NEW COLD WAR ANALYSIS- SKYNEWS- TIM BYRNES

Tim Byrnes, an Australian Freelance Journalist, appearing in on SkyNews Australia to discuss his analysis of the Russian -Georgian conflict.

U.S President, Barack Obama, met with his Russian counterpart, President, Dmitry Medvedev, in Moscow this week in an attempt to open a new era of dialogue between Moscow and Washington but it will take more than rhetoric and symbolic agreements to reset the button on relations between the world s two nuclear superpowers.




There have been allegations circulating for years in Russia that the Americans have been secretly supporting rebellions in Russia s southern regions of Chechnya, Ingushetia, Dagestan and North Ossetia.

A Senior Russian Federal Security Service (FSB) source, in North Ossetia claims that the Central Intelligence Agency (CIA) has been attempting to destabilise the Russian Government by supporting groups that are linked to terrorist attacks on Russian soil.




They have been trying to discredit Russia s reputation in Europe and the West by supporting opposition groups in Russia, Chechnya, North Ossetia and Ingushetia. America is also providing refuge for Chechen terrorists and criminals wanted here in Russia. And they are still training the Georgian military for operations against Russian interests, he said.




Since 1991, Russia has waged two wars in Chechnya to crush a militant separatist movement that has spilled out into Ingushetia and Dagestan. During the conflicts Russia was accused of committing war crimes and human rights abuses. Recently, the Russian Government has declared the region stable and has announced a cease to military operations. Despite this, the long history of dissent is still simmering.




Chechen rebels have been blamed for carrying out a wave of brutal and bloody terrorist attacks across Russia, including the 2004 Beslan School Massacre and the Moscow Theatre siege. And Russia blames Georgian operatives for two car bombings in North and South Ossetia late last year.




Relations began to sour in 2001 after the former US President, George W Bush, surprised the Russians by announcing that the United States planned to withdraw from the Anti Ballistic Missile (ABM) treaty.

The treaty had kept the peace since 1972 by ensuring that any country who struck first was guaranteed to face annihilation in a retaliatory attack. Mr Bush also went on to announce that the US would build a missile defence shield with radar and interceptor missile bases in Poland and the Czech Republic.




This was staunchly opposed by the former Russian President, Vladimir Putin. And in all fairness to the Russians they did attempt to make concessions to the Americans in the hope they would drop the plan.

The United States still claims that Russia has nothing to fear from their missile defence program, because it is designed to intercept missile attacks from rogue nations like North Korea and Iran.




However, Russia has dismissed this as rubbish and is adamant the missile shield is a hostile attempt to encircle Russia.

In August 2008, relations slumped further after the former US Vice President, Dick Cheney, in response to Russia s use of force against Georgia in South Ossetia and Abkhazia, said the Russian Government was a brutal regime that wanted a return to the Cold War era. However, prior to this Cheney had been consolidating support within the North Atlantic Treaty Organisation (NATO) military alliance for full membership of Georgia and the Ukraine, conveniently located on Russia s western and southern borders.




According to the Russian Government, the Georgians were given the green light by Washington to crush the separatist uprisings and were used as a guinea pig to test Moscow s response. Russian politician and Secretary for North Ossetia, Lyudmila Tukiyva, claims the United States supported Georgia because they wanted to build missile bases in South Ossetia to strike at Iran and encircle Russia.

Another thorn for Washington is Russia s ambitions to join the World Trade Organisation (WTO) and the Organisation of Petroleum Exporting Countries (OPEC). Russia has huge oil and gas reserves and membership would open more markets for Russian industry and businesses. The United States has continually blocked all attempts by Moscow to join the WTO and OPEC.




Tim will be presenting a paper War, Reform and the Russian Government at the University of New England (UNE) on August 28, 2009

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[mikkitiny]

It was nice to see the guy who put a lot of videos on youtube and who has his own opinion about the war in s.ossetia. Good luck!

[strikeforcefreedom10]

the truth is out there as they say, vee russkie,

[prokurtan]

I dont belive in America.

[RITAbakes]

it is impossible to hide the truth ,as i always believed.Thank you people across the world who had speak the truth

[luc59457]

One of them has to throw away ALL their nukes, and I think the best candidate to do it first is the USA.. Whoever launched the first WMD should be the first to dismantle ALL of them.

[aviomaster]

HEY  scum bags do you know what happened in March 24 1999 in SERBIA

ha ? scum bags ...

GOD BLESS Russian FEderation Nuclear Stockpile

ONE sure thing in this WAR infested world FUCK THE USA

[123456789mischief]

@strikeforcefreedom10 truth is a point of view.

[Rysskyi]

Я многое понял что смог перевести,но суждение о холдной войне не до конца верно,скорее попытка господства со стороны США они хотят показать какие у них длинные руки что способны развязывать воины между странами на других континентах.

[kernowoggie]

A politician admitting they got it wrong? Wow, a pig just flew past my window!!

[natlissits]

Truth gradually starts coming out in Western media, but will politicians take notice of it? Will there ever be a public recognition of the fact that they've got it all wrong in the beginning/misrepresented the facts?