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| Caucasus/Russia/Central Asia |
| Georgia: The Unseen War |
| 2008-08-19 |
| by Greg Palkot There’s a hidden conflict happening between Russia and Georgia just as dangerous as the South Ossetia flashpoint. It’s not getting as much attention because it’s happening in Abkhazia in the western part of Georgia, far from the capital Tblisi. But it represents as big a challenge to Georgia’s stability and to the West’s dealings with Moscow. While the Georgian breakaway province of Abkhazia, in the west, has similar issues and tensions like South Ossetia, there was little sign of resistance as Russian military units and Kremlin-backed militants took control of the region almost without a fight. Russia has even less justification to overstep its territorial bounds, but overstep it did. We watched as thousands of “peacekeepers” — Russian soldiers with blue helmets — flood into western Georgia. They went unhindered and few outsiders were there to witness it. Our reporting this past weekend — that upwards of 100 fresh Russian tanks, armored personnel carriers, and other vehicles had entered Georgia well after the cease-fire and withdrawal was agreed to by Moscow — went largely unmentioned in the Western media. At any other time, if Moscow pulled a stunt like that outside of its borders, it would have been huge news. Russia’s mission was crystal clear to us: support the Russia-leaning separatists in Abkhazia, send a message to Georgia never to act out or get too close to the West and the U.S. and give up on the idea of joining NATO. In the process, Russia should decimate Georgia’s military infrastructure. When we first arrived in the Black Sea port of Poti we were met with the flaming wreck of a Georgia Navy ship. In the days to come the Russians would systematically destroy every ship, boat and launch based in Poti. Only a bunch of rubber zodiac style boats survived because the Russians liked them so much they them hauled away. This was done as the outmatched Georgia forces could only stand aside and watch. On Tuesday there were reports of further destruction. Alan Middleton CEO of Poti Sea Port confirmed that Russian troops in several armored personal carriers entered the commercial port overnight. They captured 10-20 what he believes are Georgian soldiers (they were dressed in black T-shirts and camo pants), blindfolded them, and took them away on top of their APCs in the direction of the Russian base in Senaki. The Russians were described as crack and combat ready. They also took away a container holding property of the U.S. military: five U.S. military regular Humvees and one up-armored Humvee. They had been used in a military exercise recently in Georgi involving U.S. and Georgian troops, and were being shipped back to a European base. It is unclear whether the captured Georgians had anything to do with the container. Efforts are on-going to obtain their release. The Russians also reportedly blew up a disabled Georgian navy vessel docked at the port. Operations at the commercial port have been halted and management is trying to start them up Tuesday evening. These attacks appear to be part of Russia’s grand plan to systematically disable Georgia’s infrastructure. The same holds true for a small military base in Poti. Already in less-than-great-shape, the Russians nevertheless saw fit to knock down two Soviet-era radio towers and while they were ransacking other buildings there. But the principle target of Russia’s action in the area has been the sprawling Georgia military base in Senaki, 20 miles west of Poti. This was a symbol of the new Western-oriented Georgia. Built in the past few years to NATO standards it was a showcase for Georgia’s modern military, well-stocked with U.S. supplied gear. Now, according to what we have heard and seen, it stands in largely ruins. Much like Georgia’s hopes for quick entry into NATO Though no one has gotten into the base since the Russians arrived, we are told anything that the Russians wanted they have taken away and transported back across the border. What they didn’t want, they destroyed. And what they couldn’t move, they blew up. We watched as a Georgian lieutenant, left to stand outside the base’s gates, mourn his two fellow soldiers that were killed in the Russian onslaught. When the Russians aren’t destroying the Georgian’s military they’re flexing their own military muscle in an attempt to wear down the Georgian psyche. As we spent days roaming around western Georgia we watched as Russian troops conducted nothing short of full-scale maneuvers; setting up armored control points at bridges and rivers, buzzing urban areas with attack helicopters, running foot patrols through the countryside. Reporting outside of western Georgia was a bit over-stated, claiming that, for example, Russia had “taken” the city of Poti or had blocked the main east-west highway. While they didn’t have to use such aggressive offensive measures, they certainly were in a position to do that if they wanted to. In the face of all this, the tough, hospitable and pro-American Georgians in the area are taking it with grim, if puzzled, determination. A few days after the Russians had made one north-south road a regular patrol route someone had scribbled “Russia go home” on one wall, “Russia occupiers” on another and “Russia plus a Nazi swastika” on a third. We watched as one resident gave a passing convoy of Russians a well-animated version of the “bird” to the troops. We walked along with the funeral for a 22-year-old reservist killed when the Russians moved in early on. You could hear the wailing of young and old from a few hundred yards away. We talked with four Georgian “Special Force” soldiers up in the hillside, looking like nothing much more than hunters with bigger guns, telling us they’re ready to attack when given the orders. As the regional governor put it to me when I asked him how he felt about the Russians coming to his land: “How would you feel?” he asked back. “How would you feel if the Russians came to the US?” International military observers we’ve talked to on the ground see the situation panning out this way: The Russians should eventually pull out but on their own timetable. The late “surge” of Russian troops will further bolster the already 4,000 soldiers estimated to be in the region, so when the withdrawal comes it can look impressive. Russia is also expected to leave some troops behind. The thinking is that Russia will take advantage of a serious loophole in current cease-fire deal: mainly that Russian “peacekeepers” can conduct “limited security” measures outside of the conflict zones. That is an invitation for on-going Russian troublemaking, if there ever was one. There is also growing speculation that despite Russia’s show of troop withdrawal, the Kremlin has larger plans for their Georgian adventure. A full week after the initial cease-fire agreement, Georgia looks like a country fully at war. Media images show police cars being rammed by Russian APCs, a civilian rail bridge knocked out, a natural forest reserve torched suspiciously and lines of refugees were waiting for aid. The Russians are clearly banking on the world tiring of the conflict, or seeing and hearing less of these images as they get on with their biggest “out-of-area” military push since the early 1990s. Regardless of how the Georgian side has handled all the events of recent weeks, the people of Poti and western Georgia are hoping the U.S. and West won’t forget them, as they try to gain back control of their lives a bit manhandled by Russia these days. |
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| #2 TOPIX > US AND NATO TO REARM, RESUPPLY GEORGIA; + WIRED.com > RUSSIAN RAPID, RAMSHACKLE/RAGGED MARCH INTO GEORGIA. Russia's mil proficiency in South Ossetia-AABkhazia conflict agz Georgia was "adequate", succeeding mostly via sheer numbers and aggressive stubborn determination. HOWEVER, ARTIC - MANY RUSS AFVS + COMBAT UNITS MOVED IN DISORGANIZED CONFUSED FASHION WID AFVS = TANKS OFTEN BREAKING DOWN IN CAMPAIGN [lack of spare parts/recovery]??? |
| Posted by: JosephMendiola 2008-08-19 20:14 |
| #1 A few days after the Russians had made one north-south road a regular patrol route someone had scribbled "Russia go home" on one wall, "Russia occupiers" on another and "Russia plus a Nazi swastika" on a third. We watched as one resident gave a passing convoy of Russians a well-animated version of the "bird" to the troops. Vive la Resistance! |
| Posted by: g(r)omgoru 2008-08-19 18:32 |