[FairOpinion]

"Russia," he said, "has a lot of interests in that part of the world."

I bet they do!!!

This is not getting any better for Russia.

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[Illbay]

I wonder why Russia has been so buddy-buddy with Saddam.

It's obviously not religious affinity--Russia's Muslim minority have been nothing but trouble since the USSR collapsed.

They don't need their oil.

What is it? "Birds of a Feather?"

[ex-Texan]

*BUMP* ! I bet the Russkies are behind a lot more than training some Iraqi spies. A lot more.

[nopardons]

The more we find, the worse it may get. This is NOT good !

[SevenofNine]

OH OH seem tonight is not very good for VLAD tonight after UK Sunday Telegraph busted him about him and the Russians are Spy on Tony Blair

NICE GOIN VLAD

I wonder this week is Russia is punching bag Next week it could BE FRANCE

[Theresa]

I am sorry to say it but this is nothing much. After a while we are going to chum up to Russia again. I don't like it but I expect it. France is another matter.

[L`enn]

We , perhaps, send Russia a thank you card. That "wonderful" training helped the Saddam-ites SOOOO much!

[Mr.Clark]

This is the hidden story of this whole war. While the elite press likes to bestow upon France and Russia the awards of moral superiority, these two nations are absolutely corrupt. Russia has supported Saddam and his regime of terror with weapons, training, and everything else you can imagine. At the same time, Russia is pursuing a genocidal campaign in Chechnya. They have refused to let the UN or the Red Cross into the area. France poured billions of dollars into that fascist nightmare, even when they knew the money was not getting to the Iraqi people. These are the worlds moral "heavyweights". What a joke.

[FairOpinion]

Another article, actually written before these latest finds, says:

"Of course, the USSR was interested in creating outposts of its influence in the Middle East. It cooperated very actively with special services of the Iraqi regime, the regime of Saddam Hussein. Let's say, it is not a secret that Evgenij Primakov (former high-ranking KGB officer, Russian prime minister in 1998) was very actively involved in these activities. However, there is nothing unique. The battle of different interests was underway there and this battle is still underway now," Orlov says.

"I am convinced that there are many documents that are still secret [in Iraqi archives] -- details of cooperation between many other countries and Iraq, and the links that [Saddam's] Baath party had in the world -- all this is very interesting for Russian special services and for special services of many other countries. I think that now there goes a very tense fight for the access to these archives," Orlov says.

Well-known Russian defense analyst Pavel Felgenhauer disagrees. He says Russia's opposition to the war in Iraq may have been fueled not only by political considerations but also by fears that the real extent of Russian cooperation with Hussein's regime would be disclosed.

He tells RFE/RL that a source in the Russian ministry of foreign affairs, whom he declines to identify, says the Russian military actively and illegally cooperated with the Hussein regime.

http://www.rferl.org/nca/features/2003/04/10042003154305.asp

[antaresequity]

Bush: " What the hell were you thinking Vladimir ?

Putin: " Ooops"

Bush: " Im headed to Damascus, and if you want to come to my next BBQ in Crawford I strongly suggest you sit on your hands and shut the fug up"

[FairOpinion]

I just found another article which sheds more light.

I think until know we had all these dots, but couldn't see the picture, but now that we got these few latest pieces of information, all of a sudden the jigsaw puzzle fits.

Here is more on the motivation why Russia wanted to keep us out of Iraq.

Fall of Baghdad bad news for Russian economy: experts
http://www.spacewar.com/2003/030410154818.0npby67g.html

The fall of Baghdad is bad news for the Russian economy which is likely to lose out on oil investments in Saddam Hussein's Iraq and see the price of crude fall, delivering a blow to oil-dependant growth, experts said Thursday.

Russia's oil giants which maintained long-standing ties with Iraq fear they may be marginalised after a US-led war in which their country took no part, with waning prospects of obtaining crumbs from the table of what is already being seen as a postwar carve-up.

Russian oil companies have invested more than one billion dollars (euros) over the past seven years in Iraq's vast oil reserves -- second only to those of Saudi Arabia -- but they risk exclusion from post-war contracts because of Russia's fierce opposition to the US-British war.

