Bush Slams Russia Over Georgia Conflict

"Dramatic And Brutal Escalation" Jeopardizes Russia's Standing With U.S.

(CBS/AP)  President Bush on Monday warned of a "dramatic and brutal escalation" of violence by Russia in the former Soviet republic of Georgia. He pressed Moscow to accept an immediate cease-fire and to pull back its troops.

Bush put the crisis at the top of his agenda as he returned from the Olympic Games in Beijing.

In a Rose Garden statement, he said there appeared to be an attempt by Russia to unseat Georgia's pro-Western president, Mikhail Saakashvili.

He demanded an immediate cease-fire, the withdrawal of Russian troops from the conflict zone and a return to the status quo as of Aug. 6.

Russia has ignored calls for a truce and has responded with overwhelming military force. It appeared Bush had little leverage to win Moscow's compliance.

Bush said the military crackdown has "substantially damaged Russia's standing in the world. And these actions jeopardize Russia's relations with the United States and Europe. It is time for Russia to be true to its word and to act to end this crisis."

On Monday, Russian armored vehicles rolled deep into western Georgia, quickly taking control of several towns and a military base and slicing open a damaging second front in Russia's battle with Georgia. Other Russian forces captured the key central city of Gori.

Fighting also raged Monday around Tskhinvali, the capital of the separatist province of South Ossetia. Swarms of Russian planes launched new raids across Georgia, with at least one sending screaming civilians running for cover.

The invasions of Gori and the towns of Senaki, Zugdidi and Kurga came despite a top Russian general's claim earlier Monday that Russia had no plans to enter Georgian territory. By taking Gori, which sits on Georgia's only east-west highway, Russia has the potential to effectively cut the country in half.

Alex Rossi, of CBS News partner Sky News, told CBS' The Early Show that the city of Gori was bombed early Friday, and that some civilian locations were hit.

Rossi said fighting around the capital city of South Ossetia had largely quieted Friday and that Russian troops appeared to be fully in control of the breakaway region, leaving Georgian forces to retreat and take up defensive positions.

Security Council head Alexander Lomaia said Monday it was not immediately clear if Russian forces would try to advance on Tbilisi, the Georgian capital. Georgia sought at urgent meeting of the U.N. Security Counil in New York - the fifth meeting on the subject in as many days.

Also, the U.S. State Department said it has evacuated more than 170 U.S. citizens from Georgia as the conflict over separatist areas there intensifies between Georgia and Russia.

A spokesman said Monday that two convoys carrying about 170 private U.S. citizens along with an undetermined number of family members of American diplomats based in Georgia have left Tbilisi on their way by road to neighboring Armenia.

The two-front battlefield was a major escalation in the conflict that blew up late Thursday after a Georgian offensive to regain control of the separatist province of South Ossetia. Even as Georgian President Mikhail Saakashvili signed a cease-fire pledge Monday with EU mediators, Russia flexed its military muscle and appeared determined to subdue the small U.S. ally that has been pressing for NATO membership.

On Monday afternoon, Russian troops invaded Georgia from the western separatist province of Abkhazia while most Georgian forces were busy with fighting in the central region around South Ossetia.

Russian armored personnel carriers moved into Senaki, a town 20 miles inland from Georgia's Black Sea port of Poti, Lomaia said. Russian forces also moved into Zugdidi, near Abkhazia, and seized police stations, while their Abkhazian allies took control of the nearby village of Kurga, according to witnesses and Georgian officials.

In Zugdidi, an AP reporter saw five or six Russian soldiers posted outside an Interior Ministry building. Several tanks and other armored vehicles were moving through the town but the streets were nearly deserted, with shops, restaurants and banks all shut down.

Georgia borders the Black Sea between Turkey and Russia and was ruled by Moscow for most of the two centuries preceding the 1991 breakup of the Soviet Union. Both provinces of South Ossetia and Abkhazia have run their own affairs without international recognition since fighting to split from Georgia in the early 1990s - and both have close ties with Moscow.

Georgia began an offensive to regain control over South Ossetia late Thursday with heavy shelling and air strikes that ravaged South Ossetia's provincial capital of Tskhinvali.

