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Georgia accused of secret arms sales to Iran
Published: 24 May, 2010, 08:57
Edited: 24 May, 2010, 20:07
Just as the US and other major powers have agreed on new sanctions against Tehran, Georgian opposition claims President Saakashvili was involved in alleged weapons deals with the Islamic Republic.
The USA and Israel both regard Georgia as being of stragegic importance in 'containing' Iran. Israel in particular was / still is keen to use Georgia as an unsinkable aircraft carrier for potential opperations against Iran. Because of this alone (not to mention aspirations to contain Russia, eventually access the Caspian sea, oil transportation, etc) the USA will be keeping Georgia on tight leash for now. I am also confident Israel would bring some influence to bear too. So no, I don't subscribe to the idea of any significant arms deals being done between Iran and Georgia. I don't know what the political situation is in Georgia, nor what games they are playing, however the alleged sale of arms to Iran by Georgia may be just part of a bigger political issue that is brewing inside the Georgian leadership (and is akin to a spoilt child shouting for attention).
Not out of the realm of possibility because Saakashvili is an irrational individual prone to rash actions without any consideration of the consequences. No other Georgian leader would have attacked South Ossetia that set off a war with Russia. Saakashvili is a rogue hysteric who can react to an Obama slight with "look what I am doing now" response. Pat Buchanan, the American political commentator know for clear assessments of international situations, warned against America having close ties with Saakashvili because of his irrationality. Pat believes that Saakashvili's goal is to percipitate an incident in the Caucasus which would drag America into a conflict with Russia. Saakashvili might very well have sold weapons to Iran to make himself appear to be an international player, and to thumb his nose at Obama.