punish Israel, DEBKAfile's sources report, is the establishment of big Russian military, naval and air bases in Syria and the release of advanced weapons systems withheld until now from Iran (the S-300 air-missile defense system) and Syria (the nuclear-capable 200 km-range Iskandar surface missile).

T prepare the ground, Gen. Nagovitsyn charged Israel with arming the Georgian military with mines, explo"

European Pussies

The Russians know that NATO will do nothing to stop them. They are laughing at the weakness of the Europeans. I wonder how the Euros are feeling about being a laughing stock?

The Jawa Report: European Pussies: "European Pussies

Or so the Russians think. And for once, the Russians are right:

The Russian Ambassador to NATO, Dmitry Rogozin, dismissed the impact of the emergency meeting in Brussels, Belgium: 'The mountain gave birth to a mouse.'

Yes, they actually are laughing at NATO. Pretty lengthy post below.

You really should go read Allah Pundit's commentary on Pat Buchanan's latest piece calling for American isolationism. It's dead on in its criticism of Buchanan who with each passing day begins to sound more and more like a paranoid Illuminati conspiracy theorist. Also dead on in taking the middle ground between complete failure to support Georgia and declaring war on Russia.

One thing I would note is that I think Buchanan is right in that admitting the Ukraine into NATO with its present borders would be problematic, to say the least."

John Bolton Strikes Again

Mr Bolton gives us a warning about the Soviets returning to Russia. What is interesting is that a writer at USNews is agreeing with him. Naturally, the comments are all against the US and demanding that the Russians be allowed to kill/conquer whom ever they wish.

Even mine is slanted, but is a stupid and vapid attempt at sarcasm. Go read the rest.

John Bolton Strikes Again - Sam Dealey (usnews.com): "In a no-nonsense op-ed in Saturday's London Telegraph, John Bolton, the former U.S. ambassador to the United Nations, nails on the head the West's failure to respond to Moscow's aggression in Georgia.

He writes:

The West, collectively, failed in this crisis. Georgia wasted its dime making that famous 3am telephone call to the White House, the one Hillary Clinton referred to in a campaign ad questioning Barack Obama's fitness for the Presidency.

The faults aren't all America's, of course. Old Europe's response has been at least as flaccid, which is at least consistent with how it has behaved when faced with previous Kremlin bellicosity. In the last few years, whenever a western-leaning bloc country did something to upset Moscow, the latter would cut back on Europe's oil and gas supplies that flow through pipelines in bloc countries. And who would Europe then blame? Not Moscow, but the former bBloc countries—for having the temerity to want to determine their own future."

Russian soldiers commandeer U.S. Humvees

The Russians are destroying everything they can so that they can do as they wish. They also want to scare the other former Soviet states into submission of some sort. It is going to take billions of dollars to replace all the damage that the Soviets are inflicting and no one will help them. NATO is a paper tiger. The US has the power, but is not willing to use it. The UN is a joke.

Who will prevent Russia from attacking others? Anyone willing to volunteer? Even the Peaceniks are silent when it comes to Soviet aggression. It never pays to denounce the one who pays you.


Russian soldiers commandeer U.S. Humvees - Marine Corps News, news from Iraq - Marine Corps Times: "... Also in Poti, Russian soldiers commandeered four Humvees that had been used in U.S.-Georgian military exercises and were destined to be shipped back to the United States.

The Pentagon said it was looking into the theft. Georgian Deputy Defense Minister Batu Kutelia said Russian forces seized the vehicles.

Russian forces in Poti also blocked access to the city’s naval and commercial ports on Tuesday morning and towed the missile boat Dioskuria, one of the Georgian navy’s most sophisticated vessels, out of sight of observers. A loud explosion was heard minutes later, and a Georgian interior spokesman said the Russians had blown up the boat.

The acts of force demonstrated anew that Russia, days after agreeing to a cease-fire with Georgia, remained in control in much of the country, and that the state of the Georgian military was far from stable.

Georgian President Mikhail Saakashvili said Russia was not only flouting its withdrawal commitment but that its forces were “not losing time” in damaging Georgia by destroying infrastructure.

“Right now there are Russian soldiers and tanks at Poti,” Georgian Finance Minister Nika Gilavri said. “They want to open every single container” and inspect them.

