How Israel Trained and Equipped Georgia's Army

[MikeWB]

http://blog.wired.com/defense/2008/08/d ... -trai.html

How Israel Trained and Equipped Georgia's Army
By Noah Shachtman August 19, 2008 | 2:48:00 PMCategories: Crazy Ivans, Sabras  
The Russian military blasted Israel today for supplying weapons and training to its adversaries in Georgia.
"Israel armed the Georgian army," Russian Deputy Chief of General Staff Gen. Anatoly Nogovitsyn told a Moscow press conference. Jerusalem provided Tblisi with "eight types of military vehicles, explosives, landmines and special explosives for the clearing minefields [sic]. "
"In 2007, Israeli experts trained Georgian commandos," he added. Georgia's Deputy Defense Minister Batu Kutelia previously said that "Georgian corporals and sergeants train with Germans, alpine units and the navy work with French instructors, and special operations and urban warfare troops are taught by Israelis."
Tensions between Georgia and Russia ratcheted up the spring, after Russia and her allies in the breakaway region of Abkhazia shot down a number of Georgian spy drones. Those unmanned Hermes 450 reconnaissance planes were made by Israel's Elbit Systems.
The two countries have been doing military hardware deals for almost seven years, "following an initiative by Georgian citizens who immigrated to Israel and became businesspeople," Ynetnews notes. "The fact that Georgia's defense minister, Davit Kezerashvili, is a former Israeli who is fluent in Hebrew contributed to this cooperation."
"His door was always open to the Israelis who came and offered his country arms systems made in Israel," the source said... "The deals in this country were conducted fast, mainly due to the defense minister's personal involvement."
Former Israel internal security minister Roni Milo was one of the people who pushed those deals along. He "conducted business in Georgia for Elbit Systems," according to Ynetnews. "And with his help Israel's defense industries managed to sell to Georgia [drones], automatic turrets for armored vehicles, antiaircraft systems, communication systems, shells and rockets."
In addition, "Israel has reportedly helped upgrade Soviet-designed Su-25 ground attack jets assembled in Georgia. And former Israeli generals serve as advisers to the Georgian military," according to the Jewish Week. All told, "Israel arms sales to Georgia over the last decade have been estimated at some $300 million to $500 million."
But, by late 2007, Israeli analysts saw war and the horizon for Russia and Georgia, Ha'Aretz observes. "The defense and foreign ministries started ordering military exports to Georgia be cut last year, thwarting a major deal for Israeli-made Merkava tanks... Senior Israeli generals apparently felt a showdown was imminent, and preferred not to get directly involved."
Especially because Jerusalem "views cooperation from Moscow — which has been supplying Iran with arms and help in its nuclear efforts — as crucial to halting Iran's drive" for atomic weaponry, the Jewish Week adds.
During the first few days of the war, the Russians seemed placated. "We are appreciative of Israel's position of not selling offensive weapons to a conflict area," Russian diplomat Anatoly Yurkov said. Today, the rhetoric changed.
[Photo: FlightGlobal]

[MikeWB]

Russia: Israel gave Georgia arms
Aug. 19, 2008
JPost.com Staff , THE JERUSALEM POST
http://www.jpost.com/servlet/Satellite? ... 8710400132
Russia's deputy army chief, Col.-Gen. Anatoly Nogovitsyn, accused Israel on Tuesday of arming the Georgian military with mines, explosive charges, special explosives for clearing minefields and eight kinds of unmanned aerial vehicles.

"In 2007, Israeli experts trained Georgian commandos in Georgia and there were plans to supply heavy weaponry, electronic weapons, tanks and other arms at a later date, but the deal didn't work out," Nogovitsyn told a Moscow press conference. Nogovitsyn also said that the Russian soldiers had detained 20 mercenaries near the Georgian city of Poti, including three Arabs, all wearing Georgian army uniforms.

Nogovitsyn also said that Israeli troops in 2007 had trained Georgian commando troops.

He added that Russia had begun pulling its troops out of Georgia on Monday, in accordance with the French-brokered ceasefire.

Georgia's Deputy Defense Minister Batu Kutelia said that Georgian corporals and sergeants train with German alpine units, the navy work with French instructors and special operations and urban warfare troops are taught by Israelis.

An Israeli defense official told The Jerusalem Post recently that Israel had rejected frequent requests for arms from Georgia in the months leading up to the outbreak of hostilities with Russia.

"Several months ago, we carried out an evaluation of the situation in Georgia and realized that Georgia and Russia were on a collision course. We have good relations with both, and don't want to back either in this conflict," the official said. "We therefore made a decision to drastically minimize sales of weapons to Georgia."

Some of the Israeli sales with Georgia in the past included night-vision equipment, rifles and unmanned drones for gathering intelligence. Israel did not agree, however, to upgrade the drones to those that possess high intelligence-gathering capabilities, the defense officials said.

Georgia's defense minister, Davit Kezerashvili, is a former Israeli who is fluent in Hebrew, and is said to have contributed to military cooperation.

Yaakov Lappin and news agencies contributed to this report.

[sullivan]

By Noah Shachtman .... Categories: Crazy Ivans, Sabras

Crazy Ivans.  The Khazars of this world have had it in for them ever since Prince Stanislav of Kiev brought and end to their duplicitous kingdom.  Sabras, in addition to being slang for native born occupiers of Palestine, is also the name for the prickly pear.