Tag: War

Russia threatens to 'punish' Poland for missile deal

Poland doesn't look like this, but this is the missile they are getting.

Russia is up in arms and threatening to ‘punish’ another former satellite nation for daring to go against the Russian views of the world. Under a deal signed yesterday, Poland will host 10 missile interceptors designed to knock out short-range ballistic missiles from Iran or another MIddle Eastern power. Nonetheless, Russia feels their approximately 1,500 nuclear warheads to be under threat from these 10 missiles.

At a news conference on Friday, a senior Russian military official, Colonel General Anatoly Nogovitsyn, suggested that Poland was making itself a target by agreeing to serve as host for the anti-missile system. Such an action “cannot go unpunished,” he said.

Poland, in signing the deal, learned a few lessons from the Georgia crisis. First they’re getting some air defense missiles (manned by Americans temporarily) and second they got an assurance about US military power in case Russia gets mad:

…the United States would be obliged to defend Poland in case of an attack with greater speed than required under NATO, of which Poland is a member.

Guess they learned about the Blitzkreig the hard way and don’t want to see it repeated from the East. If there is going to be some military action against the Poles, they want an American ‘tripwire’ (i.e. some Americans who will be killed in the first few shots) and fast reinforcements.

]]>

300 'Technicals' on the attack in Dafur, followed by the oil company trucks

Its not a tank but it can still hurt you.

It's not a tank but it can still hurt you.

The London Times is reporting on a new offensive launched in the Dafur region of the Sudan. 300 ‘technicals’ (militarized civilian vehicles) are on the move in a major push in Northern Dafur. Oil companies have been asking for this area to be pacified so that they can begin seismic surveys in the never ending hunt for new oil sources.

Suleiman Marajan, a commander with one faction of the Sudan Liberation Army, said yesterday that the Government had lied to the world with its message of peace.

“The Government of Sudan has attacked our places with 300 vehicles. They have been here for three days protecting Chinese oil workers,” he told The Times by satellite telephone from North Darfur.

There has been no comment (or action) from either UN or African Union peacekeepers regarding this latest offensive.

Interestingly, the roots of the term ‘technical’ have never been definitively proven. It is believed that the term (which came to most people’s attention during the Somalia crisis in 1992) arose from the use of ’security contractors’ and ‘warlord bribes’ made by aid agencies operating in Somalia. These payments were called ‘Technical Assistance’ on the expense reports and the name ‘technical’ sort of stuck as a way of describing a militarized (but non-military) vehicle.

]]>

Obama's weakness apparent in response to Russia-Georgia war

Commentators are starting to pick on Barrack Obama’s missteps in his statements regarding the Russian / Georgian war. Obama has issued three statements while on vacation in Hawaii, with the first one being a wishy-washy calling for restraint on all sides, but then taking a grade-school level jab at McCain’s policy because one of his advisors once lobbied on behalf of Georgia (please…). Then he issued another statement blaming Russia for most of the violence, and then he caught up to McCain’s level of rhetoric a few days later.

It took first-term Sen. Barack Obama three tries to get it right. Headed for a vacation in Hawaii, the presumed Democratic candidate for commander in chief issued an even-handed statement, urging restraint by both sides. Later Friday, he again called for mutual restraint but blamed Russia for the fighting. The next day his language finally caught up with toughness of McCain’s.

Obama had a free shot to ‘act’ like a President. Say the right things, advocate a strong position and go forward pushing that position. This was a total free throw–not a single thing he said had to become policy or enforced or, to be honest, have any impact on the situation on the ground in Moscow and Tiblisi. It was a chance for him to, at the very least, act Presidential. He could have said anything–A-N-Y-T-H-I-N-G–to show how he stood out on matters of foreign affairs. And when he had this chance, he frittered it away with blandness and petty politics. A policy as sharp as a dull crayon.

Leaders in the Ukraine told the Russians the Black Sea fleet would not be welcome to return to Ukranian waters if they participated in the Georgian operations. Yea, the Ukraine took a tough stance, despite Russian FSB contacts trying to kill their President a few years ago and the same sort of sabre-rattling going on with Soviet Russian armored divisions at their door step. The leaders of the Lithuania, Ukraine, Poland, Estonia and Latvia flew to Tiblisi at the same time it was being bombed after they called on NATO to “stand up against the spread of imperialist and revisionist policy” by Russia.

And Obama just told everyone to play nice together and one of his aides did a moron trying to drag lobbying into the issue of Georgians, Russians and South Ossetians dying en masse.

]]>

Estonian network engineers rush to Georgia to help fight Russian cyberwar attacks

Computer engineers from another former Soviet republic are rushing to the aid of Georgia, armed not with weapons but with computers. Russia and Georgia are engaged in a ‘cyberwar’ of sorts attacking each others networks and websites, and now some computer networking engineers from Estonia are rushing to aid their Georgian colleagues who are dealing with hacking, Denial of Service attacks and other networking issues.

Two of the four experts that staff Estonia’s Computer Emergency Response Team (CERT) were waiting Tuesday morning in Yerevan, the capital of Armenia, seeking permission to drive into Georgia, said Katrin Pärgmäe, communication manager for the Estonian Informatics Center. The two officials are also bringing humanitarian aid, she said.

Estonia is also now hosting Georgia’s Ministry of Foreign Affairs Web site, which has been under sustained attack over the last few days.

