Georgia Started Russian-Georgian War, Former Georgian Ambassador Says

TBILISI, Georgia — Before this summer's Georgia-Russia war, President Mikhail Saakashvili was itching to do battle and authorities mistook messages from the United States as encouragement to use force, Georgia's former ambassador to Russia said Wednesday.

But Russia also takes a share of the blame because it was trying to inflame Saakashvili's itch, Erosi Kitsmarishvili says.

His statements at a news conference added new intensity to a growing debate about what and who bear the onus for staring the five-day war that saw Russia drive deep into Georgian territory, caused devastating damage to Georgia's military, and aggravated already troubled Russia-US relations.

Georgia launched a massive artillery barrage Aug. 7 on the capital of the separatist region of South Ossetia, which was backed by Moscow and patrolled by Russian peacekeeping forces. Russian forces poured into the region, drove Georgian forces out and went on to take control of substantial swaths of northern and western Georgia.

The war ended with Russian forces firmly in control of South Ossetia and another separatist region, Abkhazia. Moscow has recognized both regions as independent.

Georgian leaders have said they launched the Aug. 7 attack after separatists shelled Georgian villages and Russian forces invaded from the north. Russia denies that, saying it sent troops to protect civilians and Russian peacekeepers from the Georgian onslaught.

Interior Minister Vano Merabishvili, in Wednesday testimony to a parliamentary commission investigating the war, presented what he said were telephone recordings supporting the Georgian authorities _ one in which men said to be South Ossetian border guards say Russian forces had crossed the border the night before the barrage and another purporting to show the South Ossetian interior minister receiving an order to raze a village under Georgian control.

But according to Kistmarishvili, "Saakashvili wanted that war, he has been bracing for that during the last four years. And Russia was eager to exploit it, pushing him to that using all means."

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In the early postwar period, Georgian public opinion was strongly behind Saakashvili and a large majority believed Georgia had reacted to Russian aggression in launching the attack on South Ossetia.

In recent weeks, opposition politicians have been increasingly critical of the president and the war, but Kitsmarishvili appears to be the most highly placed official of the prewar period to publicly challenge Saakashvili on the conflict.

The former diplomat said Georgian officials had hoped to regain South Ossetia within hours, and did not expect Moscow to intervene.

He said Georgian officials believed the United States backed the idea of sending Georgian troops to reclaim Abkhazia and South Ossetia, which have been de-facto independent and patrolled by Russian peacekeepers since the early 1990s.

Kitsmarishvili said Georgian officials told him President George W. Bush gave his blessing for such a use of force when he met the Georgian president in Washington in March.

"Saakashvili's entourage has tried to form an opinion that the U.S. administration would support the use of force," Kitsmarishvili said. "In reality, it was not like that."

Georgian officials also perceived a July 9-10 visit by U.S. Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice as encouragement for the plan, Kitsmarishvili said. He said people in Saakashvili's circle told him that Rice "gave the green light."

Rice has denied that Washington encouraged Georgia to use force on the provinces. The U.S. Embassy reiterated that line on Wednesday.

Kitsmarishvili made similar allegations to a Georgian parliamentary panel Tuesday, angering pro-government lawmakers who accused him of siding with Moscow and called for a criminal investigation against him. Some pro-government lawmakers accused him of lying in order to deflect attention from his alleged ineffectualness as ambassador.

Georgia recalled Kitsmarishvili from the Georgian Embassy on July 10, about a month before the war broke out. In the intervening weeks, he met in Georgia with an array of Western and Russian politicians and diplomats.

The countries have since severed diplomatic ties.

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Associated Press Writer Misha Dzhindzhikhashvili contributed to this report.

Comments

[Marmann]

Of course, Georgia started it. Anyone who was paying attention knows that.

The news media presented the events chronologically as they happened, clearly showing that Georgia (with our help) started this, but when the media "analyzed" the event, they completely turned it around and reported that Russia started it.

At the time, I thought (and still think) that this was going to be "McCain's War," remembering the day he declared us to ALL be Georgians.

I can (so far) take reporting of news events, but I refuse to ever listen to their analysis of those events again.

Bush has destroyed every single good thing that has occurred in recent history. Russia wasn't bothering us, but when the USA wound up with an unstable, trigger happy "leader" that invades and occupies countries that have not harmed us, all trust and respect for the USA disappeared over time, and rightly so.

I believe Bush is looking for a reason to nuke someone before he leaves office. If his "poking" doesn't accomplish this, then God only knows what his Plan B is, but I fear it is coming soon.

[hapiguy]

CHENEY, Darth Vader spells war...the puppets go along,,and we end up in a disaster not seen since 1929,
Impossible to understand the motive, , or mentality of these horrible people.

