History Forum / General / British History / August 2008

DSH
Lux et Veritas et Libertas
Vires et Honor

Previously:

DSH
Lux et Veritas et Libertas
Vires et Honor

It appears that the United States Navy is also going to have an important
role in this Humanitarian Relief to Georgians...

And that may well mean an American Naval Presence in the Black Sea.

Stay Tuned...

Bush is certainly not acting like a lame duck...
--
DSH
Lux et Veritas et Libertas
Vires et Honor

From The Times
August 14, 2008

George Bush squares up to Vladimir Putin over Georgia

Tom Baldwin in Washington

President Bush dispatched US military hardware to the heart of the Caucasus
yesterday and warned Russia that it could be frozen out of international
bodies as punishment for its aggression in Georgia.

In his toughest criticism of Russia since becoming President, Mr Bush
accused it of breaching the provisional ceasefire agreed with Georgia only
24 hours earlier.

He cited intelligence showing that Russian troops had again taken the town
of Gori and could threaten the capital, Tbilisi. He insisted that Moscow
respect the former Soviet republic’s territorial integrity. There were also
reports of Russian-backed militia in South Ossetia looting ethnic Georgian
villages and killing inhabitants.

“To begin to repair the damage to its relations with the United States,
Europe and other nations, and to begin restoring its place in the world,
Russia must keep its word and act to end this crisis,” Mr Bush said.

EXCELLENT!  He's NOT waiting for the UN to respond -- that would be FAR too
late -- and Russia has the VETO.  So, the UN is a eunuch in this case. --
DSH

The US is in talks with allies about whether to suspend Russia’s membership
of the G8 club of industrialised nations. There is a growing clamour to
block Russia’s membership of the World Trade Organisation and to rescind an
invitation for it to join the Organisation for Economic Cooperation and
Development.

Sounds quite a Good Course to follow. -- DSH

Mr Bush’s statement, delivered in stern tones outside the White House, was
stronger than his cautious comments last week, which reflected the State
Department’s unhappiness with Georgia’s use of force against pro-Russian
separatist rebels in South Ossetia.

Although direct military intervention is not being considered, Pentagon
sources have hinted that a limited number of troops could be deployed to
support what Mr Bush described as a vigorous and continuing humanitarian
mission headed by the US military.

INDEED... A VIGOROUS & CONTINUING Humanitarian Mission -- headed by the
American Armed Forces.  Sort of like the BERLIN AIRLIFT -- and in that one
the RUSSIANS BACKED DOWN. -- DSH

The first US air force transport aircraft arrived last night, and the navy
was heading to the Black Sea – which is controlled by Russian warships – to
deliver humanitarian and medical supplies direct to Georgian ports. “We
expect Russia to honour its commitment to let in all forms of humanitarian
assistance,” Mr Bush said.

The NAVY will DELIVER humanitarian and medical supplies DIRECT to Georgian
PORTS.  Excellent!  And the Russian Navy had better NOT intervene, block or
hinder those DIRECT DELIVERIES in ANY WAY. -- DSH

President Saakashvili of Georgia seized on the announcement to say that
Tbilisi airport and Poti port would be placed under US military control, a
claim the Pentagon swiftly denied.

The GEORGIANS should CONTROL the airport and the port -- without ANY
interference by the RUSSIANS. -- DSH

Condoleezza Rice, the US Secretary of State, flew to France last night to
meet President Sarkozy before heading to Tbilisi. Sergei Lavrov, her Russian
counterpart, said that the US must choose between supporting the Georgian
leadership and maintaining a partnership with Russia on international
issues. Dr Rice said: “This is not 1968 and the invasion of Czechoslovakia,
where Russia can threaten its neighbours, occupy a capital, overthrow a
government and get away with it.  Things have changed.”

Damned straight they have changed.  This is not Hungary in 1956 either. --
DSH

The Georgian President had accused the US of squandering its support among
former Soviet republics. Diplomats say that they have little leverage
against a Kremlin in which the strings are still being pulled by Vladimir
Putin, the former President. The most likely sanctions are those that would
damage Russia’s prestige.

