TBILISI, Georgia, Aug. 15, 2008
Russia Assures Rice On Truce
U.S. Official: Russia Tells Secretary Of State It Will Implement Deal "Faithfully"
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Play CBS Video Video U.S.-Russia Tensions High While Georgia signed a cease-fire, Russia made additional threats to U.S. allies. Georgia's President blasted the West for failing to act as Russia still occupies Georgian cities. Lara Logan reports.
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Video A New Cold War? Harry Smith speaks with chief foreign affairs correspondent Lara Logan about escalating worldwide diplomatic tensions, as Russian tanks and troops remain in Georgia.
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Video Russia-Georgia Crisis Grows Russian troops are still in neighboring Georgia despite a fragile ceasefire between the two nations. As Mark Phillips reports, a humanitarian crisis is looming in the region.
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Russian tanks on the outskirts of Gori, northwest of capital Tbilisi, Georgia, Thursday, Aug. 14, 2008. Georgia early Thursday said the Russians were leaving Gori, but later alleged they were bringing in additional troops. (AP Photo/Darko Bandic)
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Abkhazian separatist soldiers stand in front of the debris of a Georgian military base in the village of Azhara in Kodori Gorge, Thursday, Aug. 14, 2008. (AP Photo/Vladimir Popov)
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Georgian refugees wait in a refugee center in Kutaisi, western Georgia, Friday, Aug. 15, 2008. Besides the hundreds killed since hostilities broke out in Georgia, the United Nations estimates 100,000 Georgians have been uprooted from their homes. (AP Photo/Bela Szandelszky)
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A South Ossetian man looks at a destroyed OSCE observer's car in downtown Tskhinvali, capital of the separatist Georgian region, Aug. 13, 2008, where Russian and Georgian forces fought a brutal five-day battle. (AP Photo/Musa Sadulayev)
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Georgian President Mikhail Saakashvili (AP Photo/Shakh Aivazov)
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Interactive Russia Rolls Into Georgia Troops thrust deep into country after Georgia's attempt to reclaim South Ossetia.
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Timeline Georgia-Russia Dispute Key events in the complex conflict between Russia and Georgia.
President Bush talked tough, too, accusing the Russians of "bullying and intimidation," but neither he nor Rice said what the U.S. might do if Russia ignored them.
Russian President Dmitry Medvedev's press office had no information Friday night on whether he had signed the cease-fire agreement. Russia's foreign minister assured Rice later that his country would implement the deal "faithfully," a U.S. official said. The official, who spoke on condition of anonymity because Rice's conversation was private, said Russia was likely to sign the deal Saturday.
As the secretary of state spoke in Tbilisi, Russian forces remained camped out just 25 miles away.
Associated Press reporters had seen a convoy of some 50 Russian army trucks and armored personnel carriers roar without warning southeast from the city of Gori on Wednesday, some shouting they were heading to Tbilisi, the Georgian capital. But they veered into a field outside the town of Igoeti and set up camp conspicuously within sight of the road. The Russians were still visible there Friday.
Even as Rice stood with Georgian President Mikhail Saakashvili in a show of solidarity, he asked, "Who invited the trouble here? Who invited this arrogance here? Who invited these innocent deaths here?"
Shaky and near tears following a difficult, nearly five-hour meeting with her, Saakashvili answered his own question: "Not only those people who perpetrate them are responsible, but also those people who failed to stop it."
Rice let that pass, focusing instead on the demand that Moscow immediately withdraw its forces.
"With this signature by Georgia, this must take place and take place now," she declared.
There was no immediate clue to the Russians' intentions a week after their tanks and bombers attacked Georgia in retaliation for Georgia's attempt to retake a disputed province by force.
Russian troops allowed some humanitarian supplies into the strategic city of Gori but otherwise continued their blockade.
Adding to the day's tensions was a top Russian general's comments that Poland's agreement to accept a U.S. missile interceptor base exposed the ex-communist nation to attack, possibly by nuclear weapons, the Interfax news agency reported.
The statement by Gen. Anatoly Nogovitsyn is the strongest threat that Russia has issued against the plans to put missile defense elements in former Soviet satellite nations.
Rice responded to the Russian threat from the Georgian capital, accusing the Russians of refusing to accept U.S. assurances that the missile defense system is not aimed at them and not their business, reports CBS News Chief Foreign Affairs correspondent Lara Logan.
