Posted on 09/18/2004 12:16:08 AM PDT by pook
Many in the West would prefer to herald the Beslan tragedy as an opportunity for greater U.S.-Russian cooperation in combating terrorism. In reality, however, relations between Washington and Moscow are following a downward spiral. In Russia we find an emerging dictatorship that espouses a subtle anti-American propaganda. What was previously hidden has come into view: the totalitarians are still in charge. Putin’s pretext for strengthening his dictatorship is found at Belsan, in 350 body bags.
What actually happened at Beslan (where hundreds of children were slaughtered by terrorists)? We still don’t know the facts.
Russian journalist Anna Politkovskaya says that the FSB poisoned her on a flight from Moscow to Rostov, effectively keeping her from reaching Beslan. She was not alone in being hindered. Journalist Andrei Babitsky was detained at Vnukovo airport on “a specious pretext.” Russian security personnel drugged Georgian journalist Nana Lezhava’s coffee, putting her out of action at a critical moment. The 55-nation Organization for Security and Cooperation in Europe (OSCE) took note of these and other incidents in a “scathing” report on the Kremlin’s handling of the Beslan affair. According to the OSCE, the Kremlin forfeited its credibility by preventing journalists from reaching Beslan. From the outset, Russian authorities told one lie after another. As if to prevent accurate information from reaching the outside world, Russian authorities also interfered with foreign journalists, confiscating television footage.
With Beslan as a pretext, Putin has moved to consolidate his already formidable powers. Russia’s so-called “democracy” is now being liquidated. This is not surprising for those of us who have watched the changes in Eastern Europe since 1989. From the outset, secret totalitarian structures were left beneath the surface to guide the process of liberalization, to herd the new business class and infiltrate the various governments. Organized crime became a prominent tool in this process. The secret creatures of the totalitarian apparatus came to power, as “dissidents” or as “reform communists.” Capitalism and freedom were set up in Eastern Europe with this endgame in mind. It was a confidence scheme; and now the scheme has played itself out. Moscow’s strategic gains have been absorbed, now the reversion begins.
Russia’s so-called “oligarchs” have been driven into exile, frightened into cooperation or arrested. The Kremlin has “cemented its control” over the Russian energy sector. The old Soviet anthem is back. Soviet battle flags have been restored. The founder of the Soviet secret police, whose birthday is Sept. 11, is now openly celebrated. The old KGB has taken Russia by the throat. The West’s alarm, however, is muted by hope. Nobody wants to admit that America’s Cold War victory was equivocal; that step-by-step it is coming undone.
Given the Kremlin’s dishonest behavior during the Beslan affair, would it be outrageous to suggest that the tragic massacre was a provocation organized by the FSB/KGB?
Already Izvestiya is calling Putin’s power-grab “The September Revolution.” Other Russian publications are calling it a “restoration.” Wednesday’s Washington Post featured a story by Peter Baker titled, “Critics Say Putin Must Address Security Corruption.” According to Baker, “Putin … had been planning to centralize … political authority for months and took advantage of the school seizure in Beslan to unveil the decision.” This begs the question. If the liquidation of Russian democracy was planned in advance, then how did Putin think he would justify his blatant power grab to the Russian people? Surely he had something in mind.
The following changes have been proposed by Putin: (1) Regional governors, instead of being elected by the people, will be appointed by Putin and confirmed by regional assemblies; (2) Duma representatives will be selected from party lists, making parliamentary opposition all but impossible; (3) the restoration of the death penalty is being contemplated (suggesting a return to the sanguinary “discipline” of the Stalin era). In keeping with recent developments, we can expect that private companies will be seized on various pretexts, bank accounts will be frozen and businessmen will be arrested as the Kremlin rebuilds its totalitarian machinery. Already the Russian government has announced a 50 percent pay increase for the military.
This so-called “September Revolution” has been greeted with dismay in Washington and London. As one might expect, Vladimir Putin will have none of it. He bluntly tells his Western counterparts to “stay out of Russia’s business.” Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov says that America has no right to impose its democratic ideals on others. “This is our internal affair,” he explained. “We, on our side, do not comment on the U.S. system of presidential elections.”
