Scrubbed From CNBC... Before Georgian/Russian Conflict..US Participated In Georgian War Games

[OmmmSweetOmmm]

On July 15th, this was posted on Reuters
http://news.yahoo.com/s/nm/20080715/ts_nm/georgia_usa_exercises_dc

CNBC had it, and then removed the pages.


http://cache.search.yahoo.net/search/cache?ei=UTF-8&p=u.s.+war+games+georgia&fr=moz2&u=www.cnbc.com/id/25684774/&w=u.s.+war+wars+games+georgia+ga&d=BfEXvhg5RNJN&icp=1&.intl=us

VAZIANI, Georgia - One thousand U.S. troops began a military training exercise in Georgia on Tuesday against a backdrop of growing friction between Georgia and neighboring Russia.

Officials said the exercise, called "Immediate Response 2008," had been planned for months and was not linked to a stand-off between Moscow and Tbilisi over two Russian-backed separatists regions of Georgia.

The United States is an ally of Georgia and has irritated Russia by backing Tbilisi's bid to join the NATO military alliance.

"The main purpose of these exercises is to increase the cooperation and partnership between U.S. and Georgian forces," Brig. Gen. William B. Garrett, commander of the U.S. military's Southern European Task Force, told reporters.

The war games involve 600 Georgian troops and smaller numbers from ex-Soviet Armenia, Azerbaijan and Ukraine.

The two-week exercise was taking place at the Vaziani military base near the capital Tbilisi, which was a Russian air force base until Russian forces withdrew at the start of this decade under a European arms reduction agreement.

[SpiralHawk]

1. K and R - the republicon-corporate media is doing its best to hide the truth

about everything important to Americans.

Now we know the republicon-minded corporations -- which own the media -- are not paying ANY taxes.

WTF? This stinks.

[Supersedeas]

2. the psy-ops Media of the RW in fully military swing

[populistdriven]

3. This is still on MSNBC

http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/25684774/

[OmmmSweetOmmm]

8. Odd that they removed it from CNBC and left it on MSNBC. It doesn't matter though,

the point of my post is, which I didn't elaborate upon...war games very often precede real life maneuvers these days.

[Andre II]

4. Great find!

:toast:

[EFerrari]

5. Great find! K&R

This must be the new normal. :grr:

[intheflow]

6. This should be at the top of the Greatest Page.

I'm glad I read the entire page. This is a gem of a find. K&R

[Wilms]

7. K&R n/t

[malaise]

9. Well, they sure got

Immediate Response 2008 from the Russians.

[Junkdrawer]

10. "Immediate Retreat 2008"...

"Oh, you thought we had your back? Well, that was before the Russians moved the SS-21s into theater."

...

AMY GOODMAN: Can you talk about significance of this, in terms of nuclear warfare in Russia? Do we have anything to fear along those lines?

COL. SAM GARDINER: Absolutely. Let me just say that if you were to rate how serious the strategic situations have been in the past few years, this would be above Iraq, this would be above Afghanistan, and this would be above Iran.

On little notice to Americans, the Russians learned at the end of the first Gulf War that they couldn’t—they didn’t think they could deal with the United States, given the value and the quality of American precision conventional weapons. The Russians put into their doctrine a statement, and have broadcast it very loudly, that if the United States were to use precision conventional weapons against Russian troops, the Russians would be forced to respond with tactical nuclear weapons. They continue to state this. They practice this in their exercise. They’ve even had exercises that very closely paralleled what went on in Ossetia, where there was an independence movement, they intervene conventionally to put down the independence movement, the United States and NATO responds with conventional air strikes, they then respond with tactical nuclear weapons.

It appears to me as if the Russians were preparing themselves to do that in this case. First of all, I think they believe the United States was going to intervene. At a news conference on Sunday, the deputy national security adviser said we have noted that the Russians have introduced two SS-21 medium-range ballistic missile launchers into South Ossetia. Now, let me say a little footnote about those. They’re both conventional and nuclear. They have a relatively small conventional warhead, however. So, the military significance, if they were to be conventional, was almost trivial compared to what the Russians could deliver with the aircraft that they were using to strike the Georgians.

I think this was a signal. I think this was an implementation on their part of their doctrine. It clearly appears as if they expected the United States to do what they had practiced in their exercises. In fact, this morning, the Russians had an air defense exercise in the southern part of Russia that borders Georgia in which they—it was practicing shooting down incursion aircraft that were incursion into Russia. They were prepared for the United States to intervene, and I think they were prepared—or at least they were wanting to show the United States that their doctrine of the use of tactical nuclear weapons, if the US attacks, was serious, and they needed to take—the United States needs to take Russia very seriously.

....

http://www.democracynow.org/2008/8/11/up_to_2_000_killed_as

[OmmmSweetOmmm]

11. Wow. Thanks for posting this.

[Junkdrawer]

12. I had a thread on this. NNN0LHI thinks the target would have been aircraft carriers...

or US military bases.
...

Second the threat of using tactical nuclear weapons is not for anything other than threatening surrounding US military bases who may consider inserting themselves into this. Same goes for any US carrier strike groups who may be moved too close to the area.

...
http://www.democraticunderground.com/discuss/duboard.php?az=show_mesg&forum=389&topic_id=3775515&mesg_id=3780754

[Junkdrawer]

13. And here's the briefing from National Security Advisor Ambassador Jim Jeffrey...

...

In terms of how we've responded to this, the President was informed immediately on Friday, when we received news of the first two SS-21 Russian missile launchers into Georgian territory. He immediately -- this was at the Great Hall -- he immediately met with President Putin. They had a discussion. The President then engaged with his national security staff continuously over the last two days. He has spoken with -- again with Putin that evening. He then talked with President Medvedev yesterday evening, as well as President Saakashvili. Secretary Rice has spoken repeatedly with President Saakashvili, as well as with her Russian counterpart, Foreign Minister Lavrov, and many European leaders.

...
http://www.marketwatch.com/news/story/press-briefing-press-secretary-dana/story.aspx?guid=%7B6C07094D-D668-43FD-8353-7D1155B78BFB%7D&dist=hppr

This whole event was far more serious than most think.

[annabanana]

14. Go get Rachel Maddow's podcast from 8/11 (hour 1)

She gives you plenty of history and perspective on how involved we REALLY are in Georgia.

[OmmmSweetOmmm]

16. Just found it at iTunes and will listen now. Thank you!

[Junkdrawer]

15. Kick

:kick: