The world is responding to the humanitarian needs in Georgia in the wake of the fighting between Georgia and Russia.

The United States has begun its efforts.

An Air Force C-17 Globemaster III transport arrived in Tbilisi with the first planeload of U.S. aid Aug. 13, carrying blankets, cots, sleeping bags and medical supplies. A second C-17 arrived yesterday and carried additional supplies, as well as 104,000 doses of antibiotics requested by the Georgian Health Ministry.

The supplies are being distributed and coordinated by five nongovernmental organizations: Counterpart International, A Call to Serve — Georgia, International Relief and Development, Hellenicare, and the United Methodist Committee on Relief.

Aerial transporters, Staff Sgt.'s Chris Droegemueller (r-l) and Jason Tripler assists C-17 loadmasters Staff Sgt's Kevin Alexander and Donald Jones in delivering the second wave of humanitarian aid to the Republic of Georgia, Aug. 14, 2008. The delivery was a joint-service effort between U.S Army Europe Soldiers, U.S. Air Forces Europe and Air Mobility Command Airmen. The Airmen are assigned to the 86 Contingency Response Group at Ramstein Air Base, Germany and the 6th Air Lift Squadron, MsGuire Air Force Base, N.J, Photo by Master Sgt. Scott Wagers

A C-17 Globemaster from McGuire Air Force Base, N.J., delivers the second wave of humanitarian aid to a civilian airport in Tbilisi, Republic of Georgia, Aug. 14, 2008. The delivery was a joint-service effort between U.S Army Europe Soldiers, U.S. Air Forces Europe and Air Mobility Command Airmen, Photo by Master Sgt. Scott Wagers

USAID is there, and provided the following chart,

On August 14, USAID/OFDA provided $1 million to WFP for the procurement of more than 650 MT of emergency food commodities from Georgia and additional countries in the region, including approximately 31 MT of high energy biscuits currently in-country. On August 9, U.S. Ambassador John F. Tefft declared a disaster due to the effects of armed conflict in Georgia. In response, USAID/OFDA provided an initial $250,000 through the U.S. Embassy in Tbilisi for the provision of emergency relief supplies to benefit up to 10,000 people. USAID/OFDA has also provided $1 million for the local procurement of emergency food commodities.

USAID to Georgia

The Red Cross is heavily involved in efforts there,

The ICRC has already flown in almost 100 tonnes of relief supplies to the affected region, including medicines, medical supplies, items such as blankets, jerry-cans and hygiene kits, food supplies as well as materials to provide the population with safe drinking water. The ICRC will transport 320 tonnes more in the next week or so. An ICRC surgical team is in place to help treat the war wounded and a field hospital managed by the Norwegian Red Cross should be operational in the next few days. On Thursday 13 August, ICRC teams continued to provide help at shelter centres in and around Tbilisi. We have rehabilitated water systems in 1 collective centre for around 900 people and given emergency assistance such as blankets and hygiene kits to around 1,000 persons. On Friday, ICRC engineers were working to reconnect the water supplies to these centres, many of which are located in buildings that were abandoned, and to ensure proper sanitary conditions by installing toilets. This is crucial as people are still arriving at these shelters in numbers and many haven’t had access to a proper toilet for five days. In North Ossetia, the ICRC continues to work with the Russian Red Cross to help thousands of people from South Ossetia uprooted by the fighting. Hygiene kits, blankets and clothes have been provided to the Russian Red Cross which is distributing them to those in need. The ICRC has also provided war wounded kits to different hospitals for the treatment of the war wounded. 

The United Nations is also there,

To date, a total of 66 tonnes of relief supplies have arrived in Tbilisi from UNHCR’s central emergency stockpile in Dubai. Items such as tents, jerry cans, blankets, kitchen sets and jerry cans are being delivered to the neediest people in and around Tbilisi.

Here is a cross-section of statements (that I could find) from foreign ministries, indicating the aid those countries would be contributing. In no particular order,
France

French humanitarian aid has been stepped up for all the victims of the crisis. A DC-10 cargo plane was leased by the Ministry of Foreign and European Affairs. It will carry 60 tons of emergency relief supplies (tents, cots, blankets and staple goods) to Tbilisi along with medical supplies. This shipment, assembled from Ministry and Civil Protection Service stocks, also includes a contribution from the French Red Cross for the ICRC teams deployed on the ground.

Spain

The request for emergency aid totals 8 million Swiss Francs (4.96 million euros). With this aid, medical and surgical kits will be provided, as well as basic needs such as water purifiers, clothing, etc., for those displaced persons currently in North Ossetia and Georgia

Germany

The Minister has decided to initially provide one million euro for humanitarian relief measures in order to ease the hardship of the refugees. They will be used to finance emergency shelters, emergency medical care, as well as other relief supplies for those who have fled the crisis zone.

Netherlands

Minister for Development Cooperation Bert Koenders has earmarked €500,000 for the International Committee of the Red Cross (ICRC) for emergency aid to the victims of the armed conflict in South Ossetia.