Mr Bush said: “Russia has sought to integrate into the diplomatic,
political, economic and security structures of the 21st century. Now Russia
is putting its aspirations at risk by taking actions in Georgia that are
inconsistent with the principles of those institutions.”

BINGO! -- DSH

David Miliband, the Foreign Secretary, said that the EU should reassess
plans for a partnership agreement with Russia. For the time being, measures
being taken have been limited to a US boycott of a Nato meeting with a
Russian delegation and the likely cancellation of a joint naval exercise.
--
DSH
Lux et Veritas et Libertas
Vires et Honor
Veni, Vidi, Calcitravi Asinum

DSH
Lux et Veritas et Libertas
Vires et Honor

US official: Russia damaging Georgian airfields

By ANNE GEARAN and MATTHEW LEE, Associated Press Writers

WASHINGTON - Defense Secretary Robert Gates said Thursday he sees no need to
invoke U.S. military force in the war between Russia and Georgia and that
U.S.-Russian relations could suffer for "years to come" if Moscow doesn't
retreat.

Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice issued another urgent call on Russia to
honor a previously announced cease-fire with Georgia as she was bringing the
formal agreement to Tbilisi to have it signed Friday by the president of
Georgia, a democratic former Soviet republic that is now strongly aligned
with Washington.

French President Nicholas Sarkozy said the documents are "intended to
consolidate the cease-fire."

At the Pentagon, Gates described a broad humanitarian effort for Georgians
displaced or harmed by the fighting. The relief effort is being run by the
U.S. military, but Gates said there isn't any need for U.S. fighting forces
in Georgia.

Our forces had BETTER be appropriately ARMED. -- DSH

He said the Bush administration last year started talks with Russia that
officials hoped would develop a long-term strategic partnership. The idea
was to give a backbone to the U.S. relationship with Russia across military,
diplomatic and economic spheres. But Russia's invasion of Georgia and the
weeklong fighting that followed has called that into question, Gates said.

Damned straight it has. -- DSH

Also Thursday, the administration said it will ignore "bluster" from Russia
about the future of separatist regions at the heart of the conflict.

"The United States of America stands strongly, as the president of France
just said, for the territorial integrity of Georgia," Rice said following a
meeting with French President Nicolas Sarkozy. The French president is
leading Western efforts to coax Russia to fully withdraw its forces from
Georgia.

Russia and Georgia have agreed to a truce but Russian tanks and troops
remain. Rice was heading to the Georgian capital of Tbilisi with the
document and had no plans to visit Moscow.

Russia's foreign minister declared earlier Thursday that the world "can
forget about" Georgia's territorial integrity, strongly suggesting that
Russia could absorb the regions where it has supported separatist movements
in a goad to Georgia since the election there of a strongly pro-American
president.

The Russian SUDETENLAND.  As with Czechoslovakia and Nazi Germany, 1938.
OMINOUS PRECEDENT. -- DSH

"I would consider that to be bluster from the foreign minister of Russia,"
White House spokeswoman Dana Perino said. "We will ignore it."

BLUSTER INDEED.  IGNORED WITH CONTEMPT. -- DSH

Russia's president met in the Kremlin with the leaders of the separatist
provinces, another signal that Moscow could absorb the regions.

At the State Department, spokesman Robert Wood expressed concern over
reports that Russia is deliberately sabotaging Georgian military
infrastructure.

"We are very concerned about these reports; it is a serious situation," Wood
said.

The facilities were not identified by American officials, who said the U.S.
Embassy in Tbilisi was investigating.

On relief efforts, Wood said more than $2 million in U.S. humanitarian
assistance had been delivered to Georgia and that three convoys had
transported 202 Americans from Georgia to Armenia, the third one carrying 32
Americans.

Explosions were heard near Gori on Thursday as a Russian troop withdrawal
from the strategic city seemed to collapse and a fragile cease-fire appeared
even more shaky.

Meanwhile, the United States poured aid into the Georgian capital of Tbilisi
in a Pentagon mission directly challenging Russia's military moves to retake
territory in the former Soviet republic.

