Informant38

The road leads back to you

Georgia on my mind:

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.

Debkafile 08.Aug.08
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Other arms reach out to me:

In addition to the spy drones, Israel has also been supplying Georgia with infantry weapons and electronics for artillery systems, and has helped upgrade Soviet-designed Su-25 ground attack jets assembled in Georgia, according to Koba Liklikadze, an independent military expert based in Tbilisi.
Former Israeli generals also serve as advisers to the Georgian military.

International Herald Tribune 05.Aug.08
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Other eyes smile tenderly:

For the best possible illustration of why Islamic terrorism may one day be considered the least of our problems, look no farther than the BBC's split-screen coverage of yesterday's Olympic opening ceremonies. On one side, fireworks sparkled, and thousands of exotically dressed Chinese dancers bent their bodies into the shape of doves, the cosmos and more. On the other side, gray Russian tanks were shown rolling into South Ossetia, a rebel province of Georgia.

Anne Applebaum/Washington Post 09.Aug.08
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Just an old sweet song:

Russian armored vehicles continued to stream into South Ossetia, and Russian officials said that 1,500 civilians had been killed in South Ossetia and that 12 Russian soldiers had died.

A Georgian government spokesman said that 60 civilians had been killed in airstrikes on the city of Gori. Each side’s figures were impossible to confirm independently.

Michael Schwirtz et al. NyTimes 09.Aug.08
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as sweet and clear as moonlight through the pines:

The most coveted resource on earth is the giant oil-field in the Caspian Sea region, that competes in scale with the riches of Saudi Arabia. In 2010 it is expected to yield 3.2 billion barrels of crude oil per day, in addition to 4850 billion cubic feet of natural gas per year.

Uri Avnery/Counterpunch 11.Feb.02
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Oddly for a highly-paid professional journalist working for one of the country's most respected newspapers, Applebaum seems to have missed the Israeli connection completely.
And just as oddly, for a highly-paid journalist working for one of the country's most respected newspapers, Schwirtz, or his editors, allowed that sentence to go to print, with its tidy disclaimer underneath that "Each side’s figures were impossible to confirm independently", even though its context clearly implies Russia was responsible for those thousand-plus civilian deaths.
When in fact it was the Georgian military and its Israeli-provided weapons and advisers that killed most if not all of them.
As Schwirtz and his editors well know.
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Ossetia and Caspian Sea oil here, here
And more here, here