Author: Nanijanian Alex

Turkish Press
Aug 30 2008

Turkish president to attend football match in Armenia: report
Published: 8/30/2008

ANKARA – President Abdullah Gul will travel to Armenia next week to
attend World Cup qualifiers between Armenia and Turkey, in a landmark
visit expected to ease relations between the two foes, a press report
said Saturday.

Gul’s office would not confirm the report by the daily newspaper Vatan
but if the visit takes place on September 6 it could help improve
relations between the neighbours.

Vatan said Gul would travel to Yerevan for the match and return to
Turkey the same evening. The president’s office will announce the trip
within the next few days, it added.

Gul said on Tuesday that he had not taken a decision on whether to go
to Yerevan.

He sent a reconciliatory message to Armenia earlier this month, saying
Turkey was "no enemy" to any country in its region.

The conflict between Georgia and Russia shows the need for "early
measures to resolve frozen problems in the region and… prevent
instability in the future," said Gul in televised remarks.

In 1993 Turkey shut its border with its eastern neighbour in a show of
solidarity with its close ally Azerbaijan, then at war with Armenia,
dealing a heavy economic blow to the impoverished nation in the
strategic Caucasus region.

Diplomats from Armenia and Turkey met secretly in Switzerland in July
in a fresh effort to normalise ties following three rounds of talks in
2005 and 2006. No progress is so far publicly known.

Armenian and Turkish leaders have meanwhile met on the sidelines of
international gatherings, including a Black Sea regional summit in
Istanbul last year.

TURKISH TV COMPANY TRT INTENDS TO PREPARE PROGRAMS IN ARMENIAN

ANKARA, AUGUST 29, ARMENIANS TODAY – NOYAN TAPAN. One of the first
steps on bringing Armenia and Turkey closer was realized through an
agreement on cooperation signed between Turkey’s TRT TV company and
Armenia’s Public TV company, the Marmara reports, citing the Aksham
newspaper (Turkey).

The director generals of the TV companies Ibrahim Shahin and Alexan
Haroutyunian signed an agreement, by which the two stations will
cooperate in the direction of preparing programs and establishing
technical ties. It is mentioned that programs of public interest will
be made in cooperation so that the two nations could understand each
other better.

In this connection TRT intends to broadcast programs in the languages
of neighbouring countries, including in Armenian.

Panorama.am

16:57 30/08/2008

`Nairi’ Band to Play in Yerevan and Gyumri

In the light of the 20-th anniversary of the tragic earthquake,
`Nairi’ band from France will give concerts in Yerevan and Gyumri.

The band was founded in 2005: with Armenian conductor and artistes, it
has French musicians as well.

The concert agenda is very rich; it consists of Armenian (Komitas,
Gh.Saryan, E.Mirzoyan, R.Altunyan, A. Khachatryan,) and European
(E. Grig, J. Brams, J. Sibelious) authors’ works.

The concerts will take place on October 26 in Komitas Camera Music
hall, on October 29 in Aram Khachatryan concert hall together with
Armenian State Youth Band and on October 30 in Gyumri Conservatory
concert hall.

Source: Panorama.am

TROOPS WILL REMAIN
by Natalia Kostenko, Yelena Ragozina, Aleksei Nikolsky

WPS Agency
What the Papers Say (Russia)
August 26, 2008 Tuesday
Russia

WILL PRESIDENT DMITRY MEDVEDEV ANSWER THE PARLIAMENT’S PLEA TO
RECOGNIZE SOVEREIGNTY OF SOUTH OSSETIA AND ABKHAZIA TODAY?; Aware of
all implications, the parliament appeals to the president to recognize
South Ossetia and Abkhazia.

"The Security Council is meeting in Sochi later today," Russian
Representative to NATO Dmitry Rogozin said. (Rogozin himself had
been called back from Brussels for consultations with the president
in Sochi.) "Defense and foreign ministers are already here. Chairmen
of both houses of the parliament are expected now… Agenda of the
meeting it not known yet which means that it is not going to be a
routine meeting."

Sources in the Duma maintain that the Security Council meeting will
be focused on recognition of South Ossetia and Abkhazia as sovereign
states and consequences of this step for Russia.

