Georgia: U.S. Military to Deliver Humanitarian Aid

After the Georgian president, Mikhail Saakashvili, told reporters that humanitarian assistance from abroad is necessary for his embattled country, likening such an operation to the Berlin airlift, the BBC reports that his U.S. counterpart, George W. Bush, has announced that the American military will deliver such aid.

He said he would direct US Defence Secretary Robert Gates to begin a “vigorous and ongoing” humanitarian mission to Georgia, headed by the US military.

“We expect Russia to honour its commitment to allow in all forms of humanitarian assistance,” Mr Bush added.

Mr Bush’s address in Washington came amid reports that violence has flared in Georgia, where Russian tanks have been seen patrolling the town of Gori, near the breakaway region of South Ossetia.

The US president said Russia’s ongoing actions had “raised serious questions about its intentions in Georgia and the region”.

“Russia must keep its word and act to end this crisis,” Mr Bush said.

Is this just a way to bring U.S. forces into Georgia, The Caucasian Knot wonders? The New York Times reports that Saakashvili certainly thinks so even if Washington is trying to downplay the move.

President Bush said Wednesday that the Pentagon had begun a “vigorous and ongoing” humanitarian mission to ease the suffering in Georgia, and that Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice would travel to France and then to Georgia to work for a settlement of the crisis.

[…]

Mr. Bush said that a transport plane with medical supplies was already on its way to Georgia, and that American air and naval forces would carry out the aid mission. And he said pointedly that Russia must not interfere with aid arriving in Georgia by air, land or water.

But while Mr. Bush said the United States “stands with the democratically elected government of Georgia and insists that its sovereignty and territorial integrity be respected,” his remarks contained no hint of an American military role in Georgia, other than providing humanitarian assistance.

However, minutes after Mr. Bush’s comments, President Mikheil Saakashvili of Georgia characterized the import of the American aid as “definitely an American military presence” and called it a “turning point.”

In a telephone interview, he said of Mr. Bush’s statement: “We were unhappy with the initial actions of the American officials, because they were perceived by the Russians as green lines basically. But this one was very strong.”

“What I expected specifically from America was to secure our airport and to secure our seaports,” he went on, concluding that the American presence would do so. “The main thing now is that the Georgian Tbilisi airport will be permanently under control.”

However, while Human Rights Watch has verified claims of the razing of ethnic Georgian villages in South Ossetia (as well as allegations of intimidation of South Ossetians by Georgian forces), The Independent argues against any intervention.