U.S. Aid ships offload in Republic of Georgia

Coast Guard Cutter Dallas and USS McFaul (DDG-74) offload in port of Batumi, as set out here:

"The crew of Dallas really wants these goods to make a difference in the lives of the Georgian people," said Capt. Robert Wagner, commanding officer of Dallas. "When we received the order to deliver these supplies, the men and women of this ship responded quickly at every turn."

USS McFaul (DDG 74) arrived in Batumi Aug. 24 delivering 155,000 pounds of aid to Georgia. USS Mount Whitney (LCC/JCC 20) is scheduled to deploy for Georgia at the end of the month with more supplies. U.S. Navy C-9, C-40 and C-130 aircraft have flown tens of thousands of hygiene kits and more than 30 tons of meals ready-to-eat into the country during the past week.

Photo captions: top to bottom

BATUMI, Georgia (Aug. 27, 2008) The U.S. Coast Guard Cutter Dallas (WHEC 716) sits in port shortly before the off-load of more than 76,000 pounds of humanitarian assistance supplies to be given to the people of Georgia has finished. The humanitarian supplies are brought in response to the request of the government of the Republic of Georgia. Dallas is part of Combined Task Force 367; the maritime element of the U.S. humanitarian assistance mission to Georgia. (U.S. Navy photo by Mass Communication Specialist 3rd Class Eddie Harrison/Released)

SOUDA BAY, Crete (Aug. 20, 2008) Bottled water is loaded aboard the guided-missile destroyer USS McFaul (DDG 74). Nearly 55 tons of supplies were loaded as part of the humanitarian assistance for the Republic of Georgia following the conflict between Russian and Georgian forces. The assistance will aid in alleviating human suffering in the Republic of Georgia. (U.S. Navy photo by Paul Farley/Released)

Shipping limits through the Bosphorus

Interesting read on U.S. intentions with respect to the Black Sea at Oktay Eksi: United States scratches the Montreux Convention itch.

I won't comment on his conjecture about what reasons other than Georgia the U.S. might want access to the Black Sea for, but it should be noted:

The Montreux Convention limits the total weight of a single warship that countries not bordering the Black Sea can deploy to 15,000 tons. Country’s bound by the agreement can deploy warships totaling a maximum of 45,000 tons.

So, if you wonder why we are sending destroyers and a Coast Guard cutter...now you know.

UPDATE: More on the Montreux Convention here and here.

Coast Guard Cutter Dallas Joins USS McFaul in delivering aid to Georgia

Reported as Second U.S. aid ship bound for Georgia passes Turkish straits:

The Coast Guard cutter Dallas entered the Dardanelles; as a giant crane unloaded 55 tons of aid from the USS McFaul for refugees in Batumi, 80 kilometers (50 miles) south of another port, Poti, where Russian troops are still present.

This has been the first U.S. humanitarian mission via the sea to Georgia since the start of the conflict on Aug. 8, when Russia sent forces into Georgia to repel an attack on the Moscow-backed separatist region of South Ossetia that Tbilisi had started the day before.

U.S. Navy officials were met by Georgian officials, including Defense Minister David Kezerashvili.

Kezerashvili said that "the population of Georgia will feel more safe from today from the Russian aggression." "They will feel safe not because the destroyer is here but because they will feel they are not alone facing the Russian aggression," he was quoted by the AP as saying.

The McFaul is also outfitted with an array of weaponry, including Tomahawk cruise missiles, which can carry both conventional or nuclear warheads, and a sophisticated radar system. For security reasons the Navy does not say if ships are carrying nuclear weapons, but they usually do not.

The command ship USS Mount Whitney is due to follow the two U.S. warships carrying relief supplies to Georgia. The U.S. has already delivered some aid by military cargo plane but is now shipping in beds and food for the displaced.

NATO-member Turkey has authorized the three U.S. ships to sail through the Turkish straits into the Black Sea.

UPDATE: How the emergency supplies got on Dallas:

Souda Bay, Crete, Greece (Aug 21, 2008) -- Coast Guard personnel load humanitarian assistance supplies aboard the Coast Guard Cutter Dallas. The supplies are destined for the Republic of Georgia following the conflict between Russian and Georgian forces. The assistance will aid in alleviating human suffering in the Republic of Georgia.
U.S. Navy photo/Paul Farley

Georgia: Don't get suckered

It appears that some liberals are trying to allege that the Russian incursion into Georgia has as a precedent the U.S. action in Iraq. Don't get suckered into following that thinking. Even if you feel the Iraq war was not justified it was not started as an effort to carve out a chunk of soverign nation- when the U.S. leaves Iraq, Iraq will have its borders intact. Compare this to the intervention in Kosovo, in which a piece of sovereign state was cut out.

Kosovo, of course, happened on the Democrat's watch and they are seemingly anxious to cloud the issue of who established the precedent asserted by the Russians. For some thoughts on that precedent, see here and here.

Perhaps it matters little in the scheme of things as they exist, but just be aware that the liberals seem to be trying to avoid responsiblity (again) for things they set in motion.