Comments on: South Ossetia

By: JoeC

JoeC — Sat, 09 Aug 2008 02:25:46 +0000

On a prosaic note… I like the Olympic “Despair” poster. That was a good piece of work.

By: AFSister

AFSister — Sat, 09 Aug 2008 01:14:09 +0000

When I first heard about it this morning, I was like “DAMN.. Those F’IN RUSSIANS! Invading Georgia, while a good portion of their military is in IRAQ!”

But the more I read about, the more I find myself thinking “FINE. If they want to be Russian.. LET THEM.” Georgia is a small country, bordered by the mighty Russia. It doesn’t surprise me a bit that there could be people who consider themselves “Russian” living there, and who would rather be a part of Russia instead of Georgia.

These people have been fighting to become Russian since 1990, and Russia has granted them citizenship. It’s entirely understandable why Russia would step in to defend those they consider to be their citizens- even if they technically live in another country.

If I were Georgia, I would have to ask myself “Is South Ossetia really worth fighting for, or should we just let them cecede to Russia?” Unless there’s some great wealth or treasure in SO, I say… let them go.

Hell, I’ve been saying the same thing about California for a year now. If they want to become their own country, LET THEM. And then we can all get passports and go visit the state of North Mexico! The grass is NOT always greener.

By: RPL

RPL — Fri, 08 Aug 2008 23:09:50 +0000

Georgia has recalled its troops from Iraq, so that sounds bad.

My question is whether Obama knows which Georgia everyone else is talking about.

By: Zane

Zane — Fri, 08 Aug 2008 20:06:23 +0000

First thing I thought when I heard this today? No surprise here.

Second thing was Dang, another damned NEO. Can’t the Air Force take this one?

By: Mike Tyukanov

Mike Tyukanov — Fri, 08 Aug 2008 19:51:38 +0000

Funny that both Georgian and Russian Armies have just finished their exercises. Had they agreed on the date earlier?

I’m sceptical about this war. Seems both sides do this out of sheer pride. Some business considerations, too.

Chechen wars were about serious things, so I supported them. Maybe some real reasons are hidden, but right now this bloodshed looks reckless and useless.

By: MajHarvey

MajHarvey — Fri, 08 Aug 2008 18:33:00 +0000

I spent 5 months in Georgia back in 2005 as TF XO of the Georgia Sustainment & Stability Operations Program (GSSOP). Abkhazia, Ajaria and S. Ossetia were all semi-autonomous regions that thought they’d be better off as fully-fledged independent nations. Due to their proximity to Mother Russia, Abkhazia and Ossetia both have had Russian “peacekeepers” present, though there was some debate as to whose side they were really on. Naturally, Russia is still keenly interested in the Caucasus region, and tends to support the separatists. In a sense, at least in those areas, the Russians had never left; though most of the regular “occupying forces” had been kicked out when Georgia claimed independence, the continued rule by former Soviet Foreign Minister Eduard Shevardnadze meant that Russian troops were never too far away.