Russia's 'bin Laden'

The Globe and Mail ^ | 12/10/03 | MARK MacKINNON

[veronica]

MOSCOW — After every suicide attack in Russia — and they are increasingly commonplace — his name is whispered by a nervous public. ''Was it Shamil?'' someone always asks. The answer, more often than not, is yes.

Little known in the West, Shamil Basayev is a household name in Russia, where he is often compared to another terror mastermind, Osama bin Laden. Like the al-Qaeda leader, Mr. Basayev is a charismatic figure with a deadly interpretation of Islam, who has managed to both avoid capture and strike fear into the residents of a major world capital.

"They are both charismatic, eloquent, pseudo-Islamists," said Sergei Arutyunov, head of the department of Caucasian studies at Moscow's Russian Academy of Sciences.

A top commander of the ragtag Chechen rebel army that won a shocking victory over Russia in a mid-1990s war of independence, in the current conflict Mr. Basayev has emerged as the general in a very different campaign to force the Russian army to once more leave Chechnya.

Suicide bombings, many of them carried out by specially recruited war widows who feel they have nothing left to lose, have become the tactic of choice for Mr. Basayev and his followers.

With the Chechen resistance now largely scattered in the Caucasus mountains, no longer able to confront the Russian army in set-piece battles, the widows represent one of the few effective forces he has left.

"We are using the weapon that we can use, considering our capabilities," he said on an audiotape given to the Kavkaz Center website, which has become Mr. Basayev's primary means of communicating his message to the outside world. "And I swear to God, if Russians or Americans will give us cruise missiles or intercontinental ballistic missiles, then we will not be using suicide attackers or Kamaz trucks loaded with explosives."

The 38-year-old Mr. Basayev, a bearish man who is balding on top but sports a bushy black beard, was recently described as the last Chechen rebel leader still fighting federal forces.

He's believed to be hiding near his home village of Vedeno, limping from safe house to safe house, having lost his foot in a land-mine blast three years ago.

"We want to liquidate him, pure and simple, to end this grinding war," said Ramadan Kadyrov, son of Chechnya's pro-Kremlin administrator. He has put a $5-million (U.S.) bounty on Mr. Basayev's head, but the wily warrior has managed to evade Russian commandos.

Mr. Basayev's background reveals that he fights nastiest when cornered. A former computer salesman and Soviet army fireman, he quickly emerged as one of the resistance movement's most skilled commanders in the first Chechen war. With limited resources, he defended Grozny for three months against superior Russian forces, and later led a surprise attack that retook the capital for rebel forces in 1996.

He's best remembered for taking the war to Russia, leading a daring raid on the southern town of Budyonnovsk in 1995. With 150 fighters, he rounded up 1,200 hostages and took them to the town's hospital. After executing several of the detainees and repelling two Russian attempts to storm the building, he got what he wanted: direct negotiations with prime minister Viktor Chernomyrdin about ending the war.

Associates say that around that time, Mr. Basayev met the Arab fighter Khattab and underwent a metamorphosis from someone who fought for an independent Chechnya into a radical Islamist who fought to build a caliphate in Caucasus.

Mr. Basayev has said that he made three trips to al-Qaeda training camps in Afghanistan in the 1990s, and returned a changed man. After the first Chechen war, he set about building a similar training camp in the hills of Dagestan, another largely Muslim republic in the south of Russia, and declared that the region would follow sharia law.

In 1999, he led a group of fighters who invaded Dagestan, one of a series of events that prompted Mr. Putin to order Russian troops back into Chechnya.

Since then, Mr. Basayev has again narrowed his cause to the one he's been fighting for since 1991: getting the Russian army to leave his homeland. He's bragged that he personally pressed the detonator on a truck bomb that destroyed the administration building in Grozny last December, killing 78 people, and more recently threatened a new series of attacks across Russia to coincide with the election season and the New Year's holiday.

"God willing, sooner or later, like it or not, the Russian people and leadership will have to end this bloody slaughter," he told Kavkaz Center after the end of last year's Chechen theatre siege in Moscow. "They will have to stop this war, agree to peace and get off our land."

[vpintheak]

Another Ba$turd in need of dying.

[A. Pole]

"God willing, sooner or later, like it or not, the Russian people and leadership will have to end this bloody slaughter," he told Kavkaz Center after the end of last year's Chechen theatre siege in Moscow. "They will have to stop this war, agree to peace and get off our land."

They did it once and as a result the extreme Islamists came from other Muslim countries. The campaign of kindappings, slave trade, beheadings, conquests of hospitals, bombings all over Russia started. In the end brave freedom fighers who got cheered up by the West and who wanted to liberate whole Russia from infidels, invaded another Russian province of Dagestan. This was the moment when Russian leaders realized that ignoring the Wahabbi experiment on Russian border is not possible.

Westerners who support KLA in Kosovo, Wahabbi extremists in Caucasus and "reform minded oligarchs" are fools.

[George W. Bush]

Westerners who support KLA in Kosovo, Wahabbi extremists in Caucasus and "reform minded oligarchs" are fools.

Agreed. We can't ignore the Saudi bankrolling of all these murderous radical elements. Personally, I'd like to go after them all at one time. But our president has at least given Putin a completely free hand (diplomatically) in dealing with them, reportedly even to the extent of the use of nerve gas and other extreme measures. At least, that was reported last year. This was portrayed at the time as a tit-for-tat for Russian acquiecence in the event we were forced to a retaliatory use of WMD against Saddam during the Iraqi invasion.

