CNN continuing extremely one-sided coverage of Georgian conflict

I just watched a third interview with Georgian President Mikhail Saakashvili on CNN and have yet to see a Russian official anywhere on the network. It’s not that the Russians aren’t talking, Medvedev and Putin have issued numerous statements explaining the conflict and Sergei Lavrov has appeared on BBC, yet none of this has aired on CNN.

So far nearly all of CNN’s information has come from unconfirmed claims directly from Saakashvili and denials of Georgian actions that have been confirmed to be true–specifically the cause of the recent violence: Georgia’s attack on its break-away republic South Ossetia killing 15 Russian peacekeepers on a U.N.-sanctioned mission in the process.

Regardless of the numerous experts on the crisis, CNN has also resorted largely to discussing the complicated conflict with CNN domestic politics reporters who three days ago couldn’t find the Republic of Georgia on a map. No disrespect, its just not their expertise.

Regardless of who is right or wrong in this conflict, going totally on unconfirmed statements made by the president of one of the two belligerents involved cannot in anyway be called balanced reporting. What’s scary is that I have monitoring Russian press coverage on the conflict and it has actually been more balanced than the American coverage. They also have been publishing and airing statements from the Saakashvili government and have shown that there are contradicting numbers coming out of both governments. I should never have to say that the Russian press is more balanced than the American press on anything, and it is embarrassing that I must do so now.

Not only is listening exclusively to Saakashvili, unfair and unethical it is actually dangerous as explained by Dmitri Trenin, a guest writer for David Ignatius and Fareed Zakaria’s Post Global:

“The conflict is no longer about Russia and Georgia, [Saakashvili] says, it is about American/Western values. Georgia is a frontline state in the emerging new confrontation: a democratic David fighting the Russian Goliath. This is serious. Much has been prophesized recently about the advent of a new Cold War, and the recent developments in the Caucasus, at least in their superficial and very partial interpretation, seem to corroborate the story.

Yet, the United States and Europe need to pause and think. Standing up for Georgia is one thing, but following Saakashvili’s script is another. So far, each step in the Caucasus drama has put the conflict on a yet higher plane. The next step will no longer be just about the Caucasus, or even Europe. Remember the Guns of August.”

The only way Georgia stands to win this new conflict they have knowingly incited, is to get the West to intervene on their side, which probably and hopefully will not happen. But if Saakashvili can at least get the West scared enough of Russia, we will try to confront them in other aspects of their foreign policy.

This is exactly why for months I have been saying we should not be in anyway involved with Georgia’s supposedly democratic government. We have been training and arming the Georgian army while Saakashvili announced one of his political priorities was to regain control of the South Ossetia and Abkhazia, knowing full well that Russia, who maintains a relationship to the republics similar to our own relationship with Taiwan, would intervene on Ossetia’s behalf should Georgia invade the de facto independent province.

Now we are in the awkward situation of giving material support to a country that is at war with Russia, while that country tries to convince us to defend them, thus starting a world war.

I will continue to give the best most balanced news and updates on the conflict as I can drawn not solely from any leader’s mouth, but from news sources in the United States, Europe, Russia and Georgia.