Flash Point: South Ossetia (9 - 11 August) - Small Wars Journal

Flash Point: South Ossetia (12 August) - Small Wars Journal

Flash Point: South Ossetia (13 August) - Small Wars Journal

Flash Point: South Ossetia (14 August) - Small Wars Journal

Flash Point: South Ossetia (15 August) - Small Wars Journal

Flash Point: South Ossetia (16 August) - Small Wars Journal

NEWS

Kremlin Signs Truce but Resists Quick Pullout - Levy and Chivers, New York Times

Russia’s president, Dmitri A. Medvedev, on Saturday signed a revised framework for a deal to halt the fighting in neighboring Georgia, which has stirred some of the deepest divisions between world powers since the cold war. But the Kremlin then indicated that despite the accord’s approval, it would not immediately pull its troops from the country. The Russian foreign minister, Sergey V. Lavrov, told reporters that Russian forces would stay in Georgia as long as they were needed. He said their withdrawal would depend on the introduction of what he called additional security measures. He did not explain what those were.

Russia Leaves Troops in Georgia - Watt and Eggen, Washington Post

President Bush issued the latest in a series of stern warnings to Moscow on Saturday with little immediate effect, as Russian leaders failed to follow through on a new agreement to withdraw troops from Georgia. Bush told reporters at his Texas ranch that Russia took "a hopeful step" earlier in the day with an agreement to cease hostilities and pull back its forces. Russian President Dmitry Medvedev signed the deal at the Black Sea resort of Sochi after meeting with Russia's Security Council, according to a Russian news agency. But Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov said later that "extra security measures" were necessary before any troops could be removed - a stance that US and Georgian officials said was at odds with the French-negotiated agreement.

Russia 'Strengthens Occupation' in Gori - Halpin and Byers, The Times

The Russian occupation of the Georgian city of Gori appeared to be more entrenched today, despite claims by President Medvedev that his troops were planning to withdraw. As international pressure increased on Mr Medvedev to implement a French-brokered ceasefire pledge signed last week, the Kremlin declared today that Russian forces would start pulling back from the occupied territory tomorrow. The ceasefire deal was meant to conclude a five-day war in which Russian forces launched an all-out assault against Georgia after stopping a Georgian army assault against Moscow-backed separatists in its autonomous region of South Ossetia.

Russia Agrees to Truce - Megan Stack, Los Angeles Times

Even as Russia signed a cease-fire agreement with Georgia on Saturday, its troops destroyed a key railroad bridge that links the Caucasus region to the Black Sea coast, cutting off east-west transportation routes through the country, the Georgian Foreign Ministry announced. Russia denied blowing up the bridge, calling the charge "another unverified allegation" in the wake of large-scale fighting over a pro-Moscow separatist republic. A Los Angeles Times photographer traveling in the area Saturday saw explosives attached to the underbelly of a nearby railroad bridge, but it was still intact.

Defiant Russia Inks Peace Deal - Washington Times

A broad withdrawal of Russian forces will come only with "additional security measures," Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov said, calling into question how quickly the troops will be out. "As these additional security measures are taken, the units of the Russian armed forces that were sent into the zone of the South Ossetian conflict ... will be withdrawn," Mr. Lavrov said. Asked how much time it would take, he responded: "As much as is needed." Agence France-Presse reported that a confidential letter to Georgian President Mikhail Saakashvili from French President Nicolas Sarkozy, who negotiated the terms of the agreement, clarified the limits of the additional "security measures" Russia is allowed to take. The measures "will take the form of patrols carried out only by Russian peacekeepers" in an area "only in the immediate proximity of South Ossetia and not in any other part of Georgian territory." The letter specifically referred to the flash-point city of Gori as being off-limits for the patrols, as were other "significant urban centers." President Bush said at his Crawford, Texas, ranch Saturday that the signing of the cease-fire plan was "a hopeful step."

Ukraine: Fear of Being Russia’s Next Target - Kulish and Rhodin, New York Times

For 17 years now, several former satellites and republics of the Soviet Union have cherished their democracies, all made possible by the simple premise that the days of Russian dominance were over. The events in Georgia over the past week have made them rethink that idea. Poland announced Thursday that it had reached a deal with Washington to base American missile interceptors on its territory, after months of talks. But then a Russian general went so far as to say that Poland might draw Russian nuclear retaliation, sending new shudders through the region. The sense of alarm may be greatest here in Ukraine. Since the Orange Revolution began in 2004, bringing the pro-Western Viktor A. Yushchenko to power after widespread protests, Ukraine has been a thorn in Moscow’s side, though perhaps not as sharp as the outspoken Georgian president, Mikheil Saakashvili.

