Once Its rationale, collective defense poses new challenge to a larger NATO

This News Report Assignment collected information about what both sides, especially Russia responded after that incident. The sources are various and mostly come from newspaper and online news.

English Assignment 3A I.Introduction In 1990, Georgia voted to abolish the autonomy of South Ossetia, and by 1991 the ethnic antagonists were fighting. In 1992, Georgia and Russia signed a peace treaty and Russian troops began patrolling the South Ossetia border. That same year, Abkhazia declared its independence from Georgia and another war was fought; it ended in 1994 with a treaty between Russia and Georgia. Russian troops then began patrolling that enclave too. In August 8 th , Georgia launched a surprise operation last week to seize control of South Ossetia. Russia sent it’s military into the breakaway republics and bombed Georgia proper. Many Western experts have predicted that Russia would stage some sort of military action since Mikheil Saakashvili was elected president of Georgia in 2004. As part of his platform, he said he wanted to reincorporate the enclaves into Georgia. Most experts agreed that Russia would respond with force if that happened. No one knows how far Russia is planning to go, though continued clashes suggest that its goal goes beyond just protecting the enclaves. This News Report Assignment collected information about what both sides, especially Russia responded after that incident. The sources are various and mostly come from newspaper and online news. We spend times to watch, read and analyzed them to choose the pieces of news that fit our purpose. Since the work is not too much, dividing it to each group’s member was not easy. But we tried to make those shares to be equal. We keep in touch with each other by the internet, because we didn’t have much time in class, there were other things that needed to be concerned. The toughest part is summarizing the information and arranged them in a logical order. We chose to put the news and summaries in the order of the date. There were some discussion and argument during the process. It took us a lot of time just to solve and find a solution for each person ideas. However, our group still managed to complete this Assignment. There are 5 people in our group: Nguyễn Hoàng Linh Lê Thị Hồng Nhung Lê Hoàng Sơn Đỗ Như Trung Nguyễn Thị Ngân II.Body A1-K15 of Tourism Faculty – Hanoi Open University 1 English Assignment 3A II.1.Summaries of News: II.1.1.Russia never wants a war According to the former President of USSR, Mikhail Gorbachev, Russia did not want this crisis. Russia was dragged into it by the recklessness of the Georgian president, Mikheil Saakashvili who definitely would not have dared to attack without outside support .And Russia had no choice but to react, and the president did it calmly, confidently and firmly, what made all those expected confusion in Moskva disappointed. He stressed that Georgia attacked first, caused thousands of dead to the people of South Ossetia, force them to flee from their home, and yet the Russia was accused of aggression. The expanding of NATO to the East, the assistance in Georgian’s military training of the Western, all the shipping large supply of arms have encourage Georgian’s leader toward a military misadventure. Unfortunately, innocent people had to pay the price. Mr. Gorbachev also mentioned the threats which are from US and EU to isolate Russia, expel her from the G8, and keep her out of WTO are all empty. There is much talk in the US about rethinking relations with Russia. But the 2 country should consider the interests of the other side and of common security, it may actually help rebuild trust between Russia and the US and allow them to start doing useful together to solve the crisis. 20-8 (New York Times) II.1.2.Once Its rationale, collective defense poses new challenge to a larger NATO NATO foreign ministers strengthened their ties to Georgia on Tuesday and called for Russia to observe a cease-fire and withdraw its troop immediately, vowing that until it does, the alliance won’t continue with business as usual in its relations with Moscow. But they also failed to agree on any specific punitive measures about the Russia-Georgian crisis. All they have done is nothing but a tepid response, which was a promising to establish a NATO-Georgian Council, a big disappointed for Tibsilli. There is now a question to the worthy of this alliance membership. As it has expanded from 5 to 26 countries, including some former Soviet republics, the notion of collective defense is a more complicated than before. European countries will not get into a military confrontation with Russia, even in case one NATO member is attacked, especially if that country is Ukraine or Georgian. The concept of collective defense shall fall apart, which also mean same for NATO. That is why European countries have blocked the US administration’s effort to bring Georgian and Ukraine into the alliance by a condition: no border issue which is impossible for both. Until now, establishing the NATO-Georgian and delaying the NATO- Russia council are everything they can do for now. To find a way out of this crisis, talking is the right thing to do, but if the other side doesn’t implement its promise, there will be strong reactions, according to the French foreign minister. 