"The arrangements that the United States makes with its Polish allies, to make sure that Poland is capable of defending itself and capable of being an active ally, are frankly between Poland and the United States," said Rice.
But Russia's president doesn't agree, and poured scorn on U.S. claims that the missile system doesn't undermine Russia and targets only rogue states, calling them "fairytales," reports Logan.
The cease-fire document sets out no specific penalties or deadlines. It contains concessions to Russia that Saakashvili obviously found hard to swallow. Russia could retain peacekeeping forces in the separatist region of South Ossetia and another breakaway region, Abkhazia, and the forces would have a broader mandate in South Ossetia.
(AP/ESRI)
The idea is to give Moscow the diplomatic cold shoulder while offering face-saving leeway for Russia to turn away from a mentality the West sees as throwback to its empire days. Russia would then have motivation, and some wiggle room, to seek inclusion in Western economic, political and security institutions.
In Washington, Bush accused Russia of resorting to thuggery from another era. He insisted the United States will not abandon Georgia, a Western-leaning democracy on Russia's southern flank and once part of the old Soviet Union.
"Bullying and intimidation are not acceptable ways to conduct foreign policy in the 21st century," Bush said. "Only Russia can decide whether it will now put itself back on the path of responsible nations or continue to pursue a policy that promises only confrontation and isolation."
Russian withdrawal from Gori, in the center of Georgia proper, would be a major sign that Russia is not trying to hold permanent sway in Georgia or topple its enthusiastically pro-American government. By holding Gori, Russia holds the small country's only major east-west highway and effectively slices Georgia in half.
The peace pact was worked out earlier in the week by French President Nicolas Sarkozy and both sides had said they agreed to it.
Russian forces remained, however, and U.S. officials said the document would take effect once it was formally signed Friday. It tells both sides to pull their forces back to the positions they held before fighting broke out last week in South Ossetia.
Saakashvili's tirade and the forceful words from Bush in Washington suggested that a week into the crisis, both leaders were reassessing how they got here.
"We will rebuild," Saakashvili said. "We want them out. I want the world to know, never, ever will Georgia reconcile with occupation of even one square kilometer of its sovereign territory. Never, ever."
His leadership is founded on a close alliance with Washington that has always exasperated Moscow.
Bush gave his most sustained explanation of U.S. action during the crisis, saying the conflict is about much more than a small country far away. Bush made clear the real fight is about the power and ambition of nuclear-armed Russia after the collapse of the Soviet Union and Russia's resurgence as an energy dynamo.
"The Cold War is over. The days of satellite states and spheres of influence are behind us," Bush said at the White House, before a vacation delayed by the crisis. "A contentious relationship with Russia is not in America's interest, and a contentious relationship with America is not in Russia's interest."
Rice said the time had come "to begin a discussion of the consequences of what Russia has done. This calls into question what role Russia really plans to play in international politics."
The Russians may now get more than they bargained for as the West responds to their aggression, says a former U.S. ambassador to Georgia.
"Every one of Russia's neighbors feels less secure today than it did a week ago. This is going to mean that they're going to want help from the outside," William Courtney, former U.S. ambassador to Georgia, told CBS News. "A greater Western military presence in the region is not something Russia wanted, but by it's own actions, Russia has forced this to happen now and the West will respond to this."
Rice was flying to Texas, where she was to give Bush a firsthand account of her diplomatic mission.
Apparently concerned that her awkward news conference with Saakashvili had set the wrong tone, Rice spoke briefly on her own before leaving Georgia.
"It's obviously a very emotional time here in Georgia," she said after visiting wounded people in a hospital.
"It's clearly a very emotional time, but I think that it should still be seen that this was a productive day. I hope now that peace can return to Georgia and Georgians can return to a normal life."
© MMVIII, CBS Interactive Inc. All Rights Reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed. The Associated Press contributed to this report.
More From World
Best-selling author Mitch Albom on his first nonfiction work since "Tuesdays with Morrie."