Italy

In response to Georgia’s request for humanitarian aid, and acting on the instructions of the Minister for Foreign Affairs, Franco Frattini, the foreign ministry is organising two humanitarian flights with aid totalling 460,000 euros.

Australia

Australia will provide $1 million to deliver emergency humanitarian assistance to people adversely affected following the conflict in Georgia.

Canada

The Honourable Beverley J. Oda, Minister of International Cooperation, announced today that Canada is providing a total of up to $1,000,000 to assist people affected by the recent fighting in Georgia.

Greece

In  response to appeals for providing relief to people affected by the recent hostilities in the Caucasus, Greece dispatched a C-130 aircraft carrying a 14-tonne humanitarian aid shipment to Georgia comprising tents, blankets, medical and pharmaceutical supplies, serum, water purification tablets, etc

Finland

Foreign Minister Alexander Stubb announced in the meeting of the EU Council of Ministers in Brussels today that Finland is prepared to provide support for humanitarian assistance of civilian victims of the crisis in Georgia up to the amount of one million euro

Norway

On Tuesday Norway allocated NOK 30 million for humanitarian assistance to the victims of the war in Georgia.

Poland

The Ministry of Foreign Affairs hereby gives notice that on 14 August at 12.00 a CASA-295 military transport plane is leaving with medical aid provided by the Ministry of National Defence, the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, the Ministry of Health and the Ministry of Interior and Administration in order to provide help for people who have been harmed in Georgia.

Estonia

Estonia sent Georgia 5.5 tons of humanitarian aid on 12 August, including bandages, antibiotics, infusion dilutions, lightweight beds, blankets, thermo-sheets and other medical equipment needed for rescuing people.

Latvia

A cargo of humanitarian aid of medical items from state reserves consisting of 4,000 containers of blood products and 20,000 gauze bandages to the value of 20,000 lats was sent to Georgia on 12 August.

Kazakhstan

Humanitarian aid for the victims of the South Ossetia conflict will be sent from Kazakhstan to Russia, Kazinform refers to the press-service of Almaty department of RK Ministry of Emergency. The package of humanitarian aid is sent by the direct order of the President of Kazakhstan to the victims of the conflict between Georgia and South Ossetia

And finally, World Vision, a Christian relief organization that does tremendous work all over the world, is there,

World Vision teams in both Georgia and the Russian Federation are responding to the increasing humanitarian needs of children and families who have fled the conflict zone. Some 100,000 people in all are estimated to have been uprooted from their homes and are in need of shelter and emergency support. In North Ossetia, World Vision is providing medical supplies such as bandages, crutches, pain relievers, syringes and antibiotics to the wounded through partners.

From the Washington Times,

MILITARY SPENDING: Russia’s military budget is equivalent to about $40 billion this year, compared to Georgia’s $997 million.

STRENGTH: Russia has 1.1 million soldiers, Georgia has 37,000.

ARSENALS: The Russian armed forces have about 6,000 tanks and some 1,700 combat aircraft. Georgia has 230 tanks and 12 combat aircraft.

According to the NY Times, Russia has brought its attack on Georgia to a new level,

Russia issued an ultimatum to Georgian forces on Monday to disarm its troops along the boundary with the western pro-Russian separatist enclave of Abkhazia, in a sign that fighting could escalate on a second front in western Georgia.
….
Russia has poured extra forces into the western enclave where it now has at least 9,000 troops and 350 armored vehicles. Giga Bokeria, a Georgian official close to the president, said the ultimatum raised alarms that Russian troops would now push into Georgian territory in the west of the country.

Russia has already attacked targets in Georgia proper, including Gori. (Gori is the birthplace of Stalin, by the way.) Gori is the first major city on the road south out of South Ossetia, and it is on a main west-east road crossing Georgia. Tbilisi is east of Gori. Attacks on Gori can only be intended to divide Georgia, and prevent supplies and reinforcements from being brought up.

Now, Russia threatens a second front in Abkhazia, which has nothing to do with protecting Russian-leaning people in Ossetia. No, Russia’s goal is to punish Georgia for ever having thoughts about joining NATO, and Russia’s attacks are aimed not just at Georgia, but at the West, in three ways.

First, Russia bombed the BTC pipeline. This pipe brings oil west from the Caspian region without passing through Russia’s control. For that very reason, Russia was opposed to the BTC pipe from the beginning, and by attacking this oil supply, Russia is attacking the West, not Georgia. Russia’ message is just what it has been for several years, that for Russia energy is the same as foreign policy, and Russia will wield it as a club because Russia is a crumbling nation and has little influence in any other realm, outside of its nuclear arsenal.

Second, the United Nations maintains an observer force, UNOMIG, in and around the Kodori Gorge in Abkhazia. The Gorge is a focus of the attacks in Abkhazia. The UN’s presence sure did a lot of good, didn’t it. Russia is showing its distain for international institutions, and is not about to let diplomatic niceties get in its way.

Third, Russia is rubbing the West’s nose in its own weakness, proving the West cannot do anything about Russian aggression. The US has issue strong words, the UN Secretary_General expressed “serious concern,” but what affect will that have? None.

