"Russia is not seeking territorial expansion" Statement by Mikhail Gorbachev On Georgia

[Better Believe It]

The writer was the last president of the Soviet Union. He was awarded the Nobel Peace Prize in 1990 and is president of the Gorbachev Foundation, a Moscow think tank.

Path to Peace in the Caucasus
By Mikhail Gorbachev
Washington Post
August 12, 2008

MOSCOW -- What happened on the night of Aug. 7 is beyond comprehension. The Georgian military attacked the South Ossetian capital of Tskhinvali with multiple rocket launchers designed to devastate large areas. Russia had to respond. To accuse it of aggression against "small, defenseless Georgia" is not just hypocritical but shows a lack of humanity.

Mounting a military assault against innocents was a reckless decision whose tragic consequences, for thousands of people of different nationalities, are now clear. The Georgian leadership could do this only with the perceived support and encouragement of a much more powerful force. Georgian armed forces were trained by hundreds of U.S. instructors, and its sophisticated military equipment was bought in a number of countries. This, coupled with the promise of NATO membership, emboldened Georgian leaders into thinking that they could get away with a "blitzkrieg" in South Ossetia.

In other words, Georgian President Mikheil Saakashvili was expecting unconditional support from the West, and the West had given him reason to think he would have it. Now that the Georgian military assault has been routed, both the Georgian government and its supporters should rethink their position.

Over the past few days, some Western nations have taken positions, particularly in the U.N. Security Council, that have been far from balanced. As a result, the Security Council was not able to act effectively from the very start of this conflict. By declaring the Caucasus, a region that is thousands of miles from the American continent, a sphere of its "national interest," the United States made a serious blunder. Of course, peace in the Caucasus is in everyone's interest. But it is simply common sense to recognize that Russia is rooted there by common geography and centuries of history. Russia is not seeking territorial expansion, but it has legitimate interests in this region.

Please read the entire statement by Gorbachev at:

http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2008/08/11/AR2008081101372.html?sub=AR

[madokie]

1. Theres no doubt in my mind that bushco is behind all this.

pushing and shoving to their all might

[Bok_Tukalo]

3. "Bushco" just got played like a fiddle by Putin

"Bushco" is lucky to know within forty miles where they shit last.

[malaise]

8. If you have any doubts, turn on FOX

I just returned home and our helper was watching - The propaganda will blow your brains. Still watching Fox journalists being searched by Russian soldiers was breathtakingly funny. These cowards who wouldn't cover Iraq believe they can march up and down at will elsewhere.

[David__77]

2. Who cares what he says?

Certainly not Russian or Georgians. I guess some American elites are still thankful for his services.

[Better Believe It]

5. I Care And So Do Many Other Progressives

He was an honest man who tried to bring about democratic changes within the old Soviet Union while maintaining some form of socialist economy.
He certainly wasn't a "free-market neo-con".

You don't have an opinion on his article or do you just refuse to read it?

Remain a "know-nothing" if that pleases you!

[David__77]

9. I don't think what he said was bad.

I just don't like him. I do not believe that he was honestly trying to reform socialism. He outright lied at key junctures about what his real political aims were. The key personnel he brought forward are the same ones who emerged to tear down the social economy with "shock therapy" that sent so many into destitution and hunger.

[Pab Sungenis]

4. Does anyone really believe

that if Ottawa started shelling Quebec, we wouldn't consider intervening?

[Better Believe It]

6. Yes .... Probably On The Side Of Ottawa!

[Pab Sungenis]

7. Still, it would be

instability in our next door neighbor. Our interests would be affected. No one would be surprised if we intervened.

We shouldn't be that Russia got involved in Georgia.

[pampango]

17. Not sure that the Canada/Quebec analogy is too helpful, but I agree that

no one should be surprised that Russia intervened in Georgia. After all most Americans probably identify more with English Canada than with French Quebec, while Russia has ethnic bonds with many Ossetians, not with Georgians.

