Wars And Rumors Of Wars

[Barbara]

I've always thought they would come back to finish New York, also. That's why we and thousands of others left NY.

Seems Corsi is right on target with his program to wake the American people up to the problem of an open border with Mexico.

[Soldier4Christ]

U.S., Russia try to quiet flap over bombers in Cuba
Newspaper Izvestia: Crews have visited island to survey for possible refueling stopovers



The U.S. and Russia are trying to quiet speculation over a possible deployment of Russian nuclear-capable bombers to Cuba, but the reports haven't gone away.

The Russian newspaper Izvestia on Thursday reported that Russian bomber crews have visited Cuba to survey for possible refueling stopovers. The newspaper report, which could not be confirmed, came on the same day that a Russian Defense Ministry spokesman denied an earlier Izvestia report about alleged Russian plans to deploy strategic aircraft in Cuba.

But on Thursday, the Russian Defense Ministry issued a strong denial of the report that first appeared in Izvestia on Monday.

"We see this sort of anonymous allegations as disinformation and another media hoax," Russian Defense Ministry spokesman Ilshat Baichurin told the state media service Interfax.

At the same time, the Bush administration sought to defuse tensions by calling the Russian government a partner, not a threat.

"We want to work with them. We seek a strategic partnership with the Russians," said Dana Perino, the White House spokeswoman.

Buzz about a possible Caribbean crisis began when an Izvestia report claimed Russia was planning a tit-for-tat response to the U.S. that evoked the nuclear-holocaust fears of the 1962 Cuban missile crisis.

The flap over Cuba came as Venezuelan President Hugo Chávez was in Russia to broker oil deals and buy $1 billion worth of weapons systems.

Izvestia said Russia was considering dispatching long-range bombers to Cuba in answer to Bush administration plans to deploy an anti-missile shield in Eastern Europe.

The Bush administration has said repeatedly that the shield system — a radar site in the Czech Republic linked to interceptor missiles in Poland — is intended as a defensive measure against Iran, not Russia.

But Moscow is convinced the system could be used to neutralize Russian missiles, the cornerstone of its military deterrence doctrine.

Earlier this week, Russian officials quickly denied the initial report, though some said that while deploying strategic aircraft in Cuba was technically possible, no decision had been made. But many remained unconvinced by reassurances from the White House and the Kremlin.

U.S. Air Force Gen. Norton Schwartz, nominated as new Air Force chief of staff, nudged the speculation up a notch when he told his Senate confirmation hearing Tuesday that Russia would cross "a red line" if it decided to use Cuba for nuclear bombers.

The Izvestia story on Thursday said it was important to emphasize that the report on the visit of the crews — which it said came from sources in the defense ministry — did not mean the planes themselves had been on the island.

[nChrist]

Brothers and Sisters,

Any enemy with common sense will utilize weak spots to reach their intended targets. YES - I think that our enemies have more than just common sense. They also have some disgusting traits that must be considered. The worst one is NO CONSCIENCE REGARDING INNOCENTS. This goes along with an undeveloped sense of right and wrong, morals, and traits normally associated with civilized people. Killing innocent non-combatants for us is an unintended mistake that we try to avoid. The exact opposite is true for them. After all, killing innocent women, children, and elderly makes more sensational news and results in greater TERROR. Most of the time, they are too cowardly to meet people able to defend themselves on the battlefield. The vast majority of their strategies are designed to eliminate someone being able to defend themselves or even shoot back. That's why suicide bombers are so popular for them. Just think about tiny Israel and their tiny population in comparison to the giant land masses and giant populations of their enemies. They met tiny Israel on the battlefield and got WHIPPED SEVERELY, so they use cowardly suicide bombers. They also shoot rockets at tiny Israel from among their own women and children, knowing that civilized people wouldn't want to shoot back in those circumstances. So their women and children are best used as shields. Any retaliation must then involve innocents. We must remember that their original targets are all innocents.

Are there going to be more attacks inside American like or worse than 9-11? Common sense says YES! 9-11 alone was almost enough to wreck our entire economy. We are soft and vulnerable, and our enemies KNOW IT. There are hundreds of ways to create more havoc than 9-11, and our enemies also know this. We should expect the casualties to be much higher. So far, we've been able to keep the terrorists pretty busy on their own soil, thus preventing many attacks on our own soil. However, the terrorists haven't forgotten their goals and they are already here with us. Besides, dealing with terrorists on their own soil isn't very popular with many folks, so we will deal with them HERE AMONG US. Most of this sounds pretty silly and stupid to me, especially leaving the borders wide open to allow them easy entry. Who knows what all has been smuggled in to attack us with? Anything smaller than our largest cargo plane would be pretty easy. After all, the enemy is already working in government and high-profile locations like airports. We're like sitting ducks, but we aren't as smart as the sitting ducks. Sitting ducks move and do something intelligent after the first shot has been fired. We just sat here and did nothing. In our STUPIDITY DEFENSE, we had a government that was tasked with many responsibilities NOT DONE! They were too busy with their pet agendas to be worried about the survival of the people. WE ALL KNOW THIS - DON'T WE? All kinds of PERVERSIONS were more important, and things like this happen IN THE FALL OF SOCIETIES! History has given this lesson many times, but mankind didn't learn a thing. The BIBLE also foretells these things, and they always happen exactly as the BIBLE says they will. Will the Tribulation Period Happen? ABSOLUTELY YES! AND, those times might be near for the entire world!

[HisDaughter]

At the same time, the Bush administration sought to defuse tensions by calling the Russian government a partner, not a threat.

Oh REALLY? Then why aren't they asking us about a place to "stop over"?  And what about:

The flap over Cuba came as Venezuelan President Hugo Chávez was in Russia to broker oil deals and buy $1 billion worth of weapons systems.

