Be afraid, be very afraid. If you think this cannot happen here, you are delusional.

Yikes. Well, at least we'll have heads-up that we're gonna buy it.

ps61318

Stalin was a Georgian so was Beria. . .perhaps this is Russia's pay back for all those Gulags they created.

Doc Benway

In Russia, internet surfs you!

bpapa9013

@yoshi: Of course they are, the most valuable asset of any army are actual war trained soldiers.

ara

We cannot allow there to be a Georgia invasion gap!

Quick, someone start shelling Atlanta!

bpapa9013

@Noobs-R-Us:

You bet. Russia is testing their military capabilities at the expense of human life.

yoshi

so avoid the country code .ge then?

B1663R

Bush is now cowarding in the basement. Where's his tough talk now?

Putin is now testing their military capability. This is what they plan to do during all military conflicts. It's too bad we need their oil. We're helping them by giving them oil money.

I for one, would like to see oil back down to $20 and Putin out of power.

Noobs-R-Us

If the U.S. and NATO countries had any balls they would blockade Russia. Let's see them fight a war without oil money! In the meantime, cut off internet for them so that they can only operate within their own country. Let's see how long they last without Google. LOL.

Noobs-R-Us

no qualms that is...

Noobs-R-Us

@yoshi: I don't know why there's so much China bash here at the Giz by posters when Russia is more of a threat to world security. You've now seen first hand how all that attention should have been focused on Putin. They have quams about killing.

Noobs-R-Us

@yoshi: Wouldn't that then qualify it as more than a test?

frigg

So when Giz goes offline, does that mean Giz Island is about to be invaded?

frigg

Georgian president Alec Baldwin?

Kohono

Why is Russia so dead set on destabilizing the world? Are they that bitter that the transition to democracy wasn't an overnight success? I guess this is what you get when you let your intelligence agencies run your country unchecked.

adocious

The Russians practiced a tactical hack against Estonia a little while ago... [it.slashdot.org]

This appears to be the practical application.

@Noobs-R-Us: How exactly do you blockade a country with nuclear weapons, nuclear power, darn near unlimited natural resources, and multiple overland routes (like say with China, also known for their strong support of human rights) to the stuff they want? If NATO had balls we'd offer Georgia immediate membership in NATO, and put the immediate consequence on the table of the Russians getting to test their tanks against Apache pilots who've spent the better part of their adult lives practicing ways to kill Soviet armour, and German Leopard commandeers who's grandfathers died at Stalingrad. Of course we wouldn't sell that wolf ticket because Putin, not being stupid, would call call the bluff knowing the ridiculously high probability that the hippies of the western world would immediately object, explain how this was somehow our fault, and prevent any action from taking place.

junyo

And Russia isn't a democracy. It's a fake democracy still being ruled by dictators and a ruling class.

Lupison

Russian leaders have rarely cared about the life of serfs. In fact I can't think of one Russian leader who has ever seen a serf's life as anything but disposable.

Lupison

@adocious: "Why is Russia so dead set on destabilizing the world? Are they that bitter that the transition to democracy wasn't an overnight success?"

Why are we? What are we bitter about?

"I guess this is what you get when you let your intelligence agencies run your country unchecked."

Let that be a lesson to us all.

Killjoy

@junyo: The blockade would work because almost ALL of the intellectual property in the world belongs to the Western developed nations. Two weeks after the Oligarchs in Russia including Putin's bitch can't get their Louis Vuitton bags and Gucci shoes, they'll capitulate. China doesn't NOT want any of this either. They never like to get into between fights. Since most of their factories are producing products for the Western nations, they will have to comply with the developing countries wish of NOT exporting their goods into Russia. The blockade will also have to include the immediate expulsion of all Russian nationals and freeze on visas. The message should be clear, if Russians think they have such a great nation, they're should wallow in it.

Noobs-R-Us

@chebyrashka: How do you figure? I thought thia thing started with a province of Georgia that wanted to break-away to Russia? I would also assume that this province has been part of Georgia since the fall of the USSR.

