Saakashvili's comments about "negroes" is not surprising since mocking dark skinned people seems to be in the nature of Georgians. I recall one time about about tens years ago, I was in Tbilisi for an extended period of time while on business. The American USAID sent a Black over to head the Tbilisi office. The Georgian papers, on their front pages, had a cartoon which depicted a black man sitting in a fireplace looking stupid and confused. The Georgian caption under the cartoon read: "who is that negro sitting in our fireplace". When the American Black saw the cartoon he immediately demanded that his staff translate what that cartoon said. All hell broke loose as the American black ran from one government agency to another screaming and yelling. I met him once and he was still agitated. He was sent back to the States because he never did calm down. The cartoon itself comes from a Georgian play where a man falls down the chimney and is covered with sooth, and the lady of the house screams: "who is that "black man sitting in my fireplace!". The Georgians did not acquired their anti-Black views from Americans. They tend to be very racists and can be mocking towards Africans and American blacks. I am not sure how they get along with Black Americans serving as military advisors in Georgia. My own translator was mocked by light skinned western Georgians because she was dark skinned. She suddenly ran out of the social event and when I found her outside she told me that one of the drunken men had referred to her as a "dark monkey". I suspect this bias against blacks come from the Georgian society which values light complexion of Western Georgians over those of Eastern Georgians who are dark because of more racial mixing with Arabs.