Bush: Breakaway Regions Belong To Georgia

President Vows U.S. Effort To Insure Georgia's Independence As Russia Stalls On Troop Pullout

(CBS/AP)  President Bush, pushing back against claims by Russia, said Wednesday the breakaway regions of South Ossetia and Abkhazia are part of pro-Western Georgia and that Washington will work with allies to insure Georgia's independence and territorial integrity.

Bush offered strong support for Georgia in a speech in Orlando, Fla., condemning Russia's brutal crackdown in the former Soviet republic.

"The United States of America will continue to support Georgia's democracy," the president said. "Our military will continue to provide needed humanitarian aid to the Georgia people."

The State Department, meanwhile, said Turkey was allowing three U.S. military ships to pass through the Turkish Straits from the Mediterranean to the Black Sea to deliver humanitarian relief supplies to Georgia.

"South Ossetia and Abkhazia are part of Georgia," the president declared, drawing applause from his audience at the Veterans of Foreign Wars convention. The two Russian-backed separatist regions are trying to pull free of Georgian rule, while Bush and other Western leaders insist that Georgia maintain its current borders.

Russia's foreign minister, Sergey Lavrov, has said the question of Georgia's territorial integrity is a dead issue, a sign that Moscow could try to absorb the two separatist regions.

Meanwhile, Russian forces at positions deep inside Georgia shoveled and hammered Wednesday, digging trenches, building sentry posts and in some cases just standing around in the heat - but showing few signs of meeting their president's promise that they'll be out by Friday.

After the seizure, binding and blindfolding of nearly two dozen Georgian servicemen, ship sinkings and other mayhem, some Georgian soldiers said they fear the Russians are trying to provoke them and justify the resumption of the five-day war that pounded Georgia's infrastructure and morale.

The Russian military significantly downsized its presence in the strategic central city of Gori as Western governments pressed for a complete withdrawal from Georgian territory. Russian President Dmitry Medvedev has said his troops would complete a pullback as far as South Ossetia - the focus of the fighting - and a surrounding security cordon by Friday.

But few signs of movement have been seen other than the departure of a small contingent that have held Gori.

The warfare in a nation straining to escape Moscow's influence and the Russian military's prolonged grip on a broad swath of Georgian territory - has sent tensions between Moscow and the West to some of their highest levels since the breakup of the Soviet Union in 1991.

Meanwhile, Russia informed Norway that it plans to cut all military ties with NATO, Norway's Defense Ministry said on Wednesday.

The Nordic country's embassy in Moscow received a telephone call from "a well-placed official in the Russian Ministry of Defense," who said Moscow plans "to freeze all military cooperation with NATO and allied countries," State Secretary Espen Barth Eide at the Norwegian ministry said.

On Wednesday, Russian troops built a sentry post about 30 miles from the Georgian capital. Conditions throughout much of Georgia remained tense.

Russian soldiers set up what appeared to be semi-permanent camps Wednesday in at least three positions in western Georgia, near the Black Sea port of Poti, with dozens of men digging in by armored personnel carriers and trucks. A large Russian convoy rolled on a road near Senaki, also deep in western Georgia.

Further east, soldiers were building a sentry post of timber on a hill outside Igoeti, around 30 miles from Tbilisi and the closest point to the capital where Russian troops have maintained a significant presence.

While Igoeti is not far from South Ossetia, Georgian officials said it is outside the area where Russian peacekeepers are permitted to maintain positions under a cease-fire, in a so-called "security zone" around the border with South Ossetia. A top Russian general, meanwhile, said Russia plans to construct nearly a score of checkpoints to be manned by hundreds of soldiers within the zone.

In Gori, which the general said is outside the zone, no Russian troops or heavy weaponry could be seen Wednesday evening, including on the bridges and main access points. Earlier in the day, Russian troops were strictly limited access to Gori to residents and turning away foreign journalists.

In a back alley in Gori, where dozens of people gathered to await promised food aid, Shota Abramidze, a 73-year-old retired engineer, said most Gori residents are worried that the Russians planned to stay.

"They're not leaving. Why not? And they're brick walls when we try to talk to them," he said. "They've stolen everything. They've bombed everything. This is fascism, that's what this is."

In Tskhinvali, the capital of separatist South Ossetia, residents hoped the Russian forces would remain.

One man who gave only his first name, Roland, said he feared that if they left the Georgians would attack again.

"They will start pushing us, they will force us to join them," he said. "Never!"

