Putin accuses U.S. of orchestrating Georgian war
Russian Prime Minister Vladimir Putin has accused the United States of orchestrating the conflict in Georgia to benefit one of its presidential election candidates.
In an exclusive interview with CNN's Matthew Chance in the Black Sea city of Sochi Thursday, Putin said the U.S. had encouraged Georgia to attack the autonomous region of South Ossetia.
Putin told CNN his defense officials had told him it was done to benefit a presidential candidate - Republican John McCain and Democrat Barack Obama are competing to succeed George W. Bush - although he presented no evidence to back it up.
"U.S. citizens were indeed in the area in conflict," Putin said. "They were acting in implementing those orders doing as they were ordered, and the only one who can give such orders is their leader."
White House spokeswoman Dana Perino blasted Putin's statements, saying they were "patently false."
"To suggest that the United States orchestrated this on behalf of a political candidate just sounds not rational," she said.
U.S. State Department deputy spokesman Robert Wood concurred, and labeled Putin's statements as "ludicrous."
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Filed under: Global 360° |
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Putin is wrong but it was McCain who said "on behalf of all Americans" that "we are all Georgians" so, technically, if all Americans are Georgians, then indeed, the Americans attacked S.Osetia, No?? His pools are up, his Georgian sponsors are happy and Saakashvili, who was the one who actually started it, is kind of a hero, the champion of Information Olympics
Russia came to aid Russian citizens attacked by Georgia in an independent area. Putin is telling the truth, but we are being propagandized like we were about Iraq. Wake up America before we let the Republican party with John McCain start World War IV (to win the office of Presidency) before we finish the Bush War.
To Tatiana:
Half of Americans – if not more than that – do not know even where Georgia is on the map let alone analyzing geopolitical issues of Eastern Europe. 90% of Americans have absolutely no clue of the history of that region – the only thing that they know is "Cold War" and beyond saying the words can not even tell you anything more about it. Having said that, I would love to know how do you compare Cuba – a communist/totalitarian regime – with Georgia a democratic country with a President and a Parliament elected by democratic procedures. Yes, MUM...
I come from an Eastern European country and would not mind having NATO misiles in any democratic country like Poland or the Ukraine! To the contrary, I would never want to see missiles in the hands of any communist/totalitarian regime – in the hands of tyrrants like Fidel Castro and the likes.
Please hit some history books before commenting in political forums so you can learn the difference between the Cuban/Venezouelan regimes and the "democratic" governements/countries in Russia's backyard! Perhaps and only then, you may be able to stop comparing apples and oranges!
I know, it is too difficult for somebody who has absolutely no clue of Eastern European history and the role that Russia palyed in it to comprehend that the Russians have never really digested the fact that Communism and the Soviet Union are dead! Eastern Europe/the Baltics are free from Russian rule and will remain so despite Mr. Putin's "tirades" and "theatrical rhetoric".
who was the republican that said a war would be good for the republicans.. mccain? charlie black.
mr puttin needs to keep talking. someone needs to investigate the ties between mccain /lobbyist / advisor randy scheunemann who is both a paid lobbyist for georgia and mccain foreign advisor.
someone needs to run this story into the ground until all loose ends are tied – to mccain
I do think you are all bloggers here do not care a bit about the real situation in this matter. How you can judge about Russia`s reaction to Georgia`s agression if you don`t know and don`t try to get known about the history of the conflict!? You`ll never see the video of how Georgia bombing Tshinvali because western media never broadcast it. Your journalists/statesmen are affraid of being fired and it`s easier not to see the truth. Your American`s brains are still obsessed about Russia`s empior but Russia is not the Soviet Union now, and many Americans that work and live in Moscow know it clearly. You can trust that Russia don`t want any other territory in the world, we have enough. But if anybody tries to conquer us, so that country will fail. Just look at the history – the French (1812 y.), the Germans (1941-1945), and so on, they all tried to conquer Russia but were defeated.
Our all goal (for ordinary people) not to elect Presidents which are so silly and greedy that push their nations in war.
Sounds like Tricky Dick Cheney and his Goons are at it again ....
Those crooks in the white house , and their Neo-Con Cohorts, Will go to any and all lengths to continue to occupy the white house.
Wonder Why Cindy McBush went to Georgia ? Wonder why Dick Cheney , will go also next week ? Remember , the president of Georgia, Shvengahli said he was in constant contact with John McBush , in the weeks prior to the so called invasion of Georgia by Russia ?
I wrote a comment about a week ago , suspecting that something smelled Fishy.... That Cheney , and the reat of his gang of crooks should be locked up .
