Are there links between Chechen groups and al-Qaeda?
Experts say there are several ties between the al-Qaeda network and Chechen groups. A Chechen warlord known as Khattab is said to have met with Osama bin Laden while both men were fighting the 1979-89 Soviet occupation of Afghanistan. Alexander Vershbow, a U.S. ambassador to Russia, said shortly after September 11, 2001, "We have long recognized that Osama bin Laden and other international networks have been fueling the flames in Chechnya, including the involvement of foreign commanders like Khattab." Khattab was killed in April 2002.
Zacarias Moussaoui, who was convicted for his involvement in the September 11 attacks, was reported by the Wall Street Journal to be formerly "a recruiter for al-Qaeda-backed rebels in Chechnya." Chechen militants reportedly fought alongside al-Qaeda and Taliban forces against the U.S.-backed Northern Alliance in late 2001. The Taliban regime in Afghanistan was one of the only governments to recognize Chechen independence.
Russian authorities, including Prime Minister Vladimir Putin, have repeatedly stressed the involvement of international terrorists and Bin Laden associates in Chechnya--in part, experts say, to generate Western sympathy for Russia's military campaign against the Chechen rebels. Russia's former defense minister, Sergei Ivanov, claimed that a videotape of Khattab meeting with bin Laden had been found in Afghanistan, but Russia has not aired the tape publicly.
Thanks for the link. Where were you on the confirmation of Hagel? I could have used your help.
Al Zawahiri and Kalid Sheik Mohamed both had some ties to Chechny. Kalid tried to go there to establish an Al Qaeda base, but couldn’t get through due to the bad weather and rough terrain. Zawahiri also tried to establish Chechnya as the home of Al Qaeda, from where he planned to attack the USA.
A fascinating piece by Andrew Higgins and Alan Cullison recently appeared in The Wall Street Journal [July 2] with the title: “How a Secret, Failed Trip to Chechnya Turned Key Plotter’s Focus to America and bin Laden.” The key plotter in this case was 9/11 mastermind and bin Laden’s Egyptian lieutenant, Ayman al-Zawahiri. The article’s title suggests that Zawahiri’s failure to settle in Chechnya (due to his “detention” by the KGB/FSB in 1996-97) led him to Afghanistan and an alliance with bin Laden. But according to ranking U.S. terrorism expert, Yossef Bodansky, Egyptian Jihad leader Zawahiri was preparing a massive terrorist assault on America as early as 1993, years before he “disappeared” into Russia for six months.
We have a lot of Chechens, here in WA State. The head of the IT dept where my husband works bought his house from the bomber’s uncle. People were out there taking pictures of his house in Ferndale, WA, all day.
We have a lot of Chechens, here in WA State. The head of the IT dept where my husband works bought his house from the bomber’s uncle. People were out there taking pictures of his house in Ferndale, WA, all day.
Oh, and when my son was in ninth grade in the public school a kid from the same region (we called them all Russians) told everyone that he had made three pipe bombs from directions that he got from the Anarchist Cookbook at the public library and he was going to use one of them to blow up our house because we lived in a gate guarded golf course community. He was going to use the other to blow up the school cafeteria and he was taking suggestions for the third.
I forgot to mention that Saddam Hussein was training Chechens in training camps in Iraq and also the Chechens were allied with Ghaddafi in Libya. We have no filter to keep these terrorists out of the country. We were taking anyone who was anti-Soviet union, as if the cold war was still a factor.