With oil accounting for a substantial proportion of export sales, Russia's budget and its economic growth are closely linked to oil prices, and the International Monetary Fund on Wednesday revised substantially downwards, from 4.0 to 4.0 percent, its estimate for Russia's economic growth for 2003.

The sudden shortfall in revenues could cause the economy to falter momentarily, although in the long term it was always bound to face competition from Iraqi oil.

[MonroeDNA]

I am not part of the fundraiser here. Just an ordinary American, who believes in individual Liberty, and Freedom.

I guess I've been around here for about 5 years or so now. Time sure flies!

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Look at it now. We all get our best information from this site. It is huge, with thousands of posters, and millions of readers. Yet Jim still keeps it alive because of his conviction, and he is absolutely NOT making a profit on it. He just believes. As do we.

BTW, did you know that the founder of this site is in a wheelchair (sorry Jim; I know you think it doesn't make a r*ts a$$ difference. Hey, some folks out there need to come down a peg, like I have.).

Think of it! In the darkest days of the Clinton Administration, there was a lone internet site where people with integrity, brains, and sheer gumption could discuss the dangers faced by the US. Not on CNN, for sure.

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[Orion78]

"The failure of US policy makers to comprehend the veiled aggressiveness and hostility towards the United States inherent in Sino-Russian strategy and the belief that the political and economic reforms in Russia and the partial introduction of capitalism in China have foreshadowed these countries' development into real democracies, have eroded the effectiveness of US policies in the foreign affairs, defence, intelligence and counter-intelligence fields. US policymakers have recklessly accepted the premise that Russia and China are no longer their enemies, but are rather potential allies and partners fully deserving of US support. Only countries like Iran, Iraq and North Korea - which (ironically, in this context) work secretly with Russia and China - are still considered potential adversaries.

US policymakers should urgently re-examine their assumptions about the 'progress' of Russia and China 'towards democracy'. They should take account of Sino-Russian strategy and should recognize that the long-term strategic, political and economic threat comes from a Sino-Russian axis and associated participants like North Korea, Iran, Iraq and Syria. The Russian and Chinese leaders are still committed to their objective of world domination and believe that, disguised as 'democrats', in accordance with Leninist teaching, they will be able to achieve it..."

[SoulStorms]

I can't think of anybody in the Iraqi security service that hasn't been trained in Russia

Judging from the results, I think there should be a lot of sweaty asses in Russia.

[Grampa Dave]

Mad Ivan has posted a very scary thread about the danger that Russia presents to all of us re potential nuclear WMD's.

http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/892142/posts

Our investigators, posing as Muslim extremists, tracked down the 52-year-old arms dealer to his lair on Spain's Costa del Sol.

Yatim—who is known to MI5 and the FBI and classed as "highly dangerous"—said he could arrange for five kilos of Russian iridium-192 to be smuggled from Istanbul in Turkey, hidden in car batteries.

He demanded payment of £1.3 million—and chillingly promised: "I can send the iridium to London, no problem. Once it's in Europe it's like sending vegetables."

At a further meeting in Benalmadena, near Torremelinos, Yatim boasted: "I don't care who this stuff is going to, angels or the devil. I don't give a damn."

http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/892142/posts

[Jhoffa_]

All those weenies screaming: "But, but, the cold war is over! We don't need things like intelligence and defence now.. Don't you see?"

[Light Speed]

Russain technicals were assisting in the Iraqi opposition to U.S. and British forces.
Most successess were seen in the central Iraqi corridor below Bugdud...however...communication with organized cells fell apart in Bugdud...the last gains observed concerning the heat seeking missiles fired at the circling A-10's which netted 4 hits.

The Russians plugged into the wrong cell groups in Bugdud..at least in the past tense...
The run away was akin to the fall of Saigon....even small collective organizations melted away quickly.

Russian technicals should have known the Iraqi's fight on the emotional curve...however...look for low scale attacks to continue.
There are advanced munitions available...getting teams trained to operate them is on a time curve.
Technicals from Hizbullah and other terror orgs may desire the Russians to simply give the missiles and goodies to them...then go away.
Iran and Syria may desire to administer directly with no Russian contact in the field.
Since Chechnya....its a dicey relationship with Russian brokers.
Distrust is there...so is anticipation