Russian President Dimitry Medevedev announced a cease fire in what was morning in the US, yet he is only Darth Vedar to the Emperor. The master kept his old Soviet KGB soul and now rules Russia in a way which best suits him - the power behind the throne. Russian bombs still fall on Georgia. Vlad the Invader lives today and rules from a Kremlin where evil had lay dormant for two decades. Vladimir Putin’s Red Army is still on the march after telling the world something entirely different.

Despite the televised order by Russian President Dmitry Medvedev, Russia launched an offensive Tuesday in Abkhazia, sending tanks, armored personnel carriers and artillery toward the breakaway region.

Georgian troops were forced out of their last stronghold in the separatist province, said Maj. Gen. Anatoly Zaitsev, a defense official in Abkhazia. The claim that Georgian forces were gone could not immediately be confirmed.

And hours before the order to stop fighting, Russian jets bombed the crossroads city of Gori, near the separatist region of South Ossetia. Gori’s post office and university were burning Tuesday, but the city was all but deserted after most remaining residents and Georgian soldiers fled Monday ahead of a feared Russian onslaught.

Despite the desire of Georgians for a ceasefire Russian offensive advances.

The violence appeared to show gargantuan Russia’s determination to subdue diminutive, U.S.-backed Georgia, even at the risk of international reproach. Russia fended off a wave of international calls to observe Georgia’s cease-fire, saying it must first be assured that Georgian troops have indeed pulled back from South Ossetia.

International envoys were heading in to try to end the conflict before it spreads throughout the Caucasus, a region plagued by ethnic tensions. But it was unclear what inducements or pressure the envoys could bring to bear, or to what extent either side was truly sensitive to world opinion.

In this just released from the DOD Web Site.

Whitman said about 130 U.S. military and civilian personnel are currently located near the Georgian capital of Tbilisi, helping train Georgian troops for an upcoming deployment to Iraq. All the Americans are accounted for, and none has been injured, Whitman said.

Here’s the link

UPDATE: Yes there are. This July 21 AP story confirms the presence of US troops in the Republic of Georgia.

President Mikhail Saakashvili praised a joint military training program involving more than 1,000 U.S. Marines and soldiers at a former Soviet base Monday, amid heightened tensions with Moscow.

The effort, involving 600 Georgian troops, shows that Georgia has “the best trained and equipped army” in the strategic Caucasus mountain region, Saakashvili said in comments broadcast on Georgian television.

While the exercise was planned months ago, it followed sporadic clashes between Georgians and separatists in Abkhazia and South Ossetia, breakaway regions closely tied to Russia. And it comes amid friction over Georgia’s bid for NATO membership, viewed by Moscow as hostile

Its apparent that the Russians have been attempting to intimidate the Georgians and flew a fighter over its capital during a visit by Secretary Rice:

Russian fighter jets circled over South Ossetia during a visit to Tbilisi by U.S. Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice earlier this month. Later, Georgia threatened to shoot down any Russian planes that violated its air space.

The same day Immediate Response began, the Russian military announced that it had launched its own military training exercise in its nearby North Caucasus region. A spokesman for the Russian Defense Ministry denied there was any connection between those exercises and the U.S.-Georgian training effort.

Some reports have indicated that there have been Russian air strikes well within Georgian territory. Lets hope US military personel are far from it.