21-8 (Russia Today) II.1.3.Russia Backs independence of Georgian Enclaves A1-K15 of Tourism Faculty – Hanoi Open University 2 English Assignment 3A A day after the Russian Parliament’ call, the President, Mr.Medvedev announced the recognizing of 2 enclaves: S.Ossetia and Abkhazia. He said that this was not an easy choice, but the only one. This action deepened strains with the West over the conflict in the economically vital crossroads of the Caucasus and roiled a broader debate over how to respond to separatist movements around the world. The Russia had abided by international law in recognizing the 2 enclaves, and the decision was in part retaliation for the West’s support earlier this year for the independence of Kosovo from Serbia, which Russia had opposed. The US and its allies denounced the decision, saying that Georgian must not be broken, ad Russia was violating the cease-fire framework that it signed to halt the fighting. Because of the fear that if you wade into one such conflict, it could be used against yourself in a future one, no other big power, or another country followed Moscow’s lead and voiced support for S.O and Abkhazia’s independence. Even the Russia itself has its own problems about secessionist, like in Chechnya. The Russia officials try to explain the reason why Chechnya did not deserve the same right is that Chechnya had been turn into home of international terrorists. Igor Luke, a professor of international relations at Boston University, said that the current situation of this crisis was the result of each superpower trying to emerge to advance its interest and to hurt its rivals. 26-8 (New York Times) II.1.4.NATO Ships in Black Sea Raise Alarms in Russia By Andrew E. Kramer The Russia Navy Force has raised their alarm when the 4 NATO ships sailed into the Black Sea. A Russia commander said that those vessels now outnumbered the ships in their fleet anchored off the western coast of Georgian. He also added that this action violated a 1936 treaty, the Monteux Convention, which they maintain limits to 3 weeks the time non coastal countries can sail military vessels on the sea. The Russia government accused those NATO ships bringing weapon and other military supplement to support Georgian army under the guise of humanitarian aid. The White House dismissed all assertions and called them ridiculous. They also called for Russia to reserves its decision, and marked that NATO is partner of Russia. The Supreme HQ Allied powers Europe has stated that they could not control the move of every single NATO member. Meanwhile, with many efforts to build support for its action in Georgian, Russia had little results. Most of its allies remained silence or show no really action. 28-8 (New York Times) II.1.5.SCO Snubs Russian Appeal for Support. A joint declaration from the Shanghai Cooperation Organization offered some support for Russia’s “active role in promoting peace” following a cease-fire, denounced the use of force and called for respect for every country’s territorial integrity. Some other leaders like Iranian went further when accusing the Western of interfering in Central Asian and they formed a observers group to watch out the status of the 2 enclaves. But no alliance member joined Russia in recognizing the independence claims of Georgian’s separatist region, Abkhazia and South Ossetia. Each country has its own problems about rebel province, like China’s Tibet or Xinjiang. All of them seemed reluctant to damage reluctant to damage their relations A1-K15 of Tourism Faculty – Hanoi Open University 3 English Assignment 3A with Europe and the U.S since they already had some investment form the Western in their country in several of ways. Even countries that have been Russia’s most loyalty allies like Cuban or Venezuela didn’t follow the recognizing. A little surprised for Russia because they haven’t been so alone since 1963- the Soviet invasion on Czechoslovakia. Overall, the summit highlighted Russia’s isolation, and they has so far found little unequivocal support, even among stalwart foes of the U.S. 29-8 (Associated Press) II.1.6.Georgia and Russia Cut Diplomatic Ties The Georgian government broke off diplomatic relations with Russia on Friday after a passed law of its Parliament and Russia responded by doing the same. This move was expected with the conflict happened this month. Never before Russia severed formal diplomatic ties with any of the post-Soviet republics since the collapsing of the USSR in 1991. The later diplomatic action will be held at another country as a intermediaries, like Switzerland. In other development, Abkhazia asked Russia to represent its interest abroad, which would be include in a so-called friend-ship, cooperation and mutual assistance treaty. A similar agreement has been signed with South-Ossetia. 