GEORGIAN PRESIDENT ADDRESSES MILITARY TOP BRASS

Rustavi-2 TV
Oct 2 2008
Georgia

Georgian President Mikheil Saakashvili on 2 October delivered a
speech to senior officials from the Joint Staff of the Georgian
Armed Forces. He discussed the military successes and failures of the
August war against Russia and announced a reshuffle in the top brass
of the Armed Forces. The main changes, such as the appointment of
Davit Nairashvili and Devi Chankotadze as deputy chiefs of the Joint
Staff and the dismissal of Davit Aptsiauri from the post of National
Guard commander, had previously been reported in the Georgian print
media. Saakashvili said that about 80,000 Russian military personnel
and some 3,000 pieces of armoured equipment were involved in the
invasion of Georgia. "According to various sources", about 2,000
Russian troops were killed and 17 Russian aircraft were shot down in
the war, he said. He warned that, since Russia had not achieved the
main goals of its operation, which, according to him, were to bring
about a change of regime in Georgia and take control of the transit
energy pipelines, "the aggressor may launch new attacks and acts of
aggression at any moment". The following is the text of Saakashvili’s
speech, broadcast live by the Georgian TV station Rustavi-2:

[Presenter] The Georgian president is currently at the Joint Staff
of the Armed Forces where he is holding a meeting with the leadership
of the military department. We are going live to the Joint Staff.

Threat of "new aggression"

[President Mikheil Saakashvili] We have just had a very open discussion
about our findings, our analysis, combat operations against the Russian
aggressors. Our country has endured aggression on an unprecedented
scale. By the way, I recently opened a monument to [Georgian-Armenian
poet] Sayat Nova together with the Armenian president and I said
that since the invasion of Agha Mohammad Khan [18th-century ruler of
Persia] there has been no such attack against Georgia. Up to 80,000
Russian soldiers have been taking part, in various forms, in these
operations. More than 3,000 pieces of armoured equipment were inside
Georgia and several thousand more were at the border of Georgia. There
was physically not enough space for them to enter Georgia. Dozens
or maybe hundreds of aircraft flew more than 200 sorties, and almost
all of their combat pilots were mobilized.

Of course, we did not want this war. You know full well that we had
discussed many combat plans in this room, but they certainly did
not include plans for defensive operations of this type, especially
in Tskhinvali and on the territory of South Ossetia. But the enemy
decided that without a war – after the embargo failed, after their
provocations failed, after internal destabilization failed – that
without a war it would not be able to achieve its two main goals: to
remove from Georgia this government, which irritates them – which also
included destruction of our armed forces and our state apparatus –
and to control the oil pipelines and dominate the Central Asian and
Caspian region. But I want everyone to remember, friends, that they
have so far failed to achieve these two goals. They have been unable
to overthrow the Georgian government and they have been unable to
destroy the armed forces and the state apparatus, and they have been
unable to control the oil pipelines. Therefore, I want everyone to
understand full well that the threat has not been averted and the
aggressor may launch new attacks and new aggression at any moment.

Russian war casualties

On the other hand, we should understand that we are now facing new
tasks. A very significant part of Georgian territory is occupied. We
are now conducting – [changes tack] European monitors have arrived,
which is a very important step forward towards preventing further
extension of the aggression zone in Georgia and gradually pushing
them [Russian troops] back. However, at the same time, we should
analyse everything that has happened. It is very important. We have
had unique experience of conducting war against the world’s largest
country, which has traditionally had one of the most aggressive and
well-developed armed forces. Without your heroic resistance for several
days and without the huge damage suffered by the opponent – according
to various sources, about 2,000, as they say, 2,000 troops were killed
there on the other side, in the Russian Armed Forces, according to
their own information which we are receiving from various sources, 17
aircraft were downed and a great deal of other equipment was destroyed.

