US gives $1bn in aid to Georgia
The assistance package was unveilled as Dick Cheney, the US vice-president, travelled to Tbilisi to demonstrate strong support for Georgian President Mikheil Saakashvili.
The EU has already injected 6 million euros and plans to hold a donor conference for nations to pledge more within weeks. The International Monetary Fund also announced that it would lend Georgia $750 million for economic recovery.
Georgia has requested Western reconstruction funding to restore buildings, public services, including schools and hospitals, and infrastructure, including roads and railways.
The White House and State Department finalised a package of support that amounts to half Israel's annual subsidy from the US government.
Georgia has already started rebuilding structures damaged in the war. But officials claim its needs are vast.
The population of Gori city, which was occupied briefly by the Russian military, has swelled by 10,000, including 800 inhabitants of a tented refugee camp. Zurab Chinchilakashvili, the town's deputy mayor, said Gori would have to cope with the fallout from the war for years to come. "We expect our population will eventually rise by 30,000 as a result of displaced people settling here," he said. "We must be realistic, this is a long-term situation, they are not going home."
The UN has said the town's refugee camp is already full. Most of its residents were displaced from traditionally Georgian villages in the Russian-backed South Ossetian enclave during the five day war. Some have made the five hour journey from Abkhazia, a second enclave, where fighting also raged.
There are doubts that the camp, sited on a commandeered reaction area, will be adequate for winter. "We're putting all the questions we have about the adequacy of this place aside right now," said one aid worker. "Getting these people shelter and food is all that we can do."
Refugees fear they will never return to Georgian villages destroyed by Russia's South Ossetian allies. "The Georgians are out of Ossetia," said Poti Longurashvili, a day labourer. "I tried to go back and was told to get out. Now I've been told my home has been demolished."
There are fears that generous aid packages would free Tbilisi to use its budget to re-arm. Davit Kezerashvili, Georgia's youthful defence minister, said in an interview that he wanted to spend up to £5 billion on the armed forces. Much of the money would be spent on acquiring a modern air defence system, but the military would also expand significantly.
But Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice said the US aid would be used to rebuild houses and infrastructure - not for military purposes.
Telegraph..
Ukraine: The Pro-Western Coalition Fractures
Stratfor Today » September 3, 2008 |
Summary
Ukrainian President Viktor Yushchenko's Our Ukraine party has withdrawn from Ukraine's ruling pro-Western coalition. The move, which could result in new elections in December, comes in the wake of Russia's Aug. 8 invasion of Georgia, which prompted a great deal of reflection among Ukraine's main political parties.
Analysis
The party of Ukrainian President Viktor Yushchenko, Our Ukraine, officially pulled out of the ruling pro-Western coalition Sept. 3 amid a dispute with coalition partner Prime Minister Yulia Timoshenko. The parties in parliament now have 30 days to form a new ruling coalition before the president will gain the right to dissolve parliament and call for new elections in December.
Though the Ukrainian government has unraveled countless times since the 2004 Orange Revolution brought pro-Western forces into power, this time things are different. Now, the Orangists have hit an impasse over how far they can lead the country toward the West and away from their former master, Moscow. Moreover, Russia has publicly declared Ukraine to be its turf and is using its influence there to ensure that Kiev turns back east.
Ukraine's typical chaotic politicking took on a more serious tone after Russia's Aug. 8 invasion of Georgia. Ukraine has faced Russian meddling since the breakup of the Soviet Union, and Moscow sees Ukraine as perhaps the most important buffer between Russia and the ever-encroaching West. In addition, half the pipelines Russia uses to send oil and natural gas to Europe — one of Moscow's favorite sources of leverage with the Europeans — go through Ukraine. Following the Orange Revolution that brought Yushchenko and Timoshenko to power, it appeared that Ukraine was following the Baltic states West. The European Union and NATO have murmured for years about possible Ukrainian membership, much to Russia's horror.
But Russia has many levers in Ukraine to keep the smaller country from cutting its strings to Moscow. For one, Russia has proved it is not afraid to cut off energy supplies to the country, which in turn affects energy supplies bound for Europe. Ukraine is constantly in debt to Russia over energy supplies, something Moscow tends to bring up whenever Kiev needs a reminder about who it is dependent on.