Chicken Hawks are just like school yard Bullies..., they always use their underlings who blindly follow the Pack , AND ARE USUALLY COWARDS... They use FEAR , and IGNORANCE to get their way.
Yeah, yeah. And 911 was an inside job. It was the US who poisoned that former spy, imprisoned, murdered and placed under house arrest all of Putin's political adversaries. It was the CIA who went on a streak of throwing Russian journalists off roofs and made Putin declare himself Prime Minister when his Presidential term was up. Yep we wanted Russia to become a dictatorship just so McCain might have a chance to look like a stronger Commander in Chief. What a joke!!!
Thanks, Mr. Bush, for trashing another building block to world peace. Go back to the ranch.
Looks like McCain is a devil. Sound funny, but truly.
Anyway, why so many amercians hate Putin and russians? I Can't get it. What a discussion about "communistic and Soviet state"? It is the XXI century nowadays, and we all know that communism is a fantasy, that could not be maked in frame of one country, besides, the power makes people do terrible things (example, Iosiph Stalin, Garry Trueman, Adolf Hitler), but let's be a realist: I don't think russians trying to put down all the world and U.S. It's clear that the "political monopoly" of USA is over. Russia is much stronger than twenty years ago. The quicker we understand it, the less confrontations will take part.
Sometimes the very things that sound absurd and seem ridiculous in one period end up forming the scandalous basis of previously hidden truths in another generation. It is not a completely untenable proposition. As unlikely as two world leaders who happened to be in Beijing at the same time. Food for thought – tho probably not poultry.
I lived "behind iron curtains"and know what russian propaganda is. I thought it's better on this side. How naive was I !! I'm lucky to be able to read news from the other side also, and after i divide everything on 17 (approximately) i get something close to thruth. But what surprises me, that i can find opposite opinions on russian sites, but US media is absolutely onesided. FOX news gave all of us to think about something when they shuted up Ossetian girs and her aunt, but looks like it went unnoticed. Sure, kind of inconvenient to admit that we are not always right. When i read words of hate in comments.... really, guys, go clean your backyard and try to be objective. Do you want Russian missiles on Cuba or Venesuella? I don't. They don't want us by they borders either.
I agree with Cindy !
Russia can make all the excuses they want. Georgia is NOT Russia . The Georgian Government has many other nationals in their country as well as the United States, before , during ,and after initiatory force was authorized by the Russian government ...
Russia is still in violation of International Law ... Withdraw at once or face more of the same wrath.
Threats of a nuclear nature by Russia will not work. And is not the answer. Russia, and the rest of the world should sit down over the issues of peace and proper international security while tackling global warming issues cause by " international pollution " . War causing pollution.
2all people of the world: Make peace – not war!
Yea the boogie man is coming, the same old story from the republicans, and they say “I can save you from the boogie man, just vote for me” WMD, and 911 all happen on the republicans watch. Just like Katrina, high oil prices and lost of American jobs. Vote for me an I’ll set you free, rap on brother, rap on!!!!!!!
I am deeply concerned that Bush has committed another aggressive and potentially deadly foreign policy blunder that may re-ignite the cold war or worse. I refer to the seemingly recent rise of tension in the mid-east and between Russia and America. There is a history there that started playing out when Bush announced his plans to reinstitute Star Wars.
Bush lied us into war with Iraq. He failed to disclose his real purpose which was gaining control of mid-eastern oil. And now he is risking the peace and stability of the entire world by taunting Russia with a missile defense ring based at Russia's throat, (Remember how America reacted when Russia put missiles in Cuba?)
He then exacerbated the situation by inviting Georgia to join NATO on the condition that Georgia, "clean up its borders" with South Ossetia and then arming and training them, which culminated in Georgia invading Ossetia and killing Russian citizens and Russian peace keepers, which was enough provocation for Russia to retaliate and to threaten to aim nuclear missiles at Europe. Certainly more provocation than we had for invading Iraq.
I believe the knee jerk reaction of the media and mainstream America to automatically blame Russia regarding the current events in Georgia are a prelude to an even bigger mistake, and the consequences are far worse. That was made clear to me when John McCain made the Kennedyesque statement that,"we were all Georgians".
I don't think its about the election's outcome per se as Putin believes, but I do believe Bush has provoked the current situation and that his primary motive is gaining control over the oil that will eventually flow trough Georgia to western markets. Which is the same ulterior motive for invading Iraq.
Mccain is going to get us in a major war if elected he has already he has signaled a draft proposal so our sons and daughter will keep on dying on someone else soil enough is enough
Hmm. About Matthew Chance. I think he makes an ordered interview for USA. From all information of Putin's interview CNN have captured only 15% and this information was changed, so all of that info is a Matthew's info. This is a very strange for this correspondent.