The Federation Council meantime expects the president to say how much
in terms of troops he wants in South Ossetia and Abkhazia. Yesterday,
the upper house of the parliament backed the president’s appeal
for deployment as of August 8 of the Armed Forces in the capacity of
additional peacekeepers in the Georgian-Ossetian and Georgian-Abkhazian
conflict areas. The meeting took place behind the closed doors.

Judging by the documents Vedomosti possesses, Medvedev appealed to
the Federation Council on August 20. Suggesting deployment of the
army in South Ossetia, Medvedev referred to genocide and violation
of the existing agreements, UN Charter, and UN General Assembly
resolution dated December 14, 1974) by Georgia. Reinforcement of
peacekeepers in Abkhazia meanwhile was necessitated by deterioration
of the situation, aggressive actions on Georgia’s part, and violations
of the international law by Tbilisi.

The documents included no figures concerning personnel or whatever
else. Victor Ozerov of the Security and Defense Committee (Federation
Council) said it was done deliberately, to give the president certain
freedom.

Federation Council Chairman Sergei Mironov maintains that the Russian
troops will be left in South Ossetia and adjacent areas. In fact,
peacekeepers will set up checkpoints along the frontiers of the
10-kilometers wide security zone. "Additional contingent of the
Russian troops will be deployed behind the peacekeepers," Mironov said.

Mironov ruled out the possibility of "mission internationalization
talks" but promised that the zone taken up by Russian peacekeepers
would be open to OSCE observers.

The Russian military has only made up its collective mind with regard
to the contingent to be deployed in Abkhazia. Chief of the General
Staff Anatoly Nogovitsyn already said that 2,142 peacekeepers would
be stationed in Abkhazia.

As for South Ossetia, 452 peacekeepers will be deployed in the security
zone there on both sides of the Georgian-Ossetian administrative
border. There is no saying how many more servicemen will be deployed
beyond the security zone in South Ossetia itself.

A source in the Defense Ministry does not expect the group to be
large. "Russia does not need a large group there as long as it retains
the capacity to up numerical strength of the contingent." The Defense
Ministry keeps regarding these troops as peacekeepers. "Establishment
of bases is out of the question for the time being," the source said.

These days, Russia has military bases in Tajikistan (7,000 men on
the outside), Armenia (4,000), and Kyrgyzstan (1,000). Their status
is determined by agreements between the government of Russia and
governments of the host countries.

The Federation Council unanimously voted for the appeal to the
president to recognize South Ossetia and Abkhazia as sovereign
states. The upper house of the parliament ascribed it to Tbilisi’s
reluctance to sign a non-aggression pact, its aggressiveness that
cost so many lives already, deterioration of the Georgian-Abkhazian
conflict, and numerous appeals for recognition from the self-proclaimed
republics themselves.

The Duma adopted a similar appeal on the strength of some other
arguments. The Georgian military operation cancelled 15 years of
Russia’s and other UN countries’ diplomatic and peacekeeping effort;
recognition will make these peoples safe, facilitate peace and
regional stability.

Another appeal adopted by the Duma addressed UN countries. Russian
lawmakers emphasized that Georgia deliberately violated peace
accords and chose to defy UN General Assembly’s "Olympic truce"
calls. The parliamentarians advise their colleagues abroad to take what
happened as a result of a centuries-long confrontation between the two
peoples. They point out that South Ossetia and Abkhazia are entitled
to recognition of their sovereignty because unlike Kosovo, they build
democratic states with all trappings of legitimate statehood.

A source in the upper echelons of the Duma is convinced that
the president will declare recognition of the self-proclaimed
republics. Lawmakers meanwhile understand that it will spell but
trouble for Russia itself and for the republics in question. LDPR
faction leader Igor Lebedev suggested that it would cost Russia a lot
of strategic partners like China. As a matter of fact, Lebedev was
not even convinced that countries of the CIS and Shanghai Cooperation
Organization intended to recognize South Ossetia and Abkhazia.

STATEMENT BY THE MINISTRY OF FOREIGN AFFAIRS OF THE RUSSIAN FEDERATION

arminfo
2008-08-27 12:25:00

ArmInfo. Russia has recognized the independence of South Ossetia and
Abkhazia, mindful of its responsibility for ensuring the survival of
their fraternal peoples in the face of aggressive, chauvinistic policy
pursued by Tbilisi, says the statement by the Ministry of Foreign
Affairs of the Russian Federation for August 26 provided to ArmInfo.