Two aid flights were carrying cots, blankets and medicine for refugees
displaced by the weeklong fighting. The shipment arrived on a C-17 military
plane, an illustration of the close U.S.-Georgia military cooperation that
has angered Russia.

The Bush administration is reeling from the near collapse of its closest
friend among the former Soviet republics, a strategic Black Sea nation that
is an emerging pathway for undeveloped energy reserves and that has worn its
zeal for America and the West as a badge of honor.

As the United States mustered humanitarian aid for Georgia, President Bush
demanded that Russia end all military activity inside its neighbor and
withdraw all troops sent in recent days onto Georgian territory.

EXCELLENT! -- DSH

All this appeared designed to answer criticism that Bush has not done enough
to stand by his 2005 pledge, made from the center of Tbilisi before tens of
thousands of citizens, to "stand with" the people of Georgia.

The president postponed Thursday's planned start of a two-week Texas
vacation for a couple of days to monitor developments.
___

Associated Press writers Jennifer Loven, Lolita C. Baldor, Barry Schweid and
Pauline Jelinek contributed to this report; AP Writer Matthew Lee reported
from Toulon, France.

DSH
Lux et Veritas et Libertas
Vires et Honor

Bush won't compromise on Georgia sovereignty

Aug 14 10:32 AM US/Eastern
AFP

US President George W. Bush assured leaders of Ukraine and Lithuania on
Thursday that he remains fully committed to "a sovereign, free Georgia and
its territorial integrity," the White House said.

In his conversations with Lithuanian President Valdas Adamkus and Ukrainian
President Viktor Yushchenko, Bush stressed US "solidarity" with Georgia in
its conflict with Russia, according to spokeswoman Dana Perino.

"All the leaders stressed the importance of standing by a sovereign, free
Georgia and its territorial integrity, and agreed on the need for Russia to
stop the violence, abide by the ceasefire and withdraw its forces," she
said.

Perino had a brutally dismissive response to reports that Russian Foreign
Minister Sergei Lavrov said the world can "forget about" Georgian
sovereignty, describing it as meaningless "bluster" with no effect on US
policy.

"Our position on Georgia's territorial integrity is not going to change, no
matter what anybody says, and so I would consider that bluster coming from
the foreign minister of Russia, and we will ignore it," she said.

Perino also said it was too soon to be sure that Russia was abiding by its
ceasefire agreement, but told reporters: "We do hope it's trending in the
right direction."

She also warned Russia, whose forces have blockaded the town of Gori, that
"we expect that our humanitarian aid would be allowed to get in by air, land
or sea," but added that she did not know of any instances where it had been
barred.

DSH
Lux et Veritas et Libertas
Vires et Honor
---------------------------------------

How to Stop Putin

By Charles Krauthammer
Thursday, August 14, 2008

The Russia-Georgia cease-fire brokered by France's president is less than
meets the eye. Its terms keep moving as the Russian army keeps moving.

Yes.  Medvedev talks and Putin keeps the Red Army moving. -- DSH

Russia has since occupied Gori (appropriately, Stalin's birthplace),
effectively cutting Georgia in two.

The road to the capital, Tbilisi, is open, but apparently Prime Minister
Vladimir Putin has temporarily chosen to seek his objectives through
military pressure and Western acquiescence rather than by naked occupation.

That remains to be seen. -- DSH

His objectives are clear. They go beyond detaching South Ossetia and
Abkhazia from Georgia and absorbing them into Russia. They go beyond
destroying the Georgian army, leaving the country at Russia's mercy.

The real objective is the Finlandization of Georgia through the removal of
President Mikheil Saakashvili and his replacement by a Russian puppet.

Correct. -- DSH

Which explains Putin stopping the Russian army (for now) short of Tbilisi.

What everyone overlooks in the cease-fire terms is that all future steps --
troop withdrawals, territorial arrangements, peacekeeping forces -- will
have to be negotiated between Russia and Georgia.

But Russia says it will not talk to Saakashvili.

