Is Georgia a Distraction for Russia while the US attacks Iran?

by The East Highland Sentinal

There are a few things coming to light which seems to be painting a rather dim picture of events yet to come. The news this week was a Georgian attack on Russian soldiers in South Ossetia. South Ossetia is a break away territory from Georgia and requires foreign peacekeepers to protect them from Georgia. These peacekeepers do include Russian troops, but also troops from the United Nations. For some reason The Georgian government decided that it would be wise to start a war with Russia even though Russia is a much more powerful adversary.

Georgia is an ally of the United States in the war on terror and they even have some troops serving in Iraq with American soldiers. This US alignment is a thorn in the side of the Russian government. In recent years the Bush administration has been discussing the need to install a missile defense system in the region, something which the Russians have been steadfastly against. Russia sees the deployment of US missile systems in the region much the same as the United States saw the deployment of Russian missiles during the “Cuban Missile Crisis.”

However, we see now that Georgia is to be a member of NATO and Russia is fearful of this organization, mostly because it was developed with the intention of keeping the old Soviet Union in line. One thing that comes to mind is that at about the time that the United States invaded Iraq and Afghanistan, Russia was having some trouble with Chechen rebels and was hard pressed to attack Chechnya. Now the Jerusalem Post is reporting that the US is sending two more aircraft carriers into the Persian Gulf. This is a definite buildup in the Middle East which can only serve one of two purposes. One possibility is that the United States is expecting Iran to attack troops or ships in the region, not very likely. The other is that the United States is placing Aircraft Carriers in strategic points to strike possible multiple targets.

This gives us the exact same scenario that we had before the United States invaded Iraq, the only difference being a couple of the players. In other words, substitute Georgia for Chechnya, and Iraq for Iran, and you have a carbon copy of the previous events. I must say that in my opinion this is much too coincidental for me to believe that there is not some underlying agenda at work here. We must wonder if this was a calculated plan carried out by the United States in order to preoccupy Russia while we go and take care of Iran, or if this just fell into our lap.

One thing is certain, a country is most likely to attack enemies in their own territory rather than go after enemies attacking allies in distant lands. It does seem that the little region of Georgia would be nothing more than a gnat to Russia and can be quickly extinguished. However, NATO troops are now moving into the region and this is sure to create an even more aggravated atmosphere. Then we must consider what if Chechnya decides to flare up again. Now we would have Russia facing a fight on three fronts and in no position to help its trade partner Iran.

Sounds like a hell of a gamble and a bit reckless, but I believe that there are some in the government that see the end of President Bush’s term and they are desperate for a war with Iran. Israel and the United States are in agreement in this matter and if you go to the Jerusalem Post website you will see a banner across the page that reads “The Iranian Threat,” with a big fat picture of Ahmadinejad plastered right in the middle. This is the time when we must watch world events very closely because they are fluid and changing every day. It is almost impossible to keep up with it all but there are certain patterns that we can see. The pattern in this circumstance is being repeated, but it is my belief that there may be slightly different outcomes than before.