Fewer Russian army checkpoints were set up along the main highway from Gori to Tbilisi on Wednesday evening, though Russian peacekeepers still stopped cars and checked documents of passengers.

And at a military training school in the mountain town of Sachkhere, a Georgian sentry said he feared Russian forces will make good on their threat to return after a confrontation a day earlier.

The sentry, who gave his name only as Cpl. Vasily, said 23 Russian tanks, APCS and heavy guns showed up at the school on Tuesday and demanded to be let in. The Georgians refused and the Russians left after a 30-minute standoff but vowed to return after blowing up facilities in the village of Osiauri, he said.

Georgia's Defense Ministry said Wednesday that Russian soldiers destroyed military logistics facilities in Osiauri, but the claim could not immediately be confirmed.

"We're trying not to provoke them; otherwise they'll stay here for five to six months," Vasily said. He said the school itself had no heavy weapons or other significant strategic value, unlike the military base raided by Russians at Senaki in western Georgia, "where they even took the windows off the buildings."

Shota Utiashvili, a Georgian Interior Ministry department head, said Russian helicopters dropped incendiary bombs in a forest just a few kilometers from Tbilisi.

Russia sent its tanks and troops into Georgia after Georgia launched a heavy artillery barrage Aug. 7 on the separatist, pro-Russian province of South Ossetia. The cease-fire calls for Russian forces to pull back to the positions they held before Aug. 7.

The Kremlin said Medvedev told French President Nicolas Sarkozy by phone Tuesday that Russian troops would withdraw from most of Georgia by Friday - some to Russia, others to South Ossetia and the security zone extending about 7 kilometers (4 miles) into Georgia along the South Ossetian border.

The White House has made clear that it expects Russia to move faster.

"Both the size and pace of the withdrawal needs to increase, and needs to increase sooner rather than later," National Security Council spokesman Gordon Johndroe said. "I don't think they need any more additional time."

Col. Gen. Anatoly Nogovitsyn, deputy head of the Russian general staff, said Wednesday that Russia will build a double line of checkpoints totaling 18 in the security zone, with about 270 soldiers manning the front-line posts. The plans clearly show Russia aims to completely solidify control of South Ossetia.

South Ossetia technically remains a part of Georgia, but Russia has said it will accept whatever South Ossetia's leaders decide about their future status - which is almost certain to be either a repeat of its independence declarations or a request to be incorporated into Russia.

Meanwhile, CBS News Moscow bureau chief Svetlana Berdnikova reported Wednesday that the second separatist province in Georgia, Abkhazia, called on Russia to recognize its independence. The appeal followed last week's expulsion of Georgian forces, amid the South Ossetia fighting, from the small sector of Abkhazia that they had controlled.

Russia has strongly backed both regions since the mid-1990s, and Medvedev said last week that neither region is likely to ever agree to be part of Georgia. His statement was seen as tacit endorsement of both republics' independence or absorption into Russia.

Western leaders have stressed Georgia must retain its current borders, setting the stage for tense dispute over the regions.

"South Ossetia and Abkhazia are part of Georgia," U.S. President George W. Bush declared Wednesday in Florida. Abkhazia is the other separatist region of Georgia that is backed by Russia.

Meanwhile, a convoy of flatbed trucks carrying badly needed food aid to one of the areas most heavily hit by the fighting was waved through a checkpoint by Russian soldiers. And the U.S. State Department said Turkey was allowing three U.S. military ships to pass from the Mediterranean to the Black Sea to deliver humanitarian relief supplies to Georgia.

Two influential U.S. senators made a show of solidarity with Georgia, traveling to the country to assess the situation.

"We're not going to let this aggression stand. The world is behind you," Sen. Joe Lieberman told female refugees during a visit to refugee center in Tbilisi. "We can't let a bully do this, because if they do it here, they'll do it other places, and if we don't stop it here we'll have to stop it in a much more difficult way."

Lieberman and Sen. Lindsey Graham met with Georgian officials as well as with the ranking U.S. general overseeing humanitarian aid efforts. The Russians are "not going to prevent the American people from helping you," Graham said.

Both are members of the U.S. Senate's Armed Services Committee and Lieberman is close to the Republican Party's likely nominee for the U.S presidency - John McCain.

About 80,000 people displaced by the fighting are in more than 600 centers in and around Tbilisi. The United Nations estimates 158,000 people in all fled their homes in the last two weeks - some south to regions around Tbilisi, some north to Russia.