Thus regime change becomes the first requirement for any movement on any
front. This will be Putin's refrain in the coming days.  He is counting on
Europe to pressure Saakashvili to resign and/or flee to "give peace a
chance."

The Finlandization of Georgia would give Russia control of the
Baku-Tbilisi-Ceyhan pipeline, which is the only significant westbound route
for Caspian Sea oil and gas that does not go through Russia.

And the United States must PREVENT that from happening. -- DS

Pipelines are the economic lifelines of such former Soviet republics as
Kazakhstan and Azerbaijan that live off energy exports. Moscow would become
master of the Caspian basin.

Subduing Georgia has an additional effect. It warns Russia's former Baltic
and East European satellites what happens if you get too close to the West.

It is the first step to reestablishing Russian hegemony in the region.

Which has always been the goal of Vladimir Putin, former KGB officer. -- DSH

What is to be done? Let's be real. There's nothing to be done militarily.
What we can do is alter Putin's cost-benefit calculations.

We are not without resources. There are a range of measures to be deployed
if Russia does not live up to its cease-fire commitments:

1. Suspend the NATO-Russia Council established in 2002 to help bring Russia
closer to the West. Make clear that dissolution will follow suspension. The
council gives Russia a seat at the NATO table. Message: Invading neighboring
democracies forfeits the seat.

2. Bar Russian entry to the World Trade Organization.

3. Dissolve the G-8. Putin's dictatorship long made Russia's presence in
this group of industrial democracies a farce, but no one wanted to upset the
bear by expelling it. No need to. The seven democracies simply withdraw.

(And if Italy's Silvio Berlusconi, who has been sympathetic to Putin's
Georgia adventure, wants to stay, he can have an annual G-2 dinner with
Putin.)

Then immediately announce the reconstitution of the original G-7.

4. Announce a U.S.-European boycott of the 2014 Winter Olympics at Sochi. To
do otherwise would be obscene. Sochi is 15 miles from Abkhazia, the other
Georgian province just invaded by Russia. The Games will become a riveting
contest between the Russian, Belarusan and Jamaican bobsled teams.

All of these steps (except dissolution of the G-8, which should be
irreversible) would be subject to reconsideration depending upon Russian
action -- most importantly and minimally, its withdrawal of troops from
Georgia proper to South Ossetia and Abkhazia.

The most crucial and unconditional measure, however, is this: Reaffirm
support for the Saakashvili government and declare that its removal by the
Russians would lead to recognition of a government-in-exile. This would
instantly be understood as providing us the legal basis for supplying and
supporting a Georgian resistance to any Russian-installed regime.

Charlie Wilson's War. -- DSH

President Bush could cash in on his close personal relationship with Putin
by sending him a copy of the highly entertaining (and highly fictionalized)
film "Charlie Wilson's War" to remind Vlad of our capacity to make Russia
bleed. Putin would need no reminders of the Georgians' capacity and long
history of doing likewise to invaders.

Bush needs to make up for his mini-Katrina moment when he lingered in
Beijing yukking it up with our beach volleyball team while Putin flew to
North Ossetia to direct the invasion of a neighboring country. Bush is
dispatching Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice to France and Georgia. Not a
moment too soon. Her task must be to present these sanctions, get European
agreement on as many as possible and begin imposing them, calibrated to
Russian behavior. And most important of all, to prevent any Euro-wobbliness
on the survival of Georgia's democratically elected government.

We have cards. We should play them. Much is at stake.

DSH
Lux et Veritas et Libertas
Vires et Honor
Veni, Vidi, Calcitravi Asinum

DSH
Lux et Veritas et Libertas
Vires et Honor
Veni, Vidi, Calcitravi Asinum

DSH
Lux et Veritas et Libertas
Vires et Honor

Keep All This In Mind:

<http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Vladimir_Putin>

"His mother, Maria Ivanovna, was a factory worker and his father, Vladimir
Spiridonovich Putin, was conscripted into the Soviet Navy, where he served
in the submarine fleet in the early 1930s."

