HISTORY: On Georgia, Russia, and South Ossetia
Taylor Marsh —
... Make Haste Slowly International Crisis Group,
June 7, 2007
[iii] Georgia
tries diplomatic approach to lure back Ossetians, International Herald
Tribune, August 16, 2007
[iv] Why
Georgia’s enclaves would love to follow, but will probably fail, The
Economist, November 27, 2007
[v] Russia
warns of Kosovo repercussions, International Herald Tribune, February
15, 2008
[vi] Q&A: Violence
in South Ossetia, BBC.com, August 8, 2008
[vii] Refugees ...
Background on the Russo-Georgian Conflict
PoliBlog: A Rough Draft of my Thoughts —
The CSM has the following that is a worthwhile read:Russo-Georgian conflict is not all Russia’s fault.
Also, via the BBC: Day-by-day: South Ossetia crisis.
As well as (also from the BBC): Q&A: Violence in South Ossetia. ...
The Telling Gloss
Newshoggers.com —
... Saakashvili has absolutely no evidence, of course, for his claim that Russia "ordered it's proxies" to carry out attacks (It might have, but he can't prove even word one of it) and then there's that "unilateral" ceasefire that was then "unilaterally" broken by Georgia's entire army. It's the kind of "no look at the mess, look at the freedom" gloss that we're all too familiar with from neocon pronouncements here in the US.
But the BBC's Q&A on the dispute characterizes the start of major hostilities rather differently. ...
The Telling Gloss
At-Largely —
... voted for and called for independence. Saakashvili has absolutely no evidence, of course, for his claim that Russia "ordered it's proxies" to carry out attacks (It might have, but he can't prove even word one of it) and then there's that "unilateral" ceasefire that was then "unilaterally" broken by Georgia's entire army. It's the kind of "no look at the mess, look at the freedom" gloss that we're all too familiar with from neocon pronouncements here in the US.
But the BBC's Q&A on the dispute characterizes the start of major hostilities rather differently. ...
Georgian Conflict: Leaders Show Increasing Anger, Russia Digs in, Civilians Suffer (A News Round-Up)
The Moderate Voice —
... a series of provocations in the week before the attack.
“People are turning quite nationalistic, and many think that the president’s decision was a justified response to Ossetian shootings,” said Vladimir Shioshvili, a 29-year-old computer programmer in Tbilisi. (BBC News, Vaisman)
Meanwhile, the residents of South Ossetia are smouldering along with the ruins of their city. As some experts predicted, the preliminary violence in South Ossetia has hardened their anti-Georgian sentiments. (BBC News, S. Ossetia) ...



