
President Dmitri Medvedev (1965- ) with veterans of the Great Patriotic War in Kursk
“Anyone who threatens Russian citizens must be crushed”, President Medvedev said in an address to veterans of the Great Patriotic War in Kursk, the site of a celebrated battle with the Nazi invaders 65 years ago. “Russia is a peace-loving country. Both historically and recently, Russia was not in the habit of starting wars. At the same time, it needs combat-ready effective forces that command respect. You honoured veterans know that a nation reluctant to provide for an army of its own invites invaders. We shall not allow this, but, we shall not attack others either. On the contrary, Russian international peacekeeping forces, including in former republics of the Soviet Union, aim to protect human life and dignity. However, it is obvious to all that we cannot allow the killers of Russian citizens and peacekeepers to go unpunished. Russia has everything that it needs, politically, economically, and militarily, to exact appropriate retribution. If there are those who doubt this, they should part with such illusions”, he said.
“Russia does not seek tensions on the international scene, it only asks due respect for the Russian state, our people, and our values. Its peacekeepers are only protecting Russian citizens and foreign nationals caught in the web of a dangerous situation”, President Medvedev emphasised. “What happened in the South Caucasus on 8 August was an unprecedented act of aggression against Russian citizens in Abkhazia and South Ossetia, who are the majority in both regions. They faced an armed onslaught by a supposedly civilised nation that got the latest weaponry from another supposedly civilised nation. Shockingly, the attack was targeted at innocent civilians whom Georgia often calls Georgians. This is beyond our comprehension and must be stopped. Georgia has no right to endanger civilians or Russian peacekeepers in the South Caucasus. After all, these peacekeeping contingents operate under mandates from the Commonwealth of Independent States, the European Union, and the Organisation for Security and Cooperation in Europe. Attacking them is a serious violation of international law. Russia shall not allow such”, Mr Medvedev stated.
18 August 2008
Aleksei Dyakonov
Voice of Russia World Service
http://www.ruvr.ru/main.php?lng=rus&q=80678&cid=22&p=18.08.2008
Editor’s Note:
If an American president were to say, “I’m going to find Bin Laden, and when I do, I’m going to hang him from the nearest available tree and let him hang there until his flesh rots away and his bones fall to the ground”, and mean it (GWB is a wussie on that score), let me assure you, that president would be hailed throughout the country. After all, one of the reasons that governments exist is to protect its citizens. So, if it is right for the US to protect US citizens (a reasonable thing, by my lights), it is right for Russia to protect Russian citizens.
Georgia invading South Ossetia would be like the Mexican army marching into southern New Mexico. Mexico does not do such because it knows that the US would blow it away. So, why are people surprised that Georgia is being slapped around? The US did likewise to Mexico in 1846-48, and walked off with the north-western section of it under the Treaty of Guadeloupe Hidalgo. Considering that the Georgians launched a sneak rocket strike on sleeping civilians in what is essentially a Russian city, they got off easy. How would you react if the Mexicans were to launch a rocket strike at 22.00 on a border town in Arizona or New Mexico (I am not saying they would, it is an illustration only!)? You’d be steamed. That is too mild an expression, but, as this is a family zone, all of you out there can add the needed colourful emphasis, I am sure.
All that aside, Russia has sent a division’s-worth of its troops to chase the Georgian division-equivalent that invaded and raped South Ossetia. Saakashvili is nothing but a Caucasian Hugo Chavez without the oil and with a nastier temper. As for his chances of getting into NATO, they are nil. Everyone is glad that this immature kid in diapers didn’t embroil Europe in a larger war. Who is to blame, ultimately? The chief culprit is Saakashvili, for committing the outrage, obviously. Bush and Rice get part as well for egging him on, knowing his temperament.
We should learn humility from this, to know our limitations. But, shall we? God willing…
BMD
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