Further in the statement: That policy is based on the slogan "Georgia
for Georgians" advanced in 1989 by Zviad Gamsakhurdia who tried to
implement it in 1992 by abolishing the autonomies in the Georgian
territory and ordering Georgian troops to take Sukhum and Tskhinval
with a view to enforcing unlawful practices. It was as early as then,
that South Ossetia was subjected to genocide. Ossetians fell victim
to slaughter and mass expulsion.

Due to self-sacrificing actions by the peoples rising in revolt
against the aggressor and efforts undertaken by Russia, it became
possible to stop the bloodshed, to negotiate a cease.fire and to
establish mechanisms to maintain peace and to address all aspects of
the settlement.

Peacekeeping forces in South Ossetia and Abkhazia were created,
respectively, in 1992 and 1994, along with the institutional
infrastructure to facilitate, with Russia’s mediation, confidence
building, social and economic rehabilitation and the solution of
issues related to political status. Those steps were supported by
the UN and the OSCE which got involved in the work of the relevant
mechanisms and sent their observers to the zones of conflict.

In spite of certain difficulties, peacekeeping and negotiating
mechanisms did work helping to bridge positions and to achieve
concrete agreements.

However, prospects for settlement which was already in sight were
ruined when, at the end of 2003, the political power in Georgia was
taken, by way of revolution, by Mikhail Saakashvili who immediately
started to threaten to use force to solve the South Ossetia and
Abkhazia problems.

In May 2004, special forces and troops of the Internal Ministry of
Georgia were deployed in the zone of the Georgian-Ossetian conflict,
and in August that year Georgian troops shelled Tskhinval and tried to
take it. With active mediation of Russia, the then Prime Minister of
Georgia Zurab Zhvania and the leader of South Ossetia Eduard Kokoity
signed a cease.fire protocol and, in November 2004, a document on
ways to normalize relations in a step.by.step manner. After the
mysterious death, in February 2005, of Zurab Zhvania, who was a
sensible politician, Mikhail Saakashvili categorically rejected all
the previously achieved agreements.

That was also the case with regard to the Abkhazian settlement on
the basis of the Cease.Fire and Disengagement Agreement signed in
Moscow on May 14, 1994. In accordance with the Agreement, collective
peacekeeping forces were deployed in the zone of the Georgian-Abkhazian
conflict. In addition, the UN Observer Mission in Georgia and the Group
of Friends of the UN Secretary General on Georgia were established.

Having brought, in 2006, the Georgian military contingent into the
Upper Kodori in violation of all the UN agreements and decisions,
Mikhail Saakashvili disrupted the emerging progress in the settlement
process within these mechanisms, including the implementation of the
agreements of March 2003 between Vladimir Putin and Eduard Shevardnadze
on joint efforts to bring back refugees and establish the railway
communication between Sochi and Tbilisi.

Mikhail Saakashvili continued to overtly ignore Georgia’s commitments
and arrangements within the UN and OSCE and established puppet
administrative institutions for Abkhazia and South Ossetia so as to
drive the final nail into the coffin of the negotiating process.

All years of Mikhail Saakashivili’s rule were marked by his absolute
inability to negotiate, continuous provocations and staged incidents in
the conflict areas, attacks against Russian peacekeepers, disparaging
attitude towards democratically elected leaders of Abkhazia and
South Ossetia.

Since the outbreak of the conflicts in Abkhazia and South Ossetia
in early 1990s, as a result of Tbilisi actions, Russia has been
doing its utmost to contribute to their settlement on the basis of
recognition of the territorial integrity of Georgia. Russia has taken
this position despite the fact that the proclamation by Georgia of
its independence violated the right of Abkhazia and South Ossetia to
self-determination. In accordance with the Law of the USSR "On the
procedure for addressing the issues related to the secession of a
Union’s Republic", autonomous entities that formed part of Union’s
Republics were entitled to resolve themselves the issues of their
stay within the Union and their state legal status in case of the
secession of the Republic. Georgia prevented Abkhazia and South
Ossetia from exercising that right.

