The Narrative About Georgia
In its latest article about the war between Russia and Georgia over the Georgian breakaway region South Ossetia, Reuters repeats the familiar media narrative that the Georgians ‘poked the bear.’ As should be expected from a bear, it responded furiously.
Reuters summarizes the events as follows: ‘The small, pro-Russian province in the Caucasus mountains, which broke away from Georgian rule in 1992 after a war, saw renewed fighting this month after Georgia tried to impose control in a failed invasion repelled by Russian forces.’
My good friend Michael Totten is currently in Georgia and informed that this narrative is completely and utterly wrong. Georgia did not decide to ‘invade’ South Ossetia after which the Russians attacked, he said. Instead, the Russians attacked; the Georgian ‘invasion’ was not an invasion at all he argues. It was self defense.
Yet, major news organizations like Reuters and the Associated Press have written their narrative and there is little to no chance of them correcting themselves.
Michael will post about his adventures in Georgia later, by the way. In his article he is set to explain what exactly led to the Russian - Georgian war this month. I suggest that those who want to know what really happened keep an eye on his much respected and well visited website.
To all those Russians who claimed that it was Georgia who started it, I guess I should be saying, Saakashvili was right, and I told you so.
Thanks for this great information Michael, I knew there was something fishy about the narrative "Georgia attacked Ossetia, then Russia attacked back".
This thing has been developing for months with "rebels" armed by Russians and have been attacking Georgian forces. So many ceasefires have been negotiated and broken during this time. It really doesn’t mean a thing to say that Georgians "broke" the ceasefire. As far as I’m concerned, it doesn’t even matter if Georgians indeed engaged in an "offensive" and were first to do so on the 7 of August. How else are you supposed to deal with terrorism? Sit home and wait for the terror attack?
Typical Russian creation and use of a minority conflict for territorial gain. The Ossetians will learn the hard way what others already have.
The real question is, why is it that Western European nations seem to understand what is going on in the "conflict" between Ossetia and Georgia which the Russians claim required them to go in and "rescue" "their citizens"?
Yet, Western European nations refuse to understand that this is precisely what the Russians did in eastern Anatolia during WWI.
Man, can you like stop searching for needles in the hay stack? Who started to kill people first? Did the Russians attack Georgia? Why do you keep trying to dilute the truth? Did CNN not dilute it enough, by showing only American crap?
I don’t have anything against you, but like you are finding excuses, people have died! It does not matter on which side, and Georgia started the killing.
If a gang of bullies are outside your house, what do you? You call the Police, or go out and start beating them knowing you wont win?
Please, get real, nobody is going to buy this nonsense.
And about the “provoked”, do not worry about it, Georgians have beaten up a lot of Ossetians too.
Georgians were living in peace, they never raised a fist against South Ossetia, but the Russians didnt leave them alone. Is that why Saakashvili promised to bring the country toghether? Because he is such a hippie like person, who loves peace, and hates war, just that he makes war like statements on tv.
Let’s all just say Georgia is a peacefull country, full of hippies, and the rest of the world is against them.
Can you see yourself think? I dont want to offend anyone, but you’ve been watching a lot of CNN, and it’s up in your head with democracy, like in Iraq, and Afghanistan, that is the greatest example of democracy implemented ever!
George; actually, it seems that Russia attacked Georgia first. Not the other way around.
I’m with George here. No one is saying Russia was right. If they were, they would have retreated to S.O and not captured Gori, etc. However, Totten (who I admire) is hearing from shellshocked refugees, who may be right, or wrong. If Mr. S’s troops stepped beyond their boundaries first, then they started it. BUT it does not excuse Russia. If the Georgians did not cross the line, then it was a direct invasion.
Those who don’t see what’s really happening in this situation have no idea how terrorism works and how it generally gets sponsored by the neighboring countries for territorial gain. Please gain a perspective on that and THEN try to interpret the narrative. Or better yet, as Kemal states, go back in time to see how Russia has done this over and over and over and over again.
That someone doesn’t love the neocons shouldn’t mean they should be siding with the other side of the conflict. A sense of history, please.