The uncertain Russian withdrawal 'continues'

NY Times:

On its self-imposed deadline Friday to withdraw its forces from Georgia, Russia insisted that it was sticking to its timetable but there were continuing reports that Russian forces were still digging in.

Russian forces could be seen heading north toward South Ossetia from the central Georgian city of Gori, and several checkpoints around Gori had been dismantled.

The head of Georgia’s National Security Council, Alexandre Lomaia, was quoted by the Associated Press as saying, “We are seeing the pullback of Russian troops” from Gori. Earlier, Gori regional governor Vladimir Vardzelashvili said that 40 Russian military vehicles had left Gori, and were heading north, the A.P. said.

The deputy head of the Russian general staff, Col. Gen. Anatoly Nogovitsyn, said at a news briefing in Moscow that the pullout would be completed on schedule.

The pullback of the Russian forces “is being carried out punctually and we do not intend to change it in the direction of extending the timetable," he said, according to Reuters.

But Russia has given conflicting signals about whether it would withdraw its troops from Georgia by the deadline it set of Aug. 22, and it was also unclear how many troops it would leave in and around the disputed territory of South Ossetia.

...

A knowledgeable observer of the Russians tells me that the Russians are unlikely to leave without leaving partisans behind to control events and undermine the Georgia government. We know that the Russians allowed the South Ossetians to maraud, pillage and loot Georgian property after the invasion. I expect that the South Ossetians will continue an insurgency against Georgia that will expand beyond the current borders of South Ossetia.

There is no reasonable excuse for the Russian passive aggressive lingering in Georgia. There has been no resistance for over a week although the Russians have done much to provoke resistance. The Russians are being very ambiguous about where they will remain in Georgia after their "withdrawal." This thing is a long way from being over after the end of the day on August 22.

The Washington Post reports that the Russians intend to keep eight outpost inside Georgia with around 500 men. It is not clear whether the number of troops is a total or per outpost.