THE HOT JOINTS » War

Russian Tanks Headed For Georgia’s Second Largest City

Chris Jones — Thu, 14 Aug 2008 21:00:36 +0000

Georgia’s president is reporting that more than 100 tanks are heading towards Georgia’s second largest city.

Mikhail Saakashvili says the convoy is about halfway between the cities of Senaki and Kutaisi. He spoke to foreign reporters Thursday and appealed for international help.

It’s pretty obvious that Russia has no intentions of honoring the cease-fire. This doesn’t have anything to do with Georgia and has everything to do with seizing Georgia’s oil pipeline to turkey.

Video: Fox News Reporter Fired On By Georgian Forces

Chris Jones — Thu, 14 Aug 2008 16:01:06 +0000

gori
by burghnews

The U.S. Cannot Abandon Georgia

Chris Jones — Tue, 12 Aug 2008 18:15:23 +0000

The United States must intervene in the current conflict between Russia and Georgia. We have spent billions training Georgia’s military and have done everything to assist that young democracy. Now in the face of outrageous aggression by Russia, President Bush is going to let that country be destroyed?

If we allow Russia to seize control of Georgia and its valuable oil pipeline then all the President’s talk about spreading freedom and democracy ring hollow. Georgia has been a staunch ally of the U.S. and now their country is being stolen by Russia.

Georgia’s U.S. trained military is vastly superior to Russia’s in terms of training, but with a force of less than 50,000 they are no match for Russia’s 750,000 poorly trained, poorly led, and poorly equipped drunks. The real problem for Georgia is air power. Georgia has no fighter aircraft or attack choppers while Russia has more than 1,200 attack aircraft.

The latest reports out of Georgia are that more than 50 Russian aircraft are flying above Georgia. With no aircraft the only thing the people of Georgia can do is hide.

Georgia had the third largest troop commitment in Iraq behind Great Britain until this week when the Pentagon began flying Georgian troops home to fight the Russians.

Russia’s intention is to seize control of Georgia’s valuable oil pipeline that carries oil to Turkey. It’s the only pipeline in the entire region that the corrupt Russian government doesn’t control — at least not yet.

I understand that we “need” Russia to back us on UN sanctions against Iran, but that rationale is really pretty absurd. The Russians play lip service to President Bush about the need to prevent Iran from acquiring nuclear weapons, while at the same time building a nuclear reactor for Iran.

The situation is undoubtedly complicated, but what we absolutely must not do is sit around jawboning at the UN forever. The United Nations is one of the most ineffective and corrupt organizations on the planet and what’s worse is that it’s largely funded by us.

Barack Obama’s tepid response in the beginning and the moral equivalency he drew between a democratic ally of the U.S. and Russia speaks volumes about how he would conduct his foreign policy. His call for UN peacekeeping troops is also ridiculous, because if history is any indicator UN peacekeepers are nothing more than props. UN peacekeepers have never ‘kept peace’ anywhere, and as with everything involving the UN it takes years to see a boot hit the ground.

What the U.S. should do is give Russia a simple ultimatum. Either Russia immediately and unconditionally withdraws from Georgia or we will make Ukraine a part of NATO as early as next week. Russia’s biggest fear is having Ukraine become a part of NATO, and this above all else is our biggest leverage on Russia.

Russia is surrounded by young democracies and if the U.S. allows Russia to topple one democracy it will weaken them all. Georgia has done everything it can to create a free and democratic society after decades of Soviet tyranny.

America has a moral obligation to help its friends when they’re in need, and right now Georgia desperately needs our help.

-Chris Jones

Georgia’s President Explains Conflict With Russia In Op-Ed

Chris Jones — Mon, 11 Aug 2008 16:10:52 +0000

Georgian President Mikheil Saakashvili has taken to the pages of The Wall Street Journal to dish on the current conflict between his country and Russia. Georgia is a close ally of the U.S. and until yesterday had the third largest troop commitment in Iraq behind Great Britain.

Georgia’s military is U.S. trained and has been a big help in Iraq. Unfortunately, the sudden outbreak of war with Russia forced President Saakashvili to immediately order his 4,600 troops home to help fight off the Russians.

To show our appreciation for Georgia’s help in Iraq, the U.S. military began flying Georgia’s troops home yesterday.

