Thread: Russia Takes Out Georgia Pipeline, Army Bases

August 10, 2008 2:56 AM

Georgia reports new air attack near capital
Misha Dzhindzhikhashvili , The Associated Press , Tbilisi, Georgia | Sat, 08/09/2008 10:19 AM | World

Intense fighting reportedly raged for a second night in the Georgian separatist region of South Ossetia on Saturday and Georgia's interior ministry reported air attacks on three military bases and key facilities for shipping oil to the West.

Interior Ministry spokesman Shota Utiashvili said the Vaziani military base on the outskirts of the Georgian capital was bombed by warplanes during the night and that bombs fell in the area of the Baku-Tbilisi-Ceyhan oil pipeline.

He also said two other Georgian military bases were hit and that warplanes bombed the Black Sea port city of Poti, which has a sizable oil shipment facility.

Utiashvili said there apparently were significant casualties and damage in the attacks, but that further details would not be known until the morning.

Russia dispatched an armored column into South Ossetia on Friday after Georgia, a staunch U.S. ally, launched a surprise offensive to crush separatists. Witnesses said hundreds of civilians were killed.

The fighting, which devastated the capital of Tskhinvali, threatened to ignite a wider war between Georgia and Russia, and escalate tensions between Moscow and Washington. Georgia said it was forced to launch the assault because of rebel attacks; the separatists alleged Georgia violated a cease-fire.

"I saw bodies lying on the streets, around ruined buildings, in cars," said Lyudmila Ostayeva, 50, who had fled with her family to Dzhava, a village near the border with Russia. "It's impossible to count them now. There is hardly a single building left undamaged."

The Interfax news agency cited South Ossetian government spokeswoman Irina Gagloyeva as saying Tskhinvali came under prolonged fire during the night "but it was suppressed by the armed forces."

The fighting broke out as much of the world's attention was focused on the start of the Olympic Games and many leaders, including Russia's Prime Minister Vladimir Putin and U.S. President George W. Bush, were in Beijing.

The timing suggested Georgian President Mikhail Saakashvili may have been counting on surprise to fulfill his longtime pledge to wrest back control of South Ossetia - a key to his hold on power. The rebels seek to unite with North Ossetia, which is part of Russia.

Saakashvili agreed the timing was not coincidental, but accused Russia of being the aggressor. "Most decision makers have gone for the holidays," he told CNN. "Brilliant moment to attack a small country."

Diplomats issued a flurry of statements calling on both sides to halt the fighting and called for another emergency session of the United Nations Security Council, its second since early Friday morning seeking to prevent an all-out war.

U.S. Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice urged Russia to halt aircraft and missile attacks and withdraw combat forces from Georgian territory. Rice said in a statement the United States wants Russia to respect Georgian sovereignty and agree to international mediation.

The leader of South Ossetia's rebel government, Eduard Kokoity, said about 1,400 people were killed in the onslaught, the Interfax news agency reported. The toll could not be independently confirmed.

http://www.thejakartapost.com/news/2008 ... pital.html

He also said two other Georgian military bases were hit and that warplanes bombed the Black Sea port city of Poti, which has a sizable oil shipment facility.

Look out for the price of barrels of oil to go up. Gas will go back up.

Fill up this weekend

Didn't I see where Georgia has it's millitay in Iraq, and they are headed home?

What shocked me......Georgia,,,,,size of SC can cripple a world.

Who is Rice to tell Russia to respect Georgia's sovereignty when ours is trampled all over by these IA and their anchor babies!

Originally Posted by gemini282

Who is Rice to tell Russia to respect Georgia's sovereignty when ours is trampled all over by these IA and their anchor babies!

Not to mention the Mexican military coming over our borders and firing on our border patrol agents. 43 so far just this year.

Originally Posted by Gogo

Originally Posted by gemini282

Who is Rice to tell Russia to respect Georgia's sovereignty when ours is trampled all over by these IA and their anchor babies!

Not to mention the Mexican military coming over our borders and firing on our border patrol agents. 43 so far just this year.

You're right! No one has stepped forward and call for an end to their military coming over, everyon eknows it happening frequently. There should be our military defending our borders and our soveriegnty. The US should stop meddling in the affairs of other countries and start solving its own.

Maybe they should call Obama in to handle this.

Originally Posted by WorriedAmerican

Didn't I see where Georgia has it's millitay in Iraq, and they are headed home?

They have about 2000 troops in Iraq, all headed back to Georgia.


Russia Today television has the best footage and coverage I've seen so far.

http://www.russiatoday.ru/news/news/28749/video

http://www.russiatoday.ru/news/news/28686/video

http://www.russiatoday.ru/news/news/28668/video