With his popularity at an all-time low, Saakashvili has been showcasing his successes in foreign affairs to overshadow the lackluster response to his reform policies at home.
Saakashvili is delivering for Bush who has commanded the Georgian president to implement a foreign policy conducive to that of Washington’s for the benefit of the American elite. Bush does not care about reform policies in Georgia or making the life of the average Georgian palatable. Hence Saakashvili ignores his own people.
This is not a true democracy; it is not a government ‘for the people’.
I hope the Russian people are watching and catching on to this farce that Bush is aggressively trying to push on them.
-Am
Bush gives Georgia a shot in the arm By Molly Corso
May 12, 2005
US President George W Bush is the first United States president to visit the small Caucasus country of Georgia, but his trip this week to Tbilisi has implications that reach far beyond existing Georgian-American relations.
Georgia has long courted both Russia and the United States, but since Georgian President Mikhail Saakashvili came to power after the 2003 Rose Revolution, he has looked to the West - and membership in the North Atlantic Treaty Organization and the European Union (NATO and the EU) - much more than catering to Russia. Both the Georgian media and Saakashvili have been promoting the visit as a tribute to the newly strengthened US-Georgian relationship, and if early indicators are any testimony, Saakashvili is already reaping the benefits of that union.
The timing of Bush's historic visit could not be better for the Georgian president. With his popularity at an all-time low, Saakashvili has been showcasing his successes in foreign affairs to overshadow the lackluster response to his reform policies at home.
Georgians have hit the streets in large numbers over the past few months, protesting as the new reforms affect their daily lives. When Saakashvili was voted into office in January 2004, he received well over 90% of the vote - a level of support that could not realistically survive his first year.
But after nearly 18 months in office, he has alienated not only average Georgian citizens who expected radical change radically fast, but also the very Western-educated, Western-oriented intelligentsia he once represented. The reported 25% drop in his popularity is not enough to cause Saakashvili serious concern, but the growing dissatisfaction with his policies from the very people who should make up his core support is disturbing.
The first serious sign of discontent was an open letter sent to Saakashvili by several prominent Georgian non-government activists in the fall of 2004. Among other things, they complained that the president was unreceptive to other ideas and actively aggressively opposing other points of view. Political experts characterized the problems as part of the administration's overall inexperience.
Other complaints have trickled in this year, including charges that police brutality has not been adequately addressed, the justice system is a puppet of the current administration, and human rights are not being protected. The opposition, although in essence weak and disorganized, have actively sought to regroup and take advantage of the situation, but their popularity is still very limited. Although their influence is not enough to damage Saakashvili politically, their continual calls for massive protests give the country an air of instability and draw attention to the administration's struggling attempts at reform.
In addition to defending his current policies aggressively, Saakashvili has showcased Georgia's new role in the post-Soviet space and the influence of the Rose Revolution on other former Soviet republics. During a televised news conference on March 29, he stated that Georgia played an advisory role during the overthrow of the government in Kyrgyzstan and was a "catalyst" for the developments there, in addition to helping to introduce a European-oriented government in Moldova. He added that it is impossible to underestimate the importance of the forthcoming visit by US President Bush. While some experts believed that was a smokescreen to cover discontent at home, events over the past few weeks have given new weight to his words.
Georgian-Russian relations Although Saakashvili and Russian President Vladimir Putin seemed to be forming a close relationship in the beginning of Saakashvili's presidency early in 2004, that friendship quickly soured. There are several points of contention between the two neighboring countries, but currently the most politically charged revolves around the two existing Russian army bases on Georgian soil (there is also a Russian army base in Abkhazia, which has reportedly been closed although that has not been independently confirmed; at any rate, the current discussions do not pertain to bases in the contested Abkhazian territory).
According to a 1999 agreement, Russia should have already removed the remaining bases but bilateral talks concerning the bases have been stalled for the past five years. During the summer of 2004, the new Georgian foreign minister Salome Zourabichvili inspired a partial breakthrough when Tbilisi offered to open joint, anti-terrorist centers with Russia once the troops were removed. However, no progress was made during both a low-level meeting in the beginning of February between the Russian and Georgian foreign ministries or when Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov went to Tbilisi later that month.
