Follow the Black Gold

Via Sean-Paul Kelley at the Agonist, some interesting details from Deutsch Welle:

...Georgian President Mikheil Saakashvili on Saturday called on the Russians to agree on an immediate ceasefire to fighting in South Ossetia after saying earlier that his country was in a state of war.

As a first sign of seeking a truce, Saakashvili has ordered Georgian troops out of the South Ossetian capital of Tskhinvali, a Georgian security official said on Saturday.

Alexander Lomaia, the secretary of Georgia's National Security Council, told journalists in the early afternoon that the troops were still being shelled by Russian forces.

"The troops have been positioned in nearby territory of Tskhinvali and they have also been ordered not to respond to Russian shelling to the extent possible," Lomaia said in response to questions from Western journalists...

Russian warplanes meanwhile bombed and virtually destroyed a key Georgian port and hit another city. Russian ambassador to Georgia told the Interfax news agency on Saturday that at least 2,000 civilians have died in the South Ossetian capital of Tskhinvali as a result of fighting between Russian and Georgian forces.

Georgian officials have so far denied Russian casualty figures, saying they were blown out of proportion.

Georgian officials said a Russian aerial bombardment had hit sites near the capital Tbilisi and key oil pipelines and "completely devastated" the Black Sea port of Poti in attacks that the country's UN ambassador likened to "a full-scale military invasion." Poti is a key port and staging post for moving oil and other energy from the Caspian Sea to the West.

According to Georgian public television, Russian forces also started bombarding a Georgian-controlled section of Abkhazia, a second breakaway Georgian region, hence broadening the war to a second stage...

What precipitated this? It looks like Georgia started the shelling first:

...Georgian television showed images of hundreds of rockets and heavy artillery shells crashing into the South Ossetian capital Tskhinvali. Shelling reduced entire city blocks to rubble, according to eyewitnesses. Counts of civilian casualties varied widely, with Georgia estimating between one and two dozen killed, and some 100 injured as of Friday evening.

Eyewitnesses said many victims lost their lives when caught out in the open by artillery fire as they attempted to flee. Georgian television showed images of corpses sprawled along sidewalks and streets, in some cases still holding luggage.

Control of Tskhinvali appeared disputed on Saturday, with Georgian officials asserting total control of the city, and Russian officials claiming that they had taken the city.

Refugees were leaving the region and heading north towards the Russian border throughout the night, at times under Georgian artillery fire.

Georgian forces late on Friday ceased fire for some three hours to allow civilians to leave, but according to Russian observers Georgian shelling interdicted roads leading north throughout the night...

So the Russians are not only accepting Ossetian refugees, they retaliated by bombing Georgian cities.

No wonder Bu$hie sez:

...Russian attacks on Georgia outside the war zone of South Ossetia were a "dangerous escalation" of the crisis and urged Moscow to halt the bombing immediately.

"I'm deeply concerned about the situation in Georgia," said Bush, who is currently in Beijing for the Olympics. "The attacks are occurring in regions of Georgia far from the zone of conflict in South Ossetia. They mark a dangerous of escalation in the crisis..."

And the note of panic in Dear Leaser's voice isn't because of the civilian loss of life, it's because the Russians are threatening to hit the oil:

TBILISI, Aug 9 (Reuters) - Russian fighter jets targeted the the major Baku-Tbilisi-Ceyhan (BTC) oil pipeline which carries oil to the West from Asia but missed, Georgia's Economic Development Minister Ekaterina Sharashidze said on Saturday...

Let me assure you, if the Russians missed, it was no accident. It was to get your attention, Commander Codpiece.