Embassy of the United States Moscow, Russia

Myth: The United States was militarily involved in the conflict in Georgia.

• Izvestia (Aug 12) and a few additional outlets reported that Russian Deputy General Chief of Staff Nogovitsyn said in a press conference that they “saw some black Georgians with other states’ passports” among those killed on the Georgian side.
• At a press conference on August 28, Russian Deputy Chief of the General Staff, Anatoly Nogovitsyn, claimed that Russian forces found a U.S. passport belonging to “Michael Lee White from Texas” among documents connected to Georgian Special Forces.
• Prime Minister Putin in an interview to CNN on August 28 said – “But it is not just a matter of the U.S. administration being unable to restrain the Georgian leadership from this criminal action; the U.S. side had in effect armed and trained the Georgian army…. We have serious reasons to believe that there were U.S. citizens right in the combat zone. If that is the case, if that is confirmed, it is very bad. It is very dangerous; it is misguided policy.”

Fact: No U.S. forces, advisors or soldiers were in the conflict zone.

Fact: The United States told all parties, including the Georgians, that the use of military force in any way in this hot zone, this volatile region, was going to be a mistake. (Secretary Rice, Interview with CBS, August 17)

Fact: The Wall Street Journal and other news outlets tracked down Michael Lee White, the individual that General Nogovitsyn insinuated was operating with Georgian Special Forces. The Wall Street Journal reports that he is an English language teacher in China and that the passport in question was lost on a flight between Moscow and New York in 2005. The AP also spoke with Mr. White and the story can be found here: AP Story

Fact: The United States began to train and equip Georgian forces under President Shevardnadze’s government to combat terrorism in the Pankisi Gorge – following complaints made by the international community, including Russia. After Georgia contributed to UN peacekeeping efforts in Iraq, the United States began training Georgian light infantry battalions for deployment. More details can be found on the EUCOM website. 

Myth: The U.S. orchestrated the conflict in Georgia to help John McCain in the presidential election.

• Prime Minister Putin in an interview to CNN said: “If my suppositions are confirmed, then there are grounds to suspect that some people in the United States created this conflict deliberately in order to aggravate the situation and create a competitive advantage for one of the candidates for the U.S. presidency. And if that is the case, this is nothing but the use of the called administrative resource in domestic politics, in the worst possible way, one that leads to bloodshed.”
• Izvestia ran an op-ed by Sergei Markov on August 13 in which he wrote: “The main perpetrator [of the violence] is Vice President Dick Cheney, who is the leader of neo-conservatives…neo-cons have key positions in the Bush administration and control foreign and military policy… they began the war in Iraq and will try to start a war with Iran. Neo-cons support John McCain for President and they will do their best to keep control over U.S. foreign policy.”
• Channel 1 on August 10 ran comments from pundits on the war and one went so far to say that the conflict was a provocation by Dick Cheney to help McCain win the presidency.

Fact: The United States has been advocating for a peaceful solution to the frozen conflicts in Georgia and had been working with Russia through the UN for years to that end. Up until the very last minute, the United States had been urging Georgia to act in restraint and not fall for provocations. However, Russia rather than confining the conflict to South Ossetia, decided to go deeper into Georgia, to bomb Georgian ports, to bomb Georgian military installations, to go into the city of Gori. (Secretary Rice, NBC Interview, August 17, 2008)

Fact: Statement from John McCain on the Grave Situation in Georgia

"Today, news reports indicate that Russian military forces crossed an internationally-recognized border into the sovereign territory of Georgia. Russia should immediately and unconditionally cease its military operations and withdraw all forces from sovereign Georgian territory. What is most critical now is to avoid further confrontation between Russian and Georgian military forces. The consequences for Euro-Atlantic stability and security are grave…"

Statement from Barack Obama on the Grave Situation in Georgia

"I strongly condemn the outbreak of violence in Georgia, and urge an immediate end to armed conflict. Now is the time for Georgia and Russia to show restraint, and to avoid an escalation to full scale war. Georgia's territorial integrity must be respected. All sides should enter into direct talks on behalf of stability in Georgia, and the United States, the United Nations Security Council, and the international community should fully support a peaceful resolution to this crisis."

Myth: The United States urged Georgia to invade South Ossetia and supported the killing of innocent civilians.

• Moskovskiy Komsomolets on August 18 reported that Saakashvili’s plan to invade South Ossetia had been approved by the United States.
• Moscow Mayor Yuriy Luzhkov appearing on NTV on August 30 said among other things: “"Condoleezza Rice, who visited Georgia two weeks before the attack, surely gave the go-ahead to the operation…”
• Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov said in a September 1 speech at MGIMO: When we are constantly told about "Georgia's democratic government," does this mean that it is permissible for a democratic government to act in such a way against a civilian population that it regards as its own?  We will never agree with this British-style "license to kill" granted by certain capitals to certified or "friendly regimes."

