Poke Poke Poke the Bear - How to start WWIII.

[tannybogus]

Without any concrete way to punish Russian leaders for their incursion into Georgia, Bush seems to have settled on another tactic: Annoy the hell out of them.

Karen DeYoung writes in The Washington Post: "NATO allies said Tuesday that there will be no 'business as usual' with Russia until its troops withdraw from all parts of Georgia, but Moscow's refusal to bend to the West's political will left the alliance with few options for punishment. . . .
<snip>
Helene Cooper writes in the New York Times: "European officials said they were not about to get into a military confrontation with Russia over Georgia. That is why European countries have blocked the Bush administration's efforts to bring Georgia and Ukraine into the alliance, said a senior European diplomat involved in the NATO emergency meeting on Tuesday.
<snip>
So what can Bush do? Well, let's start on the Polish front.
<snip>
"After Warsaw and Washington announced the agreement on the deal last week, top Russian Gen. Anatoly Nogovitsyn warned that Poland is risking attack, and possibly a nuclear one, by deploying the American missile defense system, Russia's Interfax news agency reported. . . .
<snip>
And then: Maybe send in the Navy?
<snip>
But now it appears Bush has gotten his way after all. CNN's Barbara Starr reported this morning: "Pentagon officials tell us they are now working out the final details and talking to Turkey about getting final approval for three ships -- two U.S. Navy warships and a Coast Guard cutter -- to cross through the Dardanelles passage and enter the Black Sea and travel to Georgia to deliver humanitarian relief supplies."
<snip>
http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/blog/2008/08/20/BL2008082001790_5.html?hpid=opinionsbox1

Bush is certifiable and Rice is right up there with him. This is not about protecting Poland. It's about Bush wanting to save face.

He wants to do something so badly and strut around about it, he can taste it. Don't discount this as a motive to start something.

Wars have been started for much less.:crazy:

[Junkdrawer]

1. Little reported: We're tearing up US/Russian treaties and agreements...

ERIC MARGOLIS, THE REAL NEWS ANALYST: The Bush administration has been trying to close this deal for a long time, to put anti-ballistic missile radars in the Czech Republic and ten interceptor missiles in Poland. It claims this system is only designed against rogue states.

JAY: And they say it's defensive.

MARGOLIS: Defensive, meaning it's designed against Iranian long-range missiles. Well, first of all, Iran has no long-range missiles, has no nuclear warheads; poses zero threat to the United States now or for the foreseeable future. The Russians are up in arms, literally, over this system that's right on their borders. It will be able to look deep into Russian territory. The Russians say it's designed against Russia.

JAY: Now, exactly what is it? Because the impression one gets from reading American media is that this is somehow interceptors, that they knock missiles out of the sky. They're not themselves missiles armed with nuclear warheads that can then be used as a first strike. So what is the truth of this?

MARGOLIS: That's correct. It is a purely defensive system. But a defense has its offensive capability, because the US is then allowed—it can look into Russia, can see what it's doing, maybe able to confound or confuse some Russian missiles if they're fired. We don't know all the technical details—they've not been revealed. But the Russians are extremely concerned. They offered to let the Americans use a Russian anti-ballistic missile radar in Azerbaijan to look south towards Iran. The US said no. They turned it down. So the Russians regard this as an enormously provocative act. It is a clear and egregious violation of the agreements made by presidents Bush Sr. and Clinton not to move NATO forces into Eastern Europe or parts of the former Soviet Union.

...

http://therealnews.com/t/index.php?option=com_content&task=view&id=31&Itemid=74&jumival=2070

[tannybogus]

2. Bushco has torn up the Constitution,

so why would a treaty here or there matter.I don't know if there is

anybody who can snatch that man up, but they better try. I wish Colin

Powell and whoever the hell else would get together and make a statement.

The hell with this "he's the President" crap.

[10 Year Freeper]

3. Dangerous Game

What vital US interest is served by provoking the Russians to re-take their empire? None.

The GOP is stuck on the cold war again...only this time it could get hot.

[tannybogus]

5. Bush is trying to play getback!

This is no small thing for Bush. He already thinks he is God's shield or something.

Putin made him look like a fool, and Bush is pissed. Somebody stop that RW asshat!

[Junkdrawer]

4. BTW: That info about the US Navy in the Black Sea is ominous

Nancy A. Youssef reported last night for McClatchy Newspapers: "The Bush White House and the Pentagon are at odds over whether to station a Navy ship in the Black Sea to demonstrate U.S. support for the embattled Georgian military and government, two defense officials told McClatchy Tuesday.

"The White House thinks that deploying a vessel such as the hospital ship USNS Comfort would showcase the Bush administration's support for Georgia and signal U.S. concern that Russia has sparked a humanitarian crisis in Georgia.

"The Pentagon officials, who both spoke only on the condition of anonymity because they weren't authorized to discuss internal policy deliberations, said the move is unnecessary. . . .

"The White House is frustrated, the officials said, but the Pentagon is unperturbed."

But now it appears Bush has gotten his way after all. CNN's Barbara Starr reported this morning: "Pentagon officials tell us they are now working out the final details and talking to Turkey about getting final approval for three ships -- two U.S. Navy warships and a Coast Guard cutter -- to cross through the Dardanelles passage and enter the Black Sea and travel to Georgia to deliver humanitarian relief supplies."


http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/blog/2008/08/20/BL2008082001790_5.html?hpid=opinionsbox1

When reports of Navy and Air Force "humanitarian aid" first came out, it was the Navy stuff that caught my eye. When it was then reported that the Navy part of the aid was off, I breathed a sigh of relief and speculated that the Navy may have said "Are you nuts? The Black Sea is a Russian lake."

Now it looks like US ships will try to sail into Georgia in a Sept-Oct time frame. I don't like this one bit.

[Junkdrawer]

6. "U.S. presses Turkey to allow NATO forces' deployment to Black Sea"...

The United States is expected to pile pressure on Turkey to deploy permanent NATO navy forces for patrol missions in the organization's summit which would start in Brussels. Turkey is concerned that such move would open a debate on the 1936 Montreux Convention and eventually harm its sovereign rights on the straits.

Turkish Foreign Minister Ali Babacan attended the meeting of 26 NATO foreign ministers that met in Brussels on Tuesday. The members are expected to reaffirm their support for Georgia and send a strong message to Russia without freezing out Moscow diplomatically.
...

The deployment of NATO forces in the Black Sea would breach the Montreux Agreement, which limits the total weight of the warships that a country who does not have border with the Black Sea can deploy to 45,000 tons.

The Bosphorus Straits are considered one of the most strategic waterways of the world and located within Turkey’s territorial waters. The Montreux Convention, reinstating its sovereignty over the strategic Turkish Straits, and regulating navigation through them, was signed in 1936.

http://www.hurriyet.com.tr/english/home/9697986.asp?gid=244&sz=50494