30-8-08 (New York Times) II.1.7.White House Unveils $1 Billion Georgia Aid Plan In Baku-Azerbaijan, President of the US proposed 1 billion USD in humanitarian and economic assistance on Wednesday to help rebuild Georgia after the war, but he didn’t mention anything about re- equipping its army. This package of aid requires additional approval from the Congress, and will pay at the cost of the worst relations between US and Russia since the cold war. According to the Secretary of State, Ms Rice, $570 millions of the aid will be made available this year, while the rest must depend on approval by a new administration and a new Congress, and this is not a military aid, she stated. That money will be first used to feed and shelter 10.000 people displaced during the fight, and will help rebuild the economic later. The European Union this week also contributed a fund of $750 million in financing. The vice-president of the US has begun his visit to 3 Russia’s neighbors to gain influence and challenge Russia. And he got a new natural gas pipeline to Europe, which mean a lot for E.U in the process of seeking an independent route for energy from Central Asia and the Caspian. 4-9 (Washington Post) II.1.8.Russia Agrees to limited pullout from Georgia. After a 4 hour meeting with France’s President Nicolas Sarkozy, Russia’s President, Mr Medvedev announced that Russia agreed to withdraw its troops by Mid-October from its position in Georgia outside the breakaway region of South Ossetia and Abkhazia and allowed 200 observers from EU to monitor the conflict. But he refused to draw back his decision to recognize the 2 region as independent nations. He said that it was irreversible and irrevocable. Meanwhile, Mr. Sarkozy tried to bring the 2 sides : EU and Russia together but this seemed too hard for him, because Europe has been bitterly divided into 2 parts : some nations like France, German want to remain its economic interests with Russia, and the formerly Communist countries like Poland want a punishment. However, Georgian has refused to sign the cease- A1-K15 of Tourism Faculty – Hanoi Open University 4 English Assignment 3A fire treaty because some of the matter was already covered in the deal of Aug. 12-according to the president of Georgian. Russia had received a new success in diplomatic with the recognizing of Nicaragua to the 2 breakaway region. On Monday, the 2 country – Russia and Georgian has carried their dispute over the breakaway enclaves to the International Court of Justice in The Hague. Georgian requested for an injunction ordering Russia to stop “terrorizing” ethic Georgians and to allow refugees to return homes. Russia challenged the court’s jurisdiction and asked it to dismiss the Georgian application as expected. 9-9-08 (RIA Novosti) II.1.9.We did everything right, and I’m proud of it – Medvedev. In a frank talk with members of the Valdai Discussion club, President Medvedev has reavealed how Russia will deal with this conflict. He said that this is a hard decision to use force, no one want war, but he need to do what he need to do. Mr Medvedev compared the incident of August 8th with 9/11 of America. “George Bush would do the same” he said. He blamed the US for this diplomatic mistake, for the encouragement they have put into Saakashvili’head : do whatever you want, the Russia won’t meddle. That leader, according to Mr Medvedev is a drug abuser, unpredictable pathological, fussing like a pooch, and won’t be recognized as a partner by Russia. About the energy field, he stressed that Asian ties bring stability to the Western countries; Russia has enough gas to provide what Europe needs. To solve the ahead problems, both sides: Russia and the West must sit back together and discuss to find out the common interest and to understand each other more. 13-9-08 (Russia Today) II.1.10Georgia violated UN charter – UN Assembly chief At the Opening of the UN General Assembly, for the 1 st time, a UN Assembly chief has said some thing in Russia’s favor: Georgia violated UN charter by invading South Ossetia. Russia’s ambassador to the Un Vitaly Churkin accused Tbisili for trying to prevent humanitarian aid to its breakaway region. Moreover, he called for the US to issue visas to officials from South Ossetia and Abkhazia so they can attend a Security Council meeting this October. 