Georgia...Time for Action...

The situation that is growing more and more chaotic as the hours pass in Georgia poses some serious questions for the United States. Namely should we become involved and if so, to what degree?

A little history first. The United States has long held that Georgia is a shining example of a former Soviet Republic turning toward democracy and embracing Western ideals. As such, we (as in the United States) have been supporting Georgia militarily since 2002. We first put significant numbers of troops (200+ trainers) into Georgia in 2002 and have been doing so since. After the "Rose Revolution" of 2003 in which President Eduard Shevardnadze was replaced with a democratically elected Mikheil Saakashvilli the aid (military and economic) increased significantly. The United States Agency of International Development (USAID) has an entire program dedicated to aiding Georgia. We have trained Georgian forces in counter-terrorism with a view that the Pankisi Gorge area was a known "terrorist lounge" with Chechen rebels using it as a training ground. Of course when you mention Chechen rebels you know there are ties to Al Qaeda. We have also been providing them with combat gear: communications, weapons, etc. Just last month significant numbers of U.S. Marines were still on the ground in Georgia. In turn, Georgia has put forth over a thousand troops into Iraq to help support us in the Global War on Terror. Georgia was also one of the first to come out and strongly condemn the attacks on September 11, 2001. They have put their troops where their mouth is.

So, now we see Russia moving into Georgia and moving past the "disputed" combat zones. South Ossetia was the disputed region that Georgia first advanced upon and Russia responded to. Now, pointing fingers at Georgia for going into South Ossetia will get us no where. The bottom-line is that South Ossetia was a disputed region and rebels had been causing problems for Georgian troops for a period of time and Russian peace keepers were really doing nothing about it. So, Russia steps in and moves into South Ossetia to protect Russian citizens (since Russia gave Russian passports to residents of South Ossetia). Now, I can give Russia that even though I disagree with them. However, their (Russian) recent moves to Gori, Senaki, and possibly Tbilisi are just plain wrong. I see the Russian moves as a deliberate move to discredit and possibly threaten the very existence of the democratically elected government of Georgia.

Georgia's push (led by the United States) to become a member of NATO surely upset Putin and now he is getting his payback. My bet is that Russia will continue to push into Georgia all the way to Tbilisi. This will force Mikheil Saakashvilli and his government to flee (probably first to Turkey).

What should we do about this? Some may say nothing...after all who cares about Georgia? Well, I disagree, we are talking about a strong ally of the United States and a country that has a democratically elected government that is (was) making strong strides in becoming a beacon of light with a strong democracy and a growing economy in Eurasia. Are we as the United States to let our allies just get squashed upon? Would we do this if Russia was threatening Great Britain? I would hope not.

The United States speaks out often about promoting democracy around the world and here we are watching a young democracy get punished. It is time for our country to act.

Russia is no match for us militarily (even with our forces stretched thin in Iraq and Afghanistan). We should immediately give an ultimatum to Russia to withdraw their forces out of Georgia and stop their advance. In the meantime we should be flying F-15s and F-16s out of Iraq (with tanker support) over Turkey (surely they will give us over flight rights) and into Georgia to take control of the skies. Our strike fighters should be prepared to defend Georgia and take out any Russian jets flying into Georgia.

In the meantime we should move the 82nd Airborne from Ft. Bragg and the 173rd Airborne Brigade Combat Team from Vicenza, Italy directly into Tbilisi. This will give Georgia considerable defensive power. The 173rd and 82nd are both combat proven and elements of the 173rd just returned from Afghanistan where they proved themselves yet again. There are always some Marine Expeditionary Units in the Mediterranean Sea and these could move towards the Black Sea if they are needed. They could hang out in the Med and if they are needed could push through the Strait of Dardanelles and the Bosporus Strait with air cover if they were threatened by Russian forces. I am sure a MEU landing in Georgia from the Black Sea would cause some concern for Russia.

A commitment of U.S. forces is nothing to take lightly and either is the prospect of one of our allies being crushed by Russia.

There are times when we as the United States have to stand up for our allies...and I think this is one of those times. If we don't stand up for them now...who are we not going to stand up for next...or worse...who won't stand up for us in our time of need?

No one knows what the consequences of inaction could or would be...could this be a signal that Russia wants its glory back? What about the Ukraine? No one ever knows where inaction leads and this could be one of those dangerous bets. However, definitive action by the United States will instill confidence in our allies across the region and further weaken Russia's influence. That is exactly what we need to do. Russia cannot and will not wage full scale war with us; their populace will not let them. The Russian populace cares less about Georgia than the average American and they definitely will not risk their new found wealth over a full scale war over Georgia.

If you say this is large thinking for an isolated incident; just remember that World War One started with an isolated assassination in Sarajevo on June 28, 1914.