US sending Marines to Georgia is big political and big military mistake. This shows that Obama administration is not living in the real world. Dellusional American politicians will ultimately reap what they sow. Peace

I am dumb to this crisis. It seems to me Russian people have lost some self respect. This is an Asia military way of thinking from Sun Zu. Big nation like Russia, should not over react to small nation like Georgia. Russians can over-throw Georgia in 1 week regarless of NATO and a bunch of misplaced US Marines. Remember conlict between China and Vietnam. Vietnam kept sending small rockets over the border killing many local Chineese citizens. China told Vietnam to stop, but they would not. China much later (non reactionary) sent to the border 10,000 + Stalin Organs and it was quite a light show on video. Not to genocide Vietnamese people. Just to give them a warning about China's size of power. Having self respect in Asian logic. Big nation like China should not over react to small nation like Vietnam. Some of the coolest military video today. Ever seen Chineese video of 10,000 + Stalin Organ rockets fired off in syncronicity? Russians in my opinion should sit down and relax. Georgia is Titanic that hit an iceberg. Let Americans try to pump it out. Americans have been dumb for those over reaction games for years-- at waisted US tax payers $. Peace.

Folks, If the Georgians "hate" the Americans, then the Georgians have ALL the tools at their disposal to correct overnight! YOU do NOT have to be a Russian Rocket Scientist to "see" through my comments. For all of you that BELIEVE that the USA calls ALL the shots, YOU are OFF BASE! Last August was a PROVOCATION by RUSSIA and SAAKASVILI fell for a TRAP! Putin is LAUGHING all the way. HE got what he wanted. Again, TRUST me on this, if the Georgian PEOPLE blame the USA for all its problems, then the Georgian people have everything at their "disposal" to remedy the situation! One call to Putin shortly thereafter BEGGING for Russia to protect it from the BIG BAD WOLF(USA), Putin would be in Tbilisi within 90 minutes. Really, as a US Taxpayer, if WE(USA) are hated so much by the Georgians, YOUR actions will demonstrate this and WE(USA) have no choice but to leave with OUR tail behind our legs.....

Hi Sierra Nevada, We probaly as American citizens have many things in common. I spent a lot of time hiking in SN and lived in Lake Tahoe-Crystal Bay NV for 2 years, before the rich and economic recession overan the place. I use to remodel custom houses on the side of the lake for multi-millionairs. I also have hiked cross county no trails around much of the California National parks Y-KC-S. Please accept this as construtive comment between 2 American citizens. Seeing as how you found RT in the first place, puts you in my mind -- 1 IQ point above average for IQ 101 to find RT to begin with. Yet, not trying to be presumtious about your personal beliefs, you are like many of my friends.. You may spend too much time listening to Washington Agi-Prop (agitation-propaganda) from CBS NBC ABC FOX CNN which in my opinion are even lower than VOA. Have a nice day and switch around too a few more internet URL's and perhaps you may expand your mind a bit. Mark Laughlin, Nevada 89029 Peace.

August 15, 2009, 22:46, Mark4915 wrote > Hi Sierra Nevada, > We probaly as American citizens have many things in common. > I spent a lot of time hiking in SN and lived in Lake Tahoe-Crystal Bay NV for 2 years, before the rich and economic recession overan the place. > I use to remodel custom houses on the side of the lake for multi-millionairs. > I also have hiked cross county no trails around much of the California National parks Y-KC-S. > Please accept this as construtive comment between 2 American citizens. > Seeing as how you found RT in the first place, puts you in my mind -- 1 IQ point above average for IQ 101 to find RT to begin with. > Yet, not trying to be presumtious about your personal beliefs, you are like many of my friends.. > You may spend too much time listening to Washington Agi-Prop (agitation-propaganda) from CBS NBC ABC FOX CNN which in my opinion are even lower than VOA. > Have a nice day and switch around too a few more internet URL's and perhaps you may expand your mind a bit. > Mark > Laughlin, Nevada 89029 > Peace. Mark, I will take your advice! I will read URL's like Pravda, Russia Today, China Today, Al-Jazeera..etc. What amazes me is that if you want to have an "open" mind, the TRUTH usually lies somewhere between BOTH sides of a story. To place ALL blame on the USA is absurd. To think that the USA gave Saakshvili a GREEN light with Georgia's best troops in Iraq, you are either brainwashed or just dumb. Remember what Putin said to Bush........ "Are you MAD"? when Bush used 11 C-17's and got all of Georgia's troops and equipment back in 9 hours. There was no "GREEN" light given by Bush....PERIOD!

My impression is that the Americans had not expected the all out assault by the Georgian military in South Ossetia and (despite their rhetoric) were quite embarassed and annoyed by the whole thing. The entirely predictable result that Russia would intervene and the subsequent separation of South Ossetia and Abkhazia could not have been outcomes that the Americans wanted. I guess they thought that military aid to Georgia would strengthen the position of "their man" - but now, he looks weaker with former friends from the Rose Revolution turning against him. Georgia looks less like a democracy and more like an oppressive dictatorship - and not the sort of government the US would want to be seen to support. I find it surprising that the Americans don't seem to have considered the basic economic realities at play in Georgia, with a substantial chunk of the Georgian population living and working in Russia - and sending money home to Georgia. If the Americans wanted to buy influence, it might have been better to send cash, not weaponry. If, as the Americans say, the Cold War is over and there is no such thing as "spheres of influence" any more, I guess they won't mind that, as they are supporting a crappy government in Georgia, the Russians are reviving friendships in Cuba and Venezueala. Also, perhaps the Russians should consider Abkhazia's offer to host the Black Sea Fleet before the agreement in Crimea runs out.

