Reply #40: not exactly.. (long & detailed)

[Aidoneus]

South Ossetia & Abkhazia are leftovers from earlier times, not really much to do with Putin either. Do not give the US no credit there, though more recently it would be more effectual. I'm not one to take some poisoned barb away from Putin's direction, but his part in the matter is mostly 'being there' rather than a grand schemer.

Interestingly, Abkhazia was perhaps the last time the Kremlin & Chechen Resistance Commander Shamil Basayev were on the same page about something. `Abdullah Shamil--along with his brother Shirvani, and the Martyred (this last winter, for the 90th and final death for him) Commander Khamzat Gelayev, among hundreds of other North Caucasus volunteers--, first cut their teeth fighting with the Abkhaz against the then-new Western backed ex-communist Georgian dictator/democrat, all with Russian arms, training, and guidance. I wonder if the GRU are proud of their creation, now 13yrs on considered the least wanted man in Russia's corner of the world (and a fine one at that)?

Eventually, Shevardnaze got into some trouble as ex-President Zviad Gamsakhurdia (first president of independent Georgia and first to recognize the independence of the Chechen Republic of Ichkeria, where he later spent his exile after a military coup d`etat installed ex-Soviet Foreign Minister Shevardnaze like most of the rest of the "ex"-Soviet Republics; Bush1 & Baker didn't like about the democrat Zviad and backed the communist instead ... no Republican thought too much about that statement) had retaken much of the western part of the country in the next year's civil war. Russia offered to bail Shevardnaze out for a price--in exchange for Russian military bases and certain economic controls. The latter crippled certain of Georgia's industries, electricity one of them though partly on their own merits, and the former gave a direction for popular venting. The President had since been buying guns & "advisors" from Freedomland, mostly under the oil'n'gun(copyright DTF) gangs currently seeking new properties to be eventually defeated in.

It was Gamsakhurdia that first revoked the 'special status' of South Ossetia and besieged their capital, sparking serious battles; this was stopped by Shevardnaze just as the Abkhaz war was beginning, resulting in a net loss for the campaign. The new dictator Saakashvili, who deposed the old ex-'communist'/rechristened 'democratic' elected-dictator, doing so with new American-Democrats' best friend (but still untrustworthy capitalist billionaire troublemaker) Soros' money and a rented crowd, has been described by a writer at Sobaka as a Slobo--backed by the "West" this time. Instantly this man was greeted by the Bush gang, was fellated by our own corporate press, then gagged their own, and made threats towards ... well, anybody. Boats going into Abkhazia would be sunk, with a hapless Turkish ship fired on; Ajaria was threatened with war, though he blinked when the guy (apparently a pro-Shevardnaze fief-lord not happy with the coup, more importantly--backed by Russia) didn't actually crumble; and more clearly, a series of barks at South Ossetia which have since moved to skirmishes in a slow boil of a potential war. That not being enough, now apparently they're on a collision with Russia over all of the above.

Don't try too hard to understand the whole of this.. it is but a conspiracy by the Aspirin and similar corporations, I suspect. My writing style can't be helping such matters too terribly much:--too many words crammed into too few sentences with strange punctuational excuses invented to manage this with an air of grace.. like most times for me, I suppose.

I have undoubtably left much out..

Some old & new (mainly old) pieces of interest, mainly al-Jazeera or Sobaka because I'm a lazy shit 'right now':
a pro-Gamsakhurdia bio from Sobaka
US State Dept. chronology on Georgia-Abkhaz relations (note: last time I'll use the US gov't as a source for anything but contempt)
Georgia threatens rebel region
Saakashvili Strikes Ajaria Deal
Sobaka -- GEORGIA: Welcome to America's New El Salvador
Diary from the End of the World--Mar'02
Sobaka -- Homage to Tskhinvali: America and the South Ossetian War

etc..

As usual, nobody here but bemildred seemed to notice at the time:--quite well-read & one of the smart ones, he is.