I can't see any words about history of conflicts between Georgia and Ossetia (these conflicts have a long time from 1700 years). I can't see here an information about first time of conflict in Ossetia (it was 07/08/2008, NOT 08/08/2008). And what a hell Matthew have wrote about McCain and Obama??? Putin didn't say about them. They names wasn't in that interview, only abstract "candidates". And what about 19 companies and about arsenic. If you are clever people, you will see, that Putin said, that these companies have take a notifications about contents of their products. Managers of these companies pledged to solve the problem (it was on TV), but they have ignored notifications. So, they have a year to solve problems, but suddenly, their ambitions had advantage. USA is not a main supplier of these products, may be only ~0,5% of all supplies, so many companies of many different countries now in black list (Cuba, Nigeria, USA, some Spain companies, e.t.c.). This is a normal practice. And I think these companies never tell the truth, because this is a bussiness (just remember Enron and their "truth" about company status and you understand me).
As long as we refuse to force the issue and bring justice to bear, the Republicans will be able to continue to commit crimes of this staggering magnitude while maintaining a stranglehold on our government writing tax policy to line their pockets. Women and children died in this conflict and thousands more were displaced.
It might seem far-fetched to some that the Republicans would engineer this conflict for political gain, but we are fairly certain now, that they started a 7-year war based on lies. Looking at it from this perspective, it doesn't sound far-fetched at all. In fact, since they haven't been held accountable for this first atrocity, it stands to reason that they would continue to commit crimes against the world.
It's truely sad, but since Putin became president he's been slowly leading Russia back into a cold war mentality. Under his control (and make no mistake about it, he is still the one in control) it is only a matter of time before we see a rebirth of an agressive Soviet type controlled state. I guess you can't change an old KGB dog's spots after all.
while i have no doubt that the russians really don't like us, i don't put it past this administration to creat a crisis to peddle their campaign of smear and fear. it's possible.
I was going to say that Putin was an idiot charging the US with that but then I remembered who is still in the White House.
The food problem really concerns me – who is investigating this? Are Americans getting these same unsafe products? What is the FDA going to do about this?
Annie Kate
Birmingham AL
quite funny how a couple of months ago a Mccain aide said Mcccain needed some kind of conflict and now georgia and by all accounts crossed in south ossetia first so how is it that our media on talks a bout how the russian responded the media is taking talking points from the bush adm.I believe putin he know as much as we do this would not lead to war this is just a flair up people open your eyes
Oh geez... That's just ridiculous! Are you all even going to start using your own analytic abilities? Can you read between the lines? Yeah, Russia is to blame for everything, why not? 😀
That's the worst presidential campaign I've seen. Don't make yourself look hilarious, oh boy. They never liked Putin LOL. Who did? Is he YOUR president? Look at yours... no wait, look at your candidates, remember Iraq. Is THAT too civilized to stick your nose in their business and try to teach them asians how to do THEIR business?
Learn how to do yours, folks. Think hard about your downhill economy that's Mr. Senior is going to flush down the drain, your gas prices, your children that shoot each other at schools, your CULTURE. Your educational level. Gee, I've never seen at least ONE single person that couldn't READ in Russia. Unlike the US! This is amazing!
One thing I was wondering about. Why the hell would Russians agree to cooperate with NATO, which was meant to be an anti-Russian coalition? Come on, start making at least some sense already.
I don't know if Mr. Cooper reads this blog at all *besides writing it*, but I hope that a person with your mentality and sense of TRUTH is not what you sometimes try to sound due to your job. Let's stop taking sides and start making the conclusions of our own, based on Facts, not propaganda.
Respectfully,
Helen
P.S. I don't like Putin much, but compared to some folks he's just a baby.
A few months ago McCain aid Charlie Black suggested that an attack on American soil would help McCain's candidacy, and shortly after that, Joe Lieberman stated that a conflict or war would help McCain win. Add to that the fact that McCain's top foreign policy advisor is a lobbyist for the country of Georgia. Isn't anyone bothered that one of our presidential candidates has a guy on his team who is a lobbyist for a foreign country? Anyway, the fact is that Georgia made the first strike and Russia hit back hard and kept it up. Bad guys for sure, but. McCain immediately came down against Russia and made the whole incident his own, you'd have thought he was the president the way he reacted, calling us all Georgians and preaching policy. The whole idea just isn't that far fetched.