Izvestia said Russia was considering dispatching long-range bombers to Cuba in answer to Bush administration plans to deploy an anti-missile shield in Eastern Europe.

The Bush administration has said repeatedly that the shield system — a radar site in the Czech Republic linked to interceptor missiles in Poland — is intended as a defensive measure against Iran, not Russia.

But Moscow is convinced the system could be used to neutralize Russian missiles, the cornerstone of its military deterrence doctrine.

And then .... someone with some sense:

U.S. Air Force Gen. Norton Schwartz, nominated as new Air Force chief of staff, nudged the speculation up a notch when he told his Senate confirmation hearing Tuesday that Russia would cross "a red line" if it decided to use Cuba for nuclear bombers.

[Shammu]

Chavez: Russian jets can repel attack on Venezuela

Sun Aug 3, 10:07 PM ET

CARACAS, Venezuela - Venezuelan President Hugo Chavez says 24 Sukhoi fighter jets have been delivered to Venezuela — and are ready to defend his country from "imperialist" aggressions.

Chavez claims the U.S. Navy's Fourth Fleet poses a threat to Venezuela, and he's vowing to push forward with a multibillion-dollar arms buildup aimed at dissuading a possible U.S. military strike.

"They're for defensive purposes, we're not going to attack anybody," Chavez said Sunday of the Russian-made jets.

The Fourth Fleet was active during World War II but was dissolved in 1950. The U.S. Navy announced it would re-establish the fleet to direct naval forces in the Caribbean and Latin America.

U.S. officials deny Washington has designs on Venezuela.

Chavez: Russian jets can repel attack on Venezuela

[Shammu]

Lebanon: 'Right to fight Israel'

Lebanon's new government recognised Hizbollah's "right" to fight Israel, a move which politicians fear could pave the way for war.

By David Blair in Beirut
03 Aug 2008

Hizbollah, the self-styled "resistance movement" which America and Britain consider a terrorist organisation, could effectively receive official approval for its arsenal of weaponry in southern Lebanon.

This may total about 30,000 missiles - perhaps treble the number of two years ago.

The new weapons will be held in readiness to strike Israel, possibly in retaliation for any American attack on Hizbollah's chief supplier and paymaster, Iran.

This breaches United Nations Resolution 1701, which ended the last war with Israel in 2006 by demanding Hizbollah's disarmament.

Because Hizbollah may keep its weapons, Lebanon's other factions will retain their own militias, who are steadily rearming in preparation for any new conflict.

Lebanon's four million people breathed a collective sigh of relief when a national unity government under a new president, Michel Suleiman, was agreed last month, ending an outbreak of fighting in Beirut.

But Hizbollah and its allies have 11 of the cabinet's 30 ministers - enough to veto any government decision.

Hizbollah used this leverage to force the government to recognise its "right of resistance".

A draft policy statement, released at the weekend and which will go before the full cabinet this week, supports the "right of Lebanon's people, the Army and the Resistance to liberate all its territories".

"The Resistance" is official code for Hizbollah - and the need to "liberate" territories arises from Israel's occupation of eight square miles of land, called the Shebaa Farms, which Lebanon claims.

Israel left its "security zone" in southern Lebanon in 2000.

"Hizbollah wants to have a parallel state, side by side with the Lebanon we know," said Farid Chedid, the editor-in-chief of Lebanon Wire, a local news service.

"What does the right of resistance mean? It means the right to hold weapons in the South. It means the right to move weapons across the Syrian border and all around the country. It means the right to operate a private telecommunications network. This makes Hizbollah a state within a state."

Because Hizbollah is an "Iranian tool", added Mr Chedid, Lebanon's government has lost the power to decide on peace or war.

He added: "The only way out is that a miracle takes place whereby the government of the Lebanese state disarms everybody, including Hizbollah.

But with Hizbollah seeking arms and seeking legitimacy for their arms, all the other parties will seek arms."

Mustafa Allouch, an MP from the alliance supporting Fouad Siniora, the prime minister, described the "Lebanese state" as a "prisoner" of Hizbollah.

"I don't foresee a peaceful end, at least based on the current evidence," he said.

Mr Siniora, a pro-Western Sunni, has an exceptionally weak hand. The national army is probably incapable of disarming Hizbollah - and the UN buffer force in southern Lebanon has a weak mandate restricting its troops to a monitoring role.

If America strikes Iran, Mr Allouch predicted that Hizbollah would embroil Lebanon in the conflict by firing its missiles into Israel.

"It's an apocalyptic view as there will be a very heavy Israeli attack on southern Lebanon," he said.

If so, clashes between Sunnis and Shias inside Lebanon could begin, restarting the civil war which raged between 1975 and 1990. Syria may then intervene on the pretext of restoring order, reviving its long military occupation which ended in 2005.

"If this apocalypse happens, the Syrian army will be the only way out and the international community will back them to intervene," said Mr Allouch.

Lebanon: 'Right to fight Israel'

[Soldier4Christ]

RUSSIAN JETS BOMB AIR BASE BY TBILISI

The escalation of aggression between Russia, Georgia and Ossetia has reached the outskirts of Tbilisi. A number of Russian jets have bombed Vaziani Air Base, 25 kilometres from the Georgian capital. The news has come from Kakha Lamaia, an official of Georgia's security forces. "There were no casualties but several buildings were destroyed" Lamaia commented, adding that Russia has in fact "declared war on us".

