Did Georgia's President Saakashvili Lied To The West?

Circled by body guards Georgia's President Mikhail Saakashvili speaks to the media as he visits the town of Gori, northwest of the capital Tbilisi, Georgia, Wednesday, Sept. 10, 2008. Russia repelled Georgia's Aug. 7 offensive against South Ossetia and sent troops and tanks deep into Georgia. Most Russian troops withdrew late last month but ringed the regions with checkpoints. (AP Photo/Shakh Aivazov)

The West Begins to Doubt Georgian Leader -- Spiegel Online

Five weeks after the war in the Caucasus the mood is shifting against Georgian President Saakashvili. Some Western intelligence reports have undermined Tbilisi's version of events, and there are now calls on both sides of the Atlantic for an independent investigation.

Hillary Clinton looks tired. It is Tuesday of last week as she sits, exhausted, in the United States Senate. Even her outfit, a beige blazer over a black T-shirt, looks washed out.

Gone is the glamour of the Democratic Convention in Denver, where the party nominated Barack Obama as its presidential candidate, and gone is the dream of her own presidential candidacy in 2008. Instead, it's back to business as usual for Clinton. The Senate Armed Service Committee is in session, discussing the conflict between Russia and its tiny neighbor, Georgia.

Clinton speaks late in the debate. Even her voice sounds tired. But politically she is still her old self, and she cuts right to the chase.

"Did we embolden the Georgians in any way" to use military force? she asks the members of the committee. Did the Bush administration really warn Moscow and Georgia sufficiently about the consequences of a war? And how could it be that the United States was so taken by surprise by this outbreak of hostilities? These questions, says Clinton, should be examined by a US commission, which should "in the first place determine the actual facts."

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My Comment: When the war broke out, I was surprised by how surprised and angry the Russians were. Their blogs and news websites were the first to report the invasion of South Ossetia and the bombing of its main city, and they did not mince any words against their own government's lack of response to the attack. Because there was already a large Russian military presence in North Ossetia, intervention happened very quickly and precise. While 1,500 people did not die .... as initially reported by the Russian Government, it is also true that the Georgian military response at the beginning was completely disproportionate to the threat that was presently there.

A full and independent investigation is necessary. This small war has set back Russian/Western relations considerably. If the reasons for this set back are justified, we must be then be very sure that we are standing on very solid ground.