Next, 20 percent of Ukraine is ethnically Russian, but half the country is pro-Russian — something pro-Western forces constantly fear could split the country in two. The Russian navy also has a major presence in Ukraine's Black Sea port of Sevastopol, acting as still another reminder of Russian power in the country.
Adding to this list of levers, Moscow controls one of the three main political factions in Ukraine, the Party of Regions, and is now showing that it has embedded itself in the pro-Western forces as well. After the Orange Revolution, Ukrainian politics had three main parties: the two pro-Western parties, Yushchenko's Our Ukraine and Timoshenko's eponymous party; and the pro-Russian Party of Regions, led by Viktor Yanukovich. The three political groupings have continually fought for control of the government. Though Timoshenko is technically Orangist and pro-Western, she has occasionally teamed up with Yanukovich against Yuschenko for personal gain.
But the redefinition of Ukraine following Russia's war with Georgia has made Ukraine's factions reconsider the country's position between the West and Russia, giving the typical ego struggle among the three political leaders a more serious edge. While Russia proved it is capable of more than just simple meddling in its former Soviet states, it also became apparent that Moscow had infiltrated beyond the Party of Regions and into the pro-Western forces in Ukraine.
Yushchenko took the lead against Russian "aggressions" in Georgia, but his coalition partner, Timoshenko, flipped on him and heralded Moscow's cause. His Orangist parliamentary partner blocked every move Yushchenko made to counter Russia, from attempts to oust the Russian military from Crimea to sending forces to aid the Georgian military. It became very clear early on in the war whose side Timoshenko was taking. This is not to say Timoshenko is pro-Russian, but rather that she believes an alliance with Moscow will prove most beneficial to her at present. Yushchenko responded by having treason and corruption investigations brought against the premier, though Timoshekno has not been charged.
Timoshenko countered Yushchenko's moves Sept. 2 by pushing laws through parliament that strip him of his veto power on prime ministerial candidates and facilitate the procedure for impeaching the president. The two leaders have split the pro-Western forces, with half wanting to rush to the West's side and the other half wanting to avoid moves that will further agitate Russia. Rumors have circulated for weeks that the coalition would break, possibly sparking snap elections.
Yushchenko had sought to avoid that option for two main reasons. First, his approval rating is barely above 20 percent, and his party only holds 14 percent of parliament and is divided on how to proceed. Yushchenko tried to keep his party from splitting the coalition, but a little more than half the party members went their own way, ignoring his wishes. Yushchenko thus probably will not do well enough in new elections to hold any power in the new parliament.
Second, Timoshenko could possibly team up with the Party of Regions to form a new coalition now or after new elections. She is a free agent available to the top bidder at the moment, and Moscow is bidding highest. Sources in Kiev have told Stratfor that Timoshenko is in negotiations not with Yanukovich, but with the Party of Regions' true Ukrainian puppet master, Rinat Akhmentov, who is emerging from the shadows more than before. Akhmetov and Timoshenko have been enemies for many years, constantly struggling politically and in the business world. But Moscow's intervention has produced a temporary peace between the two to allow them to combat Yushchenko and the true pro-Western forces.
Despite these challenges, Yushchenko cannot be completely discounted yet. He is now the only pro-Western element in Ukrainian politics, meaning some of Timoshenko's group could defect if they are loyal to their ideology. Also, the president will be the sole political force for the West to support, both politically and financially.
The Europeans can thus be expected to send generous aid to Our Ukraine in hopes of funding its revival. A peace deal between Timoshenko and the pro-Russian forces also can be expected at any time, but its longevity is doubtful. Either way, Ukraining politics will remain interesting, especially since Yushchenko, Timoshenko, Yanukovich and Akhmentov are all eyeing the presidency, which is up for grabs in early 2010.
But there is one more component to the redefinition taking place in Ukraine. Russia has been happy in the past few years with an unstable, chaotic Ukraine that is unable to organize itself to move toward the West and away from Moscow. But now that Russia has laid its claim on Ukraine and has its levers well-oiled, it could be looking for a more permanent and clear sign that the country is back in Russia's sphere. This would mean Russia will have to settle some of Ukraine's internal political disputes and crush a few egos in order to set up a more stable and lasting shop — something Ukraine has not seen since Moscow last called the shots.