Georgia is being pulled down like a deer swarmed by a pack of wolves, and like the rest of the herd thinking “I’m glad that isn’t me,” the West is only going to watch.

While Russia’s attacks were intensifying, President Bush sat with Putin watching the Opening Ceremonies in Beijing. President Bush is still there. Why hasn’t he returned, to show support for an important ally in the Caucasus?

In the end, Russia will have troops in Abkhazia and South Ossetia, Georgia will have suffered many casualties, NATO will never offer membership to Georgia, and other nations like Ukraine and the Baltic states will have learned a hard lesson about the help they could expect from the West if they try to defy Russia’s bid for energy hegemony.

Just last year, Russia was awarded the 2014 Winter Olympics in Sochi, which is just up the Black Sea coast from Abkhazia. The West could call for this decision to be overturned. I predict you won’t hear more than a word or two about it.

Russia could be drummed out of the G-8. Won’t happen.

Where Russia could be hurt is in an economic boycott, especially in energy investment. Gazprom may not be able to meet the demand for natural gas without lots of foreign investment in gas infrastructure. But, European nations are too dependent on Russia to go to the wall with Russia over this.

At the Energy Security conference in Vilnius last year, Volodymyr Saprykin outlined the problem,

On the other hand, Russia on its own, without Western capital and technologies, will not be able to increase significantly its production of natural gas, which is stagnating currently.

This situation will also endanger Ukraine’s position as the largest transit partner and consumer of natural gas coming from Russia. Moreover, the clash between the EU and Russia will strengthen the Eastern vector of hydrocarbons supply, primarily, to China.
….
The USA is long way, and the majority of the EU leading members are suffering from far-sightedness, not seeing their neighbour – Ukraine. They only see Russia, because they are looking through the pipeline. Increasing dependence of the EU on Russian energy supplies deprives Ukraine of serious political support in conflicts with Russia over energy.
….
One of the key elements of maintaining security of energy supply is to diversify the sources and supply routes. Ukraine imports around 53-54% of energy resources; by international standards such a level of dependence is outrageously high.

However, the problem is that Ukraine imports the largest part of energy from a single country – Russia, either directly or transited via Russia. In this situation the dependence of Ukraine’s energy industry and the economy in general on imports of energy is critical.

Russia has Europe over a barrel, or a pipe in this case, and it knows it, and so it thinks it can bomb civilians and blast a democracy to ruins with impunity. I fear the West will prove Russia correct.

The situation between Georgia, and South Ossetia and Russia, is fast-moving and rapidly escalating. (Russia Today has a good timeline going. James Joyner has a good roundup at OTB, too.) From the AP,

Russia sent columns of tanks and reportedly bombed Georgian air bases Friday after Georgia launched a major military offensive Friday to retake the breakaway province of South Ossetia, threatening to ignite a broader conflict.

Hundreds of civilians were reported dead in the worst outbreak of hostilities since the province won defacto independence in a war against Georgia that ended in 1992. Witnesses said the South Ossetian capital of Tskhinvali was devastated.

From Dawn,

Georgia has lost control of parts of the South Ossetian rebel capital of Tskhinvali amid Russian bombardment, a spokesman for Georgia’s interior ministry said, after earlier claiming control of the city. “Russian armed forces are bombarding Tskhinvali,” the spokesman told AFP in Tbilisi.

Russian President Medvedev issued this statement, (here it is in Russian) which, to me anyway, sounded distressingly similar to Russia’s support for Serbia in 1914,

Last night, Georgian troops committed what amounts to an act of aggression against Russian peacekeepers and the civilian population in South Ossetia. What took place is a gross violation of international law and of the mandates that the international community gave Russia as a partner in the peace process.
….
In accordance with the Constitution and the federal laws, as President of the Russian Federation it is my duty to protect the lives and dignity of Russian citizens wherever they may be.

It is these circumstances that dictate the steps we will take now. We will not allow the deaths of our fellow citizens to go unpunished. The perpetrators will receive the punishment they deserve.

That’s hardly “let’s find a way to make peace” talk. The Azeri Press Agency has this, which is unsettling if true,

Georgian new agencies report that Russian military aircrafts bombed Vaziani base near Tbilisi at 15.10 by local time. Two bombs were reportedly dropped on the military base. No casualties are reported in the base. Gruziya Online website reports that the aircraft that bombed Vaziani base had taken off from the territory of Armenia. The agency mentions that there is an air regiment in Russian army’s 102nd base in Gumru, Armenia. According to the agreement signed between Georgia and Armenia, Armenia can not allow any other state to attack Georgia from its territory.

The Immediate Response 2008 exercise just wrapped up at the Vaziani base. Stars and Stripes has this, which I sure hope is true,

There are 127 U.S. military trainers there, of whom about 35 are civilian contractors, according to Pentagon spokesman Bryan Whitman. All are safe and accounted for, according to United States European Command. Though the training exercise ended Thursday, soldiers are still in the country, though nowhere near the conflict, according to EUCOM’s Lt. Cmdr. Corey Barker. The Marines have already left.

