I am sure they have a contingency because NATO just finished an exercise with Georgia about a month ago at the very same airbase the Russians bombed first.
It ended July 31 and guess who was conducting exercises on the other side of the border? Putin was ready. All he needed was to set the bait!
Georgia Gearing up for “Immediate Response”, Russia Flexing Muscles with “Caucasus Frontier 2008”
July 28, 2008
Dali Bzhalava, The Georgian Times
1,625 Georgian military servicemen are taking part in a large-scale international military training, alongside US forces, known as Immediate Response at the site of the fourth infantry brigade of Vaziani base. This training is the first of its kind to be held in Georgia and is part of the joint Georgian-American project.
Within the program, command-headquarter training is being carried out with land force brigades.
One of the tasks Georgian and American soldiers had to fulfill together was patrolling near the selected settled area where an unexpected attack recently took place. Georgian and American military personnel evacuated local population and withdrew wounded people from the site.
The Georgian-American trainings coincided with the Russian military exercises near the Georgia-Russia border. The Georgian Foreign Ministry said that these trainings, Dubbed Caucasus Frontier 2008, launched by Russia’s North Caucasian Military District (SKVO) on July 15 in close proximity of the border, are a continuation of Russia’s aggressive policy.
The link to the online home page:
Georgian Daily online
