OT this worry anybody else?
Posted: Thu Aug 14, 2008 7:42 amhttp://www.cnn.com/2008/POLITICS/08/13/us.russia.diplomacy/index.html?eref=rss_topstories
WASHINGTON (CNN) -- President Bush said Wednesday he is dispatching U.S. military personnel to Georgia in a "vigorous and ongoing" mission to provide humanitarian aid to victims of the fighting between Russian and Georgian troops.
President Bush on Wednesday calls on Russia to remove its troops from Georgia.
Shortly after Bush spoke, the White House announced that a U.S. Air Force C-17 cargo jet carrying medical supplies arrived in the Georgian capital of Tbilisi.
Another C-17 is to arrive in Tbilisi on Thursday carrying more supplies, including 104,000 doses of antibiotics requested by the Georgian Ministry of Health, a State Department spokesman said. The value of both shipments is $1.28 million, he said.
Bush said more U.S. military aid missions were planned by the Navy and Air Force.
He warned Russia not to interfere with any relief efforts.
"We expect Russia to honor its commitment to let in all forms of humanitarian assistance. We expect Russia to ensure that all lines of communication and transport, including seaports, airports, roads and airspace, remain open for the delivery of humanitarian assistance and for civilian transit," Bush said at the White House.
Russia sent troops and tanks into the breakaway Georgia region of South Ossetia last week after Georgia's military acted to clamp down on Russian-linked separatists there. Separatists in South Ossetia want independence -- or unification with North Ossetia, which is in Russia.
Russian forces have since moved out of South Ossetia and into other parts of Georgia.
Don't Miss
* Russian advance flares Georgia tensions
* U.S. may seek to punish Russia for Georgia conflict
* Georgia agrees to Russian-French plan to settle conflict
Bush said he expected Russia to honor a truce agreement made Tuesday.
"We expect Russia to meet its commitment to cease all military activities in Georgia, and we expect all Russian forces that entered Georgia in recent days to withdraw from that country," Bush said.
The president said he was sending Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice to Europe to express "America's unwavering support" for the Georgian government.
Rice said Russia cannot act like its Soviet forebears.
"This is not 1968 and the invasion of Czechoslovakia, where Russia can threaten its neighbors, occupy a capital and get away with it," Rice said Wednesday, referring to the Soviet Union sending troops into Prague that year to stop the Czechoslovak government's attempts at liberalization.
"It's time to stop this so that Russia can dig out of the hole it's gotten itself into," Rice said. "Russia has seriously overreached."
Rice will travel to France, which negotiated the cease-fire between Russia and Georgia on Tuesday. Rice will then head to Tbilisi, Bush said.
Next week, Rice will travel to NATO headquarters in Brussels, Belgium.
French President Nicolas Sarkozy, acting as the president of the European Union, had negotiated the cease-fire agreement between Russia and Georgia, which called on the two nations to return to the positions they held on August 6, before Georgia's crackdown on South Ossetia. Video Watch Bush express support for Georgia's democracy »
Administration officials said the United States and its European allies were considering kicking Russia out of the G-8, the group of the world's largest industrial economies, and other international organizations as punishment for its actions in Georgia. They also said Russia's relationship with NATO is also at risk. Video Watch Russian tanks move toward Tbilisi »
Georgian President Mikheil Saakashvili criticized the United States on Wednesday during an interview with CNN for not taking more measures to help. Video Watch Saakashvili fault the U.S. response »
"America is losing the whole region, and this is the region of eastern and central Europe," said Saakashvili, who called for U.S. and European powers to send peacekeepers to the region. "This is much bigger than any other place where there is American influence, and this is the most natural allies of America."
But U.S. officials said they warned Saakashvili not to provoke Russia militarily by sending Georgian troops into South Ossetia and that they had ruled out any U.S. military action to defend Georgia.
Russia's move in Georgia is happening amid an overall struggle between the United States and Russia for influence within Eastern Europe. From Russia's point of view, American support for Georgia is a direct threat to its influence.
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By striking heavily in Georgia, Russia is sending a signal to other former Soviet republics, such as Ukraine and Moldova, said Sarah Mendelson, the director of the Human Rights and Security Initiative at the Center for Strategic and International Studies in Washington.