"His father subsequently served with the NKVD in a sabotage group during the
Second World War.  Two elder brothers were born in the mid-1930s; one died
within a few months of birth; the second succumbed to diphtheria during the
siege of Leningrad.  His paternal grandfather, Spiridon Putin, had been
Vladimir Lenin's and Joseph Stalin's personal cook."

DSH
Lux et Veritas et Libertas
Vires et Honor
Veni, Vidi, Calcitravi Asinum

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Todays U.S. "Judaism Vs. Islamism Wars" News.
http://www.antiwar.com

Current (DOD) Casualties Report.
http://icasualties.org/oif/BY_DOD.aspx
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

DSH
Lux et Veritas et Libertas
Vires et Honor

Bush warns Russia over disputed Georgian provinces

Aug 16, 2008

By DEB RIECHMANN

CRAWFORD, Texas (AP) - President Bush is sending a stern warning to Russia
that it cannot lay claim to two disputed regions in Georgia.

Bush says there is no room for debate on this point.  He says the breakaway
provinces of South Ossetia and Abkhazia are part of Georgia and lie within
internationally recognized borders.  Russia's foreign minister has said that
Georgia could forget about getting back those provinces.

Russia's president met in the Kremlin this past week with the leaders of
those regions.  That was seen as a sign that Moscow could absorb the areas.

Bush also says Russia must abide by a cease-fire that Georgia and Russia now
have signed.  It calls for both forces to pull back to positions they held
before fighting broke out Aug. 8.

DSH
Lux et Veritas et Libertas
Vires et Honor

Rice tells Russia to quit immediately

By Charles Clover in Tbilisi
The Financial Times [British]

Published: August 15 2008

Tensions between Washington and Moscow took a new turn on Friday as
Condoleezza Rice, US secretary of state, called on Russian troops to
withdraw from occupied areas in Georgia “immediately”. She made the call
after Mikheil Saakashvili, Georgian president, signed a new ceasefire
agreement with Russia.

Her call came as Nicolas Sarkozy, French president, spoke to Dmitry
Medvedev, his Russian counterpart, who agreed to sign the accord and said
that Moscow would “scrupulously” respect the elements of the agreement,
“notably those concerning the withdrawal of Russian forces”. However, the
French statement gave no indication of when Mr Medvedev might sign the
agreement.

Ms Rice’s visit to Tbilisi capped a week that saw the brief Russia-Georgia
conflict turn from a hot but localised war into a diplomatic confrontation
between Moscow and Washington with cold war overtones.

“Our most urgent task today is the immediate and orderly withdrawal of
Russian armed forces and the return of those forces to Russia,” Ms Rice
said. “Russian forces need to leave Georgia at once.”

Stepping up the pressure on Moscow, the US and Poland clinched a deal on
Friday to base part of Washington’s planned anti-missile shield on Polish
territory.

EXCELLENT! -- DSH

Russia responded angrily to the move. Anatoly Nogovitsin, the deputy head of
the Russian armed forces, warned Poland that by hosting the shield it could
become the target of a nuclear attack in wartime. “The US is concerned with
its own anti-missile defence, not Poland’s.  But Poland, by deploying [the
shield], will be exposed to attack.”

Russian troops, meanwhile, remained in the central town of Gori and other
areas in Georgia such as the port of Poti, outside the separatist enclaves
of South Ossetia and Abkhazia. It was unclear on Friday night whether they
planned to withdraw outside the “zone of conflict” as Ms Rice warned them
to.

A Reuters journalist reported seeing a Russian military convoy advance to
the town of Igoeti, within 55km of Tbilisi, on Friday at almost the same
time as the meeting between Ms Rice and Mr Saakashvili. It was the closest
to Tbilisi Russian forces have come since the conflict erupted last week.

George W. Bush, US president, accused Russia on Friday of “bullying and
intimidation” and said contention with the US was not in Russia’s interests,
He warned Russia it faced isolation from the world community.

At the same time as Ms Rice conferred with Mr Saakashvili in Tbilisi, Angela
Merkel, German chancellor, was holding talks with Mr Medvedev in the Russian
town of Sochi.

