Quote:
Originally Posted by GeneralMao
Are you kidding me? International law? South Ossetia was and always has been Russian. Just because the Georgians grabbed it due to anti-Russian feelings with the fall of the Soviet Union doesn't mean it's theirs. Hell, the Ossetians are helping the Russian troops fight against the Georgian's. You want to talk about International law, let's talk about the fact that the Ossetians want to be under Russian control, and in that case, the truth comes out; Russia is currently liberating it's own territory.
There are no gray shades. Just the bs anti-Russian propaganda the news is constantly projecting.
-----Added 12/8/2008 at 09 : 35 : 12-----
No, it is not debatable. You can't argue logic and hard facts. Russia had peacekeepers, they were attacked, they responded justifiably. It goes beyond that too. In the last 16 years, thousands of Russians have been killed, dozens of villages have been razed, and Russia has been provoked time and time again. But of course, if people knew that, then the Russians wouldn't seem so bad, would they?
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Imagine, if you will, me rubbing my hands with glee at seeing this post.
First, South Ossetia has not "always" been Russian. It is most definitely not a historical part of Russia, which, depending on when you set the era is between 500 and 750 miles farther north. Given that Tolstoy fought in the Causasus in the 1840's, and that it wasn't annexed by the Russian Empire until 1803, calling any part of Georgia a historical part of Russia ignores, well, history. It also ignores the fact that it's the historical homeland of the Ossetians, who claim Stalin as one of their own (through his father).
The Ossetians are a distinct people who have mostly assimilated with the Georgians but have remained separate. When Stalin was in the Kremlin, he elevated several Ossetians to high posts over Georgians, and he considered their assimilation a problem. So when you say that 96% of Ossetians have Russian passports and imply that they are ethnic Russians, you really sound like a tool of the Kremlin and one that is particularly uninformed.
Let me know if you want me to give you citations for the above. Anyone willing to spend 5 minutes researching it can find all of that information easily, but I've found Montefiore and Riasanovsky quite informative. If you've got source material that differs, I'd love to see it. Otherwise, well, your posts really have nothing to do with historical facts.
General Mao, you are confusing Georgian and Chechens. The Georgians have not killed Russian troops; Chechen rebels/irregulars/terrorists/bandits have. The Ossetians have held no referendums stating that they want to be annexed by Russia. The Georgian Army has not "razed villages", Russian or otherwise. Any statements to the contrary are completely unfounded. You are right that there are no shades of gray here; Ossetia is a part of Georgia. Russia invaded it. If you want to shine bright lights on border conflicts, why don't we talk about the Russians and Chinese lobbing shells at one another across the Amur. If you have evidence to the contrary, though, let's see it. Otherwise, well, you venture close to the definition of "trolling".