[timberdoodle]

Why is this just coming out now? Everyone outside the U.S. was aware of these facts but when you tried to post this on the CNN blog they wouldn't print it. That is the same as they did when they were cheerleaders for the invasion of Iraq.

[lvdragonlady]

Sounds like shrubie and JM thought if this became a 'real' issue that "once again" Americans would vote for the war party(GOP) instead of the party for change.

Guess what guys, 66M+ did not buy it this time around.........

[pbley68]

So far Obama has 68,205,925 votes, nearly nine million more votes than McCain.

[BethStuart]

I think it's important to remember that Randy Scheunemann was McCain's foreign policy advisor and a long-time lobbyist for Georgia. Here is the link:

http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2008/08/12/AR2008081202932.html

[ProudNeoCon]

This is the most distorted translation of the guys comments I can think about. He gave his interview in Russian. After reading it, I found that he said very different things. He said that Georgia was preparing for war in Ossetia and Obhazia as early as a spring 2008 IF IT BECAME NEEDED. He aslo said that Russia was preparing for the same war during the summer. He also said that Russia was working to induce Georgia into attacking.

[Janus]

Ah'll be doggone if you ain't raht., Proud, 'cuz ah heered thet on Fox , an' bet chu did, too.

Ah reckon thet guy was put up to lyin' by them libruls. Me and you gotta lissen to Fox and Rush tuh git the truth. Yessirreee.

[ProudNeoCon]

I speak several languages, including Russian.. So unlike most of the people on this board I can go to the source, rather than rely on some stuff writer at AP to "explain" it...

[darthdarcy]

Bush and Rice and Cheney just have to keep poking at the Russian Bear they blew an alliance Putin wanted to form against radical Islam as Brzezinski reveal and then quit the ABM treaty upon which Russia based it's National Security, Clinton broke the promise Bush 41 made not to expand NATO and we pumped up this little jerk Saakasvili to the point that he believed he'd have the backing of the U.S. in a war with Russia for God's sake...

It is pure insanity...

Read Dr. Stephen Cohen on Russia he's the expert, not Condi Rice a Roni...who was shooting her mouth off today about Russia and expanding NATO and Georgia and the Ukraine..just remember Russia has 5,500 nuclear weapons, 64,000 top of the line battle tanks and 36,000,000 able bodied men who have already served compulsory service and received training along with nuclear subs with ten warheads per missile MRV'd in their silos on board...

http://www.thirdworldtraveler.com/Russia/New_Cold_War_Russia.html

[Pupster]

I like Stephen Cohen. He is always illuminating when he goes on Charlie Rose.

[Big0725]

Apparently the Shrub thinks we HAVEN'T caught on to this crap yet.

[BobsNotWorking]

Has there ever been any doubt? The whole thing was a plan ginned up by Bush and McCain in an attempt to distract Americans and to get John McCain elected. Fortunately, the majority of American voters aren't the fools they take us to be.

[pbley68]

A friend of John McCain, lying Saakash*t.

[mollysgran]

It was planned and timed to hopefully give McCain some positive "action" on the campaign trail.

Friends of mine who have family members in South Ossetia were sending messages saying that the Russians came in to HELP them.

Rachael Maddow was the only person in the news-o-phere that was getting it right.

[Moshe]

He's only saying that because it's true.

Of course Georgia provoked this. That was well known outside of the U.S. MSM bubble.

It was yet more mischief from the Bush/Cheney chicken hawks who would like nothing more than to restart the Cold War with Russia.

They have been lost since the fall of the Berlin Wall, and scared to death that the war in Iraq (and the blank checks coming from it) would end, so they were trying to kick up some future MIC job security by provoking Russia through Georgia.

But since this didn't work, they just decided to loot the U.S. treasury directly instead calling it a "bail-out."

The final days of the Bush Administration look a lot like the orgy of looting that occured after the fall of Baghdad, with government officials and everyone else that could get in the mob running off with everything that wasn't nailed down too firmly to carry off.

Were about to the place now where anything we do would be shutting the barn doors after all the horses are already gone.

But if there is an honest history, these people will be remembered as traitors and thieves.

We can all re-read those words again and again I guess, as we try to keep ourselves and our families from starving to death or freezing to death in the aftermath of the "bailout" looting our futures.

[NotMcCain]

Well, duh.

Bush administration officials met with Saakashvili just a few days before GEORGIA invaded Russian ally, South Ossetia.

It was -obvious- that Georgia was the initial aggressor. Even though the MSM chose to repeat the anti-Russia U.S. political spin over, and over.

[Justtellthetruth]

Saakishvili is a war criminal. He bombed and killed thousands of defenseless civilians who posed absolutely no threat whatsoever at all.

[babymonster]

Bush made hints that something was going to happen in Georgia right before the invasion.