[Soldier4Christ]

Georgian official reports downing of 2 Russian aircraft
Moscow has sent 150 tanks, armored vehicles into breakaway province of South Ossetia

 Parts of Russia's 58th Army — including 150 tanks and armored vehicles — reportedly were moving Friday on the capital of South Ossetia after Georgian troops entered the city in an attempt to crush separatist forces seeking to control the breakaway province.

Kakha Lamaia, a member of Georgia's National Security Council, told Reuters the two countries are "very close" to war, if not already at war.

"If it's not war, then we are very close to it," Lamaia said. "The Russians have invaded Georgia and we are under attack."

President Bush and Russian Prime Minister Vladimir Putin reportedly were discussing the Georgia crisis after attending the opening of the Beijing Olympic games.

Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Viktorovich Lavrov told Reuters that he is "receiving reports of ethnic cleansing in villages of South Ossetia."

Fighting escalated between Georgian and Russian forces escalated earlier in the day with Georgia claiming to have downed four Russian combat warplanes, and Russian planes bombing the Vaziani airbase outside the Georgian capital of Tblisi.

Russian Ground Forces spokesman Col. Igor Konashenkov said that 10 Russian peacekeepers were killed and another 30 wounded durring Georgian shelling of their barracks.

Georgian officials denied firing on the Russian forces.

Russia's Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov said that Moscow was receiving reports that villages in South Ossetia were being ethnically cleansed.

"We are receiving reports that a policy of ethnic cleansing was being conducted in villages in South Ossetia, the number of refugees is climbing, the panic is growing, people are trying to save their lives," he said during televised remarks in Moscow from Russia's Foreign Ministry.

• Click here to view photos.

Georgian troops launched their offensive to regain control over the South Ossetia.

Georgian President Mikhail Saakashvili accused Russia, which has close ties to the separatists, of bombing Georgian territory.

Saakashvili also said it was in the United States' interest to help his country.

But Russian Prime Minister Vladimir Putin said the Georgian attack will draw retaliation and the Defense Ministry pledged to protect South Ossetians, most of whom have Russian citizenship.

Russia's Channel 1 television earlier showed a convoy of Russian tanks that it said had entered South Ossetia. The report said the convoy is expected to reach the provincial capital within a few hours.

There has been no immediate comment from Russian officials.

Separatist officials in South Ossetia said 15 civilians had been killed in fighting overnight. Georgian officials said seven civilians were wounded in bombing raids by Russia.

Georgia declared a three-hour cease-fire to allow civilians to leave Tskhinvali. Georgia's Interior Ministry spokesman said troops were observing the cease-fire, which began at 3 p.m. local time (7 a.m. EDT).

A spokesman for President Bush said Russia and Georgia should cease hostilities and hold talks to end the conflict. NATO Secretary General Jaap de Hoop Scheffer said he is seriously concerned about the fighting and that the alliance is closely following the situation.

Georgia, which borders the Black Sea between Turkey and Russia, was ruled by Moscow for most of the two centuries preceding the breakup of the Soviet Union. The country has angered Russia by seeking NATO membership — a bid Moscow regards as part of a Western effort to weaken its influence in the region.

Saakashvili long has pledged to restore Tbilisi's rule over South Ossetia and another breakaway province, Abkhazia. Both regions have run their own affairs without international recognition since splitting from Georgia in the early 1990s and built up ties with Moscow.

Relations between Georgia and Russia worsened notably this year as Georgia pushed to join NATO and Russia dispatched additional peacekeeper forces to Abkhazia.

The International Committee of the Red Cross said it is seeking to open a humanitarian corridor to guarantee safe access to Tskhinvali. Maia Kardova, ICRC spokeswoman in Tbilisi, said military vehicles are being given priority on the main road leading to the South Ossetia capital and this is making it difficult for rescue vehicles to get through.

Saakashvili urged Russia to immediately stop bombing Georgian territory.

"Georgia will not yield its territory or renounce its freedom," he said.

A senior Russian diplomat in charge of the South Ossetian conflict, Yuri Popov, dismissed the Georgian claims of Russian bombings as misinformation, the RIA-Novosti news agency reported.

Russia's President Dmitry Medvedev later chaired a session of his Security Council in the Kremlin, vowing that Moscow will protect Russian citizens.

"In accordance with the constitution and federal law, I, as president of Russia, am obliged to protect lives and dignity of Russian citizens wherever they are located," Medvedev said, according to Russian news reports. "We won't allow the death of our compatriots go unpunished."

[Shammu]

Russia, Georgia seek control of South Ossetia capital
Fri Aug 8, 2008 7:55pm EDT

By Nikolai Pavlov

GORI, Georgia (Reuters) - Russian forces battled pro-Western Georgian troops in South Ossetia on Friday in an escalating conflict that threatens to engulf a key energy transit route to Western Europe.

Both sides ignored pleas from world leaders for calm as Moscow and Tbilisi blamed each other for the fighting in South Ossetia which began after several days of skirmishes. Georgian forces shelled the capital of its breakaway region, which separatists said left 1,400 people dead.

Moscow said its troops were responding to a Georgian assault to retake the region, which broke from Georgia as the Soviet Union was collapsing but has no international recognition.

The crisis, the first to confront Kremlin leader Dmitry Medvedev since he took office in May, with violence flaring in a region seen as a key energy transit route where Russia and the West are vying for influence. The hostilities dampened investor confidence and hit the Moscow stock exchange.

Georgia said Russia bombed airfields and Poti port deep inside its territory and Tbilisi and rushed tanks and troops into South Ossetia, formally still a part of Georgia, to reinforce its small force of peacekeepers.

"If the whole world does not stop Russia today, then Russian tanks will be able to reach any other European capital," President Mikheil Saakashvili said.

A top Georgian official said Saakashvili was planning to declare martial law within hours, a move that will gives him a free hand to manage the conflict.

