Georgia's Saakashvili tries to answer war critics

By Matt Robinson - Analysis

TBILISI (Reuters) - President Mikheil Saakashvili has dismissed his prime minister and military chief to try to deflect criticism of his handling of Georgia's disastrous five-day war with Russia.

But even if the sackings go some way towards answering his critics, Saakashvili's fate is more likely to be decided by the economy and progress with democratic reforms than by the actions of his political opponents.

"Any president after war, and the outcome of this war, is weakened," said Alexander Rondeli of the Georgian Foundation for Security and International Studies.

"If he continues the process of democratisation he will stay. If not, it will be difficult."

Critics say Saakashvili, a pro-Western leader who is backed by the United States and came to power in the 2003 "Rose Revolution," took Georgia into a war with Russia in August that it could not win or afford.

Russian tanks and troops fought off an assault by Georgian forces in early August that had been intended to retake the breakaway South Ossetia region from pro-Russian separatists.

The Georgian army was routed and young, inexperienced reservists were involved in a chaotic retreat.

Several thousand Russian troops remain in South Ossetia and Abkhazia, another separatist region that has broken away from Tbilisi's rule. Tens of thousands of displaced people are still homeless and, with winter approaching and the global financial crisis spreading, Georgia faces deep economic problems.