[EarnedStripes44]

Originally Posted by JohnR

I've been working my ass off so I haven't been on this thread the way I would have liked.

The Russians initiated the majority of this and baited the Georgians into attack - MilliVilli there was blank enough to take the bait. This has been brewing for years and really ramped up in the past 6 months.


The Russians have been using the Ossetians and Azbakians in a low level proxy war against the Georgians. One of the reasons those areas have so many "Russian Passport Holders" is that they "cleansed" the area of Georgians. That area has had these issues for hundreds of years.

The Russians had their Army, Navy, and Air Force READY to go for a while now. This same Army that faltered so badly with Chechnya (a stones throw away) was logistically and technically prepared for this little war. And the tanks were just a few hours away from the tunnel into So. Oseetia.

The Russians repaired the railroads in Azbachia over the past couple months to provide THAT avenue of troop delivery and logistic support.

The Russians had their Black Sea Fleet READY to steam destroyers, cruisers, and troop ships at a moments notice to provide ANOTHER supply line by sea.

The Ossetian and Azbach separatists, which were surprise surprise, fully armed and trained and supplied.

This was scripted and provoked.

The Russians have a LOT to gain of they can bend Georgia to become their satellite again.

Russia would control the ONLY other main avenue for Europe to get the lions share of their and fuel needs (gee, why isn't everyone bitching how its all about the oil now??).

Russia would be the gatekeeper of all of the economies of the Central Asian states now too, as there is nowhere else for them to go. EVERYTHING would go through Russia.

So where does the line get drawn? Georgia? Ukraine? Poland? Baltics? Or maybe, just like the good old days, at the Rhone? I use the French version because everything east would be speakin' russkie.

Alarmist? I hope the bleep not. But we are just a hair away from being BACK to a slippery slope.

And as a reminder for those that forgot about much of the last century, major warts and all, we were the good guys.

Stalin is from Georgia. He is from the same town they occupied, Gori. Its got some historical significance to Moskva.