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Commentary: Israel of the Caucasus
ARNAUD DE BORCHGRAVE
Published: September 02, 2008
WASHINGTON, Sept. 2 (UPI) — NATO guarantees that an attack against
one member country is an attack against all are no longer what they
used to be. Had Georgia been inside NATO, a number of European
countries would no longer be willing to consider it an attack against
their own soil.
For Russia, the geopolitical stars were in perfect alignment. The
United States was badly overstretched and had no plausible way to talk
tough without coming across as empty rhetoric. American resources have
been drained by the Iraq and Afghan wars, and the war on terror. As
Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov put it, Washington must now
choose between its "pet project" Georgia and a partnership with
Moscow.
Georgian President Mikheil Saakashvili evidently thought the United
States would come to his side militarily if Russian troops pushed him
back into Georgia after ordering an attack last Aug. 8 on the
breakaway province of South Ossetia. And when his forces were mauled
by Russia’s counterattack, bitter disappointment turned to anger.
Along with Abkhazia, Georgia lost two provinces.
Georgia also had a special relationship with Israel that was mostly
under the radar. Georgian Defense Minister Davit Kezerashvili is a
former Israeli who moved things along by facilitating Israeli arms
sales with U.S. aid. "We are now in a fight against the great Russia,"
he was quoted as saying, "and our hope is to receive assistance from
the White House because Georgia cannot survive on its own."
The Jerusalem Post on Aug. 12 reported, "Georgian Prime Minister
Vladimir Gurgenidze made a special call to Israel Tuesday morning to
receive a blessing from one of the Haredi community’s most important
rabbis and spiritual leaders, Rabbi Aaron Leib Steinman. ‘I want him
to pray for us and our state,’" he was quoted.
Israel began selling arms to Georgia seven years ago. U.S. grants
facilitated these purchases. From Israel came former minister and
former Tel Aviv Mayor Roni Milo, representing Elbit Systems, and his
brother Shlomo, former director general of Military Industries.
Israeli UAV spy drones, made by Elbit Maarahot Systems, conducted
recon flights over southern Russia, as well as into nearby Iran.
In a secret agreement between Israel and Georgia, two military
airfields in southern Georgia had been earmarked for the use of
Israeli fighter-bombers in the event of pre-emptive attacks against
Iranian nuclear installations. This would sharply reduce the distance
Israeli fighter-bombers would have to fly to hit targets in Iran. And
to reach Georgian airstrips, the Israeli air force would fly over
Turkey.
The attack ordered by Saakashvili against South Ossetia the night of
Aug. 7 provided the Russians the pretext for Moscow to order Special
Forces to raid these Israeli facilities where some Israeli drones were
reported captured.
At a Moscow news conference, Gen. Anatoly Nogovitsyn, Russia’s deputy
chief of staff, said the extent of Israeli aid to Georgia included
"eight types of military vehicles, explosives, landmines and special
explosives for clearing minefields." Estimated numbers of Israeli
trainers attached to the Georgian army range from 100 to 1,000. There
were also 110 U.S. military personnel on training assignments in
Georgia. Last July 2,000 U.S. troops were flown in for "Immediate
Response 2008," a joint exercise with Georgian forces.
Details of Israel’s involvement were largely ignored by Israeli media
lest they be interpreted as another blow to Israel’s legendary
military prowess, which took a bad hit in the Lebanese war against
Hezbollah two years ago. Georgia’s top diplomat in Tel Aviv complained
about Israel’s "lackluster" response to his country’s military
predicament and called for "diplomatic pressure on Moscow." According
to the Jerusalem Post, the Georgian was told "the address for that
type of pressure is Washington."
Haaretz reported Georgian Minister Temur Yakobashvili — who is
Jewish, the newspaper said — told Israeli army radio that "Israel
should be proud of its military which trained Georgian soldiers"
because he explained rather implausibly, "a small group of our
soldiers were able to wipe out an entire Russian military division,
thanks to Israeli training."
The Tel Aviv-Tbilisi military axis was agreed at the highest levels
with the approval of the Bush administration. The official liaison
between the two entities was Reserve Brig. Gen. Gal Hirsch who
commanded Israeli forces on the Lebanese border in July 2006. He
resigned from the army after the Winograd Commission flayed Israel’s
conduct of its Second Lebanon War. Hirsch was also blamed for the
seizure of two Israeli soldiers by Hezbollah.
Israeli personnel, working for "private" companies with close ties to
the Israel Defense Forces, also trained Georgian soldiers in
house-to-house fighting.
That Russia assessed these Israeli training missions as U.S.-approved
is a given. The United States was also handicapped by a shortage of
spy-in-the-sky satellite capability, already overextended by the Iraq
and Afghan wars. Neither U.S. nor Georgian intelligence knew Russian
forces were ready with an immediate and massive response to the
Georgian attack Moscow knew was coming. Russian double agents
ostensibly working for Georgia most probably egged on the military
fantasies of the impetuous Saakashvili’s "surprise attack" plans.
Saakashvili was convinced that by sending 2,000 of his soldiers to
serve in Iraq (who were immediately flown home by the United States
when Russia launched a massive counterattack into Georgia), he would
be rewarded for his loyalty. He could not believe President Bush, a
personal friend, would leave him in the lurch. Georgia, as Saakashvili
saw his country’s role, was the "Israel of the Caucasus."
The Tel Aviv-Tbilisi military axis appears to have been cemented at
the highest levels, according to YNet, the Israeli electronic daily.
But whether the IAF can still count on those air bases to launch
bombing missions against Iran’s nuke facilities is now in doubt.
Iran comes out ahead in the wake of the Georgian crisis. Neither
Russia nor China is willing to respond to a Western request for more
and tougher sanctions against the mullahs. Iran’s European trading
partners are also loath to squeeze Iran. The Russian-built,
1,000-megawatt Iranian reactor in Bushehr is scheduled to go online
early next year.
A combination of Putin and oil has put Russia back on the geopolitical
map of the world. Moscow’s oil and gas revenue this year is projected
at $201 billion — a 13-fold increase since Putin succeeded Boris
Yeltsin eight years ago. Not shabby for a wannabe superpower on the
comeback trail.
From: Emil Lazarian | Ararat NewsPress
