Putin rips Washington's calls for diplomacy with Chechens

"A) Did Putin refuse to support us in Iraq?
B) Did he refuse to join the coalition?
C) Did Russian intelligence know that Saddam had weapons of mass destruction (chemical, biological) and was pursuing nuclear weapons-grade yellowcake?
D) Did Putin know Saddam was in violation of UN resolutions?

Answers: A) Yes; B) Yes; C) Yes; D) Yes."

Let's continue this to make a more complete list.

Did Russia refuse to vote in favor of telling Syria to get its troops out of Lebanon just a few days ago?

Yes.

And there's much more--the Oil for Food scandal (Russia in Iraq before we were), for example, Russia's insistence against any action to stop Iran from building nukes, its problem with Georgian independence and US anti-terrorism help in Georgia, its earlier demand that Ukraine give all of its rotting nukes to Moscow instead of disposing of those,...

For another, IIRC, before we went into Afghanistan, Russia was against that, too.

And what's Russia's policy (UN votes) on the so-called Palestinians been?

But Putin and his Chechen spokesman are downplaying the role of Chechens in the massacre. Putin's expert on Chechnya (a Chechen) says he spoke to the terrorists in Chechen and that the terrorists didn't speak Chechen. He claims the terrorists said "speak Russian."

I think Putin's Chechen did say that the terrorists had a Caucasus accent. They may have been Inguesh, a Muslim group.

A few years ago, many Inguesh were forceably removed from the Christian enclave of N. Osssetia and dumped in Chechnya. They became radicalized by this.

The terrorists began to fight with each other about what to do to the kids.

I think there were two groups of terrorists.

There were radical Islamic Jihadists who want everyone to die on TV so that the Caucasus will go up in flames. These religious types really don't want something Putin can negotiate. They want the world.

The second group were probably Muslims but with more of a nationalist agenda. They want the Russians out of Chechnya.
In 10 years 25% of Chechens have died in the wars and 40,000 of these were children. These folks are not all total fanatics, but they don't like the Russians ruling Chechnya. There were even deported by Stalin during WWII but returned after the war. I think this second group may have been young people who were duped by the Islamists.

Putin likes to lump the nationalists in with the Islamists and make them all look like total crazies. This way he doesn't have to talk with the nationalists.

Putin says that he can't allow people who shoot kids in the back to rule Chechnya. This is true, of course, but not all Chechens who oppose Russian rule are baby-killers.

There are also a lot of criminal organizations in Chechnya that play a destructive role.

The Chechen Maskhadov has denounced the atrocity and says it was done by people who have gone over the edge from so much Russian persecution. Maybe this is true of some of the terrorists, but if there was a real Al Qaeda group there then they want world Jihad, not just home rule. Or Maybe Maskhadov is playing the moderate. I really don't know.

You can't negotiate with Al Qaeda like you would some Chechens who want the Russians out.

I think this is a real mess. Most Chechen people are exhausted and just want to live normally. Al Qaeda may be exploiting the local issues to gain power. I think Putin wants it to seem like all of these terrorists are like Al Qaeda. I don't think that's really the case. Putin really didn't want to give up Chechnya. It has been part of Russia for a long time. That may have been a mistake.

Oh, and Russia screamed against the US ABM program.

Russia has opposed all of our foreign policy defense/anti-terrorism initiatives that I can recall--more than France has.

The first and foremost goal of state dept in a time of war... is to keep the enemies completely misinformed and to coordinate misinformation amongst allies.

we will know what bush supports by what he allows.
not by pronouncements of a generic nature such as "all sides of these conflicts must try to balance their responses and refusal to engage in harmful escalations"

right. of course. why didn't WE think of that?

because it's pablum.
watch what Russia DOES.
watch what we do.

and compare that with what is going on, on the ground.
mixed signals confuse us. WE hate that. They also confuse the enemy.

Bush KNOWS that alqueaida was behind muslims attacking the russian school children.

Putin KNOWS that we know.
He will do what he can for now. And we will try to help as best as we can. Europe does NOT needa another muslim superstate.

"Putin KNOWS that we know.
He will do what he can for now. And we will try to help as best as we can. Europe does NOT needa another muslim superstate."

I totally agree with you that another muslim superstate would be a disaster. However, you can't convince me that the State Dept. is not chock full of Arabists and Globalists, as most of them are leftover Clinton appointees, including Mr. Boucher. The State Department needs to be cleaned out. It is an infestation.

Here's a reference item. Notice the last line. And IIRC, there was more than one occurrence of Russia not waiting until the Sanctions were lifted.

http://www.freerepublic.com/forum/a3918d6aa328c.htm
Russian Delegation in Baghdad With Putin Message for Saddam Hussein

Foreign Affairs News Keywords: IRAQ, RUSSIA
Source: Russia Today
Published: May 9, 2000
Posted on 05/09/2000 20:25:30 PDT by Sawdring

BAGHDAD, May 9, 2000 -- (Agence France Presse) A delegation of Russia's lower chamber of parliament, the Duma, arrived here Monday with a message from newly installed Russian President Vladimir Putin to his Iraqi counterpart Saddam Hussein.

In it Putin reasserts "Moscow's determination to get the sanctions lifted" delegation leader, Leonid Slutsky, deputy chairman of the Duma committee on international affairs, told the opening session of an anti-sanctions conference here.

The two-day international conference has been called to discuss the consequences of the sanctions, which were imposed on Iraq after its 1990 invasion of Kuwait.

"We shall continue our efforts to develop relations between the Russian and Iraqi people," Slutsky added.

The Russian deputies plan to meet with their Iraqi counterparts, Deputy Premier Tareq Aziz and may also be received by Saddam Hussein, the Russian ITAR-TASS news agency said quoting Duma officials.

Russia, a member of the UN Security Council, has repeatedly called for lifting of sanctions against Iraq and condemned US and British bombing of Iraqi territory during patrols of "no-fly" zones in the north and south of the country.

Both the Duma and the foreign ministry have openly criticized the sanctions saying they have brought the country to the brink of a humanitarian catastrophe.

Russia has said that it would restore all military cooperation with Iraq as soon as the sanctions are lifted. ((c) 2000 Agence France Presse)

"Western Reporters". I do think that the Russians should negotiate. "You've killed our children, so you get to pick 10 kilotons, or 20 kilotons. Now don't take all day."

That really is imagination. Person is likely to be boosted up a notch. The real world works very differently from State.

The real world works very differently from State.

Sadly, you're probably right.

Sure. But would Daschle and Company let him through?

Anyway, Bush won't appoint him Secretary of State.