I repeat that we do not have our own final data. This is what we are
receiving from various sources. But it seems that this is not without
foundation because you know full well what discussions they had in
their own legislatures and what harsh findings they have reached about
the readiness of their own armed forces, how they tried to explain
their heavy casualties by claiming that Georgia had some extraordinary
equipment. Here I have information from a Russian newspaper saying
that it was impossible for Georgians to have such specialists, that
they operated so well that they must have been foreigners. Our air
defence system operated like clockwork, if you believe the Russians. In
central Moscow, they displayed equipment taken from our factory –
because we were unable to evacuate some equipment from Gori that was
being serviced at the factory – several of our tanks with improved
electronic systems and several of our artillery systems, and they were
very excited about wonderful equipment the Georgians had. I wish we
had really had such equipment, but there was nothing extraordinary
about what we had.

But they needed that in order to explain why they had suffered such
heavy casualties, why so much of their equipment had been destroyed,
and why most of the strike force of the 58th Army, the main army
in the North Caucasus, had been put out of action. Those were the
people who entered Georgia first, before we responded. In brief,
they needed to explain they had not seized the Georgian capital,
because the questions they were asked in the Duma were about why
they did not seize Tbilisi. According to all reports we have, their
military intended to seize Tbilisi, but at the last minute, as a
result of your resistance, the world woke up and the Georgian people
declared full mobilization. Many people were irritated by the rally
in Tbilisi, but it played a big role at a time when our armed forces
were continuing with their resistance. Their political leadership
backed down. That is what I know for certain. This happened after
they had a very big debate about whether it was possible in those
conditions to seize Tbilisi and overthrow the Georgian government,
that is to bring about a change of Georgia’s political leadership
and put an end to its independence.

Georgian Armed Forces strengths and weaknesses

This war has shown us the strengths of our country and army. As I said,
in some areas, such as artillery, personnel, equipment, training and
morale, we really rose to the occasion. Artillery really operated
incredibly well and had a clear advantage over the adversary. In
aviation, we were technically well behind them, of course. We did not
have fighter jets. We simply had old-type bombers. However, aviation
delivered several very accurate strikes and the pilots showed a lot
of courage.

This war has also shown us our weaknesses. It has revealed areas
that need to be developed and improved. It has revealed many things,
such as shortcomings in control systems, serious shortcomings in
communications, and serious shortcomings in the training of individual
officers. Mistakes, of course, happen in an inexperienced young army
and mistakes also happen here. However, once you have already been
through a baptism of fire, failure to rectify these mistakes would be
a serious crime. This war has of course shown us major aspects that
require improvement and also that there are people who deserve more
encouragement, there are people who need to regroup and be redeployed,
and there are people who should be sent abroad to study at the best
schools and because of that be temporarily replaced by others, so
that once they return, they can be of more benefit to the country.

Top brass reshuffle, Georgian war casualties

That is why, as a result of the experience we gained in this war,
we, together with you, have made certain personnel decisions. In
particular, we are carrying out an overhaul of the command and,
based on the experience of those days, are promoting the military who
particularly distinguished themselves by showing professionalism,
good organization, courage and military knowledge. Artillery
commander Devi Chankotadze has been appointed deputy chief of the
Joint Staff in place of Aleksandre Osepaishvili. Artillery operated
very well. Another deputy chief Giga Tatishvili has been replaced by
Davit Nairashvili. [addresses Nairashvili] I would like to specially
praise your actions as well because the entire aviation group did a
splendid job. Artillery has a new commander, Maisuradze. The new Air
Force commander is Zurab Pochkhua, who, as we said, did a very good
job. I must disappoint Russian experts and say these were Georgian
operators, Georgian officers and Georgian military personnel. It was
Georgians that shot down the planes that were bombing Georgia. There
were no Americans, Israelis or especially Ukrainians here operating
this equipment, however much they would like believe that. Tariel
Londaridze has replaced Givi Revazishvili at Joint Staff J1
[personnel department], Mamuka Liparteliani has replaced Kavtaradze
at communications, that is J6, and Lela Chikovani has replaced Irakli
Batkuashvili as head of planning at J5.