Bush has no rights to question anyone on war.. he has many to answer before that ..
Its all his crap politics.. he either gives aid or kills.
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It Takes 72 Muscles to Frown...And Only 14 To Smile.
: ) Keep Smiling : )
...that they promised, signed and agreed with Vietnam after the war, as well as promising to clean up the land mines!
Not in my lifetime I guess! Sorry for the sidetrack!
The Americans have to tread carefully. Ukraine is now becoming a major player in this issue. There is disagreement within the governing coalition and both USA and Russia may try and use that to their advantage.
Great to have the old time back.. Superpowers playing chess, using developing countries as pawns..
Geopolitical Diary: The Diplomatic Phase of the Georgian War
September 3, 2008
We are now in the diplomatic phase of the Georgian war. The Russians, responding to Georgia's attack on South Ossetia, invaded Georgia. Their troops remain in Georgia. No one outside of Georgia is prepared to do anything about it. No one wants to admit that they are doing nothing about it, so they hold meetings and then decide to do nothing about it. This is called diplomacy.
The European Union held their emergency meeting on Georgia three weeks after the war began. They were deeply divided between those countries, like Germany, who wanted to do nothing at all, and others like Britain that wanted to do something symbolic. The hardliners won, and the Europeans announced that they are suspending negotiations with Russia on the future of economic ties. Since those talks have been under way for a year, the suspension is hardly likely to stun the Russians. Sanctions were rejected. French Foreign Minister Bernard Kouchner put it bluntly and honestly: "Sanctions by those who supply are very different than sanctions by those who are on the receiving end and who can't close the tap."
In other words, the Russians supply energy to Europe. Europe supplies little to Russia that it can't get elsewhere. Therefore sanctions are impossible. Europe has no military force to bring to bear and it wouldn't bring it to bear even if it had any. Suspending meaningless negotiations is all they have in their tool kit. Needless to say, the Russians are not impressed.
The nations that are impressed are the Central European countries that had been Soviet satellites. The Baltics and particularly the Poles expected more. There is something truly charming about the Poles: No matter how many times they are let down by the British and French, they continue to believe that this time, the British and French will come through. The Balts, warned by Russian President Dmitri Medvedev that Russia sees itself as responsible for Russians living abroad, and having a load of Russians living in their countries, have fallen quiet. They are calculating the fact that Europe will do nothing and that the Americans are concerned with other matters. The Europeans have delivered their diplomatic message and Warsaw and Moscow understand it clearly.
The Americans are also ramping up their diplomatic efforts. Vice President Dick Cheney is flying to Azerbaijan, and then visiting Georgia and Ukraine. It is not clear what, if anything, he is bringing with him. His decision to visit Azerbaijan first is particularly interesting, if not altogether clear. There is speculation that he wants to reach an agreement with Azerbaijan on energy matters to upset the Russians. It is unclear whether the Azeris are in any mood to upset the Russians. It is of course noteworthy that Azerbaijan borders Iran as well as Russia. That makes it an interesting place to be, but whether it has any meaning remains murky.
Even less clear is what Cheney is going to do in Tbilisi and Kiev. It is difficult to see what he has to offer. Right now the question in both countries is what value U.S. guarantees have. Simply showing up and making assurances will decrease American credibility, not increase it. So logic indicates that he will offer something. He can't offer NATO membership, as it would be vetoed by some European countries. He could offer bilateral security pacts, but aside from enraging the Russians, how the U.S. would support such a pact is not apparent. Perhaps he will offer to place a few battalions in each country for symbolic purposes, but nothing is more dangerous than deploying an insufficient number of troops in the expectation that their mere presence will tie Russian hands. It could also trigger an unpleasant response.
So we are in a diplomatic phase. Meetings are being held. Dinners are being eaten. Press conferences are going on. Meanwhile, the Russians are looking at the board and considering their next move.
US is esclating the things there.
I don't understand why the humanitarian aid is being delivered on naval vessels armed with the newest rocket systems.
Eventually Gorgia will pay the price.
"Life may not be the party we hoped for, but while we are here, we might as well dance."
Bush is in his last effort to stage a world war - he has even mentioned sending in American troops to stablise the area as I heard on the news this morning - this man is a proper crackpot. Condi tells what she is told to tell.