A delegation including envoys from the US, EU and OSCE is heading to Georgia as its conflict with Russia over the breakaway South Ossetia region deepens.
The envoys hope to broker a truce after three days of fighting which are said to have killed or injured hundreds, and sent many others fleeing.
Russian jets have bombed several towns, including Gori in central Georgia.
Russia says it wants Georgian forces to withdraw to the positions they held outside South Ossetia before Thursday.
A Russian air strike on Gori, a Georgian town near South Ossetia, left 60 people dead, many of them civilians, Georgia says.
Russian officials say hundreds of civilians have been killed in South Ossetia. Georgia denies the figure, which cannot be independently verified.

The joint delegation of the US, EU and the Organisation of Security and Co-operation in Europe is due to visit Georgia on Saturday evening.
UK Foreign Secretary David Miliband said the fighting risked incurring "civilian losses on a large scale".
Emissaries from the US and Europe, all of them Nato members, are hardly likely to be seen as honest brokers by the Kremlin, when it comes to Georgia, BBC's diplomatic correspondent Bridget Kendall says.
The danger now is that Russia will not only use this crisis to demonstrate its military power in the region, but argue it is time to redraw the map, she adds.
Russia's ambassador to Nato, Dmitry Rogozin, said there could be no "consultations" with Georgia until Georgian forces returned to their positions and re-established "the status quo".

Why are we so arrogant as to think we can continue to stick our noses in other countries' business without pissing people off? America was founded on a policy of non-interventionism, how did we get so far away from that?

off topic for Lansky:
the fact that Hitlers Subs caught your grate nation totally pants down back in the early 40's
might have something to do with it. the well developed mediamachine also up lifted
the american people to a sense of heroism in the cold war after hitler was beaten.
while most of the "glory" (in the sense of grimm and brutall reality
rather than hollywood hiphip hoorray sugarcoatings) goes to the
Soviet Union which always was the arch nemesis of the Nazi-Germany.
when the industry boomed and business was well it was seen as the
founding pillar of western capitalist democracy. so in order to get the
money flowing, they guys at the wallstreet and the political machine in washington
merged to dictate over the american interests abroad and commercializing the
the effort in american television, the efforts were often win or loose nothing
scenarios. it has a name too.... Jingoism

and it seems more clear than ever that the modern day Russia is just playing by the good book of "the american model".

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I completely agree with you.
At this point in my service I feel wronged by my leaders for allowing our nation's reputation to be sullied by having our fingers in everyone else's pies and not allowing anyone else to do the same.
No one tolerates a bully forever, and unfortunately, we have been the world's biggest bully for years. I only hope the blowback isn't as bad as I fear it will be.

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Patriotism is the last refuge of a scoundrel.- Samuel Johnson

"There never was a good war or a bad peace." B Franklin

David 's really got his finger on the pulse, what a f-ckin tosser!

I know mate what a wanker...why dont he tell us something we dont already know

I Cant really speak for the American..but we have to send representatives.. even if theres the slight chance it might stop the bloodshed.. georgians might listen...but i doubt Moscow will...i think sending a NATO representative is taking the piss...as if the Russians will listen...sticking our noses in or not..its worth a try..who wants this unrest on European soil???

this is why we also have concentrated our diplomatic efforts to this incedent.
we are hoping that the fact that we are not in nato will actually help things
along the road. but at this point every thought of that kind is premature.


one thing i do know is that this "hey please?" by G.W. Bush is not gonna cut it in the current situation.

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Yeah i think your right Torps...your goverment would be perfect for the job..or any other country that is viewed by both Georgia and Russia...as neutral...sending someone from NATO to try and broker a peace...isnt a smart move...it isnt going to wash with putin...as he thinks we are pro Geogian anyway...so i think that is an error

the US are not going to be listen to by Moscow....neither is my goverment...we dont hold any weight politics wise....not in this situation

Hold no weight,what makes you say that?.If the European Union stands shoulder to shoulder,we could witness a Russian withdrawal