[cew23]

Only a crazy fool would want to provoke Russia by putting missiles in Poland, right in Russia''s back yard, and stating that it is to protect the US against Iran. This logic is astonishing. And if you believe this one, little Bush and Cond con Rice will tell you another one. They just think that if it comes out of their mouths, everyone will believe it. Yes, there are a lot of sheep in this world, but there are many that see thru this game.

[lewiston14]

Punish Russia? Not unless you want your stoves and heaters to not work anymore with the coming of an early winter. Russia is angry right now to provoke them would be suicide. They will calm down over time just don%u2019t push your luck over something you can not win several posters susjest turning it into glass. Do you think they would no do the same?

[lewiston14]

I have to say it again. Bush being a lame duck with very little time left has become one of the world%u2019s most dangerous people. Nobody pays any attention to him anymore and that makes him angry and unpredictable. He has nothing to loose. We the people do. Rice is also very angry because she can see nobody is paying any attention to her words any longer. Bushed looked through Putin%u2019s sole and saw things. Putin looked through Bushes sole and found empty space. A good topic mixed with the original wound is what if Bush declared a national emergency just before the end effectively freezing the Unites States government and making him the sole decider of everything. Ill have to depend on the serious readers of the constitution in this area of law for incite full answer. I would have to think the constitution provides ways to control such a person for the common good of the country. Bombing Iran or Russia would not be in our better interest yet left unchecked could happen. I suspect removing him by force has to be an option.

[alphaa10-2009]

A NEW REVERENCE FOR INTERNATIONAL LAW?

What is most interesting about the Russian invasion of Georgia is how exquisitely reverent Bush and Cheney and Rice and all the other architects of Bush''s war in Iraq have become about the principles of national sovereignty and territorial integrity.

Bush and minions are clearly indignant when Russia does, on a much-smaller scale, exactly what they did in Iraq. And compared with Saddam, Saakashvili was left in power (at least, so far).

Here on display is official Bush Double-Think in its full, Orwellian glory.

Rice is Exhibit A-- From her academic background, even Rice understands principles of international law matter a great deal in drafting a responsible US foreign policy.

As an educator in the California university system, Rice was also the first to insist the Communist bloc honor such principles, as well. Her area of specialty was foreign affairs, and the Soviet bloc, in particular.

But hitching her wagon-- pre-2000 election-- to the rising Bush star, Rice clearly forgot about such principles. So complicit did Rice become in the Bush conspiracy about Iraq, she was content to moan about the threat of a "mushroom cloud" and any other tale handed her for publication.

(see "A New Reverence for International Law?"--2)

[alphaa10-2009]

A New Reverence for International Law?--2

On some days, Rice probably wishes she had stayed in academia.-- at least there, she could publish for GOP thinktanks in taxpayer-paid obscurity.

Finally, we are given to understand the Georgians have committed their share of offenses under international law, as well. To the extent these are factual, Georgia must understand international law applies to even the natives of South Ossetia and Abkhazia. The two, miniscule territories fear absorption by either Russia or Georgia. They want to be left alone.

All to say, many parties are involved in an affront to international law in Georgia and nearby regions. How startling a tactical move it might be if Russians were actually to honor the principles of international law in Georgia, and remove their forces-- now positioned in direct violation of the truce they just signed.

In effect, by honoring international law in Georgia, Russia would dramatize the illegal Bush conduct in Iraq. On his way out of office, Bush could reflect once more on the stark contrast-- if Russia could demonstrate respect for international law, maybe he should, as well.

[alphaa10-2009]

OneAmerican_ said, "If anyone has been critical of America invading in order to free Iraq from a dictatorship, they should have no problem condemning Russia for trying to expand its suffocating and murderous Communist dictatorship on sovereign nation neighbors."
---
And we critics of the criminally fraudulent, illegal and unilateral Bush invasion of Iraq have no problem finding parallels between Putin and Bush. After all, Bush looked Putin over at their first meeting and declared he had found a compatriot. "I looked the man in the eye. I found him to be very straightforward and trustworthy," Bush said.

As well he might, because Bush is much like him. When Bush needed a pretext to capture Iraq for his patrons in Big Oil, delivering "freedom and democracy" at bayonet point to the Iraqis was just the ticket. Never mind that Bush never found the threat to American security he claimed justified his entire exercise in criminal, impeachable mendacity.

Bush''s War was a first for America, the naked imperial behavior of an unprovoked invasion to control territory. This country will pay for years for the loss of its credibility-- and Exhibit A is the insouciance of Vladimir as he marches into Tbilisi.