I think that while many officers and practically all soldiers
displayed extraordinary heroism – [changes tack] 169 of our troops
were killed and 41 are missing. More about the heroism of many of
them will probably be known later. I have heard of people who refused
to leave Tskhinvali and fought the aggressor and enemy until the last
bullet. Some of them were killed and are regarded as missing. We will,
of course, continue looking for all these missing people. We hope
that we will manage to get some of them back.

At the same time, I must say that I am not happy with how the reservist
system worked. There was a serious failure in the reservist system,
not because of the reservists but because of the commanders. We
had enthusiastic young people. We must revamp this system. We must
review the whole recruitment system. National Guard commander Davit
Aptsiauri has been dismissed from his post. The commander of the 3rd
Brigade, Givi Kapanadze, has been replaced by battalion commander Kakha
Kopaidze. The commander of the 5th Brigade, Zurab Agladze, has been
promoted to Land Forces commander, replacing Mamia Balakhadze in that
post. Besik Gogodze has been appointed commander of the 5th Brigade.

"We will continue developing our armed forces"

Our army is very young. We started building the army for real only four
years ago. Major investment began only three years ago. That is why
we have a lot to do together, friends. Fully-fledged armies cannot
be created in the space of three years. However, the whole world
and all observers who are more or less objective acknowledge that
our army has displayed a level of training much higher than normal,
much more sacrifice and much more professionalism. Ten times as much
is required. Ten times as much is yet to be done.

We have achieved the main task as far as you are concerned. We have
saved Georgian statehood, together with you, and we have preserved
the Armed Forces. The Armed Forces have preserved an overwhelming
majority of their equipment and all our ammunition, which is more
than enough. We have also preserved practically the entire structure
and practically the entire manpower except for the 169 troops who
were killed and several dozen who are missing – our main treasure,
our troops, our officers and our soldiers.

The adversary has failed to achieve its main task. Georgia’s
adversary already knows that any future attempts to encroach on
Georgian independence will be met with very strong resistance from
the Georgian nation and the Armed Forces of Georgia.

I must also stress that various ethnic groups fought, fight and
serve in our Armed Forces. We have Ossetians, Abkhaz, Armenians,
Azerbaijanis, Russians. That is how it should be. Georgia’s identity
is not ethnic identity, but our common idea that our country should
be our common multiethnic home. We have an excellent wall, a boundary
separating us from Russia, which is the Caucasus mountains. We did
not break into Russia, and the Caucasus mountains are there to stop
Russia breaking into Georgia. Unfortunately, their aircraft can fly
a little higher than Elbrus or Qazbegi, Mqinvartsveri [the latter
two are Georgian names for Mount Kazbek, the third highest peak in
Georgia]. But the main thing is that Georgian statehood has been
defended and will always exist. We will continue developing our armed
forces. No-one should have any illusions about that.

Armed Forces to be open to public scrutiny

On the other hand, there is a public inquiry into these hostilities and
all aspects of Russia’s aggression. We should welcome that. Our people
are proud of their army. That is why our people have a right to know
everything about the weak or strong sides of our army. A commission
has been established in parliament. It is led by the parliamentary
opposition, people whom we may not always like. However, I must ask
you and require of you that you cooperate with this commission on
the details and provide it with as much information as possible.

We will include opposition representatives in the trust group in
order to enable the general public and the opposition to have an
accurate view of how funding takes place, where the money is going,
what it is being used for, and what the future is for all of us. In
general, we should be totally transparent and open to public scrutiny
and parliamentary process.

This does not make us weaker, but, on the contrary, it makes us
stronger. We are the army of a democratic country and the armed
forces of a democratic country. The armed forces belong to the
public. The public is behind you and supports you. You know that
perfectly well. The more contact we have with the public, the more
issues we make public and cooperate, the more support we will have
in the future and the better our chances of repelling major acts of
aggression in the future through the unity of people and army.