The U.N. Security Council held a second meeting on the conflict on Friday, and diplomats said they hoped the council would unanimously call for a ceasefire.

A Reuters correspondent near Gori -- the birthplace of Soviet dictator Josef Stalin between South Ossetia and the Georgian capital -- saw Georgian troops heading back towards Tbilisi on otherwise empty roads, kicking empty ammunition cartons away from their lorries.

Checkpoints usually manned by the international peacekeeping force in the region were abandoned on the darkened road. Two tanks stood unguarded by the roadside. Georgian soldiers said little and appeared exhausted.

RIVAL CLAIMS

The conflict over Georgia's breakaway regions of South Ossetia and Abkhazia has bedeviled Georgia's relations with Russia, angered by Tbilisi's moves towards the Western fold and its pursuit of NATO membership.

Both the Russian-backed separatists and the Georgian government said they were in control of the regional capital Tskhinvali.

"Tskhinvali and the heights around Tskhinvali and the majority of the villages in South Ossetia are under the control of Georgian forces," Saakashvili said in a televised address.

Irina Galgoyeva, spokeswoman for separatist South Ossetia, denied the report. "The entire town of Tkshinvali is currently controlled by units of South Ossetia's self-defence," Russia's Interfax news agency quoted her as saying.

Political analysts saw Georgia's bid to re-take its rebel region of South Ossetia by force as a gamble by its leader that Ossetia and Abkhazia, another rebel region on the Black Sea.

"He is in big danger of losing the cachet he built up for himself in being pro-Western and the restraint he has often shown in the face of provocation by Russia," said James Nixey, of the Royal Institute of International Affairs in London.

Saakashvili, who wants to take his small Caucasus country in to NATO, has made it a priority to win back control of South Ossetia and Abkhazia, another rebel region on the Black Sea.

Saakashvili said the two countries were at war. The Georgian leader said on television: "What Russia is doing in Georgia is open, unhidden aggression and a challenge to the whole world.

The secretary of Georgia's Security Council, Kakha Lomaia, said Saakhashvili would impose martial law within hours. Russia, he said, had bombed Georgia's Black Sea port of Poti and a military base as part of what authorities believed was the start of attacks on civilian targets and infrastructure.

"CEASE ATTACKS"

U.S. Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice urged Russia to withdraw combat troops from Georgia and stop air strikes.

"We call on Russia to cease attacks on Georgia by aircraft and missiles, respect Georgia's territorial integrity, and withdraw its ground combat forces from Georgian soil," she said.

The president of South Ossetia, Eduard Kokoity, told Interfax about 1,400 people had been killed as a result of "Georgian aggression". Saakashvili put Georgian casualties at about 30, mostly in the military.

President George W. Bush, in Beijing for the opening of the Olympic Games, pledged U.S. support for Georgia's territorial integrity and called for an immediate ceasefire, the White House said.

Envoys from the United States, European Union and the Organisation for Security and Cooperation in Europe were due to head to Georgia.

EU foreign policy chief Javier Solana said he had spoken to the Russian and Georgian foreign ministers, Sergei Lavrov and Eka Tkeshelashvili, to call for an end to the violence.

The Kremlin said Medvedev told German Chancellor Angela Merkel that "the only possible way out is the withdrawal of Georgian forces to starting positions".

Soldiers fired machineguns and armored personnel carriers moved through the deserted streets of Tskhinvali.

Shell holes pierced the grey concrete apartment bocks and plumes of smoke hung over the South Ossetian capital.

Lavrov accused the Georgians of driving people from their homes.

The majority of the roughly 70,000 people living in South Ossetia are ethnically distinct from Georgians. They say they were forcibly absorbed into Georgia under Soviet rule and now want to exercise their right to self-determination.

Russia, Georgia seek control of South Ossetia capital

[Shammu]

Israel backs Georgia in Caspian Oil Pipeline Battle with Russia

August 8, 2008

Georgian tanks and infantry, aided by Israeli military advisers, captured the capital of breakaway South Ossetia, Tskhinvali, early Friday, Aug. 8, bringing the Georgian-Russian conflict over the province to a military climax.

Russian prime minister Vladimir Putin threatened a “military response.”

Former Soviet Georgia called up its military reserves after Russian warplanes bombed its new positions in the renegade province.

In Moscow’s first response to the fall of Tskhinvali, president Dimitry Medvedev ordered the Russian army to prepare for a national emergency after calling the UN Security Council into emergency session early Friday.

Reinforcements were rushed to the Russian “peacekeeping force” present in the region to support the separatists.

Georgian tanks entered the capital after heavy overnight heavy aerial strikes, in which dozens of people were killed.

Lado Gurgenidze, Georgia's prime minister, said on Friday that Georgia will continue its military operation in South Ossetia until a "durable peace" is reached. "As soon as a durable peace takes hold we need to move forward with dialogue and peaceful negotiations."

Geopolitical experts note that on the surface level, the Russians are backing the separatists of S. Ossetia and neighboring Abkhazia as payback for the strengthening of American influence in tiny Georgia and its 4.5 million inhabitants. However, more immediately, the conflict has been sparked by the race for control over the pipelines carrying oil and gas out of the Caspian region.

The Russians may just bear with the pro-US Georgian president Mikhail Saakashvili’s ambition to bring his country into NATO. But they draw a heavy line against his plans and those of Western oil companies, including Israeli firms, to route the oil routes from Azerbaijan and the gas lines from Turkmenistan, which transit Georgia, through Turkey instead of hooking them up to Russian pipelines.