By the way, as Immediate Response was going on, Russia just happened to hold its own military exercise in the North Caucasus. That exercise involved the 58th Army, which, according to news reports, is involved in Russia’s counterattack? Hmmm. Was Russia getting things in place?

Yulia Latynina has a good column pointing out Russia’s ties to South Ossetia,

So, why is this a victory over the siloviki — those in the Russian ruling elite with close ties to the state security organs? Because there is no way the regime in South Ossetia can be in any sense called “separatist.” Who there is a separatist? The head of the local KGB, Anatoly Baranov, used to head the Federal Security Service (FSB) in the Russian Republic of Mordovia. The head of the South Ossetian Interior Ministry, Mikhail Mindzayev, served in the Interior Ministry of Russia’s North Ossetia. The South Ossetian “defense minister,” Vasily Lunev, used to be military commissar in Perm Oblast, and the secretary of South Ossetia’s Security Council, Anatoly Barankevich, is a former deputy military commissar of Stavropol Krai. So who exactly is a separatist in this government? South Ossetian “prime minister” Yury Morozov?

This has been a long time in coming. Here’s a brief timeline.

-In January 2006 Georgia blamed Russia for explosions on gas pipelines that cut of supplies to Georgia in the dead of winter.

-In spring 2006, Russia banned Georgia wine, fruits, vegetables, and mineral water.

-In July 2006, Georgian forces went into the Kodori Gorge in Abkhazia, another Russia-leaning breakaway region of Georgia.

-In September 2006, Georgia accused four Russians of espionage. In October Russia responded by deporting some Georgian civilians.

-In November 2006, Gazprom said it was going to increase the price of gas.

-In March 2007, Georgia said Russian helicopters fired their weapons in the Kodori Gorge.

-In late June/early July 2007, a confrontation in South Ossetia led to several deaths. I posted about that here.

-Around that same time, Georgia has made noises about charging Gazprom transit fees to transport gas across Georgia to Armenia, and that Georgia might take some of the gas as payment. Gazprom said Georgia had no basis to charge such fees.

-A year ago practically to the day, in a bit of me too-ism, South Ossetia has claimed Georgia fired missiles at it. And, Georgia said Russian jets fired a missile into Georgia near South Ossetia.

-In November 2007, Georgia said Russia sent more troops and equipment to Abkhazia. Russia denied it.

-In April 2008, war was close to breaking out in Abkhazia. Georgia says Russia shot down a drone.

-In June and July 2008, there were several explosions in Abkhazia.

Vladimir Socor adds,

On July 3 an assassination attempt targeted Dmitry Sanakoyev, head of the Tbilisi-backed interim administration of South Ossetia, which controls at least one third of the region’s territory. The blast injured Sanakoyev’s bodyguards. On July 9 Moscow demonstratively acknowledged that four Russian Air Force planes had flown a mission over South Ossetia. That action sought to deter Georgia from flying unmanned aerial vehicles (UAVs), thus blinding Tbilisi to Russian and proxy military movements in the area. A series of roadside bomb blasts targeted Georgian police patrols. During the second half of July and the first days of August, Russian-commanded Ossetian troops under the authority of Russian-led South Ossetian authorities fired repeatedly at Georgian-controlled villages, forcing Georgian police to fire back defensively.

And here we are. Russia is, to put it mildly, opposed to Georgia entering in NATO, is upset over Kosovo, and in my mind, Russia uses Abkhazia and Sout Ossetia to make life miserable for Georgia for even considering joining NATO.

Here is video of a press conference with a spokesman for the South Ossetian President. Pray for peace in Georgia. This could get worse before it gets better. As Ed Morrissey writes, “If Georgia doesn’t seize South Ossetia outright quickly, then cooler heads need to get involved to push the Russians and Georgians apart.”

A few days ago, the UN Secretary-General issued a report on the situation in Abkhazia. The report details how tensions have risen between Georgia and pals Russia and Abkhazia in recent months. While the report doesn’t really try to fix blame to one side or the other, the report does specifically mention (on page 2) Russia’s decision to engage in direct relations with Abkhazia and South Ossetia,  something which Georgia protested strongly, as it was a provocation aimed at Georgia’s sovereignty. Georgia’s Foreign Ministry issued this statement on the UN report, saying:

The Georgian side reaffirms its readiness to cooperate fruitfully with UN, in particular, with the UN Secretary Generals’ Group of Friends and the UN Observer Mission in Georgia. The recent development of events around this region has made increasingly obvious the necessity of transformation of the ongoing peace process and development of new, result-oriented formats, with the involvement of unbiased facilitators , that will contribute substantially to peaceful resolution of the conflict in Abkhazia, Georgia.

That statement was a reference to Georgia’s strong desire to be rid of Russian “peacekeepers” which are still present.

In addition to all this, a military exercise called Immediate Response 2008 is taking place in Georgia, involving troops from the United States, Georgia, Armenia, Azerbaijan and Ukraine. The US troops are helping train Georgian troops as they prepare for deployment to Iraq. Georgia now has the third largest number of troops in Iraq, behind the US and British. (Granted, only around 2,000 or so.)