Nevertheless, Russia consistently followed its policy, performed
its peacekeeping and mediating functions in good faith, sought
to contribute to attaining peace agreements, showed restraint and
patience in case of provocations. Our positions remained intact even
after the unilateral declaration of independence by Kosovo.

By the aggressive attack against South Ossetia on the night of 8 August
2008, which resulted in numerous human losses, including among the
peacekeepers and other Russian citizens, and by the preparation of a
similar action against Abkhazia, Mikhail Saakashivili has himself put
paid to the territorial integrity of Georgia. Using repeatedly brutal
military force against the peoples, whom, according to his words,
he would like to see within his State, Mikhail Saakashvili left them
no other choice but to ensure their security and the right to exist
through self-determination as independent States.

It is hardly possible that Mikhail Saakashvili did not realize the
consequences with which an attempt to resolve the Abkhaz and South
Ossetian conflicts by force was fraught. As early as in February
2006, he said in an interview: "I will never give an order to start
a military operation. I do not want people to die since blood in the
Caucasus means blood not even for decades but for centuries". Thus,
he knew what he was doing.

One should not forget about the role of those who have been conniving
all those years with the military regime of Mikhail Saakashvili, who
have been supplying offensive weapons to him in violation of OSCE and
EU rules, who have been discouraging him from assuming obligations not
to use force, who have been fostering a feeling of impunity in him,
inter alia, as regards his authoritarian actions aimed at stamping
out dissent in Georgia. We know that at some stage the external
patrons of Mikhail Saakashvili tried to prevent him from reckless
military adventures; however it is obvious that he completely went
out of control. We are concerned about the fact that some failed
to draw objective conclusions from the aggression. The vague hopes
for the implementation of the joint initiative of the Presidents of
Russia and France of August 12, 2008, soon vanished into thin air
when Tbilisi actually rejected this initiative and the advocates of
Mikhail Saakashvili did his bidding. What is more, the USA and some
European states promise Mikhail Saakashvili protection of NATO, call
for rearming the Tbilisi regime and even start to deliver new shipments
of weapons. This is an overt invitation to new reckless ventures.

Taking into account the appeals of South Ossetian and Abkhaz peoples,
of the Parliaments and Presidents of both Republics, the opinion of the
Russian people and both Chambers of the Federal Assembly the President
of the Russian Federation decided to recognize the independence of
South Ossetia and Abkhazia and to conclude treaties of friendship,
cooperation and mutual assistance with them.

Making this decision, Russia was guided by the provisions of the
Charter of the United Nations, the Helsinki Final Act and other
fundamental international instruments, including the 1970 Declaration
on Principles of International Law concerning Friendly Relations among
States. It should be noted that in accordance with the Declaration,
every State has the duty to refrain from any forcible action which
deprives peoples of their right to self-determination and freedom and
independence, to adhere in their activities to the principle of equal
rights and self-determination of peoples, and to possess a government
representing the whole people belonging to the territory. There is
no doubt that Mikhail Saakashvili’s regime is far from meeting those
high standards set by the international community.

Russia has sincere good and friendly feelings towards the Georgian
people, and is confident that Georgia will eventually find worthy
leaders who would be able to show proper concern over their country
and develop mutually respectful, equal, and good-neighbourly relations
with all the peoples of the Caucasus. Russia will stand ready to
contribute to this in every way.

ARMENIAN FOREIGN MINISTER CONSIDERS TURKISH PRIME MINISTER’S STATEMENT AS PRAISEWORTHY

Noyan Tapan

Au g 20, 2008

YEREVAN, AUGUST 20, NOYAN TAPAN. "Armenia has always been in favor
of a dialog and negotiations, especially on issues related to
cooperation and security in our region," Armenian Foreign Minister
Edward Nalbandian stated, when answering Zaman daily’s question:
"What is your response to the Turkish prime minister’s statement to
start negotiations with Armenia?"

According to a press release submitted to NT by the RA MFA Press and
Information Department, E. Nalbandian considered as praiseworthy
Turkish prime minister’s statement about an intention to start
negotiations with Armenia on these problems.

EXECUTIVE DIRECTOR OF THE AMERICAN JEWISH COMMITTEE: "WE INTEND TO EXTEND COOPERATION WITH AZERBAIJANI DIASPORA"

Azeri Press Agency
Aug 18 2008
Azerbaijan

Baku. Lachin Sultanova-APA. APA interview with Executive Director of
the American Jewish Committee David Allen Harris during his recent
visit to Azerbaijan

-What impression did you have about Baku and Azerbaijan during
your visit?