"There is no question that Georgia started this conflict with an offensive against the separatists of South Ossetia because its entry to NATO required a resolution to the problem, but the disproportiate and continuing military attacks by Russia appears to have united the European Union and the U.S. in a call for the removal of Russian troops," said CBS News foreign affairs analyst Pamela Falk.

"The fighting has now created a major refugee crisis that is spilling over to regional states," Falk added, "and a political crisis with fears that Russia is trying to overthrow the democratically-elected, pro-Western government of Georgia."
The Russia response was swift and overpowering - thousands of troops that shelled the Georgians until they fled Tskhinvali on Sunday, and four days of bombing raids across Georgia.

[lovegetpeace]

President Bush provoked this Russian intrusion into Georgia by going ahead to place U.S. Missile Defense systems in Georgia next to Russia. 2 weeks ago Russia said they will not allow it - period.

[vietnam21]

This is the end of democratic,freedom. let the colwar begin.

[bobnjersey]

[Earlier Monday, U.S. President George W. Bush sharply criticized Moscow''s harsh military crackdown, saying the violence is unacceptable and Russia''s response is disproportionate. ]

this from ''mr. shock and awe'' w/ a pre-emptive military strategy?

[beehive21-2009]

The Russians,don''t want missile next door and may consume Georgia, like we would Cuba, if the occasion was presented.Looks like George, let Georgia slip away like a slippery fish.

[samsel3]

BERLIN (Reuters) - Georgian President Mikheil Saakashvili said Russia intends to take over his country to secure energy supply routes from central Asia and to begin ridding the region of democracies.

"They want the whole of Georgia," Saakashvili said in an interview on Sunday with Germany''s Rhein-Zeitung newspaper.

"The Russians need control over energy routes from central Asia and the Caspian Sea," he said in the interview to be published in the paper''s Monday edition.

Russia is the agressor in this action. They want regime change of Georgia and control over south ossetia where the pipelines pass through. The Russian''s are looking after their own interests and will not be co-erced.

[samsel3]

South Ossetia is a province of Georgia. The BTC oil& gas pipelines go through this province.
The Russian economy is built on oil & natural gas.

This is about protection and control of oil & gas pipelines from the Caspian Sea to the seaport in Ceyran, Turkey.

The source of the oil is the BTC pipeline from the Caspian Sea Region. Shareholders in the BTC pipeline are: British Petroleum, AzBTC, Chevron, Statoil, TPAO, ENI, Total, Itochu, INPEX, ConocoPhillips & Amerada Hess. The US armed Georgia.

[summarex]

This collosal failure is yet another nail in the coffin of Bush''s presidency. His is indeed the worst and most destructive president in the history of this country.

[vietnam21]

Posted by summarex

You are so dump Dems. keep blame Bush, hey how about today gas price are dowm from 4.79 to 3.88 is this Bush FAULT ?????

[vietnam21]

where''s magic Obama''s precise and definite solution? oh yeah he''s hiding out now.

[nextgenman]

Posted by summarex

You are so dump Dems. keep blame Bush, hey how about today gas price are dowm from 4.79 to 3.88 is this Bush FAULT ?????

Posted by vietnam21 at 12:05 PM : Aug 11, 2008
-----------

Yes, since it used to be 1.03 before Shrub Boy trashed America.

[nextgenman]

We have some simple simon thinking $3.88 a gallon is some awesome price deal to be thankful to Bush for....HAHAHAHAHAHA!!!!

[underdogus2]

Khalilzad asked Russian Ambassador Vitaly Churkin whether the Russians were seeking "regime change" in Georgia with the military operation they launched Friday.

In response, Churkin objected to the disclosure of a confidential phone call between top diplomats and said "regime change" was "an American expression."

he,he put that in your pipe and smoke it..

[vietnam21]

Russians laugh as LAME DUCK quacks NATO AND THE US...

[underdogus2]

six-seis-six ya valio verga ww3 A coming ,guey!!

[rdupuy11]

It seems gas prices are on people''s minds, not the story. It''s not that complicated. Georgia launched an assault on South Ossetia, going door to door, throwing hand grenades into basements where civilians were holed up, hiding.

Because all they needed was for Russia to contain the fight to South Ossetia, and they win. No person in their right mind would live in a country, where Georgian troops can come by at any time and murder you in your basement.