"If I were a neighbor of Russia and I saw what Russia had done in Georgia, I would be very nervous," Mendelson said. "I think those countries that are leaning toward the West are very nervous today."
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WASHINGTON (CNN) -- President Bush said Wednesday he is dispatching U.S. military personnel to Georgia in a "vigorous and ongoing" mission to provide humanitarian aid to victims of the fighting between Russian and Georgian troops.
President Bush on Wednesday calls on Russia to remove its troops from Georgia.
Shortly after Bush spoke, the White House announced that a U.S. Air Force C-17 cargo jet carrying medical supplies arrived in the Georgian capital of Tbilisi.
Another C-17 is to arrive in Tbilisi on Thursday carrying more supplies, including 104,000 doses of antibiotics requested by the Georgian Ministry of Health, a State Department spokesman said. The value of both shipments is $1.28 million, he said.
Bush said more U.S. military aid missions were planned by the Navy and Air Force.
He warned Russia not to interfere with any relief efforts.
"We expect Russia to honor its commitment to let in all forms of humanitarian assistance. We expect Russia to ensure that all lines of communication and transport, including seaports, airports, roads and airspace, remain open for the delivery of humanitarian assistance and for civilian transit," Bush said at the White House.
Russia sent troops and tanks into the breakaway Georgia region of South Ossetia last week after Georgia's military acted to clamp down on Russian-linked separatists there. Separatists in South Ossetia want independence -- or unification with North Ossetia, which is in Russia.
Russian forces have since moved out of South Ossetia and into other parts of Georgia.
Don't Miss
* Russian advance flares Georgia tensions
* U.S. may seek to punish Russia for Georgia conflict
* Georgia agrees to Russian-French plan to settle conflict
Bush said he expected Russia to honor a truce agreement made Tuesday.
"We expect Russia to meet its commitment to cease all military activities in Georgia, and we expect all Russian forces that entered Georgia in recent days to withdraw from that country," Bush said.
The president said he was sending Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice to Europe to express "America's unwavering support" for the Georgian government.
Rice said Russia cannot act like its Soviet forebears.
"This is not 1968 and the invasion of Czechoslovakia, where Russia can threaten its neighbors, occupy a capital and get away with it," Rice said Wednesday, referring to the Soviet Union sending troops into Prague that year to stop the Czechoslovak government's attempts at liberalization.
"It's time to stop this so that Russia can dig out of the hole it's gotten itself into," Rice said. "Russia has seriously overreached."
Rice will travel to France, which negotiated the cease-fire between Russia and Georgia on Tuesday. Rice will then head to Tbilisi, Bush said.
Next week, Rice will travel to NATO headquarters in Brussels, Belgium.
French President Nicolas Sarkozy, acting as the president of the European Union, had negotiated the cease-fire agreement between Russia and Georgia, which called on the two nations to return to the positions they held on August 6, before Georgia's crackdown on South Ossetia. Video Watch Bush express support for Georgia's democracy »
Administration officials said the United States and its European allies were considering kicking Russia out of the G-8, the group of the world's largest industrial economies, and other international organizations as punishment for its actions in Georgia. They also said Russia's relationship with NATO is also at risk. Video Watch Russian tanks move toward Tbilisi »
Georgian President Mikheil Saakashvili criticized the United States on Wednesday during an interview with CNN for not taking more measures to help. Video Watch Saakashvili fault the U.S. response »
"America is losing the whole region, and this is the region of eastern and central Europe," said Saakashvili, who called for U.S. and European powers to send peacekeepers to the region. "This is much bigger than any other place where there is American influence, and this is the most natural allies of America."
But U.S. officials said they warned Saakashvili not to provoke Russia militarily by sending Georgian troops into South Ossetia and that they had ruled out any U.S. military action to defend Georgia.
Russia's move in Georgia is happening amid an overall struggle between the United States and Russia for influence within Eastern Europe. From Russia's point of view, American support for Georgia is a direct threat to its influence.
advertisement
By striking heavily in Georgia, Russia is sending a signal to other former Soviet republics, such as Ukraine and Moldova, said Sarah Mendelson, the director of the Human Rights and Security Initiative at the Center for Strategic and International Studies in Washington.
"If I were a neighbor of Russia and I saw what Russia had done in Georgia, I would be very nervous," Mendelson said. "I think those countries that are leaning toward the West are very nervous today."
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