-It is my first visit to Azerbaijan. I visited on President Ilham
Aliyev’s invitation. I met Azerbaijani President at the Davos Energy
Summit in Switzerland in January and received invitation there. I
saw kindness and rapid economic development in Azerbaijan, which
encourage me to be optimist about Azerbaijan’s future.

-Did you meet with Jewish people residing in Azerbaijan?

-I met with Azerbaijani officials and leaders of Muslim, Orthodox,
Catholic and Jewish communities as well. It was interesting that the
leaders of two Jewish communities – upland and ashkinazi – participated
at the meeting. They said that they lived here comfortably and had
no problems. Religious tolerance in Azerbaijan is a model for entire
world. I would like to especially emphasize that it is very important
for our world now.

-Is the Committee you lead working with the Jewish communities in
Azerbaijan and assisting them financially?

-We are working not only with the Jewish communities, but other
religious communities I mentioned and we have very good relations
with them. Our cooperation covers political and diplomatic spheres,
but financial assistance is not our job. Other Jewish organizations
are doing it.

-Are you cooperating with the Azerbaijani Diaspora in USA?

– We are cooperating with Azerbaijani Diaspora and intending
to extend this cooperation. It is within the interests of both
sides. An important part of Azerbaijani Diaspora is the Jewish people
migrated from Azerbaijan. They play a role of bridge between the
two communities.

-Mass grave site was found in Guba, compactly settled by the
Jews. According to some reports, there are Jews among those who were
buried there. How can your Committee help the research work done in
the grave site?

-It is very important to investigate what happened in the history. But
we are engaged in politics and diplomacy. Though this is not our
sphere, we can support this process to some extent. Unfortunately,
Jews were killed in most places of the world. Though over 60 years
passed, new names are being included into the list of the Jews killed
during World War II.

-What is your opinion of the discussion of the so-called Armenian
genocide in Israeli parliament?

-I have no information about it. I would be very much surprised, if
you said it was initiated by Israeli government. I will visit Israel
next month, I will concern myself with this issue during my visit. I
think that the most proper approach is that the Turkish and Armenians
should discuss and analyze these events around the table and come to
the conclusion.

-How do you assess the recent developments in Georgia? Do they have
impact on Azerbaijan? Will it irritate Russia, if Georgia becomes
member of NATO?

-The region is witnessing historic event amid happenings in
Georgia. Discussions on the membership of Georgia and Ukraine
slowed down after Bucharest summit of NATO, but have become urgent
now. There is election campaign in the US, discussions on this theme
will intensify. It will be discussed on the highest level whether
Russia will annex North Ossetia and Abkhazia, Georgia will enter
NATO without these territories and whether NATO will accept Georgia
without these territories. The recent happenings are important not
only for Georgia, but also the whole region, Azerbaijan and its
territorial integrity. Azerbaijan is located in the hardest region,
it has such neighbors like Iran and Russia. America’s position on
these happenings is very important for Azerbaijan. The happenings in
Iran also are of great importance of Azerbaijan. Election campaign
in the US makes the situation more complicated, because few decisions
are made during the elections.

World Markets Research Centre
Global Insight
August 12, 2008

Talks on Iranian Gas Supplies to Armenia to Recommence Next Week

by Catherine Hunter

Iran is planning to hold talks with Armenia next week to discuss the
start-up of gas supplies through the Iran-Armenia gas pipeline that
was commissioned in early 2007, but has still to commence
operations. The Iranian Oil Ministry website said that discussions
would take place in Armenia. Under the 2004 agreement, Armenia was set
to receive 300-400 mmcm of gas from Iran annually via the pipeline in
its initial stage, with volumes eventually slated to increase to 2.3
bcm per year.

Significance:Failure to start operations at the Iran-Armenia link has
left Armenia wholly dependent on Russian supplies and given it little
room to bargain in recent price negotiations (seeArmenia: 1 August
2008:). However, with Iran suffering significant shortages itself,
most notably in winter, it is unclear how much gas will be available
to the Armenian market in the near term (seeIran: 18 January
2008:). Nevertheless, Iran would like the option to get export prices
for gas beyond current Turkish deliveries, making ongoing commitment
to realising the Armenia link probable, even if reliability is likely
to prove a factor in the winter months.