Moscow’s attitude is nothing new. The most distressing fact in all of this, however, is the ultimate non-reaction of the Western elite. There is a strong tendency to self-deception in Washington, especially where Russia is concerned, and this tendency is struggling mightily against truth. And what is this truth? Former FSB officer Alexander Litvinenko spelled it out in his book when he described Putin’s objective as “the total destruction of the foundations of a constitutional society built on the admittedly frail but, nonetheless, democratic values of a market economy” in Russia.
The failure of freedom in Russia is a major event. No other country is as dangerous as Russia. No other country has thousands of nuclear weapons pointed at America. None has missiles as advanced as Russia’s. None has a submarine fleet as large. To rate Russia as “just another country” is to negate the last 100 years of history.
I should like to end with a quote from Bill Gertz’s new book, Treachery: “The record of Russian proliferation – to Iraq and other dangerous countries – is long. Classified intelligence reports show that for more than a decade Moscow used its arms sales to rogue states as a strategic hammer against the United States.”
Now ask yourself: Why has Russia done this?
BTTT
Please. There wasn't any surrender. The Soviet Union collapsed the Warsaw Pact collapsed, but Russia as a nation did not collapse. It still retained its nuclear deterrent. Nobody, not even the US, was going to take those nuclear weapons away from Kremlin control. Both sides knew that they had to be an agreement to reduce the number of standing forces and nuclear weapons. These have been reduced over the years to fairly acceptable levels via the various treaties.
A good bet is that Putin crowns himself Tsar before his term of orfice expires.
Putin is doing what he has to do. America would be a pretty different place if Mexico or Canada were Islamic regimes -- which is what he is dealing with on most of his borders (not counting the part that borders the land-hungry Chinese) and to a lesser extent within the nation itself.
From what I read, I'd rather have Russia's tax structure than the one our home-grown socialists have created to confiscate my income...
http://www.worldwide-tax.com/russia/rus_incom.asp
Putin does not want to be a dictator .... he wants to be a king.
And yet again Gertz's writings fall apart. Iraq bought vast quantities of weapons from its sources of choice. During the Iraq Iran war Saddam was supported by the west, including the US. Vital intelligence information was passed from both the UK and US to assist Saddam on the battlefield against Iran. You cannot 100% control grey and black market arms sales. Saddam and his regime spent vast quantities of money and time seeking out these sources on these markets to achieve both equipment and arms. Much of it was through third parties. You cannot stop arms flowing in this manner. There is too much corruption and bribery going on. Ukraine ordered the missiles - sold onto Syria - Syria sells them onto Iraq. There is no sanctions on Syria obtaining weapons, so how do you stop the transfer taking place? The same way as brand new US made helicopters made it into service with the North Korean armed forces during the 1980s - via a third party. You have a bee in your hat about Putin, but you fail to understand that if Russia wanted to supply arms to Iraq then it would have supplied huge quantities of munitions, not just a smattering of anti-tank munitions. You would have found SA-10s, SA-12, SA-15 SA-20s etc. The same went for engine parts for MiGs. The Syrians ordered the parts from certain Balkan countries and after delivery to Syria they ended up in Iraq. That is how Iraq was able, from around 1998, to get its air force back into the air to challenge the NFZs.
Gertz's writing falls apart. Not really but please feel free to delude yourself.
Please continue to delude yourself via Gertz. Happy deluding!
LOL!
I am learning this article's premise is beimg rejected by the vast majorityof this community.
China is America's leading trade partner. So by your logic America is now communist. China is in fact post-communist - the traping of communisim to give a reason for the dictatorship to exist but not the ideology.
I don't know what convoluted and twisted thinking led you to that conclusion.
The fact that the USA made China its strategic parnter since Nixon's trip? The trade deficit with China? America kicking Taiwan out of the UN?
In the treaty, Russia reiterated its support for the Chinese claim on Taiwan, which Beijing views as a renegade province. They split during the 1949 civil war.