Color guard members display the flags of the nations participating in exercise Immediate Response at the exercise’s opening ceremony at the Vaziani Training Area, Republic of Georgia, July 15. Military personnel from the U.S., Georgia, Armenia, Azerbaijan and Ukraine are taking part in the exercise. Photo by Spc. Crystal Abbott

In a recent Bloggers Roundtable, Major Matthew Smith talked about the involvement of a battalion from the Georgia Army National Guard.

This exercise pulled together armed forces from all over the world. We have, of course, our Georgia Guardsmen. There are soldiers from the country of Georgia, obviously, Ukraine, Azerbaijan and Armenia, as well as active-duty U.S. Army soldiers from Europe, Army Reservists from Oklahoma, members of the U.S. Marine Corps Reserve from Ohio, and various other locations from through the U.S. The overall purpose of the operation is to build cooperation in the region and teach everyone involved how to work better with their coalition partners. I can tell you from personal experience that there’s learning taking place by all the parties that are involved.

Now, for the battalion specifically, we have three major training events that will take place during the exercise. We’re conducting combat lifesaving classes, fire team live fires, and then platoon situational training lanes. These events are good training for the Georgians, but they’re also key for our battalion’s mission train-up for employment to Afghanistan a little less than 12 months from now.

(Here are some photos of the exercise from RIA Novosti. This Washington Post article adds a few more.)

Now, I’ll note that Georgia, Azerbaijan and Ukraine are members of GUAM, an organization that pointedly excludes Russia. (The ‘M’ in GUAM, Moldova, is showing signs of wanting to leave the organization.)

As such, a military exercise involving these nations, as well as the US, is not just a let’s get ready for Iraq exercise. You can bet someone aimed this as a jab at Russia, which just happened to hold its own military exercises in the neighborhood.

GUAM held a summit in Batumi in early July, at which Georgia assumed the chairmanship. The summit had on the agenda talks about the Odessa–Brody–Plotsk pipeline, which would bring oil north to Europe, bypassing Russia. This sort of thing sets Russia’s teeth on edge, and it’s the sort of project GUAM wants to develop and encourage.

The base where the exercise is being held (and the Marines are now in the hills around it) is a reminder of Russia’s once dominant presence in Georgia. The Jamestown Foundation had this in 2001:

Vaziani, situated some twenty kilometers outside Tbilisi, is a sprawling complex of military installation which include Russia’s largest and best equipped military airfield in the South Caucasus, firing ranges, arms and ammunition depots, chemical munitions stores, fuel stockpiles, hangars and garages capable of accommodating large numbers of planes and armored vehicles, troop barracks and many other facilities. Some of these are located on the 10,000 hectares of land of the base itself; other installations are dispersed in the Tbilisi area and in the city itself, but are organic to the Vaziani base. Those include the Russian tank repair plant and armor depot in Tbilisi–an installation that Moscow’s negotiators attempted until the last moment to retain for Russia. There is no clear information yet about the resolution of this issue.
….
Because of its proximity to Tbilisi, the Vaziani base was a thorn in the Georgian government’s side. It was from Vaziani that Igor Giorgadze was spirited by military plane to Moscow after the 1995 assassination attempt against President Eduard Shevardnadze. Periodically, rumors surfaced that Russian planes had brought spetznaz units to be stationed at the base; occasionally, Georgian security services cited some evidence to that effect. The Georgian government was not in a position to determine the actual contents of incoming or outgoing Russian flights, or to know for sure what was going on at the base. Apparently with that in mind, Shevardnadze told the country on radio that Russia’s relinquishment of Vaziani represents an important achievement in the overall bilateral relations between Russia and Georgia.

For the GUAM members and the US to conduct military exercises here is another reminder for Russia of how its power has waned. Russia has been trying to regain its influence through using its energy resources as a tool of foreign policy, and so, again, GUAM’s attempt to bypass Russian control with oil pipelines direct to Europe is yet another thumb in the bear’s eye. To have these ties to the West backed up by US military might is still another thumb.

On Monday, German Chancellor Merkel spoke in Berlin to a conference of military commanders. The text of her speech is here, auf Deutsch. (Here is video of a news story about the conference, also auf Deutsch. The NATO Secretary General also addressed the conference.)

She kicked two piles of dirt on the NATO alliance, only a few weeks before the big summit in Bucharest. First, with regards to Afghanistan. There are increasingly sharp feelings in the alliance about what NATO should be doing in Afghanistan, and the level of committments from member nations. Canada has made veiled threats about leaving Afghanistan if it does not receive more help. Earlier, remarks from Secretary Gates about the capabilities of NATO troops raised hackles.

At the recent meeting of NATO foreign ministers, Secretary Rice addressed these tensions, in a characteristically diplomatic tone.

QUESTION: In what ways do you think that the new strategy for Afghanistan might help bridge divisions within the alliance? And do you think Europe and Germany, in particular, are doing enough in the south? Thank you.

