DescentBB

Summary

Russian armor has reportedly made it through the Roki Tunnel into South Ossetia, a critical move to secure the south end and protect the key logistical route into the breakaway territory. And Russia has still other options for moving its forces in.

A large formation of Russian armor reportedly has emerged on the south side of the two-lane Roki Tunnel, securing a vital logistical link to the breakaway Georgian territory of South Ossetia. Had Georgian troops been able to reach the tunnel, Moscow would have sent its armor down the center of the tunnel at great risk. The tunnel was a key chokepoint that could have been quickly destroyed or blocked. Now Russian troops are likely guarding it very closely as their logistical lifeline.

Further Russian reinforcements might flow into Georgia’s other breakaway region of Abkhazia, to the west. Though the territories are not contiguous, the Georgian military is not exactly in a position to challenge columns of Russian armor. A major railroad from Russia runs into Georgia through Abkhazia. Russian railroad troops left the territory recently, after completing repairs on the line. This could be an important link for more Russian reinforcements of tanks and armored vehicles from further afield — as well as a potential line of supply for fuel, ammunition, parts and food. While such forces could not reach South Ossetia, they would allow Russia to open a two-front war with Georgia should Moscow decide to do so.

And that is not Russia’s only option. The Russian military has the largest airborne formations in the world. Though these forces are difficult to sustain only by air and have a very light vehicle footprint, they are some of Russia’s most well-equipped and well-trained. Doctrinally, Russia has deployed these forces in the past as the vanguard of operations, but only after other military units had begun moving along the ground to secure a line of supply back to Russian territory. If Russian airborne units could link up with established Russian supply chains in Abkhazia or South Ossetia, they could be an important force multiplier.

But there are three airfields to the east of Tbilisi, including the capital’s international airport. At least two appear to be in serviceable condition, and all three boast runways in excess of 8,000 feet — plenty of room for Russian Il-76 Candid transports to land heavily laden.

Another airfield to the south of the capital at Marneuli has reportedly had its runway bombed by Russian fighters and might be unserviceable. The goal of this strike was almost certainly to take Georgia’s small air force out of the equation. In the past day, Georgia’s handful of only five to seven combat-capable Su-25 “Frogfoot” close air support aircraft (notoriously hated by the Afghan Mujahideen) have been spotted firing rockets at targets in South Ossetia. However, that runway was both shorter and farther from Tbilisi’s city center.

Ultimately, the runways to the east could also be used by U.S. C-17s and C-130s operating from Incirlik Air Base in Turkey. While Washington is hardly interested in getting entangled in this mess, some of its personnel might have been killed in a reported Russian airstrike on the base at Vaziani, where both Georgian and U.S. troops are stationed.

As a major logistical hub, Incirlik would leave U.S. transports and fighter aircraft well positioned near Georgia (contingent on Turkish acquiescence to such an operation). But what exactly they would accomplish is a more difficult question. U.S. F-16s are regularly deployed to the base and could quickly be equipped for strikes or combat air patrols. Additional fighters might be redeployed from Iraq if the necessity arose (but would almost certainly not operate from there directly).

But where the United States would find troops to fill its transports is unclear. The new MV-22 tiltrotor Ospreys currently deployed in Iraq could ferry U.S. Marines from the USS Peleliu (LHA-5) Expeditionary Strike Group currently with the Fifth Fleet to Tbilisi directly, or simply ashore to other transports. (It would probably take the strike group at least five days to get to the Georgian coast.) The embarked Marine Expeditionary Unit is composed of a heavily reinforced and mobile infantry battalion. But beyond that small contingent, Washington would be hard-pressed to find available ground troops.

Putin Says `War Has Started,' Georgia Claims Invasion (Update1)

By Henry Meyer and Ryan Chilcote

Aug. 8 (Bloomberg) — Russian Prime Minister Vladimir Putin said ``war has started in the breakaway region of South Ossetia while Georgia accused Russia of ``a well-planned invasion and appealed to world leaders for help.

Russian ``volunteers'' are pouring over the border to help defend South Ossetia from Georgian forces, Putin told U.S. President George W. Bush in Beijing today, according to Putin spokesman Dmitry Peskov.

Georgian President Mikheil Saakashvili accused Russia of ``full-blown military aggression after civilians died in aerial bombings and wide-spread fighting in and around the disputed region. The country of 4.6 million people is fighting ``to secure its borders, Saakashvili told Bloomberg Television.

The U.S., European Union and NATO all called on both sides to end hostilities. The ruble dropped the most against the dollar in 8 1/2 years and Russian stocks tumbled today on concern the conflict will worsen.

South Ossetia, which has a population of about 70,000 and is less than half the size of Kosovo, broke away from Georgia in the early 1990s and now is a de facto independent state with Russian peacekeepers and economic support. Georgia, a U.S. ally that wants to join the North Atlantic Treaty Organization, accuses Russia of stoking tensions in South Ossetia and another separatist region, Abkhazia.

``We will not allow the death of our compatriots to go unpunished, Russian President Dmitry Medvedev, 42, told state television after reports that Georgian troops had shelled a Russian barracks and checkpoint and killed soldiers. ``The guilty will get the punishment they deserve.

