Could Russian Intelligence agents seeking to maintain a strong presence in Georgian territory be responsible for this? Or are angry Georgians anxious to get back at Russia for its week-long bombardment of their territory the perpetrators. Whichever it might be, both governments are trading blame back and forth. The most likely scenario is that this is the work of a group as opposed to a government. Whether that group is pro-Russian or pro-Georgian, I don't know.
My personal thought is that one of S. Ossetia's rebel groups could be responsible. They need a pretext to keep Russian soldiers in the region and prevent Georgia from reclaiming it.
Russia and Georgia trade blame in South Ossetia attack
A blast in Georgia's breakaway region of South Ossetia killed seven Russian soldiers, a Russian commander says.
The soldiers died when a car full of explosives blew up near a Russian military base in the regional capital, Tskhinvali, local officials said.
Georgia said Russia organised the explosion as a pretext to delay withdrawing troops from South Ossetia.
But Russia blamed Georgia, saying it was an attempt to undermine a ceasefire agreement between the two sides.
Tension remains high in the region following the conflict between Russia and Georgia over the summer.
Seven other soldiers were injured in the blast, the Russian military commander in South Ossetia said.
According to a statement from the South Ossetian breakaway government, Russian troops had confiscated the vehicle that blew up from an ethnic Georgian village because it was carrying weapons.
Russian television footage showed a black plume of smoke rising from behind metal gates at the base.
An unidentified Russian foreign ministry official said forces "striving to destabilise the situation" were behind the blast, Russian media reported.
South Ossetian leader Eduard Kokoity went further, describing it as "a deliberate terrorist act prepared by the Georgian Security Ministry", Russia's Itar-Tass news agency said.
Georgian Interior Ministry spokesman Shota Utiashvili rejected the allegation.
"I think this is a provocation with the aim of keeping Russian forces in Georgia," he told the AFP new agency.
With tensions threatening to flare up into another conflict, I think that the presidential debate on Tuesday should focus on foreign policy for the first 45-minutes. 21st century Russia under Czar Putin and his protege is very dangerous, and Americans deserve to know exactly what our next president is going to do to about it.
5 comments:
And we thought we took care of the Russians, think again. I hope they manage somehow to resolve their own problems without our getting to involved.
You would think we have enough on our plate to deal with...Iran, Pakistan, North Korea, Darfur, Somalia...the list is endless. Now we need to be concerned with what Russia, who at one time we considered an ally. I have always hoped that Putin was all talk, but after the invasion of Georgia and the mysterious killings of his critics, I'm not so sure.
One thing I am sure about though...the last person I want trying to resolve this crisis is Barack Obama.
AMEN TO THAT!!
Russia is a sleeping giant. Don't get too complacent!
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