Saakashvili need only back away from this plan for Moscow to ditch the two provinces’ revolt against Tbilisi. As long as he sticks to his guns, South Ossetia and Abkhazia will wage separatist wars.

Israel’s interest in the conflict from its exclusive military sources:

Jerusalem owns a strong interest in Caspian oil and gas pipelines reach the Turkish terminal port of Ceyhan, rather than the Russian network. Intense negotiations are afoot between Israel Turkey, Georgia, Turkmenistan and Azarbaijan for pipelines to reach Turkey and thence to Israel’s oil terminal at Ashkelon and on to its Red Sea port of Eilat. From there, supertankers can carry the gas and oil to the Far East through the Indian Ocean.

Aware of Moscow’s sensitivity on the oil question, Israel offered Russia a stake in the project but was rejected.

Last year, the Georgian president commissioned from private Israeli security firms several hundred military advisers, estimated at up to 1,000, to train the Georgian armed forces in commando, air, sea, armored and artillery combat tactics. They also offer instruction on military intelligence and security for the central regime. Tbilisi also purchased weapons, intelligence and electronic warfare systems from Israel.

These advisers were undoubtedly deeply involved in the Georgian army’s preparations to conquer the South Ossetian capital Friday.

In recent weeks, Moscow has repeatedly demanded that Jerusalem halt its military assistance to Georgia, finally threatening a crisis in bilateral relations. Israel responded by saying that the only assistance rendered Tbilisi was “defensive.”

This has not gone down well in the Kremlin. Therefore, as the military crisis intensifies in South Ossetia, Moscow may be expected to punish Israel for its intervention.

Israel backs Georgia in Caspian Oil Pipeline Battle with Russia

[Shammu]

In recent weeks, Moscow has repeatedly demanded that Jerusalem halt its military assistance to Georgia, finally threatening a crisis in bilateral relations. Israel responded by saying that the only assistance rendered Tbilisi was “defensive.”

This has not gone down well in the Kremlin. Therefore, as the military crisis intensifies in South Ossetia, Moscow may be expected to punish Israel for its intervention.

We already know Russia will strike against Israel. We already know God with defeat Russia and her allies. Check out Ezekiel 38 & Ezekiel 39

[Shammu]

Israel, 'We'll neutralize S-300 if sold to Iran'
Aug. 8, 2008
Yaakov Katz , THE JERUSALEM POST

If Russia goes through with the sale of its most advanced anti-aircraft missile system to Iran, Israel will use an electronic warfare device now under development to neutralize it and as a result present Russia as vulnerable to air infiltrations, a top defense official has told The Jerusalem Post.

The Russian system, called the S-300, is one of the most advanced multi-target anti-aircraft-missile systems in the world today and has a reported ability to track up to 100 targets simultaneously while engaging up to 12 at the same time. It has a range of about 200 kilometers and can hit targets at altitudes of 27,000 meters.

While Russia has denied that it sold the system to Iran, Teheran claimed last year that Moscow was preparing to equip the Islamic Republic with S-300 systems. Iran already has TOR-M1 surface-to-air missiles from Russia.

Mixed media reports have emerged recently regarding the possible delivery of the system to Iran. Two weeks ago Reuters quoted a senior Israeli official who said the system would be delivered to Iran by the end of the year. In response, the Pentagon released a statement rejecting the assessment and saying that the US did not believe Iran would get it in 2008.

According to the Israeli defense official who spoke to the Post, "no one really knows yet if and when Iran will get the system."

A top IAF officer also said this week that Israel needed to do "everything possible" to prevent the S-300 from reaching the region.

"Russia will have to think real hard before delivering this system to Iran, which is possibly on the brink of conflict with either Israel or the US, since if the system is delivered, an EW [electronic warfare] system will likely be developed to neutralize it, and if that happens it would be catastrophic not only for Iran but also for Russia," the defense official said.

Neutralization of one of the main components of Russian air defense would be a blow to Russian national security as well as to defense exports. "No country will want to buy the system if it is proven to be ineffective," the official said. "For these reasons, Russia may not deliver it in the end to Iran."

Also on Thursday, Defense Minister Ehud Barak told an Italian paper that a nuclear Iran would be "dangerous to world order."

Barak emphasized that all options for dealing with threat of a nuclear Teheran were "open and ready," and stressed the importance of "strengthening and accelerating economic sanctions against Iran."

"Either way, we need to keep every option open. If they provoke us, or they attack us, our army is prepared to attack and to succeed uncompromisingly," he asserted in an interview with the daily Corriere della Sera . "It's up to us to find the best way to get the best result with minimum damage," Barak added.

"Iran confirmed its message when it stood against the whole world: to deceive and to reject. Their aim is to obtain an atomic bomb," he continued.

The defense minister also spoke of the results of the Second Lebanon War, telling the Italian paper, "Two years ago, we saw the price that's paid for a lack of an experienced leadership. Nevertheless, today we're equipped with a good understanding to prevent this from happening again."

He added that UN Security Council Resolution 1701 that brought an end to the war was inefficient since Hizbullah, Syria and Iran were doing what they wanted in Lebanon.

Israel, 'We'll neutralize S-300 if sold to Iran'

[Shammu]

Georgia reports new air attack near capital

Aug 9, 8:05 AM (ET)

By MISHA DZHINDZHIKHASHVILI

GORI, Georgia (AP) - Fighting raged in South Ossetia for a second day Saturday as Russia sent hundreds of tanks and troops into the separatist province and dropped bombs on Georgia that left scores of civilians dead or wounded.

Georgia, a staunch U.S. ally, launched a major offensive Friday to retake control of breakaway South Ossetia. Russia, which has close ties to the province and posts peacekeepers there, responded by sending in armed convoys and military combat aircraft.

Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov told reporters in Moscow that some 1,500 people have been killed, with the death toll rising Saturday.

The figure could not be independently confirmed, but witnesses who fled the fighting said hundreds of civilians had probably died. They said most of the provincial capital, Tskhinvali, was in ruins, with bodies lying everywhere.

Russian military aircraft also raided the Georgian town of Gori on Saturday. An Associated Press reporter who visited Gori shortly after the bombing saw several apartment buildings in ruins, some still on fire, and scores of dead bodies and bloodied civilians. The elderly, women and children were among the victims.

It is the worst outbreak of hostilities since the province won de facto independence in a war against Georgia that ended in 1992.

The fighting threatens to ignite a wider war between Russia and Georgia, which accused Russia of bombing its towns, ports and air bases. Georgia, a former Soviet republic with ambitions of joining NATO, has asked the international community to help end what it called Russian aggression.

It also likely will increase tensions between Moscow and Washington, which Lavrov said should bear part of the blame for arming and training Georgian soldiers.

Russian President Dmitry Medvedev said Saturday that Moscow sent troops into South Ossetia to force Georgia into a cease-fire. Moscow has said it needs to protect its peacekeepers and civilians in South Ossetia, most of whom have been given Russian passports. Ethnic Ossetians live in the breakaway Georgian province and in the neighboring Russian province of North Ossetia.

Russian Gen. Vladimir Boldyrev claimed in televised comments Saturday that Russian troops had driven Georgian forces out of the capital of South Ossetia. But Georgian officials dismissed the Russian claims and insisted they were in control of Tskhinvali.

However, witnesses said separatist and Russian forces seemed to be in control of Tskhinvali center, with no Georgian troops visible Saturday morning.

The air and artillery bombardment left the provincial capital without water, food, electricity and gas. Horrified civilians crawled out of the basements into the streets as fighting eased, looking for supplies.

Overnight, Russian warplanes bombed the Vaziani military base on the outskirts of the Georgian capital and near the Baku-Tbilisi-Ceyhan oil pipeline, Georgian Interior Ministry spokesman Shota Utiashvili said. He also said two other military bases were hit, and that warplanes bombed the Black Sea port city of Poti, which has a sizable oil shipment facility.

Georgia, meanwhile, said it has shot down 10 Russian planes, including four brought down Saturday, according to Kakha Lomaya, head of Georgia's Security Council.

The first Russian confirmation that its planes had been shot down came Saturday from Russian Col. Gen. Anatoly Nogovitsyn, deputy chief of the General Staff, who said two Russian planes were downed. He did not say where or when.

Russian military commanders said 15 peacekeepers have been killed and about 150 wounded. Russian troops went in as peacekeepers but Georgia alleges they now back the separatists.

Russian military spokesman Col. Igor Konashenkov accused Georgian troops of killing and wounded Russian peacekeepers when they seized Russian checkpoints. Konashenkov's allegations couldn't be independently confirmed Saturday.

Russia's foreign minister said that Georgia brought the airstrikes upon itself by bombing civilians and Russian peacekeepers, and warned that the small Caucasus country should expect more attacks.

"Whatever side is used to bomb civilians and the positions of peacekeepers, this side is not safe and they should know this," Lavrov said.

Asked whether Russia could bomb the Georgian capital, Tbilisi, Lavrov answered: "I don't think the bombing is coming from Tbilisi, but whatever part of Georgia is used for this aggression is not safe."

It was unclear what might persuade either side to stop shooting. Both claim the battle started after the other side violated a cease-fire that had been declared just hours earlier after a week of sporadic clashes.

Diplomats have issued a flurry of statements calling on both sides to halt the fighting and called for another emergency session of the U.N. Security Council, its second since early Friday morning seeking to prevent an all-out war.

President Bush said Saturday the outbreak of fighting is endangering peace throughout the volatile region, and he urged an end to the deadly outbreak of violence.

"I'm deeply concerned about the situation in Georgia," Bush said in a statement to reporters while attending the Olympics in Beijing. "The attacks are occurring in regions of Georgia far from the zone of conflict in South Ossetia. They mark a dangerous escalation in the crisis.

"The violence is endangering regional peace, civilian lives have been lost and others are endangered. We have urged an immediate halt to the violence and a stand-down by all troops. We call for an end to the Russian bombings, and a return by the parties to the status quo of Aug. 6."

Russia, which has granted citizenship to most of the region's residents, appeared to lay much of the responsibility for ending the fighting on Washington.

Georgia, which borders the Black Sea between Turkey and Russia, was ruled by Moscow for most of the two centuries preceding the breakup of the Soviet Union. Georgia has angered Russia by seeking NATO membership - a bid Moscow regards as part of a Western effort to weaken its influence in the region.

Georgia's President Mikhail Saakashvili, a U.S.-educated lawyer, long has pledged to restore Tbilisi's rule over South Ossetia and another breakaway province, Abkhazia. Both regions have run their own affairs without international recognition since splitting from Georgia in the early 1990s and have built up ties with Moscow.

Georgia has about 2,000 troops in Iraq, making it the third-largest contributor to coalition forces after the U.S. and Britain. But Saakashvili has called them home in the face of the South Ossetia fighting. The Georgian commander of the brigade in Iraq said Saturday they would leave as soon as transport can be arranged.

Because of the GRAPHIC pictures, I WILL NOT post the link back to the story!!

[Shammu]

Fighting with Russia spreads to cities across Georgia
August 8, 2008

TBLISI, Georgia (CNN) -- Bombs rocked Tbilisi early Saturday morning as the fight between Georgia and Russia over a breakaway region intensified and moved into the Georgian capital.

