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Assassination of Chechen leader opens insurgency to full Al Qaida control Russian sources said the killing of Maskhadov reflected a high-level decision by the Kremlin. The intelligence community had long followed Maskhadov, with informants throughout Chechnya. Sources said Moscow was alarmed over Maskhadov's increasing contacts with the European Union. Aslan Maskhadov • Age: 53 • Task: Chechen rebel leader • Whereabouts: killed by Russian security forces Aslan Maskhadov is dead, but the Chechen war against Russia is far from over and continues to affect countries from Iraq to Afghanistan. The killing of Maskhadov by Russian authorities on March 9 has brought the leadership back to the source of the terrorist insurgency — Al Qaida. Maskhadov might have been the president of the separatist Chechen government, but his authority stemmed from the Saudi-financed Shamil Basayev. Unlike Basayev, Maskhadov commanded few, if any, of the estimated 1,500 full-time combatants in Chechnya. Moscow regarded Maskhadov as a front for Chechen political leadership that would confront President Vladimir Putin, should he ever succumb to Western pressure to negotiate over the future of Chechnya. With Maskhadov out of the way, Basayev has now become the undisputed leader of the Chechen insurgency, used by Al Qaida as the laboratory of Islamic terrorism — whether in Afghanistan, Iraq or in Europe. Chechnya is regarded as the most brutal battleground for Islamic terrorists. The best completed a tour in Chechnya in preparation for attacks against Western interests in Algeria, Iraq, Kuwait, Lebanon and even Saudi Arabia. Maskhadov's contacts with the European Union included a conference by his government-in-exile in London in February 2004. Moscow hopes that with Maskhadov's death, the entire Chechen insurgency feels under threat. "When terrorists feel they are followed, armed groups detained, a top leader eliminated — this creates an atmosphere that rules out the prospect of terrorist attacks," said Russian parliamentarian Vladimir Vasilyev, chairman of the Duma Security Committee. That's the official view. The unofficial view is that Maskhadov was not even a major target of Russian intelligence. He was not regarded as a terrorist commander, but rather as a propagandist. "Maskhadov wasn't as influential as Basayev," Duma parliamentarian Dmitri Rogozin said. "Rather, he was the commander of a toy force. We would like to believe that after the elimination of Maskhadov, active terrorist operations will decrease. But the situation over the last few years shows that Maskhadov was seeking opportunities for propaganda activities more than terrorist attacks." Basayev now has a free hand for Al Qaida to dominate the Chechen insurgency. Already, hundreds, perhaps even thousands of Saudi and other Arab nationals are fighting Russian troops in Chechnya. They have brought with them money and expertise in bomb making and weapons of mass destruction. Experts said for all of his fire, Maskhadov was against the Al Qaida presence. "The invaders and puppets claim to be celebrating victory," Chechen rebel ideologue Movladi Udugov said on an Al Qaida-aligned website. "A new period in the history of the Russian-Chechen military confrontation has started, which allows neither for negotiations nor the end to the war." Unlike Basayev, Maskhadov, a former Soviet colonel, tried the democratic approach. In 1997, Maskhadov was elected president of the so-called Chechen Republic of Ichkeria, the name given by Chechen separatists. With encouragement from the West, he reached out to the Kremlin for a political settlement. In contrast, Basayev was rejected in elections and turned to terrorism. With Al Qaida's help, Basayev specialized in massacres — including the takeover of a Moscow theater in 2002 and the Beslan high school in 2004. Basayev was the first to introduce women suicide bombers and has provided terrorist expertise to other Al Qaida-aligned groups. He is so brutal that he ordered the killing of terrorists who opposed the taking of children as hostages at Beslan. In all, at least 330 people were killed in the two-day episode. Basayev was expected to take over the wing led by Maskhadov. Basayev has appointed Abdul-Khalim Sadulayev, head of the Islamic Sharia court, as interim president. Some sources say Sadulayev was a Saudi national; other doubt whether he exists. "This is some kind of bluff," Russian parliamentarian and former Chechen leader Ruslan Yamadayev said. "I think there is no such person on earth." Russian sources said the killing of Maskhadov reflected a high-level decision by the Kremlin. The intelligence community had long followed Maskhadov, with informants throughout Chechnya. Sources said Moscow was alarmed over Maskhadov's increasing contacts with the European Union. "Maskhadov's death has radically changed the political situation for the terrorist underground in Chechnya, as he was the only major political figure that served as a political and, to a degree, ideological cover for the terrorists and for devising their schemes in the West and Russia," said Russian Institute of Strategic Studies Director Evgeny Kozhokin said. "They need a person whom all normal people will not see as a political terrorist and criminal who must be punished." Putin believes that Maskhadov's assassination would leave Arab and European supporters of the Chechen revolt without a political interlocutor. Basayev, whom no one disputes is a terrorist, would find it difficult to find any government willing to associate him, let alone fund him. "With Maskhadov dead, funding for the guerrillas may be drastically reduced," Duma Security Committee deputy chairman Mikhail Grishankov said. "Maskhadov was the one who helped attract money from abroad, and this flow of revenue should decline now that he is dead. As a result, we should expect a reduction in terrorist attacks and terrorist activity in general, in the North Caucasus and other parts of Russia," Grishankov said. "But Shamil Basayev will remain the key figure among the terrorists in the North Caucasus." ------------------------ Yahoo! Groups Sponsor --------------------~--> Take a look at donorschoose.org, an excellent charitable web site for anyone who cares about public education! http://us.click.yahoo.com/_OLuKD/8WnJAA/cUmLAA/TySplB/TM --------------------------------------------------------------------~-> -------------------------- Want to discuss this topic? 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