This is merely "beginning of struggle"

I repeat that we are at the beginning of this struggle. Only the
first few pages of this big book have been written so far. How
this book will continue and how it will end depends on all of us,
and it has to be written by all of us. If someone wants to say that
Georgia has been defeated, it is their own business. The fact that
we are sitting here, the fact that Georgia exists – [changes tack]
Historically, whenever such an enemy invaded Georgia, the Georgian
state effectively ceased to exist. But now the Georgian state exists,
will be revived and stand tall. No-one has managed to bring us to
our knees. Yet, nor should you believe people who say that we have
won, as you know all too well that there is a long way to go before
the final victory and this path will not be paved with violets and
roses. We are at the beginning of the struggle. We should conduct this
struggle together with the entire international community and restore
the principles of justice, principles of humaneness, principles of
international law and principles of stopping foreign aggression.

I am a specialist in international law by training and my PhD thesis,
which I did not complete, was entitled Jus possidetis jus non oritur
[as heard; possibly "Uti possidetis jus non oritur"]. It is a Latin
maxim meaning an illegitimate act cannot be legitimized. Russia has
not managed to legitimize its actions with regard to Georgia. Everyone
has seen the illegitimacy of its actions. However, in order for the
de-facto results it is trying to achieve never to be legitimized,
we have to make a lot of effort and do a lot of work together.

We should continue our integration into NATO structures and become
the armed forces of a genuinely democratic civil society that pose no
threat to civilians. I would like to say special thanks to our troops,
who were especially careful in their treatment, for example, of the
population of Tskhinvali and other villages. I have heard many stories
of self-restraint and courtesy shown by our troops and what a contrast
it was with the behaviour of the aggressor and the bandits it brought
in. I would like to thank all officers and soldiers for that. When
troops whose lives are in danger treat civilians with care, this is a
sign of special talent and dignity. This was always our instruction,
as you well know. Whatever the situation, even if you have to put
your life at risk, it is our citizens that we are talking about,
irrespective of their ethnic origin, and it is they that should be
protected above all. I think that our troops coped with this task
very well in general – not just in general, but I think always.

Damage to Russian economy

Unfortunately, many tragedies have happened among the civilians
because of the invaders, but no-one will get away with anything. Let
us promise each other and promise our public that we will continue
strengthening and developing, our economy will be revived – [changes
tack] By the way, they have not managed to destroy it. The blow
inflicted on the Russian economy during this clash was ten times
as big as that suffered by the Georgian economy. I repeat that I
am not so interested in that. But just as the Russian Armed Forces
suffered much more damage, because they were the aggressors, because
they were on the offensive and we were defending ourselves, and not
the other way round as they tried to claim initially, so did their
economy suffer more harm than ours. Our economy will strengthen and
develop. True, there will be difficulties. There are difficulties,
very big difficulties, but we will overcome them. Together with the
economy, all state institutions, such as the law-enforcement system
and the Armed Forces, will continue developing and getting stronger,
above all thanks to our individual training, intellect and patriotism.

No "major" arms purchases planned

I must also say that in the months to come we are not planning to
buy any major new weapons. We are spending the bulk of the money
on developing the economy. However, we will continue training the
military, equipping them, primarily with knowledge, and improving
their social conditions at an even more accelerated pace. Not only
will you not get less attention but your achievements so far and in
the future will receive even more appreciation.

I would like everyone to draw appropriate conclusions from the
personnel changes I announced today. Professionalism will always be
encouraged. Some changes have taken place and people who have filled
the new places will try to be better achievers. You know that there
are people who have been released from the system altogether. This is
also correct and that is how it will always be. People will be judged
by results, professionalism and how they realize themselves and serve
their country. We should always be learning from our successes and
especially from our mistakes.

I remain your loyal supporter, and I hope, or, rather, I am sure that
we will have new achievements, and all of us together will always be
loyal to our country, its unity, its democracy and its people as a
whole. We are carrying on with our work.

From: Emil Lazarian | Ararat NewsPress