Powell's trip to Georgia may mark start of civil war

[RamboLiberal]

http://www.thehill.com/story.asp?id=174

Secretary of State Colin Powell plans to attend the inauguration of Georgia's new president, Mikhail Saakashvilli, this weekend, offering Saakashvilli a symbolic stamp of U.S. approval. In addition to the planned festivities of singers, acrobats, dancing bears and a military parade, Powell may be stepping into the beginning of a civil war set off by the new president.

Sources close to the president of a small Georgian republic, the Autonomous Republic of Adjara, say the Adjarans have uncovered a secret plot by Saakashvilli to seize the republic and its port capitol of Batumi in the aftermath of Sunday’s inaugural celebration. Adjarans believe that as soon as Powell leaves Georgia the new president intends to strike against them.

The Adjarans, 400,000 citizens with no army but many guns, this week encouraged their police, customs and border guards, about 5,000 in all, to repel what they fear will be an invasion. A friend of the Adjaran president, a former U.S. intelligence officer with wide international connections, Chet Nagle, flew from Istanbul, Turkey, this week and delivered a letter yesterday from Adjaran President Aslan Abashidze to Sen. John McCain (R-Ariz.) asking for his support to “prevent the tragedy of civil war.” Georgia has an army of some 30,000 troops, lots of equipment, and U.S. military trainers and equipment, including some advanced attack helicopters.

As an autonomous republic, Adjara has its own constitution and laws but does not print money or conduct foreign policy. Aslan Abashidze is the elected president of Adjara and from a family well-known for 600 years in Georgia. Abashidze is disliked by the Georgian government but very much liked by the Adjarans whom he has governed in a strict but democratic fashion. Abashidze is a Christian, as is much of Adjara, but he is famous for his kind treatment of the republic’s tight-knit group of about 500 Jewish families. Abashidze ousted Russian troops from the old synagogue in the capitol city of Batumi –they had been using the temple as a “sports club – rebuilt it and gave it back to the Jewish congregation.

[buff2]

1. Colon Pile

Should take his master with him and stay there. :evilgrin:

[0007]

2. This part was intriguing -

" Chet Nagle, flew from Istanbul, Turkey, this week and delivered a letter yesterday from Adjaran President Aslan Abashidze to Sen. John McCain (R-Ariz.) asking for his support to “prevent the tragedy of civil war.”

snip....

The ousted former president Eduard Shervardnadze was a close friend of former Secretaries of State George Shultz and James Baker and popular with U.S. foreign policy non-governmental organizations (NGOs). However, Shevardnadze was also seen as favoring Russia over the United States.

G.W. Bush was in Russian several months ago, on his return he gave up his seat on the Carlyle board. WTF" is going on? Is the U.S. gonna be the good guys or the greedy money lords in this fiasco

[54anickel]

4. Dubya or Poppy Bush in Russia giving up Carlyle seat? Thought it was Poppy

[nodehopper]

6. the carlyle/Bush thing

is a part of a big mess that includes George Soros' moscow offices being raided, the Yukos scandal in Russia an oil deal with the Saudis and a squabble between Cheney and Perle/Kissinger, basically between Halliburton and Carlyle group. If you are interested, I did some research on this a while ago and posted, together with a bunch of informative links on my blog, here is the link to that entry:
http://www.livejournal.com/users/anthrochica/115959.html?mode=reply

[ixion]

3. so the * cabal props up yet another dictatorship

seems that's the kind of gov't they like best. :-(

[damnraddem]

5. Powell start a civil war by a trip to Georgia? What, will ...

Sherman have to march to the sea all over again? ;-)

[seventhson]

7. THIS looks like a serious thing to watch

more dyncorp private warshit?

[bemildred]

8. Part of our "strategy" of "surrounding" Russia.

My guess is Pooty-Poot will ignore this, other than perhaps
some protests, and get on with his own business. Russian may
throw some sand in the works under the table as well. With
a bit of luck we can wind up with our own little Chechnya only
a few thousand miles from our shores.

[Sufi Marmot]

9. What does "strict but democratic" mean?

Interesting article. I'm not sure that Abashidze would fit most DUers' definition of a enlightened, progressive leader. My perception is that he has set up Ajaria as his own little kleptocratic fiefdom (albeit a relatively strife-free one) and is playing up to Russia in order to increase his leverage with against the Saakashvili government in Tbilisi. Abashidze was nominally allied with Shevrednadze, but that joyride is over, so he's trying to maintain his power against Tbilisi which would like greater control over Ajaria. Could get interesting, especially with both the US and Russia jockeying for influence in Georgia...

Several other articles...

Recent Eurasianet article

older Eurasianet article about Abashidze

-SM