Russia is clear and the remedy of clarity rests in acting on truth. We can never know the beginning to the whole story since every so-called "leader" in this time is involved globally in the game which has been played for eons. Today's world, technologically connected like wired plug-ins into stories bought, sold and therefore, branded in our human psyche. Rulers of WESTERN "ideas" continue in the insane idea of nimously coveting | covering their slimy lust over and into the earth's dirt ("real estate," etc.) EASTERN bound. The U.S. is probably no less than 97-98% drug addicted. Street and/or pharmaceutical --- the American "consumer" is hooked coming and going. China may have been able to do something about Vietnam, but not during their plague with opium addicts, when there were mass slaughters of entire families by the "military | government." No such thing as assisting the sickest of the masses in healing and OMG, what loss did come, with the destruction of a time in China which was a HIGH Renaissance. To this day the people suffer from the addiction/s of yesterday and the dis-ease reflects in a materialism which replaced their ancient Daoist lineage: Children of Nature. America has the reckoning looming ever so spiraling low - like buzzard hawks readying for the carnage to pick off bones and bones --- and then the birds die from so much poisoning. Maybe then questions can be asked? Doubtful since the owners of poisons are owners of weapons which Georgia has readying to bring the same kind of decrease in mentality as America. Get it? Drugs do not make people smart -- look at Georgia's leader and then THINK about all the birds of a feather in the western dance of wannabe Rock Stars: DRUGS, that was and is the brand for a ROCK STAR. It is in our faces so we cannot see the blinding robotic death sentence until it is too late. Run Georgians RUN: into the EASTERN balance of the hemisphere where you belong!

One of the best things about Russia Today's website, is that you actually have a transcription of what is being said at the video. So its very easy to understand for people whose first language is not english, but know how to read it. Thanks very much.

I am sorry to burst some bubbles, but there is no way that US administration did not give a go ahead. Or at least, Israeli administration did. Two of the top ministers, including Defence at that time were Israeli citizens. Consider the facts. The planning, arming and training for the operation "Clean Field" was contracted out to MPRI Corporation. The company's specialty is training special forces. Only very sensitive types of operations require MPRI touch. Remember, MPRI assisted Croatian Army to expell over quarter million Serbs from Croatia in one week. That was on August 5, 1995. The planning, intelligence, training and arming were all MPRI tasks. The operation Clean Field is remarkably similar to the Operation Storm in Croatia. The objectives were the same: push as many people out of the area as possible by special operations, then follow it up by regular forces. Once the administration of the region has been cleared, each township got a set of new administrators. The military objective was simple, and may have worked. Special forces were supposed to race to the Roki Tunnel, and mine it. This would have prevented Russian ground forces from entering for an extended period of time. Saakasvili had planned on moving in his entire set of new South Ossetian leadership, and subsequently, all Russian actions against the new government would have been deemed an agression. Russia would have to fight the war from the air, and ousting the occupating puppets would have produced outcry of agression. Not that Saakasvili did not cry "agresssion", since he had already prepared that speech. However, without the puppet government in Tskhinval, the charge is made purely on political, not military grounds. Russia's situation would have been less tenable politically, and he risks much higher.

I personally think that Russia has to bin Georgia. Can Russia afford the war which would lead Russia into the draining of its resources and becoming less powerfull when facing possible furute military conflict with some more powefull countries? Georgian people did choose their president themselves -so they have to face the challenge and change situation it their country themselves too! Maria

A lot of comments involve Big Russia vs little poor defenceless Georgia. Ignorance is bliss I guess. If the 15,000 or so troops from a backwater region that were cobbled together in a hurry and equipped with stuff that was obsolete even within a military organisation that has a lot of old stuff, with last minute planning can be described as Big Russia, while Georgian forces of at least 20,000 men with large artillery forces (Artillery is ideal for dealing with lightly armed Russian paratroopers because their better training and combat counts for nothing when the artillery is 10s of kms away) with Israeli and US upgraded equipment, and of course the element of surprise by attacking during the opening ceremony of the Olympic games (Traditionally a time of ceasefires rather than invasions), it was pretty clear that it was all planned and prepared well in advance, and clearly the hope on the US and Georgian side was that it would be all over by the time the Russians could move forces into the area through the single tunnel that connects Russia to South Ossetia. There is no way the Georgians would try something like that without permission. Even Saddam wouldn't have invaded Kuwaite all those years ago without mentioning his plans to the US and getting the green light. Sadly for Saddam he got the yellow light and thought it was green from an idiot that didn't know what they were doing. In fact that same idiot screwed up in Somalia as well and the resulting problems with Adide led to more American deaths there too. Now there are Russian forces in place and they have proper equipment and they are working on their command and control structure, which was woeful during the conflict. Another conflict will be truely one sided.