-Caveat Lector-
Read the *ENTIRE* article. It clarifies what we know to date about what
Russia may or may not do.
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Russia Rejects Joint Military Action With United States
By Susan B. Glasser
Washington Post Foreign Service
Saturday, September 15, 2001; Page A06
MOSCOW, Sept. 14 -- Russia today rejected participation in any U.S.-led
retaliatory strike against terrorists and said the United States should not
use countries in Central Asia as a staging ground for an assault against
neighboring Afghanistan.
Although Russia has officially pledged cooperation in fighting what
President Vladimir Putin called a "common enemy," today's statements by top
Russian military officials could have the effect of restricting U.S.
options as President Bush considers whether and how to proceed against
those responsible for Tuesday's attacks in New York and Washington.
Tajikistan and several other countries in former Soviet Central Asia are
among the few obvious launching pads for an attack against the
Afghanistan-based organization of leading terrorism suspect Osama bin
Laden.
Defense Minister Sergei Ivanov told reporters during a summit in Armenia
that the United States and its allies should not rely on Central Asia to
stage any assault. "I see absolutely no basis for even hypothetical
suppositions about the possibility of NATO military operations on the
territory of Central Asian nations," Ivanov said.
At the same time, Russian military leaders made clear Russia likely will
not take part "in the retaliatory acts" planned by the United States, said
Gen. Anatoly Kvashnin, head of the Russian general staff. According to the
Interfax news agency, Kvashnin said, "The U.S. armed forces are powerful
enough to deal with this task alone."
A day earlier, Ivanov also expressed skepticism about an active role in the
U.S. response, telling reporters, "Russia is not planning any kind of
military actions or strikes."
But today's statements do not rule out far more extensive cooperation
between Russia and the United States than in the past. Both Western and
Russian sources here said that high-level bilateral talks are continuing
with the aim of "constructive" cooperation that could go well beyond
sharing intelligence information. U.S. Deputy Secretary of State Richard
Armitage is to arrive in Moscow next week for meetings on joint
anti-terrorist operations.
And Russia's allies in Tajikistan today did not reject the possibility that
the United States could use its airspace as part of an operation against
bin Laden. In a news conference today in the Kazakh city of Almaty, Tajik
Prime Minister Akil Akilov said only that he will "definitely" consult with
Russia before agreeing to such a step, according to Interfax.
Still, it was clear today that Russia fears U.S. strikes against bin Laden
could set off a new wave of violence in the already volatile region on its
southern border, where authoritarian-minded leaders in several former
Soviet states are already clashing with Islamic militants at least loosely
allied with the extremist Taliban leadership of Afghanistan that has given
refuge to bin Laden. Inside Russia, too, there are painful memories of the
Soviet Union's decade-long war in Afghanistan that ended in retreat in
1989, a national trauma comparable to the American experience in Vietnam.
But perhaps the greatest deterrent for Russians is the war they are already
fighting inside their own borders against Muslim rebels in Chechnya, a
bloody and inconclusive conflict that has sapped the country's military
resources and made it fear terrorism at home. In recent days, Putin and
Ivanov have both claimed that bin Laden has given aid to the Chechen
rebels.
"Chechnya alone is enough for us," said Novgorod Gov. Mikhail Prusak.
"Russia's participation [in U.S. strikes] could lead to more Islamic
radicalism inside the country."
Russia's reluctance "is because we understand from our own experience in
Chechnya that military operations do not always result in ending terrorist
attacks," said Dmitri Rogozin, chairman of the international affairs
committee in the Russian parliament.
In an interview, however, Rogozin said he believed that Putin and Bush had
already agreed to substantial cooperation between their intelligence
operations and special anti-terrorist forces.
And he said that "what happened in New York and Washington this week ended
once and for all the Cold War. Just as 60 years ago, Russia and the U.S.
have a common enemy again. Now we have the moral and ethical and political
conditions for a fundamental rapprochement between the United States and
Russia."
Indeed, since the attacks against the World Trade Center and the Pentagon,
a wave of pro-American sentiment has appeared here that stands in stark
contrast to recent tensions between Washington and Moscow on issues
including missile defense and NATO expansion.
Putin was one of the first world leaders to offer his condolences to Bush
on Tuesday; Foreign Minister Igor Ivanov said that "Russia stands ready to
help in any way." By Thursday, Russia had taken the rare step of issuing a
joint statement with NATO calling on "the entire international community to
unite in the struggle against terrorism."
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Kadosh, Kadosh, Kadosh, YHVH, TZEVAOT
FROM THE DESK OF:
*Michael Spitzer* <[EMAIL PROTECTED]>
The Best Way To Destroy Enemies Is To Change Them To Friends
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