The strained relations with Russia reached a peak in March, when the Georgian parliament announced a non-binding resolution declaring the remaining Russian bases in Georgia illegal if no concrete progress was made regarding their removal. The resolution gave the Russian government until May to reach a compromise with Tbilisi, but as late as April there was little hope any agreement would be made.
Tensions remained even after Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice's visit to Moscow on April 20, when both the Georgian and the Russian sides accused each other of causing the gridlock. However, when Zourabichvili arrived in Russia a week later, she was able to quickly reach an agreement with Lavrov concerning the bases, and according to current information, the Russian troops will vacate the bases by January 2008. The Russian government reportedly is also no longer demanding compensation - at one time Moscow quoted a debt of several million dollars.
Zourabichvili was hesitant to place credit for the diplomatic coup squarely on American shoulders, but she did say Washington's influence played a role. The new developments are certainly a triumph for Saakashvili's administration. He has placed a great deal of emphasis - and money - on Georgia's drive to become part of the North Atlantic Treaty Organization. As long as there are Russian troops on Georgian soil, there is no chance for membership.
The American government has openly supported Georgia's bid to join the organization; the US military has helped train and modernize the Georgian army for the past three years in a series of programs that reportedly cost several million dollars in American funding. In March, the US military announced the latest training program for Georgian troops, the Stability Maintenance Operations Program, which will train a reported 5,000 soldiers at a cost of $65 million dollars. Georgian Prime Minister Zurab Nogaideli announced in March that Georgia would soon begin work on the membership action plan to join NATO, and American assistance would be important at this stage.
American aid In addition to the considerable financial support the American government has supplied Georgia, since the Rose Revolution, Washington has stepped up political support as well. After the Ukrainian elections, American senators - including Hillary Clinton (D-NY) - praised Georgia's role in developing democracy throughout the former Soviet Union. In March, American senators John McCain, a Republican, and Joseph Lieberman, a Democrat, introduced legislation, the Advance Democracy Act, designed to support movements such as the Rose Revolution. In a press release, the senators directly mentioned the events in Georgia. McCain has also recently spoken out against Russia's policies in the region.
By visiting Tbilisi, Bush is also improving Georgia's - and Saakashvili's - political clout. According to a press release from the American Embassy in Tbilisi, Bush's visit to Georgia highlights the country's historic reform and commitment to peaceful conflict resolution. This pledge of support will help Saakashvili as he searches for ways to end the conflicts in Abkhazia and South Ossetia. This visit also proves that Georgia is no longer the political backwater it once was. By standing beside Saakashvili in his own country - not a meeting in Moscow or a neutral European capital - Bush is giving Georgia status above "a former Soviet republic" and accenting its independence from Russia's sphere of influence.
Conclusion This visit is a golden opportunity for Saakashvili. Not only does it demonstrate to political opponents that his foreign policy has born fruit, but it also presents him with the political clout to pursue his policies more actively. It will be up to him now to use that power to further Georgia's democratic development. Difficult reforms remain on the horizon; if Saakashvili can use this opportunity to galvanize support at home, and transform his struggling domestic policy into a mature and well organized plan of action, Georgia will continue to influence strongly regional politics in the Caucasus.
Published with permission of the Power and Interest News Report, an analysis-based publication that seeks to provide insight into various conflicts, regions and points of interest around the globe. All comments should be directed to content@pinr.com
I heard on the Knight report on KPFA that indeed a grenade was thrown at Bush but that Georgian police did not tell Bush OR the secret service and let bush continue his speech as scheduled. Bush and Georgian leaders can't get Moscow to withdraw the Russian troops from Georgia. Bush is not even informed when grenades are thrown at him. All this time we have been feed B.S. about the wonders of the Rose revolution and "Democracy" as if Moscow had lost its influence in the region. When will Americans quit calling war propaganda "the news"?
Market Data 
Markets 
AI
