U.S. Offers $1 Billion In Aid To Georgia

President Bush Announces Massive Aid Package To Help Ally Rebuild After Russia's Invasion

(AP)  President Bush on Wednesday announced $1 billion in new economic aid to Georgia to help the pro-Western former Soviet republic rebuild after Russia's invasion.

"Georgia has a strong economic foundation and leaders with an impressive record of reform," Bush said in his statement on the aid package that was obtained by The Associated Press. "Our additional economic assistance will help the people of Georgia recover from the assault on their country, and continue to build a prosperous and competitive economy."

Vice President Dick Cheney, due in Georgia on Thursday, planned to make the massive aid package a major highlight of his discussions with Georgian President Mikhail Saakashvili. Cheney, in Azerbaijan on Wednesday, is on a tour of three former Soviet republics that are wary of Russia's intentions in what Moscow likes to call its "near abroad."

The administration is delaying an announcement on some sort of punishment of Russia for its actions against Georgia and its refusal thus far to comply with a French-brokered cease-fire. However, the decision to shower tiny Georgia with such substantial aid and have Cheney talk about it in Moscow's backyard would likely be seen by the Kremlin as highly provocative, if not a punitive measure in and of itself.

That said, the U.S. has found during this conflict that it has little leverage with newly enriched and empowered Russia. Moscow has recognized the independence of the two separatist regions in Georgia that are at the heart of the conflict, but has drawn condemnations but little else from the United States and Europe.

Georgia, a former Soviet Republic and U.S. ally, is an impoverished country wedged between Russia and Turkey on the Black Sea.

After years of tensions, the recent fighting began Aug. 7 when Georgian forces went into its breakaway province of South Ossetia in hopes of re-establishing control over it. Russian forces repelled the offensive and pushed deep into Georgia proper.

Both sides signed the cease-fire in mid-August, but Russia has ignored its requirement for all forces to return to prewar positions.

Bush said the money will meet both humanitarian needs, such as helping to resettle families that were displaced, and helping Georgia to rebuild infrastructure and boost its economy.

He said more than half of the funds will be made available in the near term. That leaves a sizable portion up to the discretion of a future Congress and the next White House occupant.

Bush feels confident in that area, as both the Democratic and Republican presidential candidates, Barack Obama and John McCain, have expressed strong support for Georgia's embattled government and Bush's approach to Russia's invasion.

The president also directed his defense, trade, transportation, treasury, diplomatic and commerce chiefs to expand their support for Georgia's economic recovery.

On trade, Bush said the United States would negotiate a deal to provide preferential access to Georgian exports. The president said his commerce secretary would dispatch a trade mission to Georgia in the coming weeks. And Bush said his government would work with international partners to make sure that U.S. aid was getting delivered, quickly, to those in Georgia who need it the most.

The money pales in comparison to the $2 billion a year the U.S. gives Israel, the largest recipient.

The International Monetary Fund also announced it has agreed to lend Georgia $750 million for economic recovery.

Meanwhile, a U.S. Navy flagship sailed toward Georgia with a cargo of humanitarian aid Wednesday. The USS Mount Whitney, the flagship of the Navy's 6th Fleet in the Mediterranean, crossed through the Dardanelles and Bosporus into the Black Sea, which Russia shares with three NATO nations and two others seeking to join the alliance: Georgia and Ukraine.

Russian leaders have lashed out at the U.S. for sending humanitarian aid to Georgia aboard military ships, part of their campaign portraying the United States as a belligerent troublemaker that pushed Georgia into war and continues to compromise security in a volatile region.

The appearance of the Mount Whitney was likely to stoke Russia's ire further. As the command ship of the fleet based in Naples, Italy, it has special electronic and communications equipment it uses to transmit orders and information.

Two other U.S. military ships a missile destroyer and Coast Guard cutter have delivered aid to Georgia since the five-day war in early August, which prompted the worst crisis in Russia's relations with the West since the Cold War.

"We don't understand what American ships are doing on Georgian shores," Russian Prime Minister Vladimir Putin said Tuesday. "The second question is why the humanitarian aid is being delivered on naval vessels armed with the newest rocket systems."

[samsel3]

November 4, 2004 the IAGS Energy Security reported :

"Much of the stability along the BTC corridor would depend on Russia. Russia is not supportive of BTC. It sees it as a U.S. plot to gain control over the Caucasus and cut all links between Moscow of the former Soviet states, building an economic infrastructure that would prevent the former Soviet states to ever reunite with Russia. Moscow also views BTC as a way to weaken its position as major supplier of oil to the European markets. In a recent article at Asia Times Online, John Helmer refers to the BTC project as an effort %u201Cto redraw the geography of the Caucasus on an anti-Russian map.%u201D

Russia sold it s investment share of the BTC pipeline to Japan before the Iraq invasion.

After loosing Iraqi oil to Operation Iraqi Freedom, they negotiated supplies with Iran. The Russians were not happy with Cheneys BTC pipeline or the Caspian Sea Pipelines project going through Afghanistan. This threatens their economy based on oil & gas.

[samsel3]

The truth is, this is all about control of oil & gas pipelines. The BTC oil pipeline in South Ossetia & the Nabucco natural gas pipeline in NW Georgia supply markets in the European Union. In November 2003 the World Bank funded the BTC pipeline to circumvent Russian pipelines supplying europe.