`Very Hot'

Saakashvili, 40, said Russia amassed troops for months on its northern border before fighter jets entered Georgian airspace overnight and bombed the towns of Gori and Kareli near South Ossetia. The Russian government earlier denied bombing and accused Georgia of ``unleashing a dirty, reckless scheme.''

``There are so many claims and counter-claims that it's impossible to know who started it, said James Nixey, manager of the Russia and Eurasia Program at the Royal Institute of International Affairs, a research institute based in London. ``Both sides have been antagonistic and easy to antagonize. It's a cold war that's suddenly gotten very hot.

Georgia last month increased the size of its military to 37,000 soldiers and today Saakashvili called up reservists and urged the nation to defend ``every meter'' of land. Russia has a standing army of about 1.1 million.

Tanks, Warplanes

Agence France-Press reported Russian tanks heading over the border to South Ossetia from the Russian region of North Ossetia at about 3:30 p.m. Moscow time. Interfax reported at about the same time that Russian warplanes were bombing Georgian targets.

``Fighting continues,'' Russian Major General Marat Kulakhmetov, commander of Russia's peacekeeping forces in South Ossetia, said by mobile phone. The peacekeepers have suffered casualties, although it's too early to say how many, he said.

Georgia is a key link in a U.S.-backed ``southern energy corridor'' that links the Caspian Sea region with world markets, bypassing Russia, the world's biggest energy producer. Two pipelines pass through the country linking Azerbaijan and Turkey.

The BP Plc-led Baku-Tbilisi-Ceyhan oil pipeline, which has been closed since Aug. 5 due to an explosion in Turkey, runs about 100 kilometers south of the South Ossetian capital of Tskhinvali.

The most recent violence in the region erupted on Aug. 1, when South Ossetia said Georgian shelling of the regional capital Tskhinvali claimed six lives. Georgia said South Ossetian forces sparked the fighting.

``The conflict might be short and hot, but my sense is that neither party wants a prolonged conflict,'' said Michael Denison, associate fellow at London-based research group Chatham House and a professor of international security at the University of Leeds.

Georgia is a key link in a U.S.-backed ``southern energy corridor'' that links the Caspian Sea region with world markets, bypassing Russia, the world's biggest energy producer. Two pipelines pass through the country linking Azerbaijan and Turkey.

TechPro wrote:That's it! Ban the black goo!

MD-1118 wrote:Maybe we need to pay a price to wake us up. Maybe I'm wrong, but I think this country has lost its objectivity. In my eyes, nothing is more important than being objective.

Spidey wrote:If a tree falls down in the Amazon…it must be the US’s fault.

MD-1118 wrote:

Spidey wrote:If a tree falls down in the Amazon…it must be the US’s fault.

Sometimes it is... but the point is, if that tree falling plays a major factor in this country's wakeup call, then yes. It is the US's fault, if for no other reason than something needs to be our fault. The majority of the US is populated by fat, ignorant, greedy, inconsiderate bass turds who think that they're God's chosen people and as such immune from the filth and squalor of the world. It makes me sick. I can't say what I really think would help the US for obvious reasons, but some objectivity would go a long way.

Also, after some thought, I hereby declare myself to be simply an inhabitant of Earth, residing in the southeastern portion of the northwestern hemisphere... not an American citizen. Being American isn't what it used to be. I'd better shut up now before I speak my mind and say something I shouldn't.

If we don't watch our step, WWIII might be around the corner.

Georgia is a key link in a U.S.-backed ``southern energy corridor'' that links the Caspian Sea region with world markets, bypassing Russia, the world's biggest energy producer. Two pipelines pass through the country linking Azerbaijan and Turkey.

Dakatsu wrote:Cuda68: The "Middle East" is NOT a country, it's an area on a map. This country would be stupid to go to war with a region of a map.

Dakatsu wrote:Cuda68: The "Middle East" is NOT a country, it's an area on a map. This country would be stupid to go to war with a region of a map.

Cuda68 wrote:Now I hope thats clear enough for you - or are you a democrat/liberal just plying stupid about what I am saying?

Ford Prefect wrote:Okay that's a little clearer but it makes it seem like you think the U.S. should get involved in a shooting war in Georgia because it would be a "just" war. That's not right is it?

Dakatsu wrote:Firstly, we are fighting two wars in the Middle east - Afghanistan, and Iraq. The Afgan war was just as it was to clear the government of Taliban control, but Iraq had nothing to do with terrorism, and I don't agree with it.

The events in Georgia and South Ossetia is an actual military conflict, between militaries of two distinct nations.

No nation in the middle east has "attacked" us. All those examples you gave were from terrorists, and are not members of any military of any country in the middle east. We attacked Afghanistan due to it being ruled by the Taliban, but just because some terrorists from UAE try to blow up a building, doesn't mean we should bomb the UAE. If a terrorist cell from Canada blew up Sears Tower, we wouldn't go to war with Canada, would we?

Now how can we possibly go to war in Georgia or help them in any way when we object so strongly to the war in the middle east, and those fools have been killing and attacking us for over 30 years. So the woosie Democrats and woosie nations say OH NO its an unjust war. We should let them kill us at will. What a crock that anyone should believe we should help another country just because they got an arse woopin.

Do not punch a bear on the nose unless it is tied down.