Armenia says stands ready to support victims of Georgian-South Ossetian
conflict

YEREVAN, August 16. /ARKA/. Armenia’s President Serge Sargsyan Friday
told Friday his Georgian counterpart Mikheil Saakashvili over the
telephone the country is ready to support victims of the Georgian-South
Ossetian conflict.

Sargsyan also expressed condolences over the victims of the conflict
that erupted into a war between Georgia and Russia more that a week
ago, the RA President’s press service reports. Z. Sh. `0–

Augu st 14, 2008
Master Plan or Screw Up?
Georgia and U.S. Strategy

By MIKE WHITNEY

The American-armed and trained Georgian army swarmed into South
Ossetia last Thursday, killing an estimated 2,000 civilians, sending
40,000 South Ossetians fleeing over the Russian border, and destroying
much of the capital, Tskhinvali. The attack was unprovoked and took
place a full 24 hours before even ONE Russian soldier set foot in
South Ossetia. Nevertheless, the vast majority of Americans still
believe that the Russian army invaded Georgian territory first. The
BBC, AP, NPR, the New York Times and the rest of the establishment
media have consistently and deliberately misled their readers into
believing that the violence in South Ossetia was initiated by the
Kremlin. Let’s be clear, it wasn’t. In truth, there is NO dispute
about the facts except among the people who rely the western press for
their information. Despite its steady loss of credibility, the
corporate media continues to operate as the propaganda-arm of the
Pentagon.

Former Russian President Mikhail Gorbachev gave a good summary of
events in an op-ed in Monday’s Washington Post:

For some time, relative calm was maintained in South Ossetia. The
peacekeeping force composed of Russians, Georgians and Ossetians
fulfilled its mission, and ordinary Ossetians and Georgians, who live
close to each other, found at least some common ground….What
happened on the night of Aug. 7 is beyond comprehension. The Georgian
military attacked the South Ossetian capital of Tskhinvali with
multiple rocket launchers designed to devastate large areas…
Mounting a military assault against innocents was a reckless decision
whose tragic consequences, for thousands of people of different
nationalities, are now clear. The Georgian leadership could do this
only with the perceived support and encouragement of a much more
powerful force. Georgian armed forces were trained by hundreds of
U.S. instructors, and its sophisticated military equipment was bought
in a number of countries. This, coupled with the promise of NATO
membership, emboldened Georgian leaders into thinking that they could
get away with a "blitzkrieg" in South Ossetia…Russia had to respond.
To accuse it of aggression against "small, defenseless Georgia" is not
just hypocritical but shows a lack of humanity."

Russia deployed its tanks and troops to South Ossetia to save the
lives of civilians and to reestablish the peace. Period. It has no
interest in annexing the former-Soviet country or in expanding its
present borders. Now that the Georgian army has been routed, Russian
president Medvedev and Prime Minister Putin have expressed a
willingness to settle the dispute through normal diplomatic channels
at the United Nations. Neither leader is under any illusions about
Washington’s involvement in the hostilities. They know that Georgian
President Mikail Saakashvili is an American stooge who came to power
in a CIA-backed coup, the so-called "Rose Revolution", and would
never order a major military operation without explicit instructions
from his White House puppetmasters.

The Georgian army had no chance of winning a war with Russia or any
intention of occupying the territory they captured. The real aim was
to lure the Russian army into a trap. US planners hope to do what they
did so skillfully in Afghanistan; lure their Russian prey into a long
and bloody Chechnya-type fiasco that will pit their Russia troops
against guerrilla forces armed and trained by US military and
intelligence agencies. The war will be waged in the name of liberating
Georgia from Russian imperialism and stopping Putin from achieving his
alleged ambition to control critical western-owned pipelines around
the Caspian Basin.

In June, former foreign policy adviser to President Jimmy Carter,
Zbigniew Brzezinski, presented the basic storyline that would be used
against Russia two full months before the Georgian invasion of South
Ossetia. The article appeared on the Kavkazcenter web site. Brzezinski
said the United States witnessed "cases of possible threats by Russia,
directed at Georgia with the intention of taking control over the
Baku-Ceyhan pipeline".