She criticised Russia in more muted tones than the US has done. “Some of
Russia’s actions were not proportionate,” said Mrs Merkel. “Russian troops
should withdraw from central areas in Georgia.”

Mr Medvedev said the west should not contemplate sending peacekeepers to
South Ossetia and Abkhazia, pointing to the earlier refusal of Kosovo
separatists to accept UN-led peacekeepers. The people of the regions, he
said, “do not trust anyone but the Russian troops.... We are the only
guarantors of stability in the region”.

The tone and content of US and European statements on the Russia-Georgia
conflict have been subtly diverging all week, with European nations such as
France and Germany less inclined to isolate or punish Russia for its
actions, while the US has been the most openly confrontational.

The US has floated the possibility of expelling Russia from the G8. The
French foreign ministry said on Friday that it did not believe threats to
exclude Russia from the G8 or other international organisations such as the
United Nations would be constructive. “Our interests lie in maintaining
dialogue with the Russians,” an official said.

German officials took a similar line although Eckart von Klaeden, a foreign
policy expert in parliament and Merkel confidant, said Germany’s
relationship with Russia “will hinge on its behaviour in the coming days”.

Russia’s ministry of defence has denied accusations by a human rights group
that it had dropped cluster bombs on Georgia during the conflict. Human
Rights Watch, the New York-based monitoring group, said Russian aircraft
dropped cluster bombs on two Georgian towns on August 12, killing three
civilians and wounding five.

Col Nogovitsin dismissed the accusations as “pre-prepared lies”.

“We did not use cluster bombs, and this was not necessary,” he said on
Friday.

In May 2008, 107 nations agreed to a total ban on cluster munitions, but
Russia did not participate in the talks.

Additional reporting by Peggy Hollinger in Paris and Bertrand Benoit in
Berlin.

DSH
Lux et Veritas et Libertas
Vires et Honor

Man in the News: Mikheil Saakashvili

By Quentin Peel
The Financial Times

Published: August 15 2008

In the Kremlin they are determined to demonise Mikheil Saakashvili,
de­scribing him as a “lunatic” and a “pariah”, and accusing him of genocide.

Vladimir Putin and Dmitry Medvedev, Russia’s twin tsars, want him tried as a
war criminal like Slobodan Milosevic. They flatly refuse to talk to him and
leave no doubt they want him overthrown.

In Georgia, Mr Saakashvili is both adored and reviled. He inspires huge
devotion from his supporters, who see him as a charismatic – and
democratic – national hero who has stood up to the Russian bully. His
detractors call him autocratic and impetuous, and accuse him of
precipitating last week’s onslaught by Russian tanks.

Mr Saakashvili – known universally as Misha to friends and foes alike – was
swept to power in 2004 on the heels of the Rose Revolution that ousted
Eduard Shevardnadze, his predecessor, after a blatantly rigged election.

He became, at 36, the youngest head of state in Europe, a passionately
pro-American polyglot who toured the world selling the story of Georgia’s
revival.

He was the darling of neo-cons in Washington, but also managed to
infuriate Mr Putin in Moscow, by failing to treat the Russian president with
the respect he felt he deserved.

(He is credited with inventing the nickname “Lilliputin”, an allusion to Mr
Putin’s diminutive stature, in contrast to his own towering presence.)

HILARIOUS!  I'm beginning to like this "MISHA". -- DSH

Born in Tbilisi in 1967, where his father, Nikoloz, still practises as a
doctor, and his mother, Giuli Alasania is a history professor at the
university, he took a a degree in international relations at Kiev
university.  “It was less Soviet than Moscow.” he says.

PERCEPTIVE... -- DSH

He then pursued post-graduate studies in international law at Columbia
university in New York, and at George Washington University.

It was an experience that made him a profound admirer of the American system
(he has since surrounded himself with US consultants and PR advisers) and
laid the foundations for a whirlwind career in Georgian politics.

He was elected to the Georgian parliament in 1995, and became justice
minister under Mr Shevardnadze, before he resigned in protest at the
all-pervasive corruption in government.