Ironically, it is Putin who called for NATO to dissolve a year ago… A year later, he invades a democratic sovereign country and then accuses the United States Government for instigating the conflict in Georgia. Below is an article from a year ago when he told the West to drop its “silly Atlantic solidarity”… Of course, his rhetoric fell in deaf ears back then – now, he is trying to do exactly this – to bring friction and mistrust among NATO members – mainly mistrust against the USA. He thinks that his “conspiracy theories” will eventually divide NATO and for that matter Europe itself….
“Drop your silly Atlantic solidarity and support us”, Putin tells West
Times Online, UK
September 15, 2007
Nothing is unbelievable anymore.. why is it so hard to believe the Putin? Georgia started the conflict and MCcain.. surpise was eager to challenge Russia.. GOP will attempt to cling to power anyway including deceit and semi amoral acts and they may get away with it.. BUT there is a GOD on this earth and IF I am correct, we shall see the difference in November..
“Emperor Putin” must be an idiot if he believes that the world is paying any attention to his KGB-style “conspiracy theories”. We do not believe his statements, by which he is accusing the United States for “instigating” the Georgian conflict, as mush as we do not believe that Medvedev is really in charge of Russia! It is obvious that Putin is calling the shots – Medvedev is nothing more than Putin’s little puppet!
Medvedev and the Russian people better take notice that Putin is playing “Russian Roulette” with the West at the moment…..He is attempting to devide NATO by trying to convince some of its members that the US is behind the Georgian conflict. He can try really hard but he will fail…And, if he thinks that he can win a possible war with NATO he is a lunatic, indeed.
Putin is trying to bring back the communist party. He said the worst thin to happen in the twentieth century was allowing the Communists satellite countiries their freedom. There is going to be some confrontations with Russia in the future. If Barack Hussein Obama is president, he will do as bad as Jimmy Carter did in 1979 allowing a Terrorists to Take over Iran not supporting the Shah. That is why the middle east is so volitale. Thank you Jimmy Carter!!!
Putin is blaming the U.S?Oh tell him to shove a cork in it,its the Russian governments fault.No ones elses.How would that have worked?The Americans told Russia to invade Georgia?No,it didnt work like that.He should just keep his mouth shut.
Sounds like the old Soviet Union propaganda machine.
Susan
Phoenixville,PA
I am amazed. And after this year's political campaign madness that's saying a lot. Anyone buying into Putin's irrational accusations against America must be doing it for attention. Or, they miss Bond fighting the Red Menace movies? Putin is trying to be significant. It's up to World leaders to politely show him the error of his ways via diplomatic channels.
This is very serious matter. Media did not do enough during Iraq war. I hope they investigate administration involvement in this war. If McCain campaign has anything to do with this war then I must say "a war loving president does not mean secure America and neither does it mean foreign policy experience". There is a fundamental problem – "bring them on" is not a diplomacy. It is being naive and arrogant.
Both of Gorbachev's editorials, first in the Washington Post and then in the NYTimes, came to the same conclusion. Each included miles of comments which overwhelmingly agreed with the Nobel Peace Prize winner. When the books are written, and they will be, the truth will come out, as it has in Iraq. Forgeries, lies, briberies, more lies.
Barack Obama was in Hawaii, GWBush at the Olympics.Back in the USA, looking presidential, complete with the theme from Rocky, was John McCain. Of course, he couldn't run up the steps in Philadelphia, so they had the Not so Straight After All Bus rumble in to the Rocky theme in York ,Pennsylvania. It all sort of flopped, what with the Wikipedia speech, and "We are all Georgians".
Tell me this. If they are such great allies, why didnt they mention they were going to start aerial bombing the South Ossetians? In the middle of the night. You know, opening night of the Olympics.
Oh, it happened. You know how I know? This is THE PLAN. The plan that keeps popping up. Iraq. Iran. The Cheney/Bush plan. Let's paint the planes and bomb them and say they started it, and then we can go in.
This is THE PLAN. US troops pretend to be Georgians(I guess we all really ARE Georgians) attack South Ossetia. Russia retaliates. McCain says Vote for me I can protect you during a war. My mother in New Hampshire who loves Obama is wavering. She thinks that if there's a war, maybe she should vote for McCain. I tell her he started the war. So he could look presidential.
But I guess that's what American presidents do. They start wars.
I'm worried about what will happen when the rest of the world gets sick of the US.
Did somebody say "pipeline"?
In this russain /gerorgia war Matthew Chance did a verry good job,sometimes situation was verry dangeros,all my respect,and now this exlusive interview with putin.a verry good journalist.never shows his own mind in this war,just telling the facts.