That would have emptied out South Ossetia, from those pesky ''Ossetians'' and ethnic Georgians would have been free to move in and sieze all property, assets, etc.

The only response Russia can do, to return things to the status quo, is to bring in overwhelming force, to the extend that they paralyze the Georgian military, and cause Saaka-whatever, to regret his actions.

That''s it. George Bush knows he is advising Moscow to give South Ossetia to the Georgians when he asks for containment. George will be ignored, as he should be.

Quite frankly, I support the South Ossetians in their desire to not be exterminated, and I think any reasonable person here, has to support that.

[blitzder]

where''''s magic Obama''''s precise and definite solution? oh yeah he''''s hiding out now.---Posted by vietnam21 at 12:06 PM : Aug 11, 2008
____________________________________

What?? Should Obama clean the mess made by Bush/Cheney/Rumsfeld/Rice?? Don''t dump your garbage policies on the Dem doorstep. Try ''shock and awe''on the Russians you Crapheaded Neo-conning Republicans. Reap what you sow.

[underdogus2]

On one hand USA is allowed to invade any country it wants in order to protect itself from POSSIBLE THREAT, but on the other hand Russia is not allowed to protect its citizens WHO ARE ALREADY BEING KILLED. It is not even potential threat, like non existing Iran Missiles and non existing Weapons of Mass Destruction in Iraq. This threat is real. But for some reason western world tends to ignore the fact that on thursday night Georgia has shelled civilians and peacekeepers in the region of South Ossetia.

[underdogus2]

My advice to USA and other bias countries, stay away, you have no idea what you are asking for. Basically 3d world war is about to start and YOU ARE THE ONES WHO ARE STARTING IT.

[lambor59]

This neo-con Vietnam21 is as stupid as Bush, he should have some sh...i..t juice before joining the most corrupted regime in US history.

[ugot2bfree]

One of the questions we should be asking is did the US participate in the planning of Georgia''s sudden attack? We had 1000 US marines in Georgia for military exercises just last month. If Bush and his neocons were in on the planning of this incredibly stupid move it shows what total low life scum they are. It means that Bush sat beside Putin during the Olympics, one of the greatest symbols of peace and cooperation, knowing full well that a brutal surprise military assault was ready to begin. Bush should be put on trial for war crimes. The Georgian assault with artillery and missiles completely destroyed the capitol of South Ossetia.

[rdupuy11]

Guys, did you read about Cheney''s remarks, about ''democratically'' elected government of Georgia.

Georgia is well known for civil rights violations, for mass media restrictions, and violent suppression of opposition political groups.

Sound familiar? Same criticism is often leveled at Russia. Both are, in fact, democracies, no one doubts, based on public polling and foreign observers, that Medvedev truly did have overwhelming popular support, and the same is true of Putin, they are very popular inside Russia.

You cannot game this one based on ''democracy vs. non-democracy''...the leaders of both countries were elected by the people.

It really just comes down to ''murder the Ossetians'' or ''don''t murder the Ossetians''

[vietnam21]

most corrupted regime in US history.

Posted by lambor59

Edward spend your money on his ugly mistrisssss and still LIE about it....

[johnpatrick9]

The Sphere of Influence belongs to Russia and as was/is to be expected the stupid bushies have blown it again with their arrogance and ignorance....and so people die and bush eats rice but the Russkies as has Bin Laden are probalbly behind closed doors laughing their ***** off at our ineptness and for giving them the excuse to gain while we look more and more inept. Come Quickly November to put in Obama and not that bush clone McSame for then we will become more and more a second rate big mouth with no back up.

[nolalou]

where''''s magic Obama''''s precise and definite solution? oh yeah he''''s hiding out now.
Posted by vietnam21

I figured it wouldn''t take long for one of you anti-obama nut jobs to chime in on this! Obama has condemned this move by Russia, just as John McCain has! I don''t hear you complain about McCain''s lack of precise and definite solution! I''m just surprised McCain didn''t think the U.S. state of Georgia had been attacked!

[vietnam21]

can you believe Edward campaign has been paying her 15,000 dollars per month... no wonder why she is "not pursuing a paternity test".

