U.S. troops still in Georgia

Its funny, because you're right on the one hand that Russia's invasion into South Ossetia, and keeping a military force there, resembles when the Nazis took the Sudentenland in Czechoslovakia, and the rest of the world said, "Alright you can have it, but no more..."

However, if the US did go to war with Russia over Georgia, and somehow, NATO was activated to fight with us, that would also resemble when WW1 was started because a series of defensive pacts were activated over a small country called Serbia.

I don't think going to war for Georgia is the right idea at the moment, especially since Russia did not attack Georgia "proper" at all, and South Ossetia has been calling for independence for almost 20 years now.

What I think is the right solution, is that NATO gets together, and seriously discuss how they are coordinated together. At the same time, i believe the EU and the US should also have joint discussion diplomatically, and with Russia, and explain to them that there is no place in the world today for this bullying.... then again, the EU & US are not so much angels themselves... sigh...

The aggressor is Georgia, not Russia.

Vierotchka - You are just plain wrong.
SwiftlyTilt - Russia did attack Georgia. When the United States was attacked, our Allies came to our assistance. We need to help our Allies the same way they came to help us.

Actually Vierotchka is right, Georgia did attack first.

South Ossetia has been basically "autonomous" since 1921. Its only since 1989, have parties in South Ossetia started challenging this position.

Since the fall of the Soviet Union, Russia, Georgia & South Ossetia have had a joint "peace" keeping force. However, Russia has been playing favorites with the Ossetes, underming Georgia's hope of a peaceful resolution to the conflict. It was Georgia who attacked first against separatists groups, in order to bring a military end to the situation. Russia only attacked places in South Ossetia.

I think Russia is just trying to stir up trouble, and Georgia is trying to maintain the sovereignty its held for the last 100 years.

What I don't think, and I think is ridiculous, is the suggestions that this conflict is caused by the U.S. due to some militarisitic & imperialist ambitions.

mjsmith11, no, I am actually plain right. Georgia is the aggressor, prompted by Bush and the Pentagon.

Yes, everything is the US fault, and Mother Russia is the defender of all oppressed peoples everywhere.

Give me a break Vierotchka, you blatant bias against the US prevents you from offering anything useful to this debate...

Of course it does. It also claimed that Saddam Hussein had WMDs.

a simple 'screw the US' would've sufficed.
why does everybody think the US is a Proctologist? We don't have our hand up everyone's asses and perform ventriloquism.

Yet look at Georgia.

If you think that the US has no control over the current situation you are mistaken. If Georgia ever dares disagree with the US there would be consequences. After all, they've even got troops there already..

Also, such a small country as Georgia and yet so many troops in Iraq?

The Russians have not upheld their end of the cease fire, and have even let loose paramilitary troops who have been rampaging through the countryside. They want nothing more than to control Georgia and the pipelines that run through it... and there's nothing wrong with the US having troops in Georgia to help train their armies. I think it's pretty clear that none of the US troops have been fighting in Georgia, otherwise there wouldn't have been such a complete crushing of the Georgian military Sunday night.

Virggie, you have no idea what the h*ll you are talking about. The US' role in this is minor. What this has to do with is Russia feeling threatened by the outside world, like it always has since the Napoleonic Wars.

Separatist Groups in South Ossetia have been calling for independence since 1989, and when the USSR disbanded, Georgia asked Russia to form a peace keeping force to prevent all out war.

This worked fine for awhile, but during the next decade, Russia began to feel threatened that the West was meddling in its affairs, with the admission of several former Soviet Republics into NATO. The Russian government issued Russian passports and military aid to South Ossetians to raise favorable support in that region.

Russian even got more upset after the official talks between NATO and Georgia, over Georgia's application for formal membership in NATO. It was turned down, because basically the EU doesn't think Russia is bluffing when it says, "Stay out of our affairs..."

What happened this year was Georgia attacking South Ossetia, because years of Russian support for the separatists is seriously undermining its sovereignty. Russia retaliated, and ruthlessly, to show Georgia who's the boss in the region.

Georgia is an ally of ours (i.e., the US), and its a real shame after the support they have given us in Iraq, we will not do the same. But at the same time, do you really want the US to get into a pissing contest with the other country that has the most Nuclear weapons?

And what if Georgia was a member of NATO. Remember it was a series of defensive pacts and a small country called Serbia that World War 1 was started over...

SwiftlyTilt - South Ossetia was originally part of Ossetia. It was split in two in the 1930s and the southern part attached to Georgia for two reasons - Stalin (who was a pure Georgian from Gori) hated the Ossetes, and for a logistic reason. South Ossetia was never part of Georgia before that, it has nothing in common with Georgia, whether it be ethnicity, language, customs, traditions. Georgians have been ostracizing the Ossetes from South Ossetia for many decades, raping, killing, pillaging etc., the Ossetes.

Georgia is an "ally" in the neocon ambitions to rule and dominate the world and to destroy Russia so as to take Russia's immense untapped natural resources as well as its huge reserves of natural gas and oil. Saakashvili is a Bush whore.

At least i can safely say this is the first successful invasion Russia has ever conducted. Throughout history Russia has had a terrible track record in invading other countries, (ex Korea, Iraq) so score 1 for Russia! lol isn't war so much fun when you're not affected by it!?

Yes, Georgia has been raping South Ossetia for decades, so that they can fufill the dreams of their Western imperialist masters around the world, and rape Russia for all its natural resources...

Seriously?, Seriously?

I feel like I'm taking crazy pills here people...

In 1801, North & South Osseita, along with Georgia, where taken into the Russian Empire. When Russia fell apart during WWI, Georgia took South Ossetia. When the Soviet Union came out of the ashes of the old Russian Empire, they told Georgia to keep South Ossetia, but to make it an autonomous district (oblast). This arrangment worked until 1989.

This is a matter of Russia & Georgia feeling that their soverignty is being challenged. Although I don't agree with Georgia, forcing the South Ossetes to be part of their country, I think its kind of d!ck that Russia is handing out passports and military aid, in order to make the situation worst.

Can people please stop blaming the US for every little problem that goes on this planet, and realize that other governments can be corrupt bullies as well. I think the sooner we admit that we are all liable to f*** up, and not just one country, the closer we can get to solving our problems...

SwiftlyTitt, people will stop blaming the USA for all the problems on our planet as soon as the USA ceases creating them. Your history of Ossetia is dead wrong.

Actually, there never was an Ossetia...the Ossetians are a type of people who were displaced out of Russia in the middle ages and setteled into areas in Georgia. After the collapse of the Soviet Union the Ossetians have been trying to gain independence from Georgia unsuccessfully, although Georgia has offered them multiple ways to become a state within the Georigan country and they have refused. For more information, check out wikipedia, which has several credible sources cited.

I agree with you. If we are unable to defend our allies, we should at least help them defend themselves.

Not when allies are simply Bush whores.

It is strategic inasmuch as it is needed by the USA for the USA's attempts at world domination and the USA's desire to destroy Russia. No decent human being could conceivably support such an agenda.

Are you crazy? We must not let Russia invade our allies. Training Georgian troops is the very least we should do.

Georgia is not a US ally, it is a Bush whore.