Fact: The United States is very concerned about the plight of all civilians who suffered from the fighting in the region and deeply regrets the loss of life. The United States had constantly pushed efforts to reduce tension in the region and warned both sides against the use of force. Ethnic cleansing, racially motivated violence and other abuses of civilians are clear violations of international law and can never be justified.

Fact: The United States supports all efforts to investigate allegations of genocide and ethnic cleansing. The independent group Human Rights Watch has thoroughly investigated reports and has raised concerns regarding the widespread torching of Georgian villages in South Ossetia. Full reports can be found on the  Human Rights Watch Website

Fact: In testimony to Congress, Assistant Secretary for European and Eurasian Affairs Daniel Fried said the following:

During this time (the months leading up to August 8), we urged Georgian officials both publicly and privately, on many occasions, to resist the temptation of any military reaction, even in the face of repeated provocations, which they were clearly facing. President Saakashvili did, to his credit, offer extensive autonomy to Abkhazia, including a guarantee that a Vice President of Georgia would be from Abkhazia. In July, Secretary Rice traveled to Tbilisi to seek to intensify diplomatic efforts to reduce the growing tensions. Working closely with counterparts from Germany, France, and the UK, she called for intensified diplomatic efforts on an urgent basis. While expressing support for Georgia, she also cautioned President Saakashvili against any temptation to use force to resolve these conflicts, even in the face of continued provocations.<…>

Throughout this period, the United States worked with both Georgia and South Ossetia, and with Russia, seeking to tamp down the growing conflict. On August 7 Georgia’s minister for conflict resolution traveled to South Ossetia for negotiations, but his South Ossetian counterpart refused to meet with him and his Russian colleague failed to show up, claiming his car had broken down. On the night of August 7, those pressures rose to heights never before seen. Shooting broke out between Georgia and South Ossetian armed forces in South Ossetia. Georgia declared a ceasefire, but it did not hold. The Georgians told us that South Ossetians had fired on Georgian villages from behind the position of Russian peacekeepers. The Georgians also told us that Russian troops and heavy military equipment were entering the Roki Tunnel border crossing with Russia.

We had warned the Georgians many times in the previous days and weeks against using force, and on August 7, we warned them repeatedly not to take such a step. We pointed out that use of military force, even in the face of provocations, would lead to a disaster. We were blunt in conveying these points, not subtle. Our message was clear.

Georgia’s move into the South Ossetian capital provided Russia a pretext for a response that quickly grew far out of proportion to the actions taken by Georgia. There will be a time for assessing blame for what happened in the early hours of the conflict, but one fact is clear – there was no justification for Russia’s invasion of Georgia. There was no justification for Russia to seize Georgian territory, including territory well beyond South Ossetia and Abkhazia

Fried’s full testimony can be read here. 

Myth: The United States is supplying Georgia with arms under the guise of humanitarian aid.

• Nezavisimaya Gazeta (8/20) stated: "The United States may turn the Black Sea port of Poti into its naval base, using humanitarian assistance as an excuse."
• On August 25, Rossiya TV reported that Georgia was regrouping its troops and setting up arms caches. Russian First Deputy CGS Nogovitsyn was shown describing the movements of NATO ships during an August 23 news conference. The report said that the US claimed to be bringing in humanitarian aide, but experts have doubts. The conclusion was that the US is re-arming Georgia.
• Kommersant also pointed out on Aug 26 : "U.S. sailors have reached as far as Gori, which was recently controlled by the Russian army" and that according to a military-diplomatic source, the McFaul and the soon to arrive Dallas "are never used as a means to transport humanitarian aid."

Fact: The United States has provided only humanitarian aid to Georgia since the crisis began.

According to one of the most popular Asian news sites:

But besides pledging to continue its push for Georgia's admission to the North Atlantic Treaty Organization (NATO)- something with which Washington's European allies would have to go along with - the Bush administration has so far declined to make any promises in regard to military aid.

Indeed, even Vice President Dick Cheney, who had reportedly pushed hard for sending such advanced equipment to Georgia even before last month's war, refrained from making any promises last Thursday during his high-profile visit to the Georgian capital.

"Over time, I'm sure, people will look at what happened with the military here and what the needs are," an official who accompanied Cheney on his four-hour stay in Tbilisi told US reporters on the vice president's plane. "But I think the focus for the moment is on the humanitarian and long-term economic needs." Asia Times Online Website

Fact: U.S. European Command is leading the military component of a wider humanitarian relief and assistance effort taking place under the direction of the State Department.