And the myth of American and Russian moral equivalence dies before the left could use it to justify their cowardice. From the AP:

TSKHINVALI, Georgia – Russian troops and their armed allies forced Georgian men to clean the streets of South Ossetia’s bombed-out capital Saturday, avenging Georgia’s attack on the breakaway province a week ago.

Three teams of ethnic Georgian men in their 40s and 50s were seen hauling debris from the streets of Tskhinvali. When approached, one of them confirmed he was being forced to work.

“Labor even turns monkeys into humans,” said a Russian officer, who along with armed Ossetians escorted one group of about two dozen Georgians through the streets of the capital.

The Russian officer threatened to arrest an Associated Press photographer if he took pictures, and would not give his name.

It appeared to be the first sign of abuse of Georgians in the Russian-controlled province.

Remember when American forces enslaved Iraqi civilians? No. Oh, right because we’re civilized. Russia is truly an evil empire.

If you wanted proof that Putin’s forces are indeed barbarians engaged in looting this clip will prove it beyond any reasonable doubt. Via Hot Air which has commentary. The soldier was reported to be drunk and he was demanding the keys to the reporter’s car:

[youtube]N7utdAm_j0U[/youtube]

What was that about moral equivalence lefties?

Fox is declaring on air right now that all reports of the Russians leaving Georgia are false news. Russian tanks are moving deep into Georgia, The Guardian is reporting that Russian forces are being accused of “orgies of looting and rape”:

Several Russian trucks overshot and missed their turning. One broke down. A soldier got the wheezing vehicle going again. Where was he from? “Chechnya. We’ve come here to help,” he said.

For the terrified residents of Gori and surrounding villages, it didn’t seem like help. Yesterday morning, as the Russian tanks advanced from their base in South Ossetia they passed through Georgian controlled-villages, telling residents to hang out white flags or be shot.

Behind them, according to people fleeing those villages, came a militia army of Chechen and Ossetian volunteers who had joined up with the regular Russian army. The volunteers embarked on an orgy of looting, burning, murdering and rape, witnesses claimed, adding that the irregulars had carried off young girls and men.

“They killed my neighbour’s 15-year-old son. Everyone was fleeing in panic,” Larisa Lazarashvili, 45, said. “The Russian tanks arrived at our village at 11.20am. We ran away. We left everything – our cattle, our house, and our possessions.”

Achiko Khitarishvili, 39, from Berbuki, added: “They were killing, burning and stealing. My village isn’t in a conflict zone. It’s pure Georgia.”

Russia is sending in bloodthirsty irregulars with no discipline or command structure:

At the end of the Russian column, a group of volunteers arrived in a shabby mini-van flying a Russian flag. One of them had his face covered with a balaclava; all were heavily armed; their mood was exuberant. What were they doing? “We’ve come for a holiday,” one said.

Via La Russophobe Georgia is filing Ethnic Cleansing charges against the Russians in the International Court of Justice. From The Georgian Daily:

The Hague, Netherlands — The Government of Georgia has today filed a complaint at the International Criminal Court in The Hague, against the Russian Federation for alleged acts of ethnic cleansing, conducted on Georgian sovereign territory between 1993 and 2008.

The case has been filed on Georgia’s behalf by its legal adviser, Payam Akhavan, Professor of International Law at McGill University in Montreal, Canada. Mr Akhavan is a world renowned expert on the issue of war crimes and international law in relation to atrocities. He was the first Legal Adviser to the Prosecutor’s Office at the International Criminal Tribunals for the Former Yugoslavia and Rwanda, and played a key role in developing its foundational jurisprudence.

The Application is based on a UN Human Rights treaty and claims that beginning in the 1990s until the recent military invasion of Georgia, Russia has supported the violent ethnic cleansing of Georgians by separatist forces from the Abkhazia and South Ossetia regions, through the supply of weapons, recruitment of mercenaries, and direct military intervention by Russia’s own armed forces, resulting in large-scale atrocities against Georgian civilians.

In other news America has signed a deal with Poland for that missile defense shield the Russians are so unhappy about. How’s that taste Vlad?

Like scalded dogs, as some would say, Russia began fleeing the field when American forces arrived to give our Georgian allies some much needed (and disgustingly late) humanitarian aid. The Russian forces’ retreat came on the tail of some very tough talk from President Bush:

BREAKING NEWS — Georgia’s Interior Ministry says Russian troops have begun pulling out of the city of Gori, where their presence raised fears that Russia would challenge a cease-fire agreement.

Ministry spokesman Shota Utiashvili said Thursday that Russian troops have also left Poti, a Black Sea port city with an oil terminal that is a key part of Georgia’s fragile economic health.

Russian troops entered Gori on Wednesday. The city is about 15 miles south of South Ossetia, the separatist Georgian region where Russian and Georgian forces fought a brutal five-day battle.

The entry into Gori came hours after both sides signed a cease-fire agreement that called for their forces to be pulled back to the positions they held before the fighting started a week ago.

The first C-17 plane carrying humanitarian supplies arrived Wednesday in Tbilisi, Georgia, White House Press Secretary Dana Perino said. Another is scheduled to arrive on Thursday with additional supplies.

Also Wednesday, President Bush said he is skeptical that Moscow is honoring a cease-fire in neighboring Georgia, demanding that Russia end military activities in the former Soviet republic and withdraw its forces.

Bush, who pushed back his upcoming vacation to monitor the situation in Georgia, said Russia must ensure that “all lines of communication and transport, including seaports, roads and airports,” remain open to deliveries and civilians.

“The United States stands with the democratically elected government of Georgia and insists that the sovereignty and territorial integrity of Georgia be respected,” Bush said during brief but stern remarks in the White House Rose Garden.

A little late but that’s the kind of Presidential action I like to see.