In 1939 Hitler claimed Polish troops invaded n**i Germany and used this to justify the invasion of Poland..?

Question

Do you think Russian claims, of a Georgian invasion, to justify their illegal war of aggression against the freedom loving people of Georgia are equally specious?

Answer 1

Yes

The idea of either Poland invading a powerful Germany or Gerogia invading a very powerful Russia are equaly insane.

I think Russia wants to control taht Georgian pipe line and that's it.

Answer 2

Hitler also wanted to protect the German nationals and german speaking citizens of Czechoslovakie and Austria as a pretext for taking over there too.  The same rhetoric Russia is using to assume 'peacekeeper' status in S. Ossetia ... 3rd party journalilsts, however, have seen questionable tactics on both sides, so i wouldn't rush to judgement in either case. It's hard to know who the bad guys are at this point.

Why did we support Kosovo breaking away from Serbia?  They were apart of Serbia and we supported the separatists.  Now Russia is doing the exact same thing...S. Ossetia is their 'Kosovo.'

Answer 3

but didn't Georgia invade first and the Russians helped the friends read the news more carefully

Answer 4

Probably NOT. From what I am reading about the story...Georgia did not PHYSICALLY invade with a military force. They have been trying to make attempts to claim land that Russia succeeded long ago. I believe that Georgia is also trying to expand NATO influence in the region....and this causes fear to Russians, especially that Poland is about to get missles (from the US???) to guard it's border with Russia. Russia is NERVOUS about all of this....but they blundered by making an invasion.  

Answer 5

"Freedom loving"?    Give me a break.

Answer 6

Please - that is a very old ploy for any aggressive, militaristic country to 'justify' invading a (relatively) peaceful neighbor.

There is a little more to this story than that, however.

>> In 1992–1993, the government engaged in armed conflict with separatists in the breakaway province of Abkhazia. In 1994, Russia and Georgia signed a cooperation treaty that authorized Russia to keep three military bases in Georgia and allowed Russians to train and equip the Georgian army. In 1996, Georgia and its breakaway region of South Ossetia agreed to a cessation of hostilities in their six-year conflict. With little progress in resolving the Abkhazia situation, however, parliament in April 1997 voted overwhelmingly to threaten Russia with loss of its military bases, should it fail to extend Russian military control over the separatist region. In 1998, the U.S. and Britain began an operation to remove nuclear material from Georgia, dangerous remains from its Soviet years. A darling of the West since his days as the Soviet Union's foreign minister, Shevardnadze was viewed far less favorably by his own people, who were frustrated by unemployment, poverty, cronyism, and rampant corruption. In the 2000 presidential elections, Shevardnadze was reelected with 80% of the vote, though international observers determined the election was marred by irregularities.

In 2002, U.S. troops trained Georgia's military in antiterrorism measures in the hopes that Georgian troops would subdue Muslim rebels fighting in the country. Tensions between Georgia and Russia were strained over the Pankisi Gorge, a lawless region of Georgia that Russia said had become a haven for Islamic militants and Chechen rebels.

In May 2003, work began on the Georgian section of the enormously ambitious Baku-Tbilisi-Ceyhan oil pipeline, which runs from Azerbaijan through Georgia to Turkey. The pipeline opened in July 2006.

Massive demonstrations began after the preliminary results of the Nov. 2003 parliamentary elections. The opposition party (and international monitors) claimed that the elections were rigged in favor of Shevardnadze and the political parties who supported him. After more than three weeks of massive protests, Shevardnadze resigned on Nov. 30. Georgians compared the turn of events to Czechoslovakia’s “velvet revolution.” In Jan. 2004 presidential elections, Mikhail Saakashvili, the key opposition leader, won in a landslide. The 36-year-old lawyer built his reputation as a reformer committed to ending corruption, and in his first three years as president, Saakashvili made significant progress in rooting out the country's endemic corruption and embarked on a series of reforms. Saakashvili's ongoing difficulty has been reining in Georgia's two breakaway regions, South Ossetia and Abkhazia, both of which are strongly supported by neighboring Russia.

Saakashvili's popularity took a hit in November 2007 when some 50,000 demonstrators gathered outside parliament in Tbilisi and demanded early elections and his resignation. The opposition accused Saakashvili of abusing power and stifling dissent. After three days of protest, Saakashvili deployed riot police, who used tear gas and rubber bullets to break up the demonstrations, and delcared a state of emergency. Parliament voted 149 to 0 to approve the state of emergency. The opposition in the 235-seat Parliament boycotted the vote, however. Saakashvili later announced that a presidential election would be held in January 2008, and he resigned to run in the race. Saakashvili won the election, taking 52.8% of the vote, enough to avoid a runoff. Voters also voted in a referendum in favor of joining NATO.

The United Nations declared that a Russian fighter jet was responsible for destroying a Georgian reconnaissance aircraft on April 20, 2008, which may end Russia's role as a neutral party in the territorial dispute between Georgia and Abkhazia.

On August 7, 2008, the day after Georgia and a breakaway region, South Ossetia, signed a cease-fire, violence erupted in South Ossetia. At least 15 civilians and 10 Russian peacekeepers died in the fighting. On Aug. 8, Russia sent 150 tanks into South Ossetia to support the region. On Aug. 9, Russia intensified its involvement, moving troops into Abkhazia, another breakaway region, and launching airstrikes at Tbilisi, the capital of Georgia. Thousands of people were killed, hundreds were wounded, and thousands more fled their homes in South Ossetia. Speculation ensued that Russia's aggressive tactics were taken to gain control of Georgia's oil and gas export routes. On Aug. 12, President Medvedev ordered an end to military action in Georgia, although sporadic fighting continued. On Aug. 13, Russian tanks occupied Gori, a strategic town 40 miles from Tbilisi, and hundreds of Russian soldiers crossed the border into South Ossetia. Leaders of EU nations, the United States, and NATO have warned Russia to end the conflict in Georgia. <<

http://www.infoplease.com/ipa/A0107564.h...

This is a very complex situation, and there probably is no single, "simple" answer to sort it out. But the "pretext" of a Georgian 'attack' on Russia is as laughable as a Polish attack on n**i Germany.

Answer 7

Kevin S and Michael F have it right.  Saakashvili is very rhetorical and dramatic in his ways but he is not foolish enough to invade Russia. The very idea is ridiculous.  Russia simply wants to limit Georgia's involvement with NATO and flex their muscles in any way they can.  Something that intrigues me is the geography of the area.  Georgia is bordered by Turkey.  What countries border Turkey?  Oh, just Iraq, Syria, Iran.  Perhaps they are interested in having a direct route.  Just something to think about.

Answer 8

The difference is that this time around Georgian troops did proceed aggressively into South Ossetia on orders of their President to bring the people of that province under Georgian control once more. If you need to use an historical comparison it was closer to the Germans marching into the Rhineland to take it back in violation of the Versailles Peace Treaty, although there was no nation which recognized South Ossetia's independence prior to the Georgian action of August 8, 2008. The link below is an excellent collection of questions and answers on this situation.