Elected mayor of Tbilisi, he founded his own party.  In 2003, he led a mass
revolt against the election result that had declared Mr Shevardnadze the
winner, forcing him to resign, and clearing the way for his own landslide
victory with 95 per cent support.

THE ROSE REVOLUTION. -- DSH

In less than five years, he has presided over an extraordinary economic
transformation of his tiny nation on the shores of the Black Sea. From being
a failed state in the 1990s, it became a magnet for foreign investors, and a
liberalising darling of the international financial institutions.

GOOD SHOW. -- DSH

Yet he has failed in his second goal – to reunite Georgia. And he alienated
some of his original allies. “He is really quite complex,” says a former
European ambassador in Tbilisi. “He is very intelligent, very thoughtful,
and sometimes trips up on his own complex thought processes.

He laughs at inappropriate moments.  On the one hand, he is very open, an
outward-looking modernising reformer, very much on our wavelength.  He wants
the system to be democratic.  But personally his instinct is strongly
autocratic.  He has been leading a revolution.  He is so committed to what
he is trying to do, he went into extra overdrive to launch his reforms.”

In the process, he has lost support among the Georgian population, including
many from the older generation, roughly thrust aside by the westernised
young bankers and consultants who came home to help the transformation. Mr
Saakashvili wanted to do it all at once – revolutionise the economy, and
reintegrate the country.  It was not to be done.

“He is an impatient man. He wants to move quickly,” says the ambassador.
“The first signs of trouble came early on, when he was getting a lot of
support and sympathy (from the west). They were saying to him: ‘Don’t rile
the Russians. Take it calmly. Don’t use force’ and Saakashvili was having to
grind his teeth, caught between his intense desire for rapid progress and
the need for restraint.”

Mr Saakashvili’s name shows his family originally came from South Ossetia.
He grew up a strong nationalist with a vision to revive Georgia. One of his
great heroes is King David the Builder, who ruled the country in the 11th
century, and drove out the Seljuk Turks. Mr Saakashvili took his oath of
office at King David’s tomb in 2004.

But he does not sound like the fanatic that the Kremlin seeks to portray. He
is certainly not a “lunatic”. On the other hand, he has always sounded
somewhat ambiguous when talking about Georgia’s territorial integrity. He
has made repeated proposals for political solutions – offering both Abkhazia
and South Ossetia wide autonomy within a Georgian state – but has not seemed
enthusiastic about meeting the separatists themselves, whom he regards as
Russian stooges.

MANY of them ARE "RUSSIAN STOOGES" -- BUT NOT ALL. -- DSH

His mother has been a big influence, according to close friends. She sees
the secession issue as manufactured by Moscow. “This problem is artificial,”
she says. “It was invented. We never had a problem with Abkhazia and South
Ossetia before.”

PERCEPTIVE. -- DSH

She rejects the charge that her son is impulsive. “He thinks very fast. This
is his temper. But he always knows what he is doing.”

He can be charming and overwhelming – he never stops talking – although it
is sometimes like a stream of consciousness, punctuated by digressions on
Georgian history and culture, or his latest pet project. In government he
conducts business at a furious rate. “It is government by mobile phone,”
says one foreign observer. “Decisions are taken with a small group of
insiders, working late at night. Then the rest are simply informed.”

Former allies, such as Salome Zurabishvili, his former foreign minister,
left in disgust. “We are living in a de facto one-party system,” she says.

“He has an obsessive desire to win,” says the former ambassador. “That means
really hammering people with different points of view – intellectually, and
there is some evidence of intimidation. He has no time for a particular type
of investigative journalist or a critical politician.”

Sitting at lunch last year, overlooking Tbilisi, he bolts his food, shoots
quickfire answers to all questions, and rushes off to take a helicopter to
the border.  The skyline is littered with cranes. “Once all these new
buildings are built, once it looks like Hong Kong did 10 years ago,
attacking such a country does not look good,” he said. Perhaps that was why
he was in such a hurry: his revolution came too late.