Brzezinski: "Russia actively tends to isolate the Central Asian region
from direct access to world economy, especially to energy supplies..If
Georgia government is destabilized, western access to Baku, Caspian
Sea and further will be limited".

Brzezinski’s speculation is part of a broader scenario that’s been
crafted for the western media to provide a rationale for upcoming
aggression against Russia. Brzezinski is not only the architect of the
mujahadin-led campaign against Russia in Afghanistan in the 1980s, but
also, the author of "The Grand Chessboard–American Primacy and its
Geostrategic Imperatives", the operating theory behind "the war on
terror" which involves massive US intervention in Central Asia to
control vital resources, fragment Russia, and surround manufacturing
giant, China.

"The Grand Chessboard" is the 21st century’s version of the Great
Game. The book begins with this revealing statement:

"Ever since the continents started interacting politically, some
five hundred years ago, Eurasia has been the center of world
power…..The key to controlling Eurasia is controlling the Central
Asian Republics."

This is the heart-and-soul of the war on terror. The real braintrust
behind "never-ending conflict" was actually focussed on Central Asia.
It was the pro-Israeli crowd in the Republican Party that pulled the
old switcheroo and refocussed on the Middle East rather than Eurasia.
Now, powerful members of the US foreign policy establishment
(Brzezinski, Albright, Holbrooke) have regrouped behind the populist
"cardboard" presidential candidate Barack Obama and are preparing to
redirect America’s war efforts to the Asian theater. Obama offers
voters a choice of wars not a choice against war.

On Sunday, Brzezinski accused Russia of imperial ambitions comparing
Putin to "Stalin and Hitler" in an interview with Nathan Gardels.

Gardels: What is the world to make of Russia’s invasion of Georgia?

Zbigniew Brzezinski: Fundamentally at stake is what kind of role
Russia will play in the new international system.(aka: New World
Order) Unfortunately, Putin is putting Russia on a course that is
ominously similar to Stalin’s and Hitler’s in the late 1930s. Swedish
foreign minister Carl Bildt has correctly drawn an analogy between
Putin’s "justification" for dismembering Georgia — because of the
Russians in South Ossetia — to Hitler’s tactics vis a vis
Czechoslovakia to "free" the Sudeten Deutsch. Even more ominous is the
analogy of what Putin is doing vis-a-vis Georgia to what Stalin did
vis-a-vis Finland: subverting by use of force the sovereignty of a
small democratic neighbor. In effect, morally and strategically,
Georgia is the Finland of our day.

The question the international community now confronts is how to
respond to a Russia that engages in the blatant use of force with
larger imperial designs in mind: to reintegrate the former Soviet
space under the Kremlin’s control and to cut Western access to the
Caspian Sea and Central Asia by gaining control over the Baku/Ceyhan
pipeline that runs through Georgia.

In brief, the stakes are very significant. At stake is access to
oil as that resource grows ever more scarce and expensive and how a
major power conducts itself in our newly interdependent world, conduct
that should be based on accommodation and consensus, not on brute
force.

If Georgia is subverted, not only will the West be cut off from
the Caspian Sea and Central Asia. We can logically anticipate that
Putin, if not resisted, will use the same tactics toward the Ukraine.
Putin has already made public threats against Ukraine."

Brzezinski, Holbrooke and Albright form the "Imperialist A-Team";
these are not the bungling "Keystone Cops" neocons like Feith and
Rumsfeld who trip over themselves getting out of bed in the morning.
They know what they are doing and they are good at it. They’re not
fools. They have aligned themselves with the Obama camp and are
preparing for the next big outbreak of global trouble-making. This
should serve as a sobering wake-up call for voters who still think
Obama represents "Change We Can Believe In".

Richard Holbrooke appeared on Tuesday’s Jim Lerher News Hour with
resident neocon Margaret Warner. Typical of Warner’s "even-handed"
approach, both of the interviewees were ultra-conservatives from
right-wing think tanks: Richard Holbrooke, from the Council on Foreign
Relations and Dmiti Simes from the Nixon Center.

According to Holbrooke, "The Russians deliberately provoked (the
fighting in South Ossetia) and timed it for the Olympics. This is a
long-standing Russian effort to get rid of President Saakashvili."