Government buildings, including the Parliament, were evacuated when the bombs fell.

Heavy casualties have reported on both sides since Russian forces moved Friday into South Ossetia, a pro-Russian autonomous region of Georgia.

Russian bombers were targeting Georgia's economic infrastructure, National Security Council secretary Alexander Lomaia said, including the country's largest Black Sea port, Poti, and the main road connecting the southern part of Georgia with the east and the airport.

Georgian television reported that the port had been destroyed.

Georgia, a former Soviet state, sent troops into South Ossetia on Thursday, aiming to crack down on the separatists, who want independence or unification with North Ossetia, which is in Russia. Russia responded Friday, sending troops into the Georgian province where it had peacekeepers stationed.

"I saw bodies lying on the streets, around ruined buildings, in cars," Lyudmila Ostayeva, a resident of the South Ossetia capital, Tskhinvali, told The Associated Press on Friday.

"It's impossible to count them now. There is hardly a single building left undamaged," she said after fleeing to a village near the Russian border, AP reported.

"They are killing civilians, women and children, with heavy artillery and rockets," Sarmat Laliyev, 28, told AP.

One U.S. State Department official called the conflict a "very dangerous situation" and said diplomatic moves are afoot around the globe to stop it.

Georgia -- on the Black Sea coast between Russia and Turkey -- appealed for diplomatic intervention. Video Watch Georgian minister describe fighting in South Ossetia »

Georgia asked the United States for planes to bring back its 2,000 troops serving as part of the U.S.-led coalition in Iraq, a U.S. official said.

"All day today, they've been bombing Georgia from numerous warplanes and specifically targeting [the] civilian population, and we have scores of wounded and dead among [the] civilian population all around the country," Georgia's president, Mikhail Saakashvili, said Friday. "This is the worst nightmare one can encounter." Video Watch the interview with Saakashvili »

Russia's ambassador to United Nations, Vitaly Churkin, put the blame on the Tblisi government.

"What is going on is a massive bombardment of residential quarters in Tshkinvali and other towns, too," Churkin said.

Eduard Kokoity, head of the rebel government in South Ossetia, said that 1,400 people were killed in the province, according to Russia's Interfax news agency.

 Hundreds of people, possibly thousands, are fleeing South Ossetia to the Russian region of North Ossetia-Alania, the United Nations reported Friday, citing Russian officials.

About 150 Russian armored vehicles have entered South Ossetia, Saakashvili said, and Georgian forces had shot down two Russian aircraft. Video Watch the Russian tanks moving into the area »

Russian President Dmitry Medvedev, quoted by Interfax, said Russians had died because of Georgian military operations in South Ossetia.

Russia "will not allow the deaths of our compatriots to go unpunished," and "those guilty will receive due punishment," he said. "My duty as Russian president is to safeguard the lives and dignity of Russian citizens, wherever they are. This is what is behind the logic of the steps we are undertaking now."

South Ossetia, with a population of about 70,000, declared independence from Georgia in the early 1990s, but it was not internationally recognized. Many ethnic Ossetians feel close to Russia and have Russian passports and use its currency.

 Interfax quoted the Georgian Foreign Ministry as saying that strikes by Russian aircraft killed and wounded personnel at a Georgian air base and that Russian planes have been bombing Georgian territory throughout the day. Georgian officials also report four Russian aircraft shot down.

The U.S., NATO and the European Union have all called for an end to the fighting. President Bush and Russian Prime Minister Vladimir Putin discussed the conflict Friday, the White House confirmed.

By early evening Friday, a Georgian Cabinet minister said the country's forces have taken control of Tskhinvali, Interfax reported.

The Novosti news agency, citing the South Ossetian government, said Georgian tanks and infantry attacked Tskhinvali, and "a large part of the city has been destroyed. Over 15 civilians have been killed, several buildings are on fire in the city center, and the local parliament building has burned down."

But Russian and South Ossetian officials said Russia was making inroads in fighting Georgian forces.

"Street fighting in Tskhinvali has lasted for many hours. Ossetian home guards are using grenade-launchers to destroy Georgian tanks. Eyewitnesses say tanks are burning throughout the city. The turning point is approaching in the battle for the capital city," said the Web site of the South Ossetian Information and Press Committee.

The committee also said Russian armored vehicles have entered the northern suburb of the city.

Violence has been mounting in the region in recent days, with sporadic clashes between Georgian forces and South Ossetian separatists.

Georgian troops launched attacks in South Ossetia late Thursday after a top government official said a unilateral cease-fire offer was met with separatist artillery fire.
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Lomaia said Georgian troops responded proportionately to separatist mortar and artillery attacks on two villages, attacks he said followed the cease-fire and Saakashvili's call for negotiations.

Russian peacekeepers are in South Ossetia under a 1992 agreement by Russian, Georgian and South Ossetian authorities to maintain what has been a fragile peace. The mixed peacekeeping force also includes Georgian and South Ossetian troops.

Fighting with Russia spreads to cities across Georgia

[Shammu]

Georgia declares state of war with Russia
1 hour, 39 minutes ago

TBLISI, Georgia (CNN) -- Georgia's parliament Saturday approved a request by President Mikhail Saakashvili's to impose a "state of war," as the conflict between Georgia and Russia escalated, Georgian officials said.

 Saakashvili accused Russia of launching an unprovoked full-scale military attack against his country, including targeting civilian homes, while Russian officials insist their troops were protecting people from Georgia's attacks on South Ossetia, a breakaway Georgian region that borders Russia.

Russia's Interfax news agency said the death toll was at least 2,000 killed in the capital of South Ossetia and claimed the city has been destroyed.

