Defiant Russia Rolls Into Key Georgia City

U.S. Exhorts Moscow To Honor Cease-Fire And Withdraw Troops, Plans Massive Aid Package

(CBS/AP)  Defying a cease-fire agreement, a Russian military convoy rolled through a strategically important Georgia city Wednesday and Georgian officials claimed there was looting and bombing by Russians and their allies.

President Bush said a massive U.S. aid package was on the way for tens of thousands uprooted in the conflict and demanded Russia "keep its word and act to end this crisis" in the former Soviet republic.

"The United States stands with the democratically elected government of Georgia and insists that the sovereignty and territorial integrity of Georgia be respected," Bush said sternly in Washington.

One day after the Kremlin and its smaller neighbor agreed to a French-brokered cease-fire to end the dispute over two pro-Russian breakaway territories, the pact appeared fragile at best.

An Associated Press reporter saw dozens of Russian trucks and armored vehicles leaving the city of Gori, some 20 miles south of the separatist region of South Ossetia and home of a key highway that divides Georgia in two, and moving deeper into Georgia.

CBS News correspondent Mark Phillips reports things were very chaotic on the road between Tblisi and Gori Wednesday. Floods of refugees were on the move, some fleeing before what they were convinced was another Russian advance. Others told horror stories of revenge attacks and looting by irregular militias which had crossed into Georgia from South Ossetia, the breakaway province Georgia had tried to retake. One woman said the militias were systematically forcing families out of their villages and burning houses. Others told of men and boys being separated from the women and of rapes taking place.

Soldiers waved at journalists and one jokingly shouted, "Come with us, beauty, we're going to Tbilisi." The convoy roared southeast, toward the Georgian capital, but then turned north and set up camp about an hour's drive away from it.

Georgian officials said the Russians had looted and bombed Gori before they left. Moscow denied the accusation, but it appeared to be on a technicality: A BBC reporter in Gori said Russian tanks were in the streets while their South Ossetian allies seized cars, looted homes and set houses on fire.

While it was impossible to verify these stories, Phillips reports, smoke said to be coming from burning houses drifted through valleys. What is clear is that the complete Russian victory in this small but nasty war has created a new reality on the ground. Not just in Georgia but in relations between Russia and the west.

As confusion reigned on the first day of the cease-fire agreement, Bush called a Rose Garden speech to express concern about reports the Russians were already breaking it.

He said he was sending Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice first to France and then to Tbilisi to reinforce U.S. efforts to "rally the world in defense of a free Georgia."

For her part, Rice said: "This is not 1968 and the invasion of Czechoslovakia where Russia can threaten a neighbor, occupy a capital, overthrow a government and get away with it. Things have changed."

In an interview Wednesday with CBS Evening News anchor Katie Couric, Georgia president Mikhail Saakashvili sounded a defiant note.

"Russians have been telling us that we should give up fight for freedom, that we should succumb to this pressure. No matter how they bomb us, no matter how many of us they kill, no matter how they want to terrorize us, we will never give up our freedom. Georgia will never, ever surrender,'' he told Couric.

Saakashvilli refuted the Russian view of the conflict, that in essence Georgia started the problem by trying to reassert control over South Ossetia.

"Saying this is a classical tactic of aggressors. Soviet Union saying this, Hungary provoked in 1996, that Czechoslovakia provoked and that Afghanistan attacked the Soviet Union in 1979. The reality is that my country was attacked by hundreds of Russian tanks and the only thing we tried to do is to defend ourselves, to push them back, of course."

[keithle1]

Let''s send some troops in! Not like we''ve got anything else going on.

[toldyouso12]

Georgia mistakenly thought that when we said we stood behind them, it meant we had their back--it meant we would use them as shields--that''''s all. Bush dares not do more than bluster--watch those sanctions--how do you sanction someone who you dare not fight (nuclear weapons, huge expense, exposed country and our over extended military) and who has a commodity desperately needed (oil)? THINK ABOUT IT.

Poland take heed--because what you see in Georgia is a prelude to what might happen if you try to accomodate those missile defense system. If a chance of retaliation is "100%" what does that mean? Prepare for an azz whuppin'''' that''''s what. And we''''ll stand behind Poland too--FAR behind. Like somewhere in Western Europe. Where Bush will bleat: "Bad Russia!! Baaaaaaaaaaaaad Russia!" lmao

[toldyouso12]

so.... on those American/ Polish missile sites... think Russia will bomb the proposed areas with limited nuclear weapons (before we build) then wish us luck in building our missles there when the radioactivity dies down in about 13000 years? LOL

[james77773]

America, send all your idiots to the Russian border, don''t forget to send Bush. It''s your only chance to get rid of them once and for all. You will thank Russia later.

[libsluv2spit]

i would really like to see how these liberals and thier poloticians would handle this..they will negotiate europe to russia..remember WW2

[libsluv2spit]

dont worry georgia..the liberals are working hard to stop this..they will start a all night bush whinning vigil

[samsel3]

The Russian invasion of South Ossetia is only for control of the BTC pipelines which sends oil & gas to Ceyran, Turkey. Shareholders in the BTC pipeline are: British Petroleum, AzBTC, Chevron, Statoil, TPAO, ENI, Total, Itochu, INPEX, ConocoPhillips & Amerada Hess.
The Russians are the second largest supplier of gas & oil on the planet.
This pipeline was constructed to circumvent Russian pipelines supplying Europe giving the US Brits et al the lions share of the market.
Taking out Iraq also took a major source of oil away from Russia.
The Russians are now evening the score.

[Stratmaster7]

****, here is an actual quote:

%u201CIn the 21st century, nations don%u2019t invade other nations.%u201D

So says John McCain, as part of his tough talk about Russia%u2019s attacks on Georgia.

Since the "easy" Irag war has gone on so long, maybe he thinks we invaded Iraq in the 20th century

[gaye5]

espnmspn, I wouldn''t be at all surprised I watched the games and China had far more gold than America, but the American media didn''t put that they just put the number of medals won from America over China making America look far better.. a truth but a bit of a twist eh..
The media is not known for its truth espnmspn either from your country, America or mine, it is called manipulation of the masses.. We have to become well learned in many areas and hope that what we are reading is the truth. One thing that I did was to get the Quran and others of the Muslim holy books to see if Islam was really a religion of peace, and was absolutely horrified at what I saw and what I saw that their leader did and said.. We can never know we are not allowed to know. They want to bring us under a one world government and are winning at this stage or at least until the people realise that they are being hood winked and wake up to the fact that it is not a good thing. I would say that we are all numbered already and they know everything that we do..

[nincomp]

Israel could bring Iran to it''''s knees, from day one, and they know it, that is why Iran is trying to get their hands on a Nuke

Posted by wothah at 11:27 PM : Aug 13, 2008
+

Smart Iranians. They know that being prepared is the best defense.