SECRETARY RICE: Well, first, let me say that I would not talk about divisions in the alliance on Afghanistan. I think the alliance has a very clear, commonly shared view that the NATO mission, which NATO took by consensus, the decision to enter this mission in Afghanistan, is a core mission of NATO, it is an essential mission of NATO, it must be successful. That means helping the Afghans to defeat the Taliban and other terrorists. It means helping the Afghans to build a decent and more prosperous and more democratic society. It is – since NATO is a military alliance, that there is a requirement that we be able to meet the obligations in a military sense. And not all nations contribute in exactly the same way. We have been concerned, and both Secretary Gates and I have made clear that we have been concerned that there be a sense of burden-sharing in the alliance that shares all of the burdens of what is a difficult fight, again, in a country that has experienced 30 years of conflict and more than 20 years of civil war.

Germany, like others, is contributing to the effort, and that is greatly appreciated. What we have to be able to do is to make certain that we can fulfill all of the requirements. We can’t just fulfill the requirements having to do with reconstruction and development. We can’t just fulfill the requirements that have to do with governance and rule of law. We can’t just fulfill the requirements that have to deal with the hearts and minds of the population. We also have to win against these insurgents — help the Afghans to win. We have to train the Afghan army. We have to mentor and provide help to them. And it is SACEUR’s view that he needs more help in that regard, and there’s been a significant effort to do that.

Let me say one word also about the Canadians in this regard, who have made it clear that they desire a partner in the south. And we believe that the alliance has an obligation to deliver on that because this is a NATO mission. This is not a Canadian mission or a Danish mission or an American mission or — it’s a NATO mission, and we have to respond as an alliance.

She was saying, sweetly, that it would be nice if Germany contributed more troops. Combat troops, preferrably. Merkel threw cold water on all that.

Chancellor Angela Merkel called on NATO members to improve coordination of military and civil elements in crisis areas such as Afghanistan. She stressed that Germany would not lift restrictions on troops in the country.

The trans-Atlantic alliance is a pillar of Germany’s foreign and security policy, but it has to move away from purely military thinking, she told a meeting of German armed forces commanders in Berlin on Monday, March 10.

The chancellor also affirmed Germany’s opposition to extending its military role in Afghanistan to the volatile south, a move requested by the United States and other NATO members.

She said her country’s NATO-led troops were needed in the relatively peaceful north, where they were engaged mainly in civilian reconstruction projects.

She took a shot at US leadership,

Erstens. Eine vorsorgende und wertegebundende Politik muss international möglichst breit abgestimmt sein. Wir müssen vor allen Dingen das Gespräch mit unseren Verbündeten und Partnern in Europa und in der transatlantischen Gemeinschaft suchen. Rein nationalstaatliche Lösungen helfen uns nur in den allerseltensten Fällen weiter. Selbst für eine Macht wie die Vereinigten Staaten von Amerika ist heute klar: Niemand kann allein ohne Verbündete, auch ohne politischen Rückhalt, Probleme lösen. Das heißt, jeder auf der Welt braucht Partner, weil wir eben auch ein universelles, ein umfassendes Verständnis von Sicherheit haben.

Meaning, and mentioning the US by name, nobody can solve problems alone, without allies. Let’s have none of that cowboy diplomacy.

Second, Merkel took a saw and hacked off the limb upon which the membership hopes of Georgia and Ukraine were sitting. She said,

Wir werden uns auch über die Frage der Heranführung von Georgien und der Ukraine zu unterhalten haben. Hierzu möchte ich heute nur zwei sehr allgemeine Bemerkungen machen. Meine erste Bemerkung lautet: Ich bin der Meinung, ein Land sollte nur Mitglied der Nato sein, wenn nicht nur eine augenblickliche politische Führung diese Mitgliedschaft befürwortet, sondern wenn es auch eine qualitativ bedeutsame Unterstützung der Nato-Mitgliedschaft in der Bevölkerung gibt. Wir dürfen keine Risiken – sozusagen je nach Wahlverhalten in bestimmten Ländern, in denen sich noch zentrale politische Orientierungen herausbilden – eingehen.

Translation, from Vladimir Socor at the Jamestown Foundation,

In her speech, which dealt primarily with Afghanistan’s challenges, Merkel also cautioned against opening the door to Ukraine and Georgia. ‘Countries that are involved in regional or internal conflicts can not become members [of the alliance],” she stipulated, in a chilling “No” to Georgia.

Moreover, “qualitatively significant” internal public support would be required for countries’ accession to NATO. It is not enough for countries’ membership aspirations to be only supported by the incumbent leaderships, Merkel noted. Nor could the alliance risk admitting countries on the basis of their voter preferences, she contended (DPA, March 10).

What is this all about? Is it about energy? Russia is adamantly opposed to NATO membership for Georgia and Ukraine. Russia does not want NATO that close to her borders. So why would Germany carry water for Russia?

Consider that Germany, the third largest consumer of natural gas in the world, gets over 40% of its gas from Russia. That is bound to increase with the building of the Nord Stream pipeline under the Baltic Sea.

What’s ironic is that when Merkel’s predecessor, Schroeder, left office, he took a leadership role in Nord Stream AG, the consortium building the pipeline. Nord Stream AG is 51% owned by Gazprom, the Russian gas company. In effect, Schroeder went to work for Russia. Merkel criticized him for this at the time.