If so, then there is no difference if a state here in the U.S. wanted to break-away. Will not happen, according to events app. 125 years ago.

IF Russian claims about "ethnic cleansing" going on in this province are true (and Georgia claims the same in reverse), then Russia was a good guy for liberating the province. But then they screwed up by entering Geogia proper. They should have stayed in the province, fortified the hell out of it, and then flashed the world with evidence of Georgian crimes in that region. But no, they are now *in* Georgia, which no one (except Russians craving the ole' glory days of the USSR) disputes is a soverign state!

hypereric

i thought the whole thing started when South Ossetia wants to claim independence and Georgian misread that the US would back them up in this. it is ironic though, because Georgian broke away from the Soviet Union and now a part of it wanted to break from itself. sad, but human nature is at it's best...

sega8800

@chebyrashka:

Russia is the bad guys in this case. Your wrong.

Back on topic, would America do something like this?

vasha

Just because Russia is involved in this doesn't make them the bad guy. Georgia brought this on themselves, I'd be more than happy to see Russia get to Tblisi and hang the president. He's a criminal.

chebyrashka

Well, according to CNN, the Russians are now in Georgia proper. So, is NATO going to get legalistic and say "well, they are not a member *yet*, they have only applied for membership" or is NATO going to mobilize as is their guarantee for member states?

Either way, this is going to get very ugly(-er). One way, NATO takes a possible mortal blow by not doing anything and the Georgians take it up the @ss, the other is a risk of war with Russia if Russia doesn't capitulate and remove themselves from Georgia proper (and the Georgians take it up the @ss in the event of war between NATO and Russia).

This isn't pretty at all, people.

hypereric

Just because Russia is involved doesn't make them the bad guys in this. Georgia brought this on themselves, I'd gladly see Russia in Tblisi and hang their president, he's a criminal.

chebyrashka

It should go down like the hunt for red October, except reversed, and with nukes at the end.

roflwaffles

hmm. i disagree wtih you peoples. who knows whether blockades or "total war" is upon anyone. all i know is that russia's bullying someone and the rest of the world is busy pretending to have fun in beijing. keep gucci bags and stalingrad veterans grandkids out of the equation. lacklustre history gives you little until you know exactly what happens. and unless you want to join the army, get ready to get old and buy a book to fully understand it in like 20 years.

-dedalus a history major and a crucial hater. :)

dedalus987

This is more like the case of North Ireland. The question comes down to, does Ireland own all of Ireland or do the Protestant occupied parts of the North belong to England?

Same in Georgia. Does all of these break away provinces of Georgia belong to Georgia even though the citizens of those provinces want to unify back into Russia?

So yea, it's not so black or white. If you view it in terms of a Russian, yes, you're protecting people who want to become part of you. If you take the view of Georgians, yes, no one must be allowed to leave for unity sake.

So who's right?

Noobs-R-Us

@bpapa9013: Ha!

@frigg: Yup! Then the ninjas will be sent in to take out any rear echelon assets, while the pirates make amphibious landings along the coast.

Monkey deployment is optional.

CmdrHunt

Well the U.S. has had flimsier cases than this in terms of justifying running into a country and doing what we want. Overall I feel bad for the Georgians since I could see why they would have thought the U.S. would come to their aid but overall pretty dumb to attack a breakaway portion of your country on civilians who have Russian citizenship and not expect that kind of response.

chebyrashka

The Russians are playing chess. And right now, they seem to have us in 'check'.

If we stay out, we'll get blamed for not helping. If we do, we run the risk of full-scale nuclear war. What were staring at here, could be compared with the Cuban Missile Crisis. But this time, Putin knowingly stepped over the line. And he's just itching to press the button, this time.

Russia should have their UN veto power stripped away, or Russia should be kicked out of the UN, altogether. If they annex Georgia's capitol.