[nextgenman]

Cheney''s blowing his mouth off but its too late. He''s already shot is wad in the Iraq Failure.....HAHAHAHA!!!

[johnpatrick9]

Any bushies out there game to die for Georgia...if you can find it on your maps. More waste of our tax dollars and hopefully not of our blood on neo-con military adventures. The Georgian army is getting its clocked clean and it deserves it for shelling innocent people on Friday. Maybe, just maybe they will come to realize that they have allied themselves to a moron named bush-the-worthless.

[petesis]

They are going to occupy the whole area of Georgia. To protect the rule of law or freedom or some such BS.

[johnpatrick9]

Vietnam 21 is really hung up on *** and does not notice the war, death, maiming and waste of his fuhrer bush the worthless......really must be a neo-con nut far more into death and corruption and so hung up on eroticism..a real forgiving "Christian" no doubt.
We are speaking of neo-con backed Georgian aggression here and not the sexual escapades...as if you never had a "naughty" thought.

[underdogus2]

Saakashvili wants to take Georgia - an east-west oil transport link wedged between Russia and the West Asia - into NATO and the European Union, policies which have set him on a collision course with Moscow.

(Reuters reported 2007)....

[johnpatrick9]

Russia is an inflating baloon while we are an expiring one due to the waste, corruption, stupidity and inefficiency of the bush regime....they have weakened up as a nation and left us divided and broke and the world knows it....a plucked eagle.

[rmorte62]

And it''s a disgrace that all the mainstream media outlets I''ve looked at today prioritize their stories to lead readers to beleive that Russia is the villian in this confrontation. Very little space is given to the fact that Georgia was targeting civilians or that over 1,500 people were killed before Russia retaliated. It''s this kind of biased coverage that let''s the Bush administrations groom public opinion to its liking, a very dangerous practice becuase it only encourages foolish policies such as tying ourselves politically and militarily to countries like Georgia.

[underdogus2]

Just what did Georgia THINK Russia would do when they started this, anyway? Posted by michaelt302 ..they underestimated the Bear,Saakashvili is an empty suit "lawyer" a US "puppet"....

[toshi43]

The United States can invade Panama, Grenada, Afghanistan and Iraq - did I miss any? - to ''protect American interests'' but let anyone else try it and the brown smelly stuff really hits the fan. The Georgians started this and now they''ll have to live or die with the consequences. Stay out of it Dubya.

[tbweb]

Time to shift gears from DEFCON 4 to DEFCON 3!

[tscc2]

McCain wants Russia to move out of Georgia. Why not the same analysis for Iraq? One of McCain''s chief strategists is a lobbyist for Georgia. Why did Georgia move on South Ossetia now? To get republican fear votes and to rally the cold war relics in the US? It is the American imperialist that we need to fear not Russia. Russia now taking Georgia on is the same logic we allow Israeli forces to employ against their enemies. We have no creditability on the matter and Russia has a right to protect its borders just the like the US. Cheney and Bush are just stirring the pot and nothing has changed. Looks like an election year stunt to me. It is the same old politics of fear.

[TommyCraig]

"The Georgian army is getting its clocked clean and it deserves it for shelling innocent people on Friday".
Posted by johnpatrick9 at 12:51 PM : Aug 11, 2008
If infact they shelled innocent people, Russia certainly did right by intervening. However, This is looking more and more staged just as Hitler staged the invasion of Poland.
With todays propaganda shooting from all directions, it will be hard to determine who started this one.
By continuing the invasian after the sease fire had been signed, Russia is certainly looking like the provocature.

[underdogus2]

Russian forces overran the strategic Georgian city of Gori today as troops prepared to defend the capital Tbilisi from what one official called a %u201Ctotal onslaught%u201D.

Georgian soldiers fled Gori, 17 miles from the border with rebel South Ossetia, in panic and disarray, clinging to the sides of cars and vehicles as they sped out of town. A Georgian armoured personnel carrier was in flames on the street, a victim of the sudden rout.
Saakashvili you better get your arss to the nearest bunker...

[nadodi1]

So, when President Bush authorized a war to be waged for a regime change, it was OK. And his arrogant and stupid VP endorsed it. When Russia does it, it is unacceptable. America under this leadership would never gain trust and respect inside as well as outside The US.