17-9-08 (RIA Novosti and AP) II.2.Discussion In the series of things that happened after the incident of August 8 th , the most important is Russia recognized 2 breakaway regions: South Ossetia and Abkhazia. This is the most expected move of Russia within the conflict. II.2.1.Why is it the most important This recognizing and the strike back of Russia on Georgian forces and prospects earlier, like somebody said that they marked the resurrection of a super power of the world. And also, it is a deep, hard impact on the international laws and the world’s order. But there was a new Cold War threat ahead, and changes in A1-K15 of Tourism Faculty – Hanoi Open University 5 English Assignment 3A relationships between Russia and the rest of the world. From now on, everything will not happen the way it was before. That is why, this pieces of news is chosen the most important one among 10 other pieces. II.2.2.The Influences The current Russia-West bilateral relationship is at an extreme low. And the often asked question about the return to a new Cold War misses the point. A return to the Cold War is simply impossible. The same historical, ideological, and political imperatives do not exist today. However, the conflict brewing between Russia and the West could become far worse than the US-Soviet standoff of the past. The world survived the Cold War because there was a set of rules both the United States and the Soviet Union accepted. The most important rule was to avoid - at all costs - direct confrontation. The Cuban missile crisis was a lesson learned by both the Russians and the Americans – both understand how direct confrontation could end. With direct confrontation out of the question, promoting and backing of proxy conflicts was the plan of action. And we saw this happen all over the world. When Russia unilaterally withdrew from the Cold War conflict and ended communist rule (and ideology) that global conflict came to an end – peacefully. The Soviet collapse gave Russia a new lease on life. Russia eagerly embraced market capitalism, started its own democracy project, and desired to be integrated into international institutions. And the West encouraged this. However, there was a catch: Russia would enter Western institutions on terms that suited the West. Like a schoolboy, Russia would be judged every step of the way. While Russia was weak, Moscow had little choice. Russia made countless concessions to the West (primarily to Washington). Moscow’s Western partners did not make a single concession. The concessions Russia made covered issues related to security, trade, investment, and involvement on the world stage. That all changed with the rise of Vladimir Putin. (And for all the sceptics – no, it is not only because of high energy prices!). What Putin recognised and Dmitry Medvedev is continuing to recognise is the fact that the US will not accept any limits on its global reach. Washington is not interested in having any equal partners. And it uses terms like “democracy promotion” when in fact democracy is the least of Washington’s real concerns. We have repeatedly seen how the US will turn a blind eye on a country’s democracy (like Georgia’s) when it suits America’s geopolitical and economic aims. This is not new. But what is new is far more frightening than what we saw during the Cold War. Georgia’s aggression against South Ossetia is disturbingly new and very dangerous. No matter how you see it, this aggression was somehow sponsored by Washington - an American string-puppet all but attacked Russia. This never happened during the Cold War. This has changed everything. Any level of trust the between Moscow and Washington has been destroyed. From now on, Russia will not only be overtly and openly suspicious of the US and its controlled institutions (like NATO), but it will - without hesitation - go eye-to-eye with Washington when the time and place is right. The West’s toolbox to punish Russia for having an independent foreign policy (and home grown democracy) is very limited. And it is going to find this out more and more as time passes. The West’s support of and the commentaries’ free pass for Saakashvili’s brutal regime has long term consequences. For years I have said that Russia can help the West when it wants to but can also be very unhelpful when it chooses to. It never should have come to this. Now we are left with the new reality of deep-seated A1-K15 of Tourism Faculty – Hanoi Open University 6 English Assignment 3A suspicions separating natural allies. It is Washington’s Soviet-like neuron ideological genetic code that is getting in the way. This is how all of this seen from Moscow: The US supported a direct attack against Russia. That attack failed. Nonetheless, the aggressor is rewarded and the victims blamed. This will be remembered. We are not returning to anything resembling the Cold War. What we are seeing unfold is a very different and challenging conflict. The US has demonstrated yet again that it refuses to acknowledge Russia’s own self-defined interests (in every sense) and it will even use military force to undermine any country that defies Washington’s unilateralism. Yes, we are seeing a new Russia-West conflict. And the script is being written by the West. If Russia again is to be the enemy, then be wary. Today’s Russia is not an enemy to be trifled with. As I see it, there are no winners in this scenario. Unlike the Cold War, there are no rules agreed to. It is this uncertainty that should worry us. II.2.3.Opinion In my humble opinion