Although the war that has now extended beyond the disputed province of South Ossetia into Georgia proper is only entering its fifth day, an extensive account of the war the online encyclopedia is still calling the "2008 South Ossetia War" is already well developed. -- Contributions to the "Discussion" pages are helpful in sorting out the many conflicting reports, the basis of many of which seems to be anti-Russian propaganda. -- In principle the discussion page only concerns the Wikipedia article and not the war itself, but in fact it often contains both dispassionate analysis and firsthand experiences. -- For example, last night at 20:51 UTC Mon. (1:51 p.m. PDT, 1:00 a.m. Tues. in Tbilisi) Narking wrote from the Georgian capital: "So far it's calm here. Even though it seems like there are fewer and fewer lights in town. Just some minutes ago the TV tower went totally dark. TV works still though. The mobile net doesn't work since during the day." -- At 05:13 UTC Tues. (10:13 p.m. Aug. 11 PDT, 9:13 a.m. in Tbilisi), Dysmorodrepanis wrote: "Every on-the-ground source I have seen (Reuters, Al J, 'anonmyous US official' — can you say 'military advisory coordinator' ;-) ) says that until the last night, no significant Russian forces had advanced significantly beyond the border, not to Gori, and certainly not to Mshketa. Seems they have taken the first large village/military base/police station (whatever's closest) on every trunk road leaving the areas of dispute, and that's that. Of course, new day, new game . . . but it might really be over. -- It might get messy in Tbilisi though; as you can see some in the US believe that the whole governmental/military apparatus of Georgia has its back broken. Every report I have seen from N 'mainland' Georgia speaks of a wholesale rout of Georgian forces, no C3I beyond platoon level if even that much (the Al J correspondent was pretty blunt about it being like 'every tank crew on its own'). Stay tight, keep up the good work and CYA. Peace." -- The first four paragraphs of the Wikipedia article as it stood on Aug. 12, 2008, at 08:08 UTC are posted below.[1] ...
1. 2008 SOUTH OSSETIA WAR Wikipedia
August 12, 2008 -- 08:08 UTC (1:08 a.m. PDT; 12:08 p.m. in Tbilisi and Moscow) http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/2008_South_Ossetia_War The 2008 South Ossetia war is a military conflict that started on August 8, 2008, involving Georgia, South Ossetian (and Abkhazian) secessionists, and Russia. South Ossetia and Abkhazia are territories within Georgia that declared independence from Georgia and have been acting in a de facto independent capacity since the early 1990s. Neither state has been diplomatically recognized by any member of the United Nations. The conflict began August 8, 2008, after Georgia launched a military offensive to surround and capture the capital of South Ossetia, Tskhinvali,[25] claiming that South Ossetian separatists had broken a ceasefire by attacking villages. Later the same day, Russia responded by moving its troops across the Georgian border, bringing ground forces into South Ossetia and Abkhazia and launching airstrikes on targets elsewhere in the country. The Russian government's stated justification for entering Georgian territory was to protect its own citizens and to prevent "a genocide by Georgian forces."[26][22] As Georgia retreated from its offensive in South Ossetia, it claimed it was defending itself from "Russian aggression."[27] Georgian president Mikheil Saakashvili claimed the Russians conducted a "well-planned invasion."[28] Russia responded to the charge in the United Nations, saying Georgia had started the war by conducting a military operation against South Ossetian separatists.[22] Georgia insisted it had earlier been provoked by attacks by South Ossetian militants, which South Ossetia repeatedly denies.[29] Most international observers have called for a peaceful solution to the conflict.[30] The European Union and the United States expressed a will to send a joint delegation to try to negotiate a cease-fire.[31] Russia ruled out peace talks with Georgia until the latter withdrew from South Ossetia and signed a legally binding pact renouncing the use of force against South Ossetia and Abkhazia.[32]
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