Using Georgia to Target Russia

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-- the regional stakes involved: Washington and Russia vying to control Eurasia's vast oil and gas reserves;

-- Israel's role in the region; its interest in the BTC pipline; its negotiations with Georgia, Turkey, Turkmenistan and Azarbaijan to have it reach its Ashkelon oil terminal and Red Sea Eilat port; its selling Georgia state-of-the-art weapons, electronic warfare systems and intelligence; its use of military advisors to train Georgian forces in commando, air, sea, armored and artillery tactics as well as instruction on military intelligence and security;

-- its refusal to freeze its Georgian military alliance; the dubious reliability of Haaretz citing an AP August 7 report that "Israel has decided to halt all sales of military equipment to Georgia because of (Russia's) objections....to give Israel leverage with Moscow....not to ship arms and equipment to Iran" such as sophisticated S-300 air defense missiles; the Israeli Foreign Ministry refusing comment on an arms freeze and Georgian Cabinet minister Temur Yakobashvili saying "There has been no decision by Israel to stop selling (us) weapons;"

-- believe it, and here's what Haaretz says Israel supplies: high-tech infantry weapons, artillery systems electronics, and upgrades for Soviet-designed Su-25 ground attack jets as well as Israeli generals advising Georgia's military; Israel also sells Hermes 450 UAV spy drones according to Russiatoday.com; according to some sources, it's a virtual gold mine for Israeli defense contractors, but Haaretz reports it's much less at around $200 million a year - well below American and French sales;

-- on August 10, the Israeli ynetnews.com highlighted "The Israeli Connection" and reported "Israeli companies have been helping (the) Georgian army (prepare) for war against Russia through arms deals, training of infantry and security advice;" it was helped by Georgian citizens "who immigrated to Israel and became businesspeople," and the fact that Georgia's Defense Minister, Davit Kezerashvili, "is a former Israeli fluent in Hebrew (whose) door was always open to the Israelis who came and offered his country arms;" deals went through "fast" and included "remote-piloted (Elbit System) vehicles (RPVs), automatic turrets for armed vehicles, antiaircraft systems, communications systems, shells and rockets;"

-- Russia's anger over Georgia and Ukraine seeking NATO membership and Washington's pressuring other members to admit them;

- the planned installation of "missile defense" radar in the region - in Poland, Czechoslovakia and potentially other sensitive areas, all targeting Russia, China, and Iran;

-- its provoking Russia to retarget nuclear missiles at planned "radar" locations; and

-- targeting Russia for dissolution (as the US's main world rival), diffuse its power, control Eurasia, including the country's immense resources on the world's by far largest land mass.

The New Great Game

What's at stake is what former National Security advisor Zbigniew Brzezinski described in his 1997 book "The Grand Chessboard." He called Eurasia the "center of world power extending from Germany and Poland in the East through Russia and China to the Pacific and including the Middle East and the Indian subcontinent." He continued: "The most immediate (US) task is to make certain that no state or combination of states gains the capacity to expel the United States from Eurasia or even to diminish significantly its decisive arbitration role." Dominating that part of the world and its vast energy and other resources is Washington's goal with NATO and Israel its principal tools to do it:

-- in the Middle East with its two-thirds of the world's proved oil reserves (about 675 billion barrels); and

-- the Caspian basin with an estimated 270 billion barrels of oil plus one-eighth of the world's natural gas reserves.

"New World Order" strategy aims to secure them. Russia, China, and Iran have other plans. India allies with both sides. Former Warsaw Pact and Soviet republics split this way:

-- NATO members include the Czech Republic, Slovakia, Hungary, Poland, Romania, Albania, Bulgaria, Estonia, Latvia, and Lithuania;

-- Georgia and Ukraine seek membership; while

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