This is why I miss ol' Ronnie (Reagan)

Diskoboy

@chebyrashka: Ummm... I don't know if you aware of a few things and just purposefully leaving them out, or you are not simply aware of them.

In 92' Georgia and Russia signed a treaty to allow Russian "peace"-keepers in South Ossetia. South Ossetia wants to re-unify with North, which is Russian. So far, so good.

Russia had already indirectly violated the treaty as their "peace"-keepers were unable to keep anything peaceful. The seperatists in South Ossetia were doing cross border raids and artilley strikes against Georgia proper. Whether these seperatists were acting via incompetence of Russian "peace"-keepers, or in collusion with them, is an unknown. Regardless, the Russians were not doing their job as stated in the treaty.

So, Georgia did their own strike backs and whatnot. And this last time, they threw down the hammer with a large strike.

So here comes the Motherland (Russia) and instead of just invading and remaining in South Ossetia, they went ahead and broke the treaty completely by invading Georgia.

Now, with Russia's & the USSR's stellar record of abiding by treaties they sign (/massive OD of sarcasm), I'm leaning towards Georgia's statement that the Russian "peace"-keepers were actively in cahoots with the seperatists. Add-in the now decade-old (?) Ukraine's and Georgia's pleas for entry into NATO for precisely the reason unfolding before our eyes (Geogia being invaded), and it doesn't take a rocket scientist to see that those two countries had well-grounded reasons for their pleas for entry into NATO. If they didn't/do not know the Russian mind-set, who does?

hypereric

@chebyrashka

your extremely biased opinion was noted. so was your stupidity in not noting history. georgia is doing to south ossetia what russia did to chechnya. russia had no more excuse in going in there than the US would have in going into chechnya. the georgians helped us (US) in iraq with the third largest force (2,000 troops only, sad to say), so the question is are we going to reciprocate?
or are we going to show the world that we're nothing more than bullies picking on little countries like iraq, iran and north korea?

frogs_in_winter

Fast track Georgia into NATO, then by treaty if they get attacked we all have to pile in....
But is this right the web attack happened BEFORE the fighting started? Since Russia claims Georgia started this latest fighting, something ain't right.

Eminy

That's all Russians can do:

1. Get drunk
2. Send spam
3. DDoS or hack

The end.

Giorgi

Hypereric, you summed it up perfectly. My wife is Georgian, I have family in Georgia, and I have a home in Georgia. Europe is in trouble, as if they didn't know that 10 years ago. I'd glady pay 15 bucks a gallon to see Russia choke to death. I know you guys wouldn't, but I sure would.

educating_fire01

@vasha: Russia is bad because Georgia attacked civilians and Russian is protecting them? Nice twist of the facts. I guess this is a western education that helps you turn everything up side down?

Would US do this? US did this much worse things with much less cause - look at Iraq and HUNDREDS OF THOUSANDS civilians dead there thanks for the states.

aay

Tried to get news from agencies outside of the US, you hypocritical American idiots, since you are not able to think with your own heads... You are so pathetic...

And for those who is incapable to think or to read - Georgia attacked civilians (90% of them are Russian citizens, btw) and small number of peacekeepers with tanks, air strike, troops and the rest after assuring that they will not do anything in the middle of the night. Russia moved in to save civilians and it's peacekeepers _the next day_ and they didn't try to attack Georgia. So far Georgians killed over 1500 of civilians and executed Russian peacekeepers at the begging of this.

Would be nice to see if Mexico attack California and you tried to protect your citizens only to be called murderers.. Well, you are anyway, but that's not the point.

And hacker attacks didn't start before the Georgians started the war, you idiots.. That happened after, end of the next day...

So, shut the hell up, you ignorant and hypocritical people.

aay

ok this kinda seems like a dumb idea but cutting of a countries comunications seems like they are trying to make it a "secret war" (as secret as keeping the global media in the dark about the details) i know that its a top millitary tactic to keep your enemy from corrdenating but keeping the govenrment from trying to keep its citizens safe during open warfare seems like it will lead to huge colateral damage.