Georgian television showed footage of a tense standoff at a military training base in northwestern Georgia, where Russian troops tried to enter but were turned away by Georgian police. There was no violence, but the report said the Russians threatened to return and destroy the base if they were not allowed in."

Russians move 2 SS-21 Medium Range Ballistic Missile Launchers into South Ossetia

Muslims with chemical weapons in the US, Soviets with nukes in Georgia. Is the West going to be destroyed in the next couple of years?

Does this that it could be too late for NATO to interfere? Like they could anyway. If Russia has short range nukes in Georgia then the EU will sell out the remainder of that poor country so that they can feel less threatened. Peace at all costs. Sieg heil, Herr Commisar.

Russians move 2 SS-21 Medium Range Ballistic Missile Launchers into South Ossetia « Free & Independent: "Col. Sam Gardiner notes, in an interview with Amy Goodman on Democracy Now, Russia has deployed tactical nuclear weapons to South Ossetia. The SS-21 Missile launchers are relatively weak compared to bombs that have already been used against Georgia by the Russian air force. However, this move does indicate Russia is potentially upping the game from a conventional weapons war to a tactical nuclear weapons war. Gardiner notes that at a news conference on Sunday, the US Deputy National Security advisor has noted these weapons arriving in South Ossetia.

Business Wire confirms the subject matter of the news briefing in Beijing. Link"

Russian troops roll into key city despite truce

Why would the Soviets break a treaty like this? How shocking.

It might be that they are very rarely expected to stick to a treaty and are never punished for breaking them.... Nah!

Where are the peaceniks? We need to send planes full of hippies to protest this naked aggression. Scare them into submission!

Russian troops roll into key city despite truce: "Russian troops and paramilitaries rolled into the strategic Georgian city of Gori on Wednesday, apparently violating a truce designed to end the six-day conflict that has uprooted tens of thousands and scarred the Georgian landscape.

Georgian officials said Gori, a central hub on Georgia's main east-west highway, was being looted and bombed by the Russians.

Moscow denied the claim, but it appeared to be on a technicality: a BBC reporter in Gori reported that Russians tanks were in the streets as their South Ossetian separatist allies seized Georgian cars, looted Georgian homes and then set some homes ablaze.

"Russia has treacherously broken its word," Georgia's Security Council chief Alexander Lomaia said Wednesday in Tbilisi, the capital.

To the west, Russian-backed Abkhazian separatists pushed Georgian troops out of Abkhazia and even moved into Georgian territory itself, defiantly planting a flag over the Inguri River and laughing that retreating Georgians had received "American training in running away."

The twin developments came less than 12 hours after Georgia's president said he accepted a cease-fire plan brokered by France. Russian President Dmitry Medvedev said Tuesday that Russia was halting military action because Georgia had paid enough for its attack last Thursday on South Ossetia.

In Washington, President Bush announced that a massive U.S. humanitarian effort was already in progress, and would involve U.S. aircraft as well as naval forces. A U.S. C-17 military cargo plane loaded with supplies is already on the way, and Bush said that Russia must ensure that "all lines of communication and transport, including seaports, roads and airports," remain open to let deliveries and civilians through.

"To begin to repair the damage to its relations with the United States, Europe and other nations and to begin restoring its place in the world, Russia must keep its word and act to end this crisis," Bush said. "

iowahawk: Diplomatic Breakthru in Georgia: Red-Faced Russian Party Crashers Retreat

The Hawk takes on the Russians and wins! If you laugh at this snippet, go read the rest while sitting near the toilet so that it minimizes the mess you might make.

iowahawk: Diplomatic Breakthru in Georgia: Red-Faced Russian Party Crashers Retreat: "Bowing to a withering barrage of pointed criticisms and strongly-worded letters of reprimand from the international diplomatic community, an embarrassed Russian military today abandoned its attack on the former Soviet republic of Georgia late this afternoon and retreated sheepishly over the Caucasus.

'Look, I don't really know what to say - other than, 'hey, our bad,'' said Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov in an awkward, shoe-gazing statement to the United Nations. 'Seriously, dude, it just totally wasn't like us to lash out like that. We've been having a couple of bad decades, and I guess we just sort of snapped.'