Russia was accused of hacking Estonian computer systems in response to that country removing statues of former Soviet leaders.

]]>

Russia ends 'punishment' of Georgia

With the whole world calling Russia a ‘big brother’ getting unfairly involved in someone elses fight, you’d think the government their would have thought of some better wording than ‘punishment’ to describe their operations in South Ossetia. President Medvedev was given permission to speak by Putin announced that Russian forces would cease operations, though under the rules of engagement if they were fired upon they would ‘destroy’ the ‘aggressors’.

This follows a public statement by Bush, and likely some very private threats as well. My speculation is that Russia was given a choice, cease fire now, or face the prospect of a combined US-European ‘announcement’ that NATO peacekeepers and other military forces would be sent to the region, or a an immediate granting of NATO status to somewhere like the Ukraine, which would have been a greater long term loss to Russia (Ukraine told the Russian is may bar Russian ships from returning to port in the shared Navy base in the Crimea). Of course as I outlined yesterday military troops on the ground were not realistic, but a press release or joint statement by the West saying that peacekeepers would be dispatched with all due haste would have turned the tables on the Russians, either pull out losing face, or stay in and a) depose the government, something they claimed they were not doing or b) face the prospect of fighting the West, something neither side wanted.

Face-saving is not just a Chinese concept.

]]>

Under cyberattack, Georgian government turns to Blogger

Many Georgian government website and newspapers are under denial of service and other forms of cyberattack originating from inside Russia. In response, the Georgian government has decided to take advantage of Google’s Blogger service and the security systems offered by Google. From now on, Georgian government official statements are being made at http://georgiamfa.blogspot.com/

]]>

US has 1,000 troops in Georgia plus advisors for Operation Immediate Response 2008 despite the war.

The United States European Command just finished (last Thursday) Operation Immediate Response 2008, a training exercise in Georgia. These troops are in addition to the 127 military trainers that are in country more or less permanently working with the Georgian military.

In addition to the trainers, 1,000 soldiers from the Vicenza, Italy-based Southern European Task Force (Airborne) and the Kaiserslautern-based 21st Theater Sustainment Command, along with Marine reservists with the 3rd Battalion, 25th Marines out of Ohio, and the state of Georgia’s Army National Guard’s 1st Battalion, 121st Infantry recently participated in “Immediate Response 2008.”

That exercise, which had the U.S. troops operating from Vaziani, concluded on Thursday. That base, near the capital of Tbilisi, was bombed by Russian aircraft over the weekend, Georgian officials said.

]]>

US military options in Georgia

Maybe I should just leave this blank as a subtle way of saying what’s really on the table. But if you got to thinking here are some options you could consider:

1) Airlift of Georgian troops from Iraq. (Oops, done that).

2) Provide satellite and electronic intelligence on Russian troops.

3) Provide shoulder-launched anti-aircraft missiles like Stingers or Strellas (desperately needed)

4) Provide ammunition resupply to Georgian forces.

5) Provide Naval support via shadowing Russian navy (including using submarines)

6) Dispatch Air Force fighters & A-10 tank killers

7) Provide advisors to counsel on war operations.

8 ) Move forward pre-positioned equipment into Black Sea

9) Provide Air Cover / No Fly Zone over Georgia

10) Put boots on the ground.

As you can see, none of those really look all that exciting, and the cost politically (both and home and abroad) along with the cost in lives and the cost in dollars would be great. US forces are stretched thin as they are now and resupplying basically a ‘third’ combat zone would tax our logistics capabilities to the breaking point.

So basically, the US has little to do militarily but sit and watch.

]]>

Russian troops and armor head into Georgia proper in major escalation.

What is certain to be considered a major escalation in the fighting, Russian ground forces are reportedly attacking the Georgian city of Gori well outside the disputed South Ossetian region. While technically South Ossetia is recognized by the entire world as part of Georgia, the crossing of that border into Georgia proper is going to have major repercussions for the Russians and has started to change the tone of questions to ‘when is Russia going to stop fighting in response to Georgia’s invasion of S. Ossetia?’ to something along the lines of ‘just what are the Russians *really* up to?’ The latter line of questioning is going to have an impact in Soviet Russian – Western relations for many years to come.

Meanwhile, Georgian forces in Iraq have been landing in Tiblisi and some questions are being raised on how exactly they got there (and whether US air power played a role).

]]>

Russia and Georgia share Olympic medal platform, call for peace

An early leader for the Pierre de Coubertin medal for sportsmanship is a pair of shooters, one from Russia and one from Georgia, who shared the medal platform today in the Womens’ 10m air pistol. Georgia’s Nino Salukvadze and Russia’s Natalia Paderina, former teammates on the USSR team, collected the bronze and silver today respectively, but took a moment to appeal for peace in the trouble South Ossetia area.

“I am very nervous today. It’s very difficult for my people,” said the Georgian.

“If the world were to draw any lessons from what I did there would never be any wars.

“We live in the 21st Century, after all,” she said, wiping tears from her eyes as she put her pistol down after her final shot of the event.

“We shouldn’t really stoop so low to wage wars against each other.”

The Olympic Medal Table race–more golds or more medals?…
How the Georgia – Russia war started…
Cheney to go to Georgia. Democrats demand Russia attack again…
World asks Russia to withdraw from South Ossetia. Russia asks why?…
]]>