Prime Minister Vladimir Putin described Georgia’s actions as “complete genocide”. Putin also said Georgia had effectively lost the right to rule the breakaway province – an indication Moscow could be preparing to fulfill South Ossetians’ wish to be absorbed into Russia.

Russia also laid much of the responsibility for ending the fighting on Washington, which has trained Georgian troops. Washington, in turned, blamed Russia.

Where is Putin?

Tensions between Moscow and the West have sharpened in recent years, with an increasingly wealthy Russia striving to restore the superpower status it lost with the Soviet collapse.
As Russian Prime Minister Vladimir V. Putin rushed home from the Beijing Olympics yesterday, President Bush called on Moscow to respect Georgia’s sovereign territory.

After returning from Beijing, Putin installed himself in the Russian city of Vladikavkaz, just over the border from South Ossetia. Once back on Russian turf, Putin was plainly at the helm of war planning – consulting with the military, denouncing Georgia and meeting with South Ossetian refugees.

Where is America’s Commander-In-Chief?

“You know, I’ve just — Laura and I just had the great joy and privilege of worshiping here in Beijing, China. You know, it just goes to show that God is universal, and God is love, and no state, man or woman should fear the influence of loving religion. And I want to thank the pastor for his hospitality. And I want to thank this beautiful choir for singing Amazing Grace and Edelweiss. It was a touching moment. It’s been a joy to worship here. Again, I want to thank you, sir, and God bless you. God bless you.”

This is where actions speak as loud as pictures. Does anyone see a disconnect from reality here?

Beijing Olympics: While Georgia burned George W Bush played volleyball

While Georgia burned Dubya gurned. A tour of patriotic duty took the outgoing American president George W Bush across a sweep of Olympic stadia including the beach volleyball emporium of Chaoyang Park.

The contrast between events in Gori, pummelled by Russian jets, and east Beijing could not have been greater. The Americans, gold medal favourites in the men’s and women’s events, were not even on court.

In swept the world’s most powerful man in dressed-down slacks to join his compatriots in practice. Secret service agents looked on nervously as Dubya flung himself about the sand gingerly in pursuit of a picture opportunity.

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Controversial US general’s posting put on hold

ISLAMABAD, May 8: The United States has agreed not to post the controversial ex-Guantanamo Bay prison chief, Maj-Gen Jay W. Hood, in Pakistan after a public uproar in the country against his appointment.

“The US government has taken note of the sensitivities of Pakistan government and the public regarding the posting of Gen Hood and it (the posting) would not materialise now,” a diplomatic source told Dawn on Thursday.

Gen Hood, whose tenure as the commanding general of Guantanamo Bay prison was marred by scandals of sacrilege of Holy Quran and human rights violations of the inmates during detention and interrogation, was posted by Pentagon in March as the chief of office of the US Defence Representative in Pakistan, a division of the US embassy.

The US government had claimed that Gen Hood’s nomination was a reflection of the continued US interest in cooperating with the Pakistani armed forces. No particular reasons were given by the US government for posting such a person in Pakistan where religious sentiments run high, except for that he was a senior military officer.

His appointment came under intense public and media criticism in Pakistan and frequent references were made to his conduct as the chief of Guantanamo Bay prison where hundreds of Muslim prisoners, many of them Pakistanis, have been held without charge.Equally, the government was also criticised for not having refused his nomination and remaining silent over the issue despite public sensitivities.

In reply to a question about the posting, Foreign Office Spokesman Mohammad Sadiq said at his weekly press briefing on Thursday that the government was addressing the issue keeping in view the sentiments and sensitivities of the public.

Our reputation precedes us …

Pentagon withdraws controversial ‘Guantánamo Bay’ Gen Hood from Pak posting

Washington, May 9 : The Bush administration is learnt to have withdrawn the appointment of Maj. Gen. Jay W. Hood as a senior American officer based in Pakistan to fight Al Qaeda and the Taliban in tribal areas, reflecting the widening shadow that the military prison at Guantánamo Bay was still casting over American foreign policy.

The US State Department must be smokin’ something nasty. How concerned should we be? Is American Foreign Policy so clueless that we offer up a controversial Bush clone with dirty hands to represent us to Pakistan? The whole concept of a “diplomat” is the employment of tact to gain strategic advantage, one set of tools being the phrasing of statements in a non-confrontational, or polite manner.

“Diplomacy is the art and practice of conducting negotiations between representatives of groups or states. It usually refers to international diplomacy, the conduct of international relations through the intercession of professional diplomats with regard to issues of peace-making, trade, war, economics and culture. International treaties politicians.” are usually negotiated by diplomats prior to endorsement by national

“Diplomacy is the art of saying “Nice doggie” until you can find a rock.” Will Rogers quotes

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