Right. Is that why Putin was so shocked when he heard the news (while
he was in Beijing) that he quickly boarded a plane and headed for
Moscow? (after shaking his finger angrily at Bush!)

Holbrooke: "And I want to stress, I’m not a warmonger, and I don’t
want a new Cold War any more than Dimitri does….The Russians wish to
re-establish a historic area of hegemony that includes Ukraine. And it
is no accident that the other former Soviet republics are watching
this and extraordinarily upset, as Putin progresses with an attempt to
re-create a kind of a hegemonic space."

It is impossible to go over all of Holbrooke’s distortions,
half-truths and lies but, what is important is to recognize that a
story is being constructed to demonize Putin and to justify future
hostilities against Russia. Holbrooke’s bogus assertions are identical
to Brzezinski’s, and yet, these same lies are already appearing in the
mainstream media. The propaganda "bullet points" have already been
determined; "Putin is a menace","Putin wants to rebuild the Soviet
empire", "Putin is an autocrat". (Unlike our "freedom loving" allies
in Saudi Arabia, Jordan and Egypt!?!) In truth, Putin is simply
enjoying Russia’s newly acquired energy-wealth and would like to be
left alone.

So why are Brzezinski and his backers in the foreign policy
establishment demonizing Putin and threatening Russia with "ostracism,
isolation and economic penalties?" What is Putin’s crime?

Putin’s problems can be traced back to a speech he made in Munich
nearly two years ago when he declared unequivocally that he rejected
the basic tenets of the Bush Doctrine and US global hegemony. His
speech amounted to a Russian Declaration of Independence. That’s when
western elites, particularly at the Council on Foreign Relations and
the American Enterprise Institute put Putin on their "enemies list"
along with Ahmadinejad, Chavez, Castro, Morales, Mugabe and anyone
else who refuses to take orders from the Washington Mafia.

Here’s what Putin said in Munich:

The unipolar world refers to a world in which there is one master,
one sovereign—- one center of authority, one center of force, one
center of decision-making. At the end of the day this is pernicious
not only for all those within this system, but also for the sovereign
itself because it destroys itself from within…. What is even more
important is that the model itself is flawed because at its basis
there is and can be no moral foundations for modern civilization.

Unilateral and frequently illegitimate actions have not resolved
any problems. Moreover, they have caused new human tragedies and
created new centers of tension. Judge for yourselves—wars as well as
local and regional conflicts have not diminished. More are dying than
before. Significantly more, significantly more!

Today we are witnessing an almost uncontained hyper-use of force –
military force – in international relations, force that is plunging
the world into an abyss of permanent conflicts.

We are seeing a greater and greater disdain for the basic
principles of international law. And independent legal norms are, as a
matter of fact, coming increasingly closer to one state’s legal
system. One state and, of course, first and foremost the United
States, has overstepped its national borders in every way. This is
visible in the economic, political, cultural and educational policies
it imposes on other nations. Well, who likes this? Who is happy about
this?

In international relations we increasingly see the desire to
resolve a given question according to so-called issues of political
expediency, based on the current political climate. And of course this
is extremely dangerous. It results in the fact that no one feels safe.
I want to emphasize this – no one feels safe! Because no one can feel
that international law is like a stone wall that will protect them. Of
course such a policy stimulates an arms race.

I am convinced that we have reached that decisive moment when we
must seriously think about the architecture of global security.

Every word Putin spoke was true which is why it was not reprinted in
the western media.

"Unilateral and illegitimate military actions", the "uncontained
hyper-use of force", the "disdain for the basic principles of
international law", and most importantly; "No one feels safe!"

Putin’s claims are all indisputable, that is why he has entered the
neocons crosshairs. He poses a direct challenge to what Brzezinski
calls the "international system", which is shorthand for the
corporate/banking cartel that is controlled by the western oligarchy
of racketeers.

Was the Goergian attack last Thursday a set-up, organized in
Washington? Unfortunately for Bush, the wily Russian prime minister is
considerably brighter than anyone in the current administration.
Bush’s plan will undoubtedly backfire and disrupt the geopolitical
balance of power. The world might get that breather from the US after
all.

Mike Whitney can be reached at [email protected]