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See all 95 CommentsDidn''t get to bed last night
Oh, the way the paper bag was on my knee
Man, I had a dreadful flight
I''m back in the USSR
You don''t know how lucky you are, boy
Back in the USSR, yeah
Been away so long I early knew the place
Gee, it''s goo to be back home
Leave it till tomorrow to unpack my case
Honey disconnect the phone
I''m back in the USSR
You don''t know how lucky you are, boy
Back in the US
Back in the US
Back in the USSR
Well the Ukraine girls really knock me out
They leave the west behind
And Moscow girls make me sing and shout
That Georgia''s always on my my my
my my my my my my mind
Oh, come on
Hu Hey Hu, hey, ah, yeah
yeah, yeah, yeah
I''m back in the USSR
You don''t know how lucky you are, boys
Back in the USSR
Well the Ukraine girls really knock me out
They leave the west behind
And Moscow girls make me sing and shout
That Georgia''s always on my my my
my my my my my my mind
Oh, show me round your snow peaked
mountain way down south
Take me to your daddy''s farm
Let me hear your balalaika''s ringing out
Come and keep your comrade warm
I''m back in the USSR
Hey, You don''t know how lucky you are, boy
Back in the USSR
Oh, let me tell you honey
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=yCwTo9AdT2c&feature=related
The first day war of Georgia against Ossetia.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=n2DncU5FdCU&feature=related
Georgian attack on capital of Ossetia is beaten off.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=lQ4NSNtV8Jk&feature=related
Georgian terrorist armies kill inhabitants of South Ossetia.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=bnob0TQDeN8&feature=related
We understand very well that we Abkhazians are next in line after South Ossetia. If the situation doesn''''t stabilize again, then we will have to open a second front.
Abkhazia''''s tensions with Tblisi have been getting far more media attention than South Ossetia''''s over the past few months. The status of both territories have been a matter of dispute since the end of bloody civil wars in the early 1990s and both are backed by Russia in their bids for independence.
http://blog.foreignpolicy.com/node/9473
Abkhazia declared itself independent on 23 July 1992. Since then it has been at war with, and partially occupied by, Georgia.
http://www.crwflags.com/FOTW/flags/ge-abkha.html
U.S. Official: Russia Tells Secretary Of State It Will Implement Deal "Faithfully"
I bet they believe them as they have for 71/2 years, and look where we are? gheeze Just shut up already, and don''t try to fix a thing for matters to get worse than they already are
And McCain is going right along in perfectly synchronized goosestep with them.
Posted by hungry1968 at 08:41 AM : Aug 16, 2008
+ repor
Hungry, I think this invasion is a way of letting these Georgians and sending a message at the same timer to the Us. Letting Georgia know we want you back in the Russian hands, and as far as the Us, saying we do not want this Missile system in Poland, and this could happen to you. I do feel the Missile system we are building is really rocking there boat, just curious as to your opinion which I do value
got it
Jones Captivated S.F.''s Liberal Elite
They were late to discover how cunningly he curried favor
With these willing workers, Jones made himself the perfect gift for the liberal machine of U.S. Representatives Phillip and John Burton, Assemblyman Willie Brown and Mayor George Moscone, which was trying to consolidate its hold on San Francisco politics.
The turning point in Jones'' drive for power came in 1975, according to Tim Reiterman''s and John Jacobs'' exhaustive study, ``Raven: The Untold Story of the Rev. Jim Jones and his People.'''' Jones'' army of volunteers saturated San Francisco neighborhoods, distributing slate cards for Moscone (running for mayor), Joseph Freitas (district attorney) and Richard Hongisto (sheriff). All three won.
``What you had here was a ready-made volunteer workforce,'''' said Agar Jaicks, who was chairman of the county Democratic Central Committee, the governing body of the Democratic Party in San Francisco. ``And you also had in Jones a man who touched a component of the consensus power forces in the city, such as labor and ethnicity groups, and he was very strong in the Western Addition. So here was a guy who could provide workers for causes progressives cared about.''''
http://www.sfgate.com/cgi-bin/article.cgi?file=/chronicle/archive/1998/11/12/MN85578.DTL
do not drink the hussein/jim jones koolaid left wingnut barking moonbat demonic-rats,,,
Koolaid Drinker
People who believe anything they are told. people who refuse to change there minds when confronted with facts.
a koolaid drinker is the liberal democrat who is liberal because they are told they should be. they have made no attempt to decide why they are liberal.
often a koolaid "drinker" simply wants to hate anything a republican does good or bad.
koolaid people are the vocal howard dean wing of the democrat party. the converse of rightwing loonies.
koolaid drinkers are the ones that went first when jim jones said drink.
that earth mama hippy chick is such a sixties burn out wanabe. dude she is just a "koolaid drinker" cut her a break. she listens to air american and npr.
http://www.urbandictionary.com/define.php?term=Koolaid+Drinker
ummmmm i did nancy,,,
Posted by hungry1968 at 08:11 AM : Aug 16, 2008
Posted by trrrorislamx at 08:42 AM : Aug 16, 2008
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Posted by trrrorislamx at 08:53 AM : Aug 16, 2008
Again -- I don''t read your copy-and-spam *********. I dismiss just like everyone else, as soon as I see a tangled jumble of nonsensical links, I check the signature. If it''s yours, I skip right past it.
