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| Iraq | |
| Georgia becomes an unlikely U.S. ally in Iraq | |
| 2007-10-09 | |
| KUT, Iraq: The United States has found an unlikely ally in the struggle to block what U.S. commanders contend is Iranian weapons smuggling in this rural agricultural region south and east of Baghdad: soldiers from the former Soviet republic of Georgia. At a time when other countries are pulling troops out, Georgia has more than doubled the level of its forces here, from 850 to 2,000 soldiers, and redeployed them from the Green Zone in the capital to a region along the Iranian border. After a ceremony to mark the formal start of their mission Monday, during which Georgian soldiers knelt and were sprinkled with holy water by their Eastern Orthodox priest, the tiny Caucasus Mountain nation has become the United States's second-largest ally in Iraq, behind Britain. But it is hardly fear of Iran that is impelling the Georgians to contribute so significantly to the war, even as other nations pull out. As the United States is searching for allies, so is Georgia, a country that aspires to NATO membership as a security guarantee against a resurgent, oil-enriched Russia. "As soldiers here, we help the American soldiers," Corporal Georgi Zedguidze said, peering out past the sun-scorched checkpoint he was guarding at a bridge over the Tigris River. "Then America as a country will help our country."
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| #5 Not sure how "unlikely" an ally Georgia is. Seems pretty unsurprising - then again per the prevailing delusion amongst most media types, any cooperation with the US is "unlikely" (though it's massive, probably greater than ever, behind the scenes). The Georgians I met seemed pretty basic and straightforward as soldiers - just what's needed in Iraq. Probably not too many grad degrees among the officers. Taking into account all I don't know about the relevant details of what Iran's doing and what we may already be doing about that, I still say the heat should be turned way, way, way up. IGRC members, including seniors, dying in significant numbers INSIDE IRAN is the essential missing ingredient. Border stuff is fine, but about 5% of the solution. This will lead to tensions with the Shi'a Iraqis, you say? Good. Iraq consists of nothing but bluffs waiting to be called (OK, a few jihadi nutcases and clueless Sunnis aside) - our refusal to even consider calling them gives you years of "twilight struggle" against the most pathetically weak and unimpressive adversary we've faced ... ever? |
| Posted by: Verlaine 2007-10-09 20:29 |
| #4 Are you outa your nut, Glenmore? |
| Posted by: gromgoru 2007-10-09 19:58 |
| #3 Thanks for the good background, Aris. |
| Posted by: Glenmore 2007-10-09 08:49 |
| #2 Ughandans pulled guard and DCAC duty at Anaconda. Appeared to do a pretty good job of it. Had some Romanians down south, excellent by all accounts. Bring on the Georgians. We need all the help we can get. |
| Posted by: Besoeker 2007-10-09 07:42 |
| #1 "the people of those two small regions have made it clear that they don't wish to be part of Georgia." No, the people of Abkhazia used to be in their majority *Georgians*. Abkhazians were a minority in Abkhazia itself, until with Russian help they ethnically cleansed the Georgians. And now the Abkhazians themselves, in their Russia-backed protectorate, are less free and have less of a democracy than they ever had under Georgia's central control. When an "election" in Abkhazia didn't go Russia's way (Sergey Bagapsh won in favour of the Russia-backed Raul Khajimba) Russia simply growled Abkhazia's way and an accomodation that placed Khajimba in charge was found more quickly than you could say "charade". The calls for Abkhazia's and South Ossetia's independence are nothing more than a repeat of the Sudetenland's call for "independence" from Czechoslovakia -- they are nothing but a huge imperialism using a minority in a nearby country to slice it up. The minority in question ends up in a worse situation than previously. |
| Posted by: Aris Katsaris 2007-10-09 06:11 |