The Russians have tried their best to justify their invasion of Georgia. The Kremlin compared Russian invasion of Georgia to the US invasion of Iraq. An anonymous Russian reporter asked Ms. Condolezza Rice of the difference between the invasion of Iraq by US and its allies, and the Russian invasion of Georgia. Though Ms. Rice's answer was sufficient, there are many considerable differences between the two.
First of all, US followed all the criteria provided for by international conventions for wars and conflict. After the attack on 9/11, perpetrators were quickly identified and their profiles were linked to an organization known by the CIA to be in operation in the Middle East, Asia, and in the US, the Al Qeada network.
This is the same organization that attacked two US embassies (in Tanzania and Kenya) and also bombed the USS Cole. When President Clinton asked for the extradition of Osama Bin Laden, the Taliban refused to. Even when Pres. Clinton ordered the attack of Taliban's camps by way of Surface-to-Air-missile (SAM) from the Gulf, OBL vowed to keep attacking US targets, even in US soil. After more than six years, the AQ struck again. This time they brought down the main economic powerhouse of the US and its allies; the World Trade Center. US demands for the Taliban to turnover AQ leadership fell on deaf ears, even when Pres. Bush mobilized the US Armed forces and gave the Taliban 48 hours to hand over OBL, no one seemed to care. After all options have been exhausted, the US and its allies, started dropping bombs and the invasion of Afghanistan arrived. Was it justified? Yes, there was no other options left.
Secondly, the invasion of Iraq, though controversial, was necessary, at least in the view of the US and its allies. Information shared by the French, UK, and US intelligence agencies showed a Saddam Hussein who was snooping around Africa for Plutonium. This intelligence, coupled with the fact that the Iraqi government failed to produce evidences that its chemical weapons were destroyed in accordance with the 1991-ceasefire agreement, Iraq appeared extremely dangerous. That in 1995-1996, after some five or so years after the invasion of Kuwait, Hussein, again, ordered chemical attack on the Kurds in the North killing tens of thousands of innocent lives.
The US and UK ambassadors to the UN sponsored a resolution calling on Iraq to give up its chemical weapons. The resolution was vetoed for political reasons; the US and the UK camps were told to resubmit the resolution and were urged to change the strong language or use of words in the resolution. That resolution never made it to the floor as France, China, and Russia, with the support of Germany vowed to vetoed it. The US and UK, having exhausted all options gathered what Pres. Bush later called the "coalition of the willing" and moved to Baghdad.
Iraq war critics have made their points when Weapons of Mass Destruction (WMD) weren't found through out Iraq, but the fact that Hussein's government back in 1991 provided the UN a list of Chemical weapons in their possession doesn't make Hussein's government, the victim of misinformation. Even when UN inspectors were in Baghdad to inspect suspected sites, Hussein's government controlled pretty much everything they did, from their schedule to what they were allowed to see.
Russia Didn't Follow War Protocol
It is appalling to think that Russia did all that requires by international conventions and laws before moving in to Georgia. Russia didn't ask for an emergency UNSC meeting to condemn Georgian alleged attack in the separatist region of Ossetia and Abkhasia. Had the Russians called for a UNSC meeting, Georgian authority could have been the bad guys, instead Russians rolled into Georgia and invaded a sovereign state, killing tens of thousands of people, destroying every military infrastructure and killed innocent civilians.
Within hours of the the Russian invasion of Georgia, the Georgian website was attacked by a hacker traced to the Kremlin. The website was disabled instantly, another illegal activity!
What Provoked Russia?
The invasion of Georgia occurred on the day of the opening of the Olympic in Beijing, China. The Russian Prime Minister, Vladimir Putin, was in China to witness the opening ceremony of the Olympic and also met with some of the leaders of China, US, France and some leaders of EU. The invasion comes while the world's attention was on China, a time when everyone was in a party mood and celebration. Countries around the world were equally anxious to see their delegations paraded in the the stadium in Beijing. Even US president George W. Bush was seen with a pair of binoculars, scanning the parade. On his free time, Pres. Bush met with US Beach volleyball teams, the US Swim team, and other athletes.
But at the border between Russia and Georgia, the Russian forces were moving toward Georgia, claiming that Georgian forces were carrying out an ethnic cleansing campaign in breakaway province of Ossetia and AbKhazia. The Russian invasion was ruthless, troops in armored vehicles, tanks, and fighter planes all destroying Georgian infrastructure and cut the country into halves in matter of days.
The Russian government claimed that Russians peace keepers were attacked by Georgian forces, and according to their (Russia) laws, as quoted by the Russian president, Russian forces have the right to go into foreign lands to protect their citizens.
They displayed on Russian TV some buildings they claimed were bombed by the Georgian forces. For many, the reasons for Russians to go in were more than justified and Georgians are the bad guys. Liberal media in the US and the West all agreed that the Georgians were the bad guys. Those who bought this explanation by the Russians, bought it as it was intended by the Russians.
Did the Georgians Provoked the Russians?
But it seems almost like a calculated move than an hasty move to protect innocent lives they claimed being tortured and murdered by the Georgian forces. But is there a story that the Russians aren't telling the world? That seems to be the case. A former US Ambassador to the UN went to Georgia and to the troubled town of Ossetia. He painted a different picture that made it sound extremely possible that the Russians did the provocation.
The timing was extremely suspicious, and from eyewitnesses in Ossetia on Russian build up to the invasion, tells another story. The Russians, using the cover of Russian peace keeping troops in the two separatist enclaves, began military build up while their backed separatists began harassing, intimidating, and burning down homes of ethnic Georgians living in Ossetia. This very act provoked the Georgian government into send in troops with that knowledge that Ossetia is Georgian territory. Within hours, Russians military that were already mobilized, moved into Georgia from the West and the North. Now they make it sounds as if the Georgians attacked the separatists and Russian peace-keepers for no reasons at all.
International Borders
Whatever the truth is, it is important that the world knows two facts: Ossetia and Abkhazia were agreed on by the UN body as Georgian territories, and that the Russians have no rights to move in to these two areas when they are recognized as Georgian provinces. To do so, they do not only violate international laws, but are seen as the aggressors.
Russians vs. West
I do believe that there, as Defense Sec. Gates rightly puts it, must be consequences for the Russian invasion of Georgia. The West must stop talking and begin acting like real people and powerful countries. It has to start with the suggest expulsion of Russia from the G-8 nations. Which means that these seven countries must consider Russian activities in Georgia contrary to the guiding principles of the G-8.
Secondly, The EU must send in inspectors and monitors into Georgia, as proposed, to make sure that the Russians completely withdraw from Georgian territory and compile a full report on the Russian invasion.
UN Forces should replace the Russian keeping forces as their reputation has been tainted and the Georgians don't welcome them anymore.
In addition to that, Georgia must be integrated with NATO as it is a right of an independent nation to make its own decision and Russia must recognized its territorial boundaries.
The Western forces (NATO) must strengthen its forces as it faces a foe beyond their power, in years to come. Russia will fight tooth-and-nail to hold on to its influence in the two enclaves, which also mean that Russia may be willing to use military force against any obstacles to its ambitions in these two enclaves.
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