Josh's Word-Russia/Georgian War

My younger brother, Josh, recently sent out this email explaining his opinion on the recent hostilities in Georgia by Russia. I thought it was an excellent explanation of what is going on over there and a another point of view that most of us probably haven't heard. Remember, there are always 2, 3 or 4 sides to a story, depending how many "sides" are involved. I take a keen interest in politics and current events and the current political campaign is like the Super Bowl to me. Anyway, here is Josh's synopsis.

"Some of my friend have asked what I think about the Russo-Georgian war. I guess they want the opinion of someone who has lived in Russia. Well, I hate to disappoint, but I never actually lived in Russia. I was in the Baltic States: Lithuania, Latvia, Estonia. I was also in the currently communist country of Belarus.

These were former Soviet States, occupied for more than half a century by the Soviet Union. With the exception of Belarus, they have made a statement condemning Russia, and they fear that they might be next. Many might think that I would side with them.

I read on the news today that John McCain said that all Americans stand with Georgia.

That might be true if all Americans received their information about the Russo-Georgian war exclusively from the American Media. They have portrayed this conflict as Russian aggression, an invasion by Russia in an attempt to annex a free and democratic U.S. ally.

I have been watching BBC and other International news, and I am frankly embarrassed by my country's position.

Here is the rest of the story that we are not hearing in the states.

Ossetia was one of the first regions to try and break away from the Soviet Union. It fought for independence from the Soviet state of Georgia. Later, Georgia also broke away from the Soviet Union, but Ossetia remained separate and gained de-facto independence and sovereignty.

During the Rose Revolution a few years ago, Mikheil Saakashvili rose to power and promised to reclaim Ossetia and bring it under Georgian rule. After much political effort, his plan was failing, and he began to position himself for war. In the meantime, he courted the U.S. as an ally, and his military was beefed up and trained by U.S. forces.

Observing this pending conflict, Russia sent peacekeepers to the region at the request of Ossetia. Ossetia had become a close ally of the Russian Federation, and many Ossetians hold Russian passports and Russian citizenship.

Last week, Georgia held a diplomatic meeting with Ossetia and finally agreed to peaceful negotiations mediated by Russia. Immediately following this agreement, Georgia launched a surprise offensive against Ossetia.

The offensive began with Georgian peacekeepers that were part of the same contingent as the Russian peacekeepers. After receiving word that the offensive had begun, they suddenly turned and gunned down their Russian counterparts.

Georgia then began to bomb and shell civilian populated regions of Ossetia and sent in columns of tanks and soldiers in a rapid advance to seize the Ossetian capitol.

After taking control of Ossetia, the Georgians then began to evict all Ossetians from their homes driving them in a massive exodus of refugees towards Southern Russia; however, many would not leave.

Georgian forces then began to attack those that remained behind. Georgian Tanks ran over and crushed old women and children in the streets. Georgian soldiers pulled people out of their homes, lined them up, and gunned them down, men, women, and children. Others, they locked in buildings and barns, women and children, and then burned them alive. Thousands were killed.

Russian President Medvedev heard the Ossetian cries for help. He called the situation genocide, and launched a counter attack to drive back Georgian forces and end the atrocities and war crimes being committed at the command of the democratically elected Saakashvili.

Russian tanks and soldiers poured across the border, and Russian planes began a bombing campaign against Georgian targets. The Georgian forces were decimated and quickly began a rapid retreat. They called for U.S. allies and others to save them from the Russian aggressors.

The U.S. stood by and accused Russia of invading a democratic country with the goal of annexation. The Russian offensive lasted a few days, and yesterday, Medvedev made the announcement that the operation was complete. He stated that all its objectives had been met, that the aggressor had been driven back and punished severely. He explained that the deep incursion into Georgia was necessary in order to destroy the entire military infrastructure that Georgia had used to commit its crimes.

Putin and Medvedev expressed frustration with the West, saying that the hypocrisy was almost too much to bear. Putin said that Saddam had to be hung, because he killed innocent civilians and destroyed villages that sought to break away, and Russia was upholding those same ideals and protecting the lives and freedom of its own citizens.

Medvedev stated that the U.S. was stuck in a cold war mentality and could not see that Russia was fighting against those evils that it once stood for. Both Putin and Medvedev expressed hope that they could work with Western friends and partners and find a common language.

Clearly, we have been misinformed by our own media.

John McCain, you can speak for yourself. I am one U.S. citizen that would NEVER stand with Georgia and support what they have done. Saakashvili is a lying villain, a treacherous war criminal and murderer. The Russian Federation was right to save the Ossetians, and they should be commended for standing up for freedom and justice, and for their restraint in not overthrowing the Georgian government, or occupying the aggressor nation.

Just because a government is democratically elected does not mean that that government is always in the right, or that we should always take their side. We should judge actions without bias for the system of government.

If you agree that all Americans stand with Georgia, then delete this. If you do not stand with Georgia, then pass this along and help the American people become informed. They certainly will not get the truth from the American Media.

Mahalo!

-Josh