http://globalresearch.ca/index.php?context... http://www.informationclearinghouse.info/a... http://www.straight.com/article-157265/gwy... Gwynne Dyer: Georgia's huge South Ossetia mistake
"The chronology tells it all. Skirmishes between Georgian troops and the South Ossetian militia grew more frequent over the past several months, but on August 7, Saakashvili offered the separatist South Ossetian government “an immediate ceasefire and the immediate beginning of talks”, promising that “full autonomy” was on the table. Only hours later, however, he ordered a general offensive.
South Ossetia’s president, Eduard Kokoity, called Saakashvili’s ceasefire offer a “despicable and treacherous” ruse, which seems fair enough.
Through all of Thursday night and Friday morning, Georgian artillery shells and rockets rained down on the little city of Tskhinvali, South Ossetia’s capital, while Georgian infantry and tanks encircled it. Russian journalists reported that 70 percent of the city was destroyed, and by Friday afternoon it was in Georgian hands."
Georgia.
