(AP) Exclusive: Questions of KGB ties for (South Ossestia) activist

[sabra]

Source: AP

WASHINGTON (AP) - A woman who traveled to the U.S. as an independent activist is at the center of a high-stakes campaign between Russia and its neighbor, Georgia.

Georgia says she's a spy. The woman (Lira Tskhovrebova) says she is the victim of a smear campaign. But U.S. officials have become wary of her - questioning who paid for her Washington tour. She challenges U.S. support for Georgia.

Georgia and Russia are eager to blame the other for the August war over the disputed region of South Ossestia, and to influence the incoming administration's policy.

Georgian intelligence provided The Associated Press with secret tapes of the woman with a man the Georgians say helps lead the South-Ossetian security agency still known as the KGB.

Read more: http://www.kdbc.com/Global/story.asp?S=9524904&nav=menu608_1

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http://www.csmonitor.com/2008/1008/p09s02-coop.html

I survived the Georgian war. Here's what I saw.
I blame Georgia's leaders.
By Lira Tskhovrebova

from the October 8, 2008 edition


Tskhinvali, South Ossetia - In a speech before the United Nations last month, Georgian President Mikheil Saakashvili implored world leaders to set up an international investigation to find out the truth about the war in South Ossetia.

I couldn't agree more. But I think the results of an honest investigation would reveal a very different "truth" than what President Saakashvili claims.

I know this because I was in Tskhinvali, the capital of South Ossetia, on Aug. 7 when Georgian troops marched into the city and killed my friends and neighbors. I huddled with my family in terror for three nights while Saakashvili's tanks and rockets destroyed hundreds of our homes, desecrated cemeteries, gutted schools and hospitals.

I also have good reason not to trust what Saakashvili says. For three days before the attack I had been getting calls from many Georgian friends warning me to get out. They said Saakashvili was planning an attack. Most of the Georgians living in South Ossetia left because they knew what was coming.

[Tempest]

1. She was right

Since October there have been several reports that put the blame on Georgia's officials for starting the war.