A Two-Sided Descent Into Full-Scale War - Peter Finn, Washington Post

Nine days ago, late in the afternoon of Aug. 7, Georgian tanks, artillery and infantry began moving out of bases in Georgia and toward South Ossetia, a zone long held by separatists who are backed by Moscow. For days, separatists and Georgian troops had skirmished along the border, but this movement of armor was a major new development. Georgia and Russia were on a collision course. In three hours, full-scale war would begin. With a huge air, land and sea campaign, Russian forces routed the Georgians in the following days and advanced far into Georgian territory, overrunning major cities and military bases. An ensuing uproar in the West, accusing Russia of using excessive force, has clouded details of how the war began. Interviews with Georgian leaders, Russian officials, Western diplomats and Bush administration officials, together with briefings by the Russian military in Moscow, show that a series of escalating military moves by each side convinced the other that war was imminent.

After Battle, Anger Follows Ethnic Lines - Tavernese and Siegel, New York Times

The Foreign Ministry is a charred hulk. A tank’s gun barrel has crashed through the entrance to the university. A security post at the boundary with Georgia stands empty; it is flying the Russian flag. This is the capital of South Ossetia, the small ethnic enclave at the center of a conflict that has held the attention of the world and dragged relations between Russia and the United States to their lowest point in years. The violence here has mostly subsided. But it is still far from clear who is in charge, and the answer will have important ramifications for an entire region’s future. South Ossetia, with a population of less than 100,000, is territorially within Georgia, but it is essentially autonomous. It uses Russian currency - not Georgian - and has its own flag and language. Still, no one recognizes that status. Not even Russia, its closest ally.

For South Ossetians, Bitterness Follows Attacks - Peter Finn, Washington Post

The windows were blown out of the old synagogue here, and the wooden bimah splintered and partially collapsed. Shattered glass covered the floor, and parts of the ornately painted walls were ripped off. But the old building held, and it protected 40 people who took shelter in its spacious basement as the neighborhood above them was reduced to rubble. "Three days we were here, without water, without bread," said Zemsira Tiblova, 60. "We had 14 children with us." "Unforgivable," said her husband, Georgi Bestaev. "It was inhuman to bomb us."

Medvedev Says Russian Pullback to Begin Monday - Associated Press

Russian troops will begin pulling back Monday from their positions throughout Georgia toward the country's separatist-held region of South Ossetia, the Kremlin said Sunday. Western pressure has been increasing on Moscow to withdraw its forces under a cease-fire deal signed by Russian President Dmitry Medvedev and Georgian President Mikhail Saakashvili. The United States and France have already accused Russia of defying the truce between the ex-Soviet neighbors, as Russian tanks and troops roamed freely across a wide swath of Georgian territory. The EU-backed cease-fire agreement calls for Georgian and Russian troops to withdraw to the positions they held before fighting broke out Aug. 7.

NEWS ANALYSIS / COMMENTARY

Russia and the Future - Michael O'Hanlon, Washington Times

Russia's bullying and brutal behavior toward Georgia this August has been inexcusable. But even for those of us who assign Russia at least 80 to 90 percent of the blame for the hostilities, it is important to ask if any Western actions or policies should be modified in the future to avoid worsening the problem. In doing so, we need to keep our national security priorities in mind. Many issues that have divided the United States from Russia of late, such as independence for Kosovo, are not first-tier matters for the United States. By contrast, securing Russia's cooperation in opposing Iran's march toward a nuclear weapon, pressuring North Korea to give up its nuclear arsenal, and trying to keep the peace in South and Central Asia are top-level priorities. We make a mistake by needlessly picking fights over secondary things if that harms our ability to cooperate on truly crucial matters.

Old-School Blitz With Modern Military Tactics - Thom Shanker, New York Times

Russia’s victorious military blitz into the former Soviet republic of Georgia brought something old and something new - but none of it was impromptu, despite appearances that a long-frozen conflict had suddenly turned hot. The Russian military borrowed a page from classic Soviet-era doctrine: Moscow’s commanders sent an absolutely overwhelming force into Georgia. It was never going to be an even fight, and the outcome was predictable, if not preordained. At the same time, the Russian military picked up what is new from the latest in military thinking, including American military writings about the art of war, replete with the hard-learned lessons of Iraq and Afghanistan. So along with the old-school onslaught of infantry, armor and artillery, Russia mounted joint air and naval operations, appeared to launch simultaneous cyberattacks on Georgian government Web sites and had its best English speakers at the ready to make Moscow’s case in television appearances.

BACKGROUND / QUICKLOOKS

Peace Accord Sarkozy Gave to Georgians - New York Times transcript
Timeline: Key Events in Russian-Georgian Relations - Associated Press
Day-by-Day: South Ossetia Crisis - BBC News
Q&A on Georgia - New York Times
How Russian and Georgian Forces Stack Up - Reuters
South Ossetia Picture Gallery (1) - Washington Post
South Ossetia Picture Gallery (2) - Washington Post
Factbox: International Reaction to South Ossetia Conflict - Reuters
Georgia - Library of Congress Country Study
Russia - Library of Congress Country Study
Georgia - CIA World Factbook
Russia - CIA World Factbook
Georgia - US State Department Background Note
Russia - US State Department Background Note
Georgia - BBC Country Page
Russia - BBC Country Page
South Ossetia - New York Times background and related news
South Ossetia - BBC background

DISCUSS

Small Wars Council - Discussion and study / background links