PS: This is a Russian, but not a Communist empire. Thank Gorbachev for that-- and the previous Georgian President Eduard Shevardnadze, Gorbachev''s staunch ally during the years of glasnost and perestroika.

[ramos937]

OK...Mr. President Bush - how are you going to make Russia return these two provinces? Rhetoric? Russia ignores it. Economically? Russia holds too many cards. Europe is addicted to its oil and gas. Diplomatically? Even NATO cannot do anything meaningfull here. Militarily? Not with two wars going.

You have five months left to punish Russia. How are you going to do it?

[mostly_slick]

bush: " when i first met putin i looked him in the eyes and said: now here''s a man america can trust"

ha,ha,ha.

[cdfoxtrot2]

Using Bush''''''''''''''''s logic, we should give Texas back to Mexico since they broke away. Bush should be El Presidente de Mexico. Viva la hypocrisy!

Posted by random_radar

Yup. And Israel should give back the West Bank, East Jerusalem and Gaza, and tear down the Apartheid Wall, which it is building partly on its neighbors land.

And Kosovo shouldn''t be independent. And Bosnia shouldn''t be independent. And....

But the truth is, Bush and US foreign policy is inconsistent and doesn''t apply the rules uniformly.
That''s mainly why the US is so disliked all over the world. Bush just makes it worse. It won''t be a whole lot better under Obama or McCain, as US foreign policy won''t change much. We just won''t be so embarrassed by our prez. anymore.

[babooph]

Europe is laughing hard at the idiot-is there any money left for another "coalition of the bribed"?oops, the propaganda system call the bribed, the willing-maybe send mercenaries-oops the propaganda system calls them contractors-this new vocabulary is hard to keep up with!

[jerr11]

yap yap yap.

Bush the fierce attack poodle!

LOL

And Putin''s pissin in his pants!

LOTFLMAO

[ajaxtheleast]

Speaking of George and Georgia, the Georgia

news must really be hurting old George,,,,

NOT ONE WORD OF IT ANYWHERE!!.,,,,

It must hit George right where he lives,,,,,

Machoville USA,,,,"Everybody shapes up

when I condem them OR when I say what

part of what country belongs

to what country they

jump accordingly!"

Sorry, George, Putin''s "in-your-face"

comes with lameduckism,,,

[prashant5-2009]

i don''t know why people opposing russia if they cannot oppose other country who interfere in others matter and capturing oil wells in asia. Its Russian Matter please this to them don''t bother them. I don''t think they doing wrong. Who is responsible for this who is responsible to break USSR ask this question who made terrorist to break that big russia if they haven''t done that, that time russia would never have taken this step but mistake done early by some big nation now what now everything is going fine. If u cannot oppose one you don''t have right to oppose other too. i think all country should have equal right its not like that, that some country conquer all oil wells with false testimony and other country only look at them. we all must have same right

[middleman8]

What the h-e-l-l is that dry drunk and his nanny going to start now?

[nearl4511]

I keep seeing all these distractions and expect Bush to launch a war in Iran while no-one is looking.

OK, but seriously. What''s he going to do now attack Russia? Maybe McCain will.

[ourtomorrows]

Using Bush''''''''s logic, we should give Texas back to Mexico since they broke away. Bush should be El Presidente de Mexico. Viva la hypocrisy!

Posted by random_radar

Very different situations in a host of ways.

[ourtomorrows]

you see what bush and the republican party have done for america in iraq, afghanistan & georgia.

do you think mc cain & the republican party will be any different.

republicons...party of war, hate and arrogance.

republicons...debt, lies and christian hypocrites.

Posted by mostly_slick

If you are looking for hypocrits, you might look in the mirror.

[ourtomorrows]

If "South Ossetia and Abkhazia are part of Georgia," Bush, is Kosovo part of Serbia? Can you say hypocrite Condi?

Posted by PVperson

Legally Kosovo is not. It was part of Yugoslavia.

[lambor59]

Using Bush''''s logic, we should give Texas back to Mexico since they broke away. Bush should be El Presidente de Mexico. Viva la hypocrisy!

Posted by random_radar

I''m not sure this SOB can lead a group of peasants leave alone a nation like Mexico.

[eclecticman1]

Georgia was snookered into trying to hold onto its Russian provinces by Russia. The Russians got Georgia to send in troops and when they did, R$ussia blasted the much smaller army. I think Georgia and Bush should accept reality on this one.