Google for "Randy Scheunemann". He is McCain's political advisor and a paid lobbyist for Republic of Georgia. He owns "Orion Strategies" that continues to represent Georgian interests in D.C.
What's in our poultry? I hope this gets the attention it deserves. Please, please, please look into this and have some info on the nightly news! I want the names of these companies. I believe 100% that they are unsafe, it just took us making him mad to get the cat out of the bag!
What Putin is saying now is exactly what I thought of when I heard Georgia was the initial aggressor in this conflict.
He very well could be speaking the truth, you can not trust our current administration after the lies they told just to get support for the invasion of Iraq.
Stranger things have happened – remember weapons of mass destruction.
How dare Putin insinuate that the Republicans would start a war for political advantage!
It's time to respect Russia. Putin has showed that Russians wouldn't be on the knees, so the U.S. is bewared.
And also... why the humanitarian aid dropped off from battleships? There's about two decades of drednauts with ballistic missles. Looks like provocation.
I am not the least bit surprised and will not put this beyond this U.S. government!
This reminds me of Putin thought Pres Bush had Dan Rather fired for the report he did on him during the last election, and Bush had to tell him that that is not how things work in our country. Putin is out of his mind,crazy and stupid. You can take Putin out of the KGB but you cant take the paranoid nutty KGB out of Putin.
Funny thing is, wasn't it Putin's tanks that made the news? I didn't see any US armor in the country and rolling through the cities. Frankly, he doesn't want a NATO country there or the missile defense system. He does want a deep, warm water port and a "bumper" region along his border. He's probably thinking on it now..."ah, the good ole KGB days".
I think ,everything is possible from Bush. He is so full of lies...He will do everything he can to place McSame at the wh
I've never liked Putin ever since he took office, he'll always be an Ex-KGB Officer first an foremost a Man For Peace Second, I thought for a minute maybe we did tell the Georgian's to go invade S.Ossetia to drum up support for McCain who will never change his view on Russia ever, hes to hard line but the scare tactic may have brought over a few voters. Georgina's can run here own contry's affairs but they should have known btr then to to attack S.Ossetia, their 15,000,20,000 Troops and 70 T-72 Tanks versus Two Fully Mechanized Russian Brigade's was never any match.
I also love how Russia is getting no support from the ACO, EU or any Country for what they did. An they should leave the Port of Poti NOW, theres no reason for them to be there aside from looting Georgian Civilian goods, a Russian Gen. or Adm. said it was 'DEVILISH" for the US to drop off humanitarian aid, I.E. Food,Med,Tents,Water,Blankets only Soviets thinks its Devilish helping people. Personally I welcome the UKRAINE into NATO, Georgia can wait another year, but one last thing that pissed me off was how Russia said the Deployment Of 10 Interceptor Missle SIlos in Poland was a Threat to Russian Secruity, Russia you still have 100's if not 1,000's of Nuclear Missles each with 3-10 Real & Fake WarHeads, how are 10 Interceptors that work 65% of the time going to stop that? Their just blowing Hot Air Nothing Else & Trying to Show the World there Still IN The Game, when they cant even subdue a province like Cheney.
There was a time when I, too, would label accusations that the Bush administration subverted U.S. institutions for political gain as ludicrous. No longer.
Russian Prime Minister Putin would have the world believe the invasion of Georgia never happened! Hey, it must be the Wests fault! Surely, that evil President Bush or John McCain must be behind it! Reminds me of the fellow who was caught in bed with his lover by his wife. He simply got up, got dressed, and went about his business as though nothing had happened. Well, that's fine if the wife believes it, but most don't buy it. See you in the World Court of Opinion Mr. Putin! We'll see if the rest of the world buys that bill of goods you're selling. I don't think so! There's a price to pay Mr. Putin!
What if it is true that campaign thought of gaining ground and miscalculated Russian response? This is will be grave mi-judgement made by McCain even before he became president.
I don't put it past our government having some involvement – afterall this girl and Aunt interviewed on Fox blamed Georgia for the war trying to describe what happened only to be cut off because it doesn't jive with what the media and our governemnt has been saying. I'm actually more concerned about this tidbit in the article:
"Also Thursday Putin announced economic measures which he said were unrelated to the fighting with Georgia. Nineteen U.S. poultry meat companies would be banned from exporting their products to Russia because they had failed health and safety tests, and 29 other companies had been warned to improve their standards or face the same ban, Putin said.
Putin said Russia's health and agricultural ministries had randomly tested the poultry products and found them to be full of antibiotics and arsenic."
Seriously – what is in our food?!
Putin will say anything to take the blame off of where it really belongs....on the Russian government who wants to matter once again.
Cindy...Ga.