RUSSIA IS NOT COMPLYING WITH THE CEASE FIRE PLAN SIGNED WITH GEORGIA
INSTEAD, THE RUSSIAN BEAR IS SYSTEMATICALLY DESTROYING HIS NEIGHBOR'S MILITARY CAPABILITIES


     On August 16, RUSSIAN PRESIDENT DMITRY MEDVEDEV SIGNED a six-point peace agreement brokered by French President Nicolas Sarkozy. The previous day, the President of Georgia, Mijaíl Saakashvili, had also signed the same document with U.S. Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice at his side. The plan was to end five days of hostilities between the two countries. “With the signature of the Georgian president, all Russian troops and any irregular and paramilitary forces that entered with them must leave immediately,'' Rice told reporters in the Georgian capital Tbilisi.

    Rice spoke just hours after President George W. Bush at the White House said that "Bullying and intimidation are not acceptable ways to conduct foreign policy in the 21st century." President Bush said the Georgian people had chosen freedom and "we will not cast them aside."   He also announced that U.S. military aircraft and ships would begin delivering humanitarian aid to the former Soviet republic in a "vigorous and ongoing" operation and that U.S. officials would expect unfettered access to Georgia’s ports and highways.  "The United States stands with the democratically elected government of Georgia and the sovereignty and territorial integrity of Georgia must be respected," he insisted.

    However, Medvedev said the separatist Georgian regions at the center of the conflict appear destined for independence. "After what happened, it's unlikely Ossetians and Abkhazians will ever be able to live together with Georgia in one state," he said. Despite a halt to the hostilities, Russian troops are still seizing military equipment at Georgian bases well beyond the breakaway South Ossetia region that sparked the conflict.  Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov said the  Russian army will “reinforce'' its “peace-keeping forces”  in South Ossetia and Abkhazia and its withdrawal from Georgia will take “as long as necessary.''  

    It seems that the attack last week against Georgia by the Russian military was not a spontaneous response to Georgian activities in South Ossetia. Thousands of Russian tanks have been massing close to the Russian border with Georgia since the last days of June. They were simply waiting for an excuse to cross the border and invade their neighbor. What is happening in Georgia should be an eye-opener to the West. Georgia, a friend of the United States, is being demolished by Russian military. They are systematically destroying the Georgian military, installations, equipment, navy, ships, and anything else that gets in their path.. Even if the cease fire is fully implemented at this moment, Russia is now demanding on leaving "peace-keeping forces" in Georgia. Does anyone believe that these are peace-keepers? Unquestionably, the heroic people of Georgia and President Saakashvili desperately need that the West, unhesitatingly and unwaveringly, support their independence and freedom