Gorbachev: Russia Had No Choice But Counterattack In S.Ossetia

[Purveyor]

18:27 | 13/ 08/ 2008

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MOSCOW, August 13 (RIA Novosti) - Former Soviet leader Mikhail Gorbachev said Russia had no choice but to launch a counterattack to Georgia's offensive in breakaway South Ossetia, but it is still possible to find a political solution to the crisis.

"What happened on the night of August 7 is beyond comprehension," Gorbachev said in an article The Guardian published on Wednesday. "The Georgian military attacked the South Ossetian capital of Tskhinvali with multiple rocket launchers designed to devastate large areas."

"Russia had to respond. To accuse it of aggression against 'small, defenseless Georgia' is not just hypocritical but shows a lack of humanity," he said in the article.

"Nevertheless, it was still possible to find a political solution. Clearly, the only way to solve the South Ossetian problem on that basis is through peaceful means. The Georgian leadership flouted this key principle," Gorbachev, a Nobel Peace Prize laureate, said.

Gorbachev told the paper that the Georgian authorities could only undertake the offensive "with the perceived support" of a much more powerful force - an apparent reference to the United States, which has trained Georgian troops and backed the country's bid to join NATO.

Now that the military assault has been routed, Gorbachev said, "the Georgian government and its supporters should rethink their position."

Gorbachev said some Western nations' positions prevented the UN Security Council from acting effectively at the start of the conflict. He also said that by declaring the Caucasus region that is thousands of miles from the American continent a sphere of its "national interest," the U.S. made a serious blunder.

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http://en.rian.ru/russia/20080813/116014626.html

[Andy823]

1. All Bush and Cheney know how to do

Is make blunder after blunder, and this is not exception. I don't know what they expected would happen, but it obviously didn't work as they had planned. Stupidity is the trade mark of Bush and Cheney!

The only thing I see is that they want to get another "cold" war going to help McCain out in November, and if McCain isn't elected, they will make it a serious problem for Obama.

[Purveyor]

3. "they want to get another "cold" war going to help McCain"...

I swear, as more information becomes available, I'm thinking you may very well be right.

[Turbineguy]

2. Russia had to respond.

Especially after the year long build-up of Russian forces on the border.