I know it is unfair to damn the entire institution when I read individual pieces of idiocy, but often the idiocy distinguishes itself from the whole only by degree.
This article on the Russia-Georgia War of 2008 manages three massive errors in one small wire report. The first mistake is one common to our media as a whole:
The war began Aug. 7 when Georgian forces began heavy shelling of the South Ossetian capital, Tskhinvali, hoping to retake control of the province. Russian forces poured in, pushed the Georgians out in a matter of days and then drove deep into Georgia proper.
The war was not begun by Georgia. The nearly instant response by the ramshackle Russian armed forces mentioned in that paragraph should have been the first clue. In fact, Russia used their local allies to attack Georgians and provoke Georgia into firing back. That unwise response by Georgia triggered the Russian invasion.
The author is just repeating Russian propaganda. If you doubt that, check out this claim:
The United States also has sent substantial aid to Georgia following the war, using naval ships and military aircraft. Russian officials speculated that the United States was trying to restore Georgia's armed forces, which had received massive military aid from Washington in recent years.
This is two lies in one paragraph. Our Navy delivered humanitarian aid. I wish those ships had been packed with anti-tank and anti-aricraft weapons for the Georgians. Hopefully those come later. If this insanity is we can expect from Russia in the future, I want more dead Russians. Maybe if they have to pay a price for their self esteem invasion, they'll rethink their course.
More obviously wrong is the claim that we provided Georgia with "massive military aid." Georgia's defense spending is actually very low and Georgia was armed with old Russian-designed weapons. You just won't find American military equipment in the Georgian military. Except for one ex-French gunboat, it was all Russian-made stuff (if not older Soviet stuff). Yes, we were training the Georgians for peacekeeping missions, but the idea that America armed Georgia is just Moscow fantasy.
So bravo, Associated Press. You're aware a war was fought. But other than that basic fact you seem rather clueless. Effing amazing.