Separatist-backed South Ossetian sources reported that about 1,600 people have died and 90 have been wounded in provincial capital Tskhinvali since Russian forces entered the territory Thursday.

Georgia said the overall death toll would be closer to 100.

Georgian officials said Russia has mobilized its Black Sea fleet off the coast of Abkhazia, another breakaway Georgian province.

Russian Prime Minister Vladimir Putin arrived Saturday in Vladikavkaz, near Russia's border with Georgia, Russia's Interfax reported.

Meanwhile, President George Bush, speaking from Beijing, called for an immediate halt to the violence, a stand-down by all troops, and an end to the Russian bombings. Video Watch Bush express concerns over situation »

The Georgian "state of war" order is not a formal declaration of war, and stops short of declaring martial law, according to Georgian officials who described it to CNN.

It gives Saakashvili powers he would not ordinarily have, such as issuing curfews, restricting the movement of people, or limiting commercial activities, those officials said.

It places the government on a 24-hour alert, said Georgian National Security Council Secretary Alexander Lomaia during a conference call with reporters.

Saakashvili asked Western leaders to pressure Russia to agree to an immediate cease-fire, which he said his country would willingly observe first.

"We are dealing with absolutely criminal and crazy acts of irresponsible and reckless decision makers, which is on the ground producing dramatic and tragic consequences," Saakashvili said Saturday afternoon.

A White House spokesman said President Bush spoke Saturday evening to Saakashvili and Russian President Medvedev.

The war, Saakashvili said, "is not about South Ossetia. It has never been in the first place. It is about destroying a small democratic nation aspiring to live in peace, freedom and liberty."

"This unprovoked, long-time-ago-planned invasion and aggression must stop," he said.

Russia, with a population of 146 million, is trying to destroy his country of 4.6 million people, he said, comparing it to the 1979 Soviet invasion of Afghanistan.

"I think what is at stake here is the post-Cold War order," Saakashvili said.

 Inna Gagloyeva, spokeswoman for the South Ossetian Information and Press Committee, told Russia's Interfax news agency that Tskhinvali was being "massively shelled" with artillery guns. Video Watch images of crashed Georgian war plane »

It was unclear which side was in control of that city on Saturday. The Georgians said fighting raged, but the Russians said they had "liberated" the city.

"Battalion task forces have fully liberated Tskhinvali of Georgian armed forces and started pushing Georgian units out of the area of responsibility of the peacekeeping forces," said General Vladimir Boldyrev, commander of the Russian Ground Forces, in an interview with Interfax.

Colonel-General Anatoly Nogovitsyn, a spokesman for the Russian Defense Ministry, told a news conference that the Russian paratroopers will "implement the operation of enforcing peace" on both sides.

Nogovitsyn also confirmed that Georgians had shot down two Russian aircraft. Saakashvili said his military has shot down 10 Russian bombers.

Russia said the troops were also reinforcing the Russian peacekeepers already in South Ossetia.

"Our peacekeepers, along with reinforcement units, are currently conducting an operation to force the Georgian side to accept peace," Russian President Dmitry Medvedev said at the Kremlin. "They are also responsible for protecting the population."

Interfax said 15 peacekeepers were killed in the Friday attack by Georgian troops. Russia has opened a criminal probe into their deaths, Interfax reported.

Georgia, a former Soviet Republic, is a pro-Western ally of the United States intent on asserting its authority over South Ossetia and Abkhazia. which both have strong Russian-backed separatist movements.Video Watch Georgian minister describe fighting in South Ossetia »

Russia moved troops into South Ossetia early Friday after Georgia launched an operation in the breakaway region when its unilateral cease-fire was met with what it said was artillery fire from separatists that killed 10 people, including peacekeepers and civilians.

Russia charged that Georgia had targeted its peacekeepers stationed in the region.

Medvedev said Saturday that Georgia must be held responsible for the situation in South Ossetia.

"The people responsible for this humanitarian disaster need to be held liable for what they have done," Medvedev said. He said the humanitarian problems were caused by "the aggression launched by the Georgian side against the South Ossetian civilians and Russian peacekeepers."

Russian officials said more than 30,000 refugees have left South Ossetia and crossed into Russia over the past two days, since fighting began, Interfax reported.

Maia Kardava, a Red Cross spokeswoman in the Georgian capital of Tbilisi was unable to provide refugee or casualty figures Saturday morning because she said aid workers were still gathering information and visiting hospitals in South Ossetia and western Georgia.

Russian forces bombed several targets in Georgia on Saturday, according to Kardava and the British Foreign Office, which advised against all nonessential travel to Georgia.

Russian aircraft bombarded military and civilian targets the port town of Poti, on Georgia's Black Sea coast, Kardava and British and Georgian officials said. Eight Georgians were killed in the port town, Georgian officials said.

In the town of Senaki, just inland from Poti, Russian forces damaged a railway line, a military base, and a center housing civilians who fled from nearby Abkhazia.

Military bases at Vaziani and Marneuli also came under attack, the British Foreign Office said, and Russian aircraft bombed the Georgian town of Gori, about 35 miles northwest of Tbilisi, Georgian officials said.

Inside South Ossetia, civilians have been without water, electricity, and basic services for more than a day, Kardava said. She said the Red Cross was unable to reach colleagues based in Tskhinvali because their phones had lost power and they were huddled in bomb shelters.

Also Saturday, the commander of Georgian troops stationed in Iraq said the 2,000 soldiers there will be withdrawn from Iraq "very soon."
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Colonel Bondo Maisuradze said the United States would provide the transport to get them out of Iraq. He said he had no time frame for the move.

Saakashvili told CNN Friday that the troops were needed in Georgia to defend against the Russian military.

Georgia declares state of war with Russia