John McCain’s Vietnam Captor Says He Would Vote For Him

Chris Jones — Wed, 25 Jun 2008 07:56:26 +0000

The man who ran the notorious Hanoi Hilton in Vietnam and kept John McCain prisoner for 5 1/2 years is speaking out. Tran Trong Duyet is now 75 years old, but 4 decades ago he was a young Vietnamese soldier who oversaw the incarceration of numerous American POW’s.

In an interview with the BBC, Duyet said of McCain, “He is a very frank man – very conservative, and very loyal to his country and the American ideal.”

Duyet went on to say that he’s followed McCain’s career closely since the war, adding “If I was American, I would vote for him.”

U.S. Airstrikes Kill 11 Pakistani Soldiers

Chris Jones — Wed, 11 Jun 2008 21:38:52 +0000

From the AP:

U.S.-led forces killed Pakistani troops in an airstrike along the volatile Afghan border that Pakistan’s army condemned on Wednesday as “completely unprovoked and cowardly.”

U.S. officials confirmed that three aircraft launched about a dozen bombs following a clash between Taliban militants and Afghan and U.S.- led coalition forces late Tuesday. Pakistan says the strikes killed 11 of its paramilitary troops.

The Pakistani army said the airstrike hit a post of the paramilitary Frontier Corps in the Mohmand tribal region and was a “completely unprovoked and cowardly act.”

That is really unfortunate. We cannot afford to make mistakes like this. We need Pakistan’s cooperation and foolish incidents like this jeopardize our already strained relationship. A situation like this could cause riots to break out potentially put the entire Pakistani government at risk.

War Footage Of The Day: Afghanistan

Chris Jones — Wed, 07 May 2008 17:32:07 +0000

Video: Air Force Pilot Who Flew Clinton To Bosnia Speaks Out

Chris Jones — Thu, 27 Mar 2008 03:11:05 +0000

Col2
by krs601

Pictures: Prince Harry At War

Chris Jones — Thu, 28 Feb 2008 21:31:26 +0000

Here are some pictures of Prince Harry serving his country in Afghanistan:

(Click photos to enlarge)

Prince Harry Serving On Front Lines In Afghanistan

Chris Jones — Thu, 28 Feb 2008 19:09:45 +0000

From the AP:

Prince Harry has been serving on the front line in Afghanistan with the British Army, calling in airstrikes on Taliban positions and going out on foot patrols, the Ministry of Defense announced Thursday.

Officials said the prince, a lieutenant in the Blues and Royals regiment, was still deployed in the country.

“His conduct on operations in Afghanistan has been exemplary,” said the head of the army, Gen. Richard Dannatt. “He has been fully involved in operations and has run the same risks as everyone else in his battle group.”

Harry, who is third in line to the throne, has been in Afghanistan since December.

The planned deployment had been disclosed to reporters, with no specific date, and was not reported previously under a pool agreement between the Ministry of Defense and all major news organizations operating in Britain, including The Associated Press. The news blackout was intended to reduce the risk to the prince and his regiment.

The news embargo was broken, however, after reports of the prince’s deployment were leaked by an Australian magazine and a German newspaper, and then reported on a U.S. Web site, the Drudge Report.

Dannatt, the military commander, said he was “very disappointed” that the story had leaked.

Harry, 23, has been deployed in the restive Helmand province for 10 weeks, where most of the 7,800 British troops in Afghanistan are based, according to the military’s statement.

In a recorded interview, Harry said he was happy to be standing shoulder-to- shoulder with his colleagues.

“It’s nice just to be here with all the guys and just mucking in as one of the lads,” said Harry, who had expressed bitter disappointment when he was banned from going to Iraq with his battalion last year. Army chiefs said publicity surrounding his deployment could put him and his unit at risk.

Pooled video footage of Harry in Afghanistan showed the prince dressed in camouflage fatigues patrolling arid and dusty terrain and firing a machine gun.

Harry graduated from Sandhurst military academy in 2006 and trained as a tank commander. After the decision not to send him to Iraq, he retrained as a battlefield air controller, the job he has been filling in Afghanistan.

The fact that Prince Harry actually wanted to fight is a very noble thing. He has more honor and guts than a lot of people both in Britain and in America. He and his brother are a credit to their country and will make exceptional leaders one day.

-Chris Jones

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