Two days before her speech in Berlin, Merkel went to Moscow to meet with Medvedev and Putin, the incoming and outgoing Russian Presidents. Note that Medvedev is still Chairman of the Board of Gazprom. Yulia Latynina writes,

At a news conference on Saturday following his meeting with German Chancellor Angela Merkel, President Vladimir Putin announced that Russia’s foreign policy under President-elect Dmitry Medvedev would remain unchanged. “I do not think that our partners will have it any easier with him,” Putin declared.

Merkel’s speech was a balancing act, if not a step in Russia’s direction. Faced with a more aggressive Russia, a Russia with a hand on the spigot of Germany’s gas supplies, Merkel doesn’t seem eager to poke the bear with any sharp sticks.

Update: For more, see The Washington Realist, and Siberian Light.

A little bit of the beauty that is Georgia. This is from a Ruth Olshan film entitled Wie Luft zum Atmen, from aquafilm.

Sometimes I wish I danced more, like the young people at the end of this clip.

A newly married couple, from the Kaukasus blog.

Do follow the link described and listen to the mp3 of Teona singing. Seductive, captivating music.

(Khevsureti is a beautiful region in eastern Georgia.)

From Molly Corso at EurasiaNet:

One day after Georgian President Mikheil Saakashvili’s proposal to hold early presidential elections, the standoff between government and opposition shows little sign of abating. With the proposed vote less than two months away, officials have accused two opposition leaders of espionage and plotting a coup. In addition, the government has opened an investigation of opposition financier Badri Patarkatsishvili for allegedly threatening to overthrow the government.

Saakashvili announced the early presidential vote, tentatively scheduled for January 5, as a way to ease tension following the imposition of a state of emergency on November 7. But charges brought against Labor Party leader Shalva Natelashvili and Freedom Party leader Konstantin Gamsakhurdia in connection with the opposition protests suggest that government concerns about “foreign forces” – a euphemism for Russia – remain unchanged.

Both men were charged on November 9 with espionage and attempting to overthrow the government, Interior Ministry spokesperson Shota Utiashvili confirmed. Gamsakhurdia’s brother, Tsotne, has also been charged on both counts. It is unlikely that criminal proceedings against two leading opposition leaders can help foster an atmosphere of compromise between Saakashvili’s administration and a 10-party opposition coalition.

Over the past day, Georgian Public Television, the only news broadcaster currently allowed to operate, has routinely featured alleged phone conversations and videotaped meetings involving all three of the accused and supposed representatives of Russian intelligence in Tbilisi.

From RIA Novosti:

Georgia’s opposition said on Monday that lawmaker and wine businessman Levan Gachechiladze would run in the January 5 early presidential elections as its single candidate.

From the Georgia Times:

Russia has deployed additional military hardware and at least 200 troops, mainly ethnic Chechens, in Abkhazia, Davit Bakradze, the Georgian state minister for conflict resolution issues, said on November 12.

“This is the step directly aimed at escalation of situation in Abkhazia and provoking conflict there. It seems that some [forces] in the Russian Federation thought that Georgia has become weaker and they thought that it was right time to implement what they have been trying for many years already in Abkhazia,” Bakradze said in a live televised statement aired by the Georgian Public Broadcaster.

Russia denies it.

The commander of the peacekeeping forces in the conflict zone between Georgia and its self-proclaimed republic of Abkhazia has denied Georgia’s claims that Russia has brought in military hardware and troops.

Georgia’s state minister for conflict resolution, David Bakradze, earlier said that Russia had deployed five T-72 tanks, four Grad multiple launch rocket systems, five APCs, seven howitzers and 200 servicemen in Abkhazia.

“No additional armaments have been received by the Collective Peacekeeping Forces,” Sergei Chaban told RIA Novosti, adding that Georgia had been engaging in disinformation.

The term “peacekeepers” is a euphemism at best. Russia keeps troops there as a means of keeping pressure on Georgia.

Lost in the glare of the klieg lights focused on the instability in Pakistan, Georgia is currently going through its own bout of political unrest. Georgia’s President Saakashvili declared a state of emergency on Nov 7, after protests grew violent. The opposition television channel Imedi TV was taken off the air, as were all news broadcasts. Protestors began gathering in the capitol of Tbilisi on Nov 1. Eventually the city’s main avenue, Rustaveli Avenue, was blocked, and protestors began to battle with riot police. The police were seen beating protestors.

Yesterday, Saakashvili called to move elections up to early January.

Saakashvili was the hero of the Rose Revolution in 2003, four years ago this month, and is arguably the most successful, and pro-Western, leader in the former Soviet satellite states in the Caucasus and Central Asia. Georgia is pushing for membership in NATO. This unrest, and the response to it, has puzzled supporters in the West. Today in the State Dept briefing, Sean McCormack said:

We are quite disappointed by the actions that President Saakashvili took in imposing a state of emergency. We are disappointed by the fact that the parliament voted to ratify his decision to the proposal to extend it to 15 days vice 2 days. We are going — our clear message is that the state of emergency should be lifted immediately, that the government should follow through on its promises and its decision to hold elections as well as to hold a dialogue on the prospect of parliamentary elections.