all of this happened because the West no longer sees the need for international law after the collapse of the Soviet Union. It claims it won the Cold War and now can do what it wants – even if that means ignoring international law or making it up as it went along. We have seen this time and again – be it the illegal invasion of Iraq or the dubious recognition of Kosovo. The consequences of this are grave and unpredictable. I find all of this interesting. International law probably helped us avoid a major Cold War confrontation. What can’t it be of use today when the past Cold War rivalries find former foes having so many common international interests? I don’t have the answer(s). However, it is clear to me that Russia has come to the conclusion that if international law is not interpreted universally its new default position is the respect of human rights. Russia recognized South Ossetia and Abkhazia because of its understanding of international law (and still does not recognize Kosovo for the same reasons). However, there is an important caveat. Russia has brought human rights – the right to not be killed in an aggressive war – back on the table. The Saakashvili regime is not repentant. Just the opposite, its aggression has been rewarded by its Western backers. This called for action – particularly as Russia is always impacted by violence on its borders. Russia has done the right thing. Sadly international law doesn’t stop wars (and sometimes it is ignored to start them). Until international law again has any salient meaning, falling back on what is undeniably important should be respected. And that is the protection of human rights. Since the end of Cold War the West has used and abused international law to advance its geopolitical advantage (and usually against Russia’s legitimate security interests). The human rights factor is not part of the West’s international legal equation. But alas, at least the people of South Ossetia and Abkhazia can now sleep at night knowing Tbilisi is no longer a threat to them. If this is Russia’s understanding of international law, then I agree with it. A1-K15 of Tourism Faculty – Hanoi Open University 7 English Assignment 3A III. Conclusion As one of the hottest topic in the world wide media, the information about the Russia-Georgian conflict is huge and various. One day, there were at least 4 to 5 reports of differences newspapers and channels. Each of them had their own views over this crisis. The Western media often focus on Russia invasion and stand at the side of Georgian, while the Russian media usually criticize Saakashvili, and show sympathize with the sufferings of South Ossetia people. To be objective, you must find information as various as possible to get the right overview. To find 10 suitable pieces of news took us quite a lot of time. The assignment itself contains a lot of mistake, both in grammar and logic. In the discussion, the lack of vocabulary caused us tons of troubles expressing what we want to say. However, just in 10 pieces of news, and the limit times from August 20 th prevent us from showing a full view of the conflict. In fact, only a very small part of this crisis has been revealed. 5 members of us, each person have differences skill in English, some are good at writing, some are good at searching, and everybody has his/her own opinion. We can’t satisfy everyone, so a discussion to choose what topic, which idea, which point of view to represent the group is needed. After all, we choose Russia’s side and try to focus on this. However, we have not yet learned the way to cooperate, and to discuss in English. Every single idea is first showed in Vietnamese and will be translated to English later. On the contrary with the last assignment, we show that we made some progressive. But the old problems are still remaining and it seemed that we need a long time to fix them. And we are sure that our work in the future will only get better and better. IV.References: 1.Russia Never Wanted a War By MIKHAIL GORBACHEV Published: August 20, 2008 THE acute phase of the crisis provoked by the Georgian forces’ assault on Tskhinvali, the capital of South Ossetia, is now behind us. But how can one erase from memory the horrifying scenes of the nighttime rocket attack on a peaceful town, the razing of entire city blocks, the deaths of people taking cover in basements, the destruction of ancient monuments and ancestral graves? Russia did not want this crisis. The Russian leadership is in a strong enough position domestically; it did not need a little victorious war. Russia was dragged into the fray by the recklessness of the Georgian president, Mikheil Saakashvili. He would not have dared to attack without outside support. Once he did, Russia could not afford inaction. The decision by the Russian president, Dmitri Medvedev, to now cease hostilities was the right move by a responsible leader. The Russian president acted calmly, confidently and firmly. Anyone who expected confusion in Moscow was disappointed. A1-K15 