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January 12, 2024

The State Department and the press have been involved in numerous cases of deception and falsehoods. Certain instances, like The Gulf of Tonkin Resolution that sparked the Vietnam War or the accusation of Saddam Hussein developing nuclear weapons that led to the Iraq war, had devastating consequences resulting in the loss of thousands of American lives. The recent depiction of the war in Georgia serves as another example of misrepresentation and a false narrative.

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Fifteen years ago, on August 8, 2008, Russia-Georgia war began. The portrayal of this conflict has drawn parallels to Nazi propaganda minister Joseph Goebbels’ infamous quote, “If you repeat a lie often enough, it becomes the truth.”

Here are just a few examples:

“Fifteen years ago, Russia invaded the sovereign nation of Georgia and occupied 20 percent of its territory.” U.S. Department of State, August 7, 2023.

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“Russia falsely accused Georgia of committing “genocide” and “aggression against South Ossetia”. … It launched a full-scale land, air and sea invasion of Georgia …” Wikipedia.

 “On August 8, 2008, Russian forces began the invasion of Georgia, marking the start of Europe’s first twenty-first century war.” Atlantic Council, August 7, 2121.

“During the war, the Kremlin established full control over the occupied Tskhinvali region (the so-called South Ossetia) and Abkhazia, which together constituted 20 percent of Georgian territory.” CSIS Center for Strategic & International Studies in Washington DC.

The State Department and media have perpetuated a narrative that Russia invaded Georgia and annexed South Ossetia in Vladimir Putin’s bid to restore the Soviet Empire. Yet, a closer examination of historical context and factual evidence presents a contradictory perspective.

Image: The South Ossetian military in 2009 by Cominf.org. CC BY 3.0.

The conflict between Georgia and South Ossetia did not start with the ascendance of Vladimir Putin but had a history stretching for two centuries. South Ossetia became part of the Russian Empire in 1774. After the Bolshevik revolution in 1917 and the subsequent demise of the Russian empire, Georgia attempted to annex South Ossetia. In May 1920, Georgia attacked South Ossetia indiscriminately, killing men, women, and children, causing a flood of refugees.

Incidentally, in 2020, the people of South Ossetia commemorated the 100th anniversary of the atrocities perpetrated by Georgians, which Ossetians call genocide. In April 1922, after the Bolsheviks took power in Georgia, Stalin, who was Georgian, put South Ossetia under the jurisdiction of Georgia.