''Russia acknowledges that there is only one China, the government of the People's Republic of China is the only legitimate government representing all of China, and Taiwan is an inalienable part of China,'' the treaty said. ''Russia opposes any kind of independence for Taiwan.''
Russia, China sign historic friendship treaty (7/16/01)
http://www.freerepublic.com/forum/a3b533a696e56.htm
Leme 'splain it to you, Lucy.
No, it was not an official surrender, but it did help bring about START II, which reduced tactical battlefield nuclear warheads on both sides significantly. That treaty was a two edged sword because while it eliminated a number of weapons on both sides, it created ~500 metric tons of highly enriched uranium and ~35 tons of plutonium (weapons-grade nuclear fuel) that had no home and could potentially end up in the hands of rogue terrorist states or organizations to reconstruct their own nuclear weapons and thus make matters far worse for the US. Fortunately, Senators Nunn, Lugar, Domenici, Stevens, Byrd, Boren -- and even Lieberman drew up legislation (the so-called Nunn-Lugar-Domenici Act) to secure this nuclear material from the unilateral dismantlement by Russia of about 6,000 Soviet nukes and convert it to low grade enriched uranium for use as nuclear power fuel. Unfortunately, that purchase was subverted by 8 years of Clinton-Gore under AL Gore's lousy stewardship. I fault Bush Sr. for not securing this fuel prior to his exit.
In the Cold War era, the Soviet Union had a strategy of allowing others to subvert US security and that strategy is no different than is being employed by Russia today. Now the problem for us is that Islamic lunatics are willing to use nukes. Plus the lack of scruples and dollars by starving Russian scientists and those Russians responsible for security of these warheads is providing these crazies the opportunity. Whether this is by design or not could be debated, but the threat is real nonetheless.
Had we retreived this nuclear weapon material after the "Cold War surrender" as I prefer to call it, we would be enjoying a great deal more security today. As it is, the threat to U.S. National Security posed by "loose nukes" is greater that it has ever been.
No, I'm not really that concerned about Russian nukes securely under Russian control, but I am deeply concerned about the "loose nukes" or more appropriately "the unaccounted for weapons grade fuel" that should have been part of the spoils of our Cold War victory even if we did did have to pay a modest amount to get it off the market.
The payoff would have been the best investment ever. As it is, Missile Defense is going to cost the US taxpayer dearly and the technical challenges associated with its development may be too difficult overcome before the terrorists literally nuke us into eternity.
Well, Yeltsin.
I think Russia is scared of Chine, we in North America have no clue about.
Imagine 1 bill. crawling across your border, can you possibly?
before i start this isnt a personal rant at you. its at all who think that the possible reformation of the union is a bad thing. well... all i can say to that really is... GOOD! lets have the old Union back. nothin would seem to me to be better.
America at the moment is a DICTATORSHIP. screw democracy. America want to rule the world. american people are bein brainwashed into thinkin that democracy is the best way. well its not. & just because YOU think that its best that doesnt give america the right to tell the rest of the world different & go invading non democratic countrys. maybe the USSR should reform... maybe then it will stop america throwing its weight around.
its funny how america & its people dont see the harm they are doin to the world even thought there intentions are good.
"America at the moment is a DICTATORSHIP. "
Can you prove that?
"America want to rule the world."
Can you prove that either?
America is a Republic not a democracy love.
And sure it is a reason when they threaten us.
And a representative form of government is the best that anyone has managed to work out so far. People tend to be more happy and prosperous under that kind of government and so then tend not to invade their neighbors.
its funny how america & its people dont see the harm they are doin to the world even thought there intentions are good.
Actually I have been around the world and have seen the good America does. On the other hand I have also seen the great evil your precious USSR did. And I have seen the great evil that your evil philosophy has done. Most recent case being Zimbabwe.
You hate the USA because it is, (in your twisted point of view) a evil dictatorship that seeks to impose it's will and philosophy on the world.
You do realize that that makes no sense right?
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