Posted on 10/05/2006 2:56:43 PM PDT by lizol
Chechen Experience Comes in Handy for Lebanon
Soldiers of Vostok and Zapad battalions will guard construction workers from Russia
Russian Defense Minister Sergey Ivanov announced yesterday there are 2 platoons of Chechen soldiers from Vostok and Zapad battalions among Russian servicemen sent on a humanitarian mission to Lebanon by Russian Ministry of Defense. In this way, Russia wants to improve its image in the Arab world.
Chechen servicemen have already arrived to the site of their permanent location in Saida region, southern Lebanon. Two platoons of contract soldiers from Vostok and Zapad battalions of the 42nd division are to guard and protect Russian bridge-building battalion in Lebanon.
The idea to send Chechen servicemen to Lebanon first appeared during the talks between Russian President Vladimir Putin and official delegations from Lebanon and Saudi Arabia, who offered to Moscow to involve Russian Muslim soldiers to post-war reconciliation in the region. Then, Chechen Prime Minister Ramzan Kadyrov said that Chechen soldiers are ready to go to Lebanon at the first call of Russian authorities.
Russian forces in Lebanon consist of 300 of military builders, 2 security platoons, and 1 platoon of bomb technicians. The bridge-building battalion is to restore 6 destroyed bridges. Chechen soldiers have already installed 15 tents, field bakery, bath-house, and other everyday-life facilities. It is unlikely that Russian servicemen will come across UN peacekeepers, because UNIFIL forces are located to the south of Litani river, while Russians are to the north. On the contrary, some Russians will probably have to come face to face with Hezbollah militants who control southern Lebanon.
Arab world gave no response yesterday to the appearance in Lebanon of Chechen soldiers loyal to Russian authorities. So far, all Arab mass media painted the situation in Chechnya and the actions of Russia in North Caucasus in very dark colors. Al-Qaeda puts Chechnya, along with Iraq and Afghanistan, on the list of regions where Christian-Muslim war is still going on. Apparently, by sending 54 Chechen soldiers to Lebanon, Moscow is trying to change the attitude to its policy in Chechnya.
Ping
Israel PING !
Moscow posts two Chechen platoons in S. Lebanon, one headed by an ex-rebel commander, “to improve Russia’s image in the Arab world”
Moscow did not consult Israel before stationing Muslim Chechen troops on its border for the first time.
Russian defense minister Sergei Ivanov said openly to Russian media that the deployment of former rebel Chechen troops in Lebanon aimed at “improving Moscow’s image in the Arab and Muslim world.”
DEBKAfile’s military sources: The Russian units are operating independently of the largely-European UN peacekeeping force. Their vehicles fly Russian and Lebanese flags. UNIFIL too was taken by surprise by the posting of Chechen troops to Lebanon. Lebanese prime minister Fouad Siniora was informed but omitted to notify Washington, Paris, Berlin, Rome or the UN.
The Kremlin’s rationale for making Russia the first nation to deploy a Muslim contingent in South Lebanon - albeit outside the UN force – is part of a hard-hitting foreign and domestic policy initiative, which is summed up by DEBKAfile’s sources:
1. The Putin administration wants to demonstrate to Russia’s teeming Muslim community its willingness to step into Middle East conflicts – on behalf of the Muslim-Arab interest. This straw in the wind indicates the Kremlin’s orientation on the Israeli-Palestinian issue.
2. Moscow is building another bridge to Tehran through a joint, potentially interactive presence in Lebanon.
3. As a step to promote cooperation with Hizballah, with whom the Chechens, with their long record of extremist Muslim terrorist action against the Russian army, have much in common – in contrast to the European contingents of UNIFIL.
4. The Russian Chechen unit’s cooperation with Hizballah in the parts of Lebanon under its control will pave the way for a Russian Muslim military presence north of Israel which is independent of the UN and not bound by accords to which Israel is a party.
http://www.debka.com/headline.php?hid=3354
According to DEBKAfile’s military sources, the Israeli government and IDF high command were taken aback by the Russian step, which lends a different and inimical aspect to the international deployment on its northern border. When it signed off onto UN Security Council resolution 1701, Israel never envisaged the measure would open the door for Russian military intelligence to step in and camp on its border, using former Muslim terrorists involved in organized crime.
The Chechen Vostok and Zapad battalions are part of the 42nd Motorized Rifle Division that is permanently deployed in Chechnya, in charge of the eastern and western regions. The Zapad battalion is led by Major Said-Magomed Kakiev, the Vostok’s commander is the former rebel Sulim Yamadaev.
This same Yamadaev, the former Chechen rebel commander who won an amnesty and the Hero of Russia award in 2004, is alleged by the Russian media with leading the robbery of the Samson-K meat-processing plant in St. Petersburg on September 15. He and up to 40 of his armed men stayed in the city’s Nevsky Palace Hotel, one of the most opulent in Europe, where he was seen embracing the leader of the local organized crime gang, Vladimir Kumarin.
One, Russian (Chechnyan) soldiers do their job and go home.
Two, some soldiers desert and fight for Hizbolluh (or false desertion and spying)
Three, Hizbolluh starts taking shots at these guys which would be a weird situation with muslim terrorists shooting at a national military with former members of some extremely vicious guerilla fighters.
In any event the IDF should be pretty pissed at Russia for this.
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