of Tourism Faculty – Hanoi Open University 8 English Assignment 3A The planners of this campaign clearly wanted to make sure that, whatever the outcome, Russia would be blamed for worsening the situation. The West then mounted a propaganda attack against Russia, with the American news media leading the way. The news coverage has been far from fair and balanced, especially during the first days of the crisis. Tskhinvali was in smoking ruins and thousands of people were fleeing — before any Russian troops arrived. Yet Russia was already being accused of aggression; news reports were often an embarrassing recitation of the Georgian leader’s deceptive statements. It is still not quite clear whether the West was aware of Mr. Saakashvili’s plans to invade South Ossetia, and this is a serious matter. What is clear is that Western assistance in training Georgian troops and shipping large supplies of arms had been pushing the region toward war rather than peace. If this military misadventure was a surprise for the Georgian leader’s foreign patrons, so much the worse. It looks like a classic wag-the-dog story. Mr. Saakashvili had been lavished with praise for being a staunch American ally and a real democrat — and for helping out in Iraq. Now America’s friend has wrought disorder, and all of us — the Europeans and, most important, the region’s innocent civilians — must pick up the pieces. Those who rush to judgment on what’s happening in the Caucasus, or those who seek influence there, should first have at least some idea of this region’s complexities. The Ossetians live both in Georgia and in Russia. The region is a patchwork of ethnic groups living in close proximity. Therefore, all talk of “this is our land,” “we are liberating our land,” is meaningless. We must think about the people who live on the land. The problems of the Caucasus region cannot be solved by force. That has been tried more than once in the past two decades, and it has always boomeranged. What is needed is a legally binding agreement not to use force. Mr. Saakashvili has repeatedly refused to sign such an agreement, for reasons that have now become abundantly clear. The West would be wise to help achieve such an agreement now. If, instead, it chooses to blame Russia and re-arm Georgia, as American officials are suggesting, a new crisis will be inevitable. In that case, expect the worst. In recent days, Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice and President Bush have been promising to isolate Russia. Some American politicians have threatened to expel it from the Group of 8 industrialized nations, to abolish the NATO-Russia Council and to keep Russia out of the World Trade Organization. These are empty threats. For some time now, Russians have been wondering: If our opinion counts for nothing in those institutions, do we really need them? Just to sit at the nicely set dinner table and listen to lectures? Indeed, Russia has long been told to simply accept the facts. Here’s the independence of Kosovo for you. Here’s the abrogation of the Antiballistic Missile Treaty, and the American decision to place missile defenses in neighboring countries. Here’s the unending expansion of NATO. All of these moves have been set against the backdrop of sweet talk about partnership. Why would anyone put up with such a charade? A1-K15 of Tourism Faculty – Hanoi Open University 9 English Assignment 3A There is much talk now in the United States about rethinking relations with Russia. One thing that should definitely be rethought: the habit of talking to Russia in a condescending way, without regard for its positions and interests. Our two countries could develop a serious agenda for genuine, rather than token, cooperation. Many Americans, as well as Russians, understand the need for this. But is the same true of the political leaders? A bipartisan commission led by Senator Chuck Hagel and former Senator Gary Hart has recently been established at Harvard to report on American-Russian relations to Congress and the next president. It includes serious people, and, judging by the commission’s early statements, its members understand the importance of Russia and the importance of constructive bilateral relations. But the members of this commission should be careful. Their mandate is to present “policy recommendations for a new administration to advance America’s national interests in relations with Russia.” If that alone is the goal, then I doubt that much good will come out of it. If, however, the commission is ready to also consider the interests of the other side and of common security, it may actually help rebuild trust between Russia and the United States and allow them to start doing useful work together. Mikhail Gorbachev is the former president of the Soviet Union. This article was translated by Pavel Palazhchenko from the Russian. From NewYorkTimes 2.Once Its Rationale, Collective Defense Poses New Challenges to a Larger NATO A1-K15 of Tourism Faculty – Hanoi Open University 10