Commentary: Israel of the
Caucasus
By Arnaud de Borchgrave (UPI Editor at Large)
UPI, September 02, 2008
|
Israelis wave both
Georgian and Israeli flags as they chant anti-Russian
slogans during a demonstration outside the Russian
embassy in Tel Aviv, 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.