[wothah]

This is what you could call a Open Door Policy for Israel. Russia is an has been an enemy of the USA. At every turn in history Russia has always did or took the other side, they have always tryed to take by force other countrys that they feel is their old mother land or that they are only trying to save them from them selves. If the USA would act like the Russans in military actions, starting with Patton, we would rule the world today.

[wothah]

This is what you could call a Open Door Policy for Israel. Russia is an has been an enemy of the USA. At every turn in history Russia has always did or took the other side, they have always tryed to take by force other countrys that they feel is their old mother land or that they are only trying to save them from them selves. If the USA would act like the Russans in military actions, starting with Patton, we would rule the world today.

[wothah]

This is what you could call a Open Door Policy for Israel. Russia is an has been an enemy of the USA. At every turn in history Russia has always did or took the other side, they have always tryed to take by force other countrys that they feel is their old mother land or that they are only trying to save them from them selves. If the USA would act like the Russans in military actions, starting with Patton, we would rule the world today.

[vietnam21]

Russia%u2019s military chief of staff has said Moscow is ready to use force, including pre-emptively and with nuclear weapons, to defend itself.

This is a joke, TO DEFEND IT SELF TO A LITTLE COUNTRY...

[johnpatrick9]

"The Georgian army is getting its clocked clean and it deserves it for shelling innocent people on Friday".
Posted by johnpatrick9 at 12:51 PM : Aug 11, 2008
If infact they shelled innocent people, Russia certainly did right by intervening. However, This is looking more and more staged just as Hitler staged the invasion of Poland.
With todays propaganda shooting from all directions, it will be hard to determine who started this one.
By continuing the invasian after the sease fire had been signed, Russia is certainly looking like the provocature.

Posted by tcandrews62 at 01:26 PM : Aug 11, 2008
The Georgians are the aggressors here and stupid ones at that. You poke a bear with a stick be prepared to have him rip you to shreds. I have no sympathy for their inept government allied to our inept fascists currently destroying our own nation with their military adventurism. Neo-cons suck.

[rob416]

Regardless of who did or didn''t start or brought about this conflict, Russia comes out looking like the bully. Georgia a small Nation is no match for the superior Russian forces. I would not think in the end Russia can be too proud of the performace of their armed forces since it is obviously not a fair match.

It appears what they say and what they do are two different things. A stark reminder of the Soviet Union! Not surprising since it appears Putin contiunes to call the shots in his Country. After all he was a former KGB in the USSR. Old habits die hard.

[jdaveuk]

I think Bush has landed the US in hot water again. Doesn''t he learn anything? How can you encourage an insect to swallow a cameleon? I hope someone else of a brain will take over from Bush and not McCain. Otherwise given the speeches I have heard his republican McCain give will just fuel the hate against the US. Do we need this type of unnecessary wars? Why were we training the Georgians? Why did we give them hightech weapons? Well, it as Americans to blame for our stupidity and misjudgements

[johnpatrick9]

This is what you could call a Open Door Policy for Israel. Russia is an has been an enemy of the USA. At every turn in history Russia has always did or took the other side, they have always tryed to take by force other countrys that they feel is their old mother land or that they are only trying to save them from them selves. If the USA would act like the Russans in military actions, starting with Patton, we would rule the world today.

Posted by wothah at 01:30 PM : Aug 11, 2008
+ report abuse
Another Neo-con with no sense of history. The Russkies supported us during the American Civil War and sent a fleet in support to NYC to show the materialistic cotton hungry English where they stood on the issue of Southern love of slavery. They also fought and bled themselves dry some 20,000,000 to stop the Nazis or have you forgotten as you and your type attempt to rewrite history to serve your own fascist ends under bush the worhtless??

[fjord2]

Neighbors are supposed to be friends. But Georgia has dared to irk a giant. The giant has become so angry that it will teach the ant a lesson if the US and NATO doesn''t come to it''s rescue.Bush should immediately send troops there as it had done in so many places all over the globe. I think Russia has every right to strike against surrogate states of the US if it feels threatened.

[underdogus2]

, Russia comes out looking like the bully..Posted by rob416.. you mean like too much "shock and awe"?

[johnpatrick9]

bush the worthless willfight the Russkies to the last Georgian.