Georgia's big mistake was to forget that big countries can do things that small countries cannot do. Russia has cracked down harshly on breakaway provinces like Chechnya with impunity. China does the same in Tibet.

Our North invaded the South to preserve the union from breakaway states. It makes for interesting alternative history to speculate what would have happened if England had backed the South. The North might have decided to let the Confederacy leave peacefully or, if they waged a war, might have come to the same conclusion that Georgia must now realize. A breakaway province that has a powerful (and better yet, neighboring) ally is in a much better situation than one with no allies (Chechnya and Tibet) or one who is far away and militarily stretched (Georgia).
----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
"Russia’s president, Dmitri A. Medvedev, held a televised meeting with the leaders of the two breakaway regions, South Ossetia and Abkhazia, and pledged that Russia would provide whatever they needed to secede lawfully from Georgia.

The Russian foreign minister, Sergey V. Lavrov, said separately in a radio interview that Georgia “can forget about” its territorial integrity because the Georgian government under President Mikheil Saakashvili had committed so many atrocities that the two breakaway regions could never live under Georgian rule.

At the Kremlin meeting with leaders of South Ossetia and Abkhazia, Mr. Medvedev said Russia would back their aspirations as long they complied with the United Nations charter and other principles of international law. It is unclear whether the two regions want full independence, a formal alliance with Russia or full integration with Russia.

In Georgia on Thursday, Russian forces briefly allowed Georgian police to return to the city of Gori as Russian troops appeared to prepare to pull out. But joint patrols were canceled three hours later and the city returned to full Russian control."

http://www.nytimes.com/2008/08/15/world/europe/15georgia.html?_r=1&partner=rssnyt&emc=rss&oref=slogin

[robcon]

10. Gorbachev's defense sounds like Hitler's when he annexed Czechoslovakia.

Russia's doing it to "save" the Georgians.

Lying bastard.

[Better Believe It]

11. Of Course .... Like The Right-Wing Neo-Cons Say "Putin & Gorbachev Are Like Hitler"

So you think Putin will be organizing an invasion of eastern Europe anytime soon? Hey .... Putin wants to rule the world .... and Bush/McCain want to save us from the new red Russian menace!

I think ya just might be accepting the right-wing media propaganda and neo-con b.s. regarding Georgia.

A little more critical thinking is required.

[robcon]

15. I think your blanket rejection of that argument is empty-headed.

Putin/Gorbachev's defense is just like Hitler's - it's for their own good. Any conclusions beyond that are in your imagination (certainly not in my post), and those conclusions are arrived at, IMO, from your guilt-by-association illogic.

[SidneyCarton]

12. Gorby is hardly in the loop about this...

After all, he's been out of power since 1991, last President of a defunct nation.

[JVS]

14. Yeah, and I'm sure GHWB knew nothing about if Iraq had WMDs. After all, he'd been gone for years.

And that Eduard Shevardnadze guy who was in charge of Georgia up to 2003, I bet he and Gorby never even met. :eyes:

[SidneyCarton]

16. What I meant is that Gorbachev is not what I would consider a credible source for anything.

He is writing this article saying "look at me! look at me! remember me! I'm still relevant!"

Yes he has connections, I know that Shevardnadze was his Foreign Minister, But Gorby has been out of the Kremlin since 1991, and was Persona non grata in the Russian Govt. during the Yeltsin years. Putin did a little to rehabilitate him, but kept him at arms length. Hence I don't see Gorbachev as the best barometer of the current mindset of the Kremlin. I could well be wrong, and I admit it.

[JVS]

13. Gorby, the West only likes you when you're letting them stick it in your country's ass.

That's why they gave you a Nobel peace prize when you were dismantling the soviet economy in favor of "shock therapy". Had you been doing your job right, Reagan wouldn't have been your friend and life expectancy in your country wouldn't have plummeted during the 1990's.