According to Moscow newspaper Pravda, Lavrov and Russian Prime Minister Vladimir Putin left several messages on the voice mail machine of Georgian president Mikheil Saakashvili offering apologies and help cleaning up the damage from the weekend invasion. Sources say an angry Saakashvili was in no mood for forgiveness.

'Haven't you done enough damage already?' asked a testy Saakashvili, according to a U.S. State Department official. 'Just get out. Come on dude, leave.'"

Russia 'annexes' a fifth of Georgia

Should we call this the Occupied Territories? What is the proper terms for a post-Soviet occupation?

What good is a treaty with the Soviets? The Russians have always been horrible at keeping treaties and I do not think having Georgia sign a treaty with them is going to change anything. If the Russians want a 'buffer zone' then the Russian troops have to also be included. Take all the Russians out of the area, too.

How long until the Russians conquer the rest of the territory?

Russia 'annexes' a fifth of Georgia - Telegraph: "President Dmitry Medvedev of Russia declared a ceasefire and agreed six principles for peace during a meeting in Moscow with President Nicolas Sarkozy of France, which currently holds the presidency of the European Union. Under these proposals, all forces must return to their positions at the outset of the war on August 7 and allow full access for humanitarian aid.

But Russia's foreign ministry had additional demands.

The Kremlin wants a buffer zone around South Ossetia and Abkhazia, from which all Georgian forces would be excluded. Russia also seeks a treaty guarantee that Georgia will never use force to recapture them.

These demands would safeguard what amounts to Moscow's de facto annexation of the two enclaves.

After the mauling suffered by his army during five days of fighting, President Mikheil Saakashvili of Georgia may have little choice but to agree.

Mr Sarkozy flew from Moscow to Georgia's capital, Tbilisi last night. He was expected to present his six points and Russia's additional demands to Mr Saakashvili. For his part, Georgia's leader declared a unilateral ceasefire on Sunday.

Mr Medvedev halted operations after Russia's army achieved its primary aim - controlling Abkhazia and South Ossetia and inflicting severe damage on Georgia's forces. Moscow says its army acted only after Georgian forces struck inside South Ossetia and killed "thousands" of Russian citizens. Mr Saakashvili did send his army into the enclave last Thursday - although Georgia denies any atrocities."

Israeli Military Sales To Georgia Continue

Money, money, money.

Good for Israel for continuing to aid the Georgians. When will NATO aid this poor country?

Murphy's Law: Israeli Military Sales To Georgia Continue: "Israel considered halting arms sales and services to Georgia, until the war with Russia stops. It's the Israeli Foreign Ministry that is pushing for the cut-off, in an effort to improve relations with the Russians. Currently, the Israelis are trying to persuade the Russians to cut back on arms sales to Iran and Syria (which buys stuff with Iranian money, as Iran is prohibited by UN sanctions from buying many weapons directly). The Russians need all the sales they can get in order to rebuild their decrepit, Cold War era arms industries. But the Israelis have maintained communications with the Russian government on arms industry issues, and doesn't want to lose ground.

Georgia is a significant (about $100 million a year), but not major, military sales customer for Israel. Most Israelis want to help the Georgians. There are about 80,000 Georgian Jews, which also registers with the Israeli voter.

However, politics won out over diplomacy, and the government decided to keep shipping. Most of what the Georgians are getting are training and technical services, and low end military equipment. But the diplomats were able to go to the Russians and point out that, as long as the Russian navy controlled Georgia's coastline, and the Russian air force controlled the skies, no Israeli military goods were getting in. So everyone is satisfied, sort of. "

Russians Ceasefire, But Troops Remain in Georgia

This invasion is so obviously preplanned that only a commie could ignore the facts. This is just a way for Russia to take back part of Georgia. At least part. All hail Putin, the new Stalin.

Russians Ceasefire, But Troops Remain in Georgia - News Briefs - Arutz Sheva: "Although Russian President Dimitri Medvedev announced Tuesday that he had ordered his troops to ceasefire, he did not withdraw the soldiers from Georgia.

By late afternoon, Russian troops were still authorized to fire at Georgian soldiers in the contested separatist region of South Ossetia, despite Medvedev’s earlier statement."