Shareholders in the BTC pipeline are: British Petroleum, AzBTC, Chevron, Statoil, TPAO, ENI, Total, Itochu, INPEX, ConocoPhillips & Amerada Hess.

Russia is the second largest supplier of oil & gas on the planet.
After loosing Iraqi oil to Operation Iraqi Freedom, they negotiated supplies with Iran. The Russians were not happy with Cheneys BTC pipeline or the Caspian Sea Pipelines project going through Afghanistan. This threatens their economy based on oil & gas.

Again it s the Bush administrations lust for money in World markets for their BIG OIL buddies

[tacitus27]

Hopefully the country will wake up to the "Slash and Spend" conservatives - Slash social programs, infrastructure improvements, research, science, etc. that benefit all of the country while Spending on tax cuts for the uber rich, payoffs to crooked foreign agents (Chalabi anyone?), payola to pseudo-democratic countries, etc.

Here''s another "pearls" from this administration:

"The Ownership Society" - now that you are bankrupt because your job was outsourced and we paid the big bank fat cats while they foreclosed on your mortgage, we OWN you. Tough $4it if you don''t like it - that''s our version of the free market.

Get up, Stand up!

[tacitus27]

That''s "Compassionate Conservatism" in action...

"Bush is going to GIVE them ONE BILLION dollars and at the same time cutting funds to the much needed Hospice program here at home?"

[no2zeebas]

I bet you, most people had no idea who Sarah Palin is until a week ago.

Posted by louthesz9 at 05:49 PM : Sep 04, 2008

Just as many peeps had never heard of obama before he decided to run either...

[louthesz9]

Question: Can Sarah Palin deal with the Russians once she takes the helm if McCain dies in office??? Can the mother of 5 negotiate with Russia for a nuclear arms treaty??? I bet you, most people had no idea who Sarah Palin is until a week ago.

[ioweign]

But this isn''t an earmark...

[no2zeebas]

Bush is going to GIVE them ONE BILLION dollars and at the same time cutting funds to the much needed Hospice program here at home?

[lochlan-2009]

U.S. Offers $1 Billion In Aid To Georgia

Get to work American sheeple!!!! You have a billion dollar bill coming to pay for, from yours truely, Bush/Cheney and friends.

[collegedudeu]

gophockeymom

Palin? Is that you? Or are you just another ''support-bush-no-matter-what'' drone?

[kevboom]

"those who disagree hate America"

I assume you''re joking to make a point? This argument has been laid to rest by the economy-crippling Iraqi occupation. If stupid Bush and Cheney would stop rattling their swords in the middle east, dumping billions in U.S. money and weapons into one side of various regional feuds we have no say in, and threatening to throw up "missile shields" that Europe can *** well afford to construct themselves if they really need it, the world would sooner evolve to peace. But of course peace doesn''t generate profits for corporate campaign contributors, which is really what this is all about. It''s amazing how many world conflicts have been caused by U.S. covert and not-so-covert "interventions." Always sticking our noses in where they don''t belong.

I assume it''s safe to say the people in Louisiana who could use a billion to help patch up their lives after the recent hurricane won''t be getting a billion in aid from Bush. Some no-bid contractors maybe, to patch an oil pipeline, but never the people. Dump the GOP and their destructive "borrow and spend" mentality in ''08. McShame on all of them.

[reedtaz73]

U.S. Offers $1 Billion In Aid To Georgia

***?! How can we afford that?

[dagrandma]

Boy, I sure am glad the Republicans are in power instead of those damned tax and spend Democrats!

[nonameabc]

We should fix many of our internal mess before deal with external. We are printing and borrow money to survive, how many billion in Iraq, how many B to help the credit crisis...

[sly_64]

We could use that billion to resucue the failed mortgages all over this country.

Did the Bush admin. ever pass Accounting 101 ?

[sly_64]

Are we pullng this money out of are asss or what ?

[kazoodan]

Excellant move by the U.S. This is our ally, Georgia is our friend, the people of Georgia love the United States. This is the type of nation that we need to send aid to, NOT Egypt, NOT Saudi Arabia, NOT Nigeria,NOT Iraq, NOT Sudan. Finally we are giving aid to where aid is deserved. Georgia #1, President Mikhail Saakashvili #1.

Posted by ndjam at 11:19 PM : Sep 03, 2008

Blow it out your piehole.

[neoconrcrazy]

i wonder if these funds have to be ok''d by congress.... would seem we more pressing matters here then in georgia -

georgia, by the way, attacked the russians without provocation (you know, the sneaky neocon method) and got their azzes kicked into the Black Sea - rightfully so.

and now we have to pay our puppets??

[dizcover]

Amazing how USA keeps sending money to aid other countries while their own country is kinda screwed already, so many things to fix in the US. - They have lended enormous amounts of money from China. Now they''re giving away 1 billion. Instead of investing them in better development for themself.

[dinodavid220]

***.....WE ARE ALL DOOMED... OUR OWN GOVERMENT GIVES OUR TAX DOLLARS SO EASILY TO OTHERS BUT NOT US...KINDA LIKE MY DAD....{sigh)