If you want to address me, than do it with a post, not off topic copy-and-paste garbage.
ummmmm i did nancy,,,
Posted by hungry1968 at 08:11 AM : Aug 16, 2008
Posted by trrrorislamx at 08:42 AM : Aug 16, 2008
If you have something to say to me, than address me with a post.
I, like EVERYONE ELSE HERE, do not bother to read your copy-and-spam ********* posts, and do not care to read through your posts trying to decifer your hieroglyphic messages.
Top Secret: Bush Told the Truth About WMD
http://www.frontpagemag.com/Articles/Read.aspx?GUID=26457045-1E9E-4795-9D31-0E5B73E74EE9
Foreign Intel Had Identified WMD Sites
http://www.captainsquartersblog.com/mt/archives/007528.php
Saddam, Nikita and Virtual Weapons of Mass Destruction:
A Question of Threat Perception and Intelligence Assessment
David B. Rivkin, Jr., and Lee A. Casey
http://www.inthenationalinterest.com/Articles/Vol2Issue23/Vol2iss23RivkinCasey.html
THE SECURITY COUNCIL, 27 JANUARY 2003:
AN UPDATE ON INSPECTION
Executive Chairman of UNMOVIC, Dr. Hans Blix
http://www.un.org/Depts/unmovic/Bx27.htm
AP Reports ''Bush Lied'' Study Funded by Ultra-leftist George Soros
http://www.newsbusters.org/blogs/warner-todd-huston/2008/01/23/ap-bush-lied-study-not-revealed-funded-george-soros
the Iraqi war is legal, demonic-rat hero oscar, emmy, nobel prize winning al bore says so,,,
it actually never ended since it only stopped by the signing of a ceasefire,,, just like the korean war,,,
the resumption of hostilities was only a matter of time since iraq broke the ceasefire agreement,,,
blame saddam for iraq,,, Even clintoon and the dems wanted the resumption of hostilities back in 1998,,,
"We know that he has stored secret supplies of biological and chemical weapons throughout his country." - Al Gore, Sept. 23, 2002
"Iraq''s search for weapons of mass destruction has proven impossible to deter and we should assume that it will continue for as long as Saddam is in power." - Al Gore, Sept. 23, 2002
Moreover, no international law can prevent the United States from taking actions to protect its vital interests, when it is manifestly clear that there is a choice to be made between law and survival. I believe, however, that such a choice is not presented in the case of Iraq. Indeed, should we decide to proceed, that action can be justified within the framework of international law rather than outside it. In fact, though a new UN resolution may be helpful in building international consensus, the existing resolutions from 1991 are sufficient from a legal standpoint. - Al Gore, Sept. 23, 2002
http://www.gwu.edu/~action/2004/gore/gore092302sp.html
**********
First word in sentence can also be substituted with the word BUSH.
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Posted by timdgrim at 08:35 AM : Aug 16, 2008
As I read this story about Russia''s "aggression", I can''t help but substitute the images of Russia invading Georgia, in the same way that the US invaded Iraq.
And it''s VERY easy to re-read this story and subsitute all of the players from the Iraq war with the players from the "Ossettia War", and realize what bold face liars and hypocrites this administration really is.
And McCain is going right along in perfectly synchronized goosestep with them.
**********
First word in sentence can also be substituted with the word BUSH.
fellow Saakashvili and not demand that it
be confirmed OR denied that, as accused,
he ordered the bombing deaths
of 2,000 people !?
For my sake I take his lack of a vehement
denial as confirmation that he DID.
AND Bush and Condolezza''s "unwavering"
support for HIM as their support for
citizens being bombed as they sleep.
Bush, Condoleeza and Pacemakerman
should be in jail if not worse.
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