It's in our interest to help stamp out Islamic radicals and terrorists wherever they're found.

We need to start hunting down and arranging 'accidents' for Saudis who are known sponsors and financiers of terrorists. They cannot be allowed to live.

[RussianConservative]

We need to start hunting down and arranging 'accidents' for Saudis who are known sponsors and financiers of terrorists.

Who will be left of Saudies?

[George W. Bush]

Seriously? Over 95% of them. People who live closest to their religion's holy shrines and seat of power are often the most cynical about its claims. This is historically true of ritualized and crusading religions like Islam or the Roman church, i.e. those religions who are historically determined to conquer this world in the name of their organization.

Uh-oh, now I've done it...

[Libertarianize the GOP]

bump

[a_Turk]

Why worry about the Russians' problems when they are obviously in competition with us? I am not as ready to forgive and forget, as we are still affected by their terror groups left over from the cold war. Leave them to their misery. Let them burn. Not our problem.

[MadJack]

A few years ago I became aware of Basayev when papers studying Chechen tactics against the Russians were making the rounds. He is a master of special/information operations. He helped bring an end to the first war with the Russians by conducting an operation into Russia and seizing a hospital full of local citizens. The Alfa Spetsnaz group tried to assault the hospital, and he and his boys slaughtered them.
Initially he seemed to be a real Chechen nationalist , but gradually fell under the influence of a guy named Khattabi (first name escapes me just now) who was from the Gulf and on the Wahabbist payroll.
Khattabi has since met his fate at the hands of the Russians (good job, comrades!) and Shamil has lost a leg in combat. But he keeps on ticking.
Too bad how these things sometimes work out, but the Russians definitely need to nail him now.

[Destro]

The Spetsnaz were not slaughtered-the Muslims used women and children as sheilds in the hospital and the Spetz withdrew.

[RussianConservative]

Yes, like Turk sponsored Chechins, or they get to hot for you to handles? Or maybe you to busy butchering Christians in Cyprus or Kurds in mountains....the Turks spetsnaz armed to teeth captured by Americans in N. Turkey was nice bit...but why not trust Turks, they just show selves for whom they trully are in Iraq war. Actions louder then your rehetoric...US should not forget Turk backstab and all US soldier who die from it.

[RussianConservative]

seizing a hospital full of local citizens.

First, he and his boys capture maternity ward. Second Spetsnaz not slaughtered but withdraw after Chechins start using pregnant womens for body shield and shooting between legs. After several women die in fire fight, they withdraw. Chechins use human shields to get away but leave over 100 dead mothers. Some nationalist. Initially he mass murderer. When he secretary defense for Mashkidov and invade Daghistan he slaughter (and this on tape he make) several villages of local who not want union.

[a_Turk]

Comrade,

Enjoy your last death throes. We will be ready when soon your empire finally crumbles. You killed your Czar, and dumped the leaders of your revolution on the trash heap of history. You have no ideals, and you have no chance.

It is so funny to watch you trying to gather your big old skirt.

[wtc911]

You are right about turkey's actions speaking louder than their lying words, and costing American lives.

There has never been a time in modern history when they proved they could be trusted. There is no reason to expect that to change now.

I almost wish these wannabe Europeans con, buy and sleep their way into the EU. It would be fun to watch old Europe deal with the aftermath.

[MadJack]

Sorry to be slow in repsonse, but sometimes I actually sleep.
Initial attack by Alfa group was conventional light infantry-style, which resulted in heavy casualties to the Alfa operators (this from Russian press).
And they used civilians as shields. True enough. My point was and is that the operation prompted negotiations which resulted in an end to that stage of the war.

[MadJack]

Okay. And the Russians have also done alot of things in Chechnya that most people would lose their lunch over. But I'm sure you know that already.
My point was and is that Basayev is an efficient operator. The Russian failure to whack him during the past 10 years seems to me to be testimony to that.

[RussianConservative]

Hahahaha, I guess 5 wars to be beat by is not enough? You lucky for revolution or Turkey not nation today...maybe you forget that easter half by Russians control...after you attack.

As for falling...hahahaha...how many lier to dollar? 1.5 million or is it up 15 million now? Your economy collapse and Islamics grows in power, Russian economy grow year on year now almost 6% and Russia by PurchasingPowerParity 8th largest economy and grow...where Turkies on list? Number 80?

Last I check, Turks back from Greece and Cyprus in 1996 and 1998 after informed what Russian army do to them should they feel froggish.

Blow all hot air you can...except for butcher of womens and children you not proven on open battle for 50 years.

[RussianConservative]

Too true, what amaze me, US offer bribe to broken Turk economy of $30 billion but not want to buy legitimate Russian debt of $8 billion...that would solve much issues with Russia and garner much more friendship and trust....I simply not understand mentality on DC.

[RussianConservative]

Yes they do, I do not excuse what they do but I understand consider what Chechins do with peoples, especially prisoners. First Easter, they takes prisoners, chop off thumb and top two fingers right hand (so they can't cross selves) then violate men and crucify ontop of buildings...leave a live more or less to cry in pains.

Russia need professional grade military to deal with this scum...but if Georgian border were closed it makes things much easier.

[a_Turk]

>> Last I check, Turks back from Greece and Cyprus in 1996 and 1998 after informed what Russian army do to them should they feel froggish.

LOL! You are an idiot.