First, it was Bolivian President Evo Morales who expelled the US ambassador. Second, Venezuelan President Hugo Chavez did the same thing. As far I can can remember that is the first time ever that two US ambassadors got the boot practically simultaneously. In the meantime, Russia is sending two of its strategic bombers to Venezuela as a symbolic sign of support and is announcing that a naval group headed by
(thanks for M. for bringing this article to my attention. VS) By George Friedman for Stratfor The Russo-Georgian war continues to resonate, and it is time to expand our view of it. The primary players in Georgia, apart from the Georgians, were the Russians and Americans. On the margins were the Europeans, providing advice and admonitions but carrying little weight. Another player, carrying out a murkier role, was Israel. Israeli
I ended my previous article about The real meaning of the South Ossetian war with the words: historians will probably look back at the month of August 2008 as the moment when Russia decided to strike back at the Empire for the first time. Today, I want to pick up this conclusion and take a look at what might happen next. But before looking into the future, I want to
Press TV reports: Russia has halted cooperation with NATO as tension is running high between Moscow and the West after the Georgia conflict. NATO announced on Thursday that it had received notification from Russia that the country was halting military cooperation with the alliance. “We have received the notification from the Russians through military channels and they say that they have decided to halt international military cooperation events between Russia
Another excellent commentary by Pepe Escobar:
Russian and Georgian sources are reporting Russian Air Force strikes on Georgian military facilities throughout Georgia. The port of Poti has also reportedly been bombed. Several Georgian aircraft were destroyed on the Marneuli air base near the Georgian capital Tbilissi. The Vaziani military base (25 km from the capital) was also bombed. The airport of Bolnisi is reported “destroyed” by Georgian sources. In the meantime, Russian sources are reporting that
Russia Today reports: NATO encouraged Georgia Russia’s envoy to NATO, Dmitry Rogozin, has sent an official note to representatives of all member countries in Brussels in connection with Georgia’s military actions against South Ossetia. He’s calling on them not to support Mikhail Saakashvili. “Russia has already begun consultations with the ambassadors of the NATO countries and consultations with NATO military representatives will be held tomorrow,” Rogozin said. “We will caution
This just in from Interfax (via Press TV): South Ossetian separatists say they are in complete control of the capital Tskhinvali more than 24 hours into a major Georgian military offensive. The statement was made by South Ossetian spokeswoman, Irina Gagloyeva on Friday, the Interfax news agency reported. “The entire city of Tskhinvali is currently controlled by units of South Ossetia’s defense forces… The Georgian side is trying to regain
by Ilya Kramnik for RIA-Novosti The very real possibility of full-scale war between Georgia and South Ossetia raises questions about its possible outcome. At present, the Georgian armed forces have more than 30,000 men, including 20,000 ground forces. They are equipped with more than 200 tanks, including 40 T-55s and 165 T-72s, which are currently being upgraded. Apart from tanks, the ground forces have 200 combat armored vehicles, including about
I am currently following the events in South Ossetia and the situation is developing very rapidly. Here is a summary of what has happened so far. 1) Georgian special forces have taken over 11 villages around the South Ossetian capital Tshinvali. They then proceeded to take over several high points around the city from were a massive artillery barrage was initiated. 2) Artillery strikes were supported by airstrikes. Images shown
By M K Bhadrakumar for Asia Times (via Informationclearinghouse) From the details coming out of Ashgabat in Turkmenistan and Moscow over the weekend, it is apparent that the great game over Caspian energy has taken a dramatic turn. In the geopolitics of energy security, nothing like this has happened before. The United States has suffered a huge defeat in the race for Caspian gas. The question now is how much
BUCHAREST, April 4 (RIA Novosti) – Any further expansion by NATO toward Russia’s borders will be interpreted as a direct threat to the country’s security, Russian President Vladimir Putin said on Friday. “The appearance on our borders of a powerful military bloc… will be considered by Russia as a direct threat to our country’s security,” Putin told a news conference after meeting with leaders of the 26-nation alliance on the
Acting as one – which of course they are – President Bush and the US House of Representatives announced yesterday that they both favor the entry of the Ukraine and Georgia into NATO. That Dubya would take such an idiotic position is of no surprise of course, but that the House would pass such a resolution unanimously is quite shocking: not a single Representative had the brains to understand what
THE FOLLOWING IS A ONE YEAR OLD REPORT PICKED UP BY MISTAKE: MOSCOW, March 27 (RIA Novosti) – Russian military intelligence services are reporting a flurry of activity by U.S. Armed Forces near Iran’s borders, a high-ranking security source said Tuesday. “The latest military intelligence data point to heightened U.S. military preparations for both an air and ground operation against Iran,” the official said, adding that the Pentagon has probably
(thanks to Mizgin for this submission) Speech at Expanded Meeting of the State Council on Russia’s Development Strategy through to 2020February 8, 2008The Kremlin, Moscow PRESIDENT VLADIMIR PUTIN: Citizens of Russia, Colleagues, As I come to the end of this second term in office as President of the Russian Federation I think that I should speak about what has been accomplished over these last years and set out our long-term
(Note: I think that there is an American saying which says that even a broken watch is correct once every 12 hours. So please spare us the ad hominems about the authors of this piece – what matters is not who they are/were but what they say; or, if you prefer, that even they are saying what they say. In other words, recognizing Kosovo is something which even a patented
(RIA Novosti) – Russia has no information on Iranian attempts to develop nuclear weapons before 2003, Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov said on Wednesday. His statement came following a Monday publication by the U.S. National Intelligence Estimate (NIE) stating that Tehran had halted weapons production in 2003, although it was continuing to enrich uranium. “We have no data that such work was conducted before 2003, although our American colleagues have claimed
The Empire’s (provisional) scorecard: one win, two losses The past couple of days have seen several very important developments for the future of the Empire: the Russian elections, the Venezuelan referendum, and the publication of the NIE. Because an Administration can only deal with a finite number of simultaneous crises, these seemingly unrelated events are probably very much linked to each other in the minds of the Neocons and they