The genesis of this unrest goes back to September, at least. Mikheil Kareli, an ally of Georgian defense minister Irakli Okruashvili, was removed from his post as governor of Shida Kartli region after his role in sparking unrest in Gori, which is NW of Tbilisi. (Historical note: Gori is the birthplace of Stalin.) The Georgian Times described what happened:

Vasil Makhrashvili, governor of Gori munipality, his deputy Khvicha Okropiridze, the assistant to governor Davit Kechkhuashvili and the deputy chairman of Gori Sakrebulo, Nukri Papunashvili, were arrested in their homes at 8 AM on September 12. The Prosecutor’s Office cited embezzlement of local funds as the reason for the arrests. Shida Kartli and Mtskheta-Mtianeti District Attorney Davit Sakvarelidze said that Vasil Makharashvili conducted the tender in a biased way and picked his father-in-law’s company as a winner.

While the finance police blocked the Gori administration building to search for more evidence, the local people, including Governor Mikhail Kareli and his deputies, Gori Municipality Sakrebulo Chairman Marlen Nadiradze, and MP Teo Tlashadze came to the scene, but they were denied entry. The local people who had gathered since morning to protest the arrests tried to storm the building; but they failed to break past the police barrier. While Mikhail Kareli and his associated were trying to negotiate with the police, their supporters were chanting, “Gaumarjos Irakli Okruashvili.”

Okruashvili is a political opponent of Saakashvili, and the removal of Kareli was seen as a move against him. From EurasiaNet:

The arrest of a regional governor in Georgia is fueling speculation that the country’s leadership is intent on stifling a political challenge to its authority. Specifically, political observers believe the arrest is connected to reports that former Georgian defense minister Irakli Okruashvili is planning to launch an opposition political party.

A little over a week after he pledged his political support to Okruashvili, Mikheil Kareli was arrested on September 23 on charges of bribery and illegal business practices. The former governor of the Shida Kartli region, long seen as a regional stronghold for Okruashvili, was taken into custody before boarding a flight from Tbilisi to Istanbul.

On Sept 25, the president’s spokesman, Dimitri Kitoshvili, was arrested and charged with extortion. Kitoshvili also had connections to Okruashvili. Another associate of Okruashvili was audited. That same day, Okruashvili did launch his opposition party, with a serious charge against Saakashvili:

Ex-Defense Minister Irakli Okruashvili said he had been personally ordered by the president to liquidate business tycoon Badri Patarkatsishvili. In a late-night TV interview, Okruashvili also made allegations which challenge the official version of events surrounding late PM Zurab Zhvania’s death. He went on to speak about how he had planned to reclaim South Ossetia. He also attacked Giga Bokeria, an influential lawmaker from the ruling party.

Speaking live on Imedi TV’s talk show On the Air late on September 25, Okruashvili picked up where he had left off earlier in the day, when, during the formal launch of his political party – Movement For United Georgia – he had lashed out at his former close ally, Mikheil Saakashvili.

In what appears to be the most serious accusation ever levelled against President Saakashvili, Okruashvili alleged that in July 2005 he was personally ordered by the president to liquidate Badri Patarkatsishvili, a business tycoon. He said that Saakashvili had “a concrete plan” on how to do it.

On Sept 27, Okruashvili was arrested and charged with ” extortion, money laundering, misuse of power and criminal negligence.” This move set off protests and anger that built up into the confrontation this week.

In early October, Okruashvili  retracted his charge against Saakashvili, and even confessed on tape. (Though, in the last week, he renewed his charges against Saakashvili.) Around the same time, the aforementioned Patarkatsishvili said the situation was pushing him into politics.

Ten opposition parties then banded together, and protest rallies began to appear in support. Patarkatsishvili said he would finance this opposition campaign. And that leads us up to the present situation.

Tensions have been high between Georgia and Russia lately (see this post for more), and so not surprisingly Saakashvili has accused Russia of meddling in the situation.

For more on that, and Patarkatsishvili, and all manner of murky connections, see Douglas Hanson’s post at The American Thinker. A sample:

Patarkatsishvili was not always a booster for the new Georgia.  After the collapse of the USSR, he along with another “New Russian” by the name of Boris Berezovsky, had been one of the moneymen who attempted to usher in the market economy under Boris Yeltsin.  Later, both men helped Putin to seize power.  As is the norm in this part of the world, the Kremlin did an about face and sought to evict these same oligarchs who had taken advantage of the post-collapse chaos.  Putin sought to “cleanse” the country of those “who had sucked the blood of the nation.”  In 2001, Berezovsky fled to London, and six years later, Patarkatsishvili did the same.  Officially, both men are still on the lam from Russian authorities.

Georgia’s neighbors are understandably nervous. The United States has to be concerned about what might happen in this country where democracy was seen as taking root in what has been a troubled region. We’ll stay tuned.

(For more, as well as many photos, keep up with the Georgien blog.)