Threat Matrix: Daily Terror Threat

Threat Matrix: Daily Terror Threat

Thread Thirty-Two (Index)

Yahoo News : Yahoo Images : News Hotlinks

The Threat Matrix

The title refers to a daily report given to the president of the United States detailing the most serious terrorist threats against the country. To tackle those threats, the government has formed a top-notch task force to infiltrate the terror cells and cut off the danger.

"Every morning, the president receives a list of the top ten terrorist threats - this list is known as the threat matrix."

We here at FR are trying to be in conjunction with the daily reports around the world that involve threats. We try to provide a storehouse of information that takes hours of research.

YOU be the judge and get informed!

What's become of bin Laden since he gave us all the slip?
Full Story

Some think he is dead, others that he is hiding because he is scared of being killed.

Whatever the reason for the strange disappearance of Osama bin Laden, not seen alive since his last mocking video statement a year ago, he is no longer the face of the global "jihad" against the West.

Abu Musab al-Zarqawi { TM 25,TM 27 }, the Jordanian responsible for some of the worst atrocities in Iraq, has become the hero of the hour on militant Islamist websites.

"I will never cower before any master nor bend to any threat."

TM Terrorism Handbook

Link to Thread Thirty-One

"Code Red Implications:
Code Red - Stay Home and Await Word."
From Tm'er and Freeper ~MamaDearest~

Tracking the Chatter with TM

TM 'Be on the Lookout'

Survival Preparedness Info.

Threat Matrix Book List

ExSoldier's Invaluable Tips

Arabic Links and Resources

Godzilla's Summaries

Threat Matrix HTML designed by: Ian Livingston

http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/1527217/posts

SF: Minivan driver shot to death on Silver Avenue -
88th killing of year
SF GATE ^ | 11/22/05 | Stacy Finz and Rachel Gordon, Chronicle Staff Writers

Posted on 11/22/2005 11:11:20 PM PST by BurbankKarl

A motorist driving his minivan along Silver Avenue in San Francisco
was shot to death Tuesday afternoon -- the city's 88th killing of the
year, tying the 2004 total.

Last year, when the number of homicides surged, Mayor Gavin
Newsom said on a radio call-in show that if the rate of killings
continued people should start a campaign to recall him. He said that
he himself might even sign the petition. His staff called the comment
"tongue in cheek.''

But on Tuesday he was called on his words. Newsom responded that
he had been talking about curbing the city's gang violence, which
police say has significantly gone down this year. Authorities blame
some of 2005's numbers on everyday troubles beyond their control --
domestic violence, infanticide and mental illness.

"The reality is, we have had crimes this year that follow no traditional
patterns,'' Newsom said. "The efforts that we've maintained around
gang-related homicides, particularly in the African American
community, have paid dividends this year. There's been substantial
reductions, but again they're still unacceptably high and I'll continue
to fight to do more and to do better.''

On Tuesday, at about 12:30 p.m., his street was the scene of the
city's 88th killing. A motorist, whose identity was not released, was
shot to death while driving his minivan on Silver. His passenger was
also shot and taken to the hospital with non-life-threatening injuries,
said San Francisco police spokeswoman Maria Oropeza. The suspects,
three men in their late teens or early 20s, ditched their van in
McLaren Park and fled on foot, Oropeza said. They were still at large
as of Tuesday night.

(Excerpt) Read more at sfgate.com ...

Thank you for posting this Karl, they have a lot of street shootings in Las Vegas also.

http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/news/1527207/posts?page=2

A Q Khan was in CIA pay since 1975!
NewKerala.com ^ | 21 Nov 2005

Posted on 11/22/2005 10:47:11 PM PST by F14 Pilot

New Delhi: New evidence has emerged to suggest that Dr. A.Q. Khan,
the father of Pakistan's nuclear program, was in the pay and
protection of the Central News Agency (CIA) in the United States since
1975.

According to a report appearing in The Tribune newspaper, former
Dutch Prime Minister Ruud Lubbers, is named as the source of this
startling, but unimpeachable source of information.

Speaking in interview with VPRO Argos Radio on August 9, 2005, Dr.
Lubbers revealed that Dr. Khan was first arrested in 1975 for
espionage and again in 1988 for entering Holland illegally. Lubbers
said that on both occasions, he was set free after the CIA intervened.

The paper further goes on to quote Dr. Lubbers as saying that in 1992,
Dr. Khan wanted to visit Holland to see his ailing father-in-law (his
wife is a Dutch). The case for visa was sponsored by no less a person
than the then head of the Dutch secret service, BVD, Arthur Dokters
Van Leeuwen.

Dr. Lubbers also confirmed that a BVD person received Dr Khan on his
arrival at Schipol Airport. The BVD was presumably acting under
instructions from American intelligence agencies.

“If you were to study the archives, you would find that the American
intelligence agencies - I am absolutely certain of it - kept a record of
how closely they watched the man and what he was upto, etc. They
thought as such they were doing a terrific job,” The Tribune quotes Dr.
Lubbers as saying in his interview with VPRO Argod Radio.

When the interviewer pointed out that Khan was allowed to continue
his activities in spite of the information about his clandestine
activities, Dr. Lubbers replied, “Yes, but that is the shortcoming of the
management. And yes, that's when we saw it was the leader of the
free world. And we do take quite seriously the fact that they did a lot
of good things. But they were not able to subdue the monster of
proliferation, to put it that way.”

He, however, said that the Dutch secret service was very prompt in
informing the CIA about Dr. Khan's nuclear proliferation activities, but
was clearly told to let him be.

“The BVD reported it to its counterpart in Washington. The counterpart
in Washington then follows a course that amounts to let him go and
we will gain more information. And that is where things start to go
wrong.”

According to the paper, the latest report from Vienna talks of the
International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) informing its Board of
Governors that Iran had turned over to the IAEA fresh documents that
give details, for the first time, about technology that Iran was offered
in 1987 by Dr Abdul Qadeer Khan of Pakistan.

According to this report, included in the engineering drawings and
other technology offered to the Iranians were diagrams about how to
form uranium metal into “hemispherical spheres”, a description that
would suggest the basic steps toward creating bomb cores. Such
spheres are needed for the Hiroshima type of atomic bombs.

It is to be noted that this cooperation from Iran has come about after
the September 24 IAEA resolution. In the previous 30 months of
investigation and inspection by the IAEA, Iran did not produce similar
evidence. The new documentation will reveal that Dr Khan's
proliferation started as far back as 1987.

U.S. and British authorities, including President George W Bush, Prime
Minister Tony Blair and former CIA chief George Tenet, claimed that
Dr Khan's activities came to their notice only around 1998 and they
busted the Khan proliferation ring in 2003.

http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/1523052/posts

"What Paradise?-The new film Paradise Now portrays suicide bombers as heroes"
FrontPageMagazine.com ^ | November 16, 2005 | Pierre Rehov

Posted on 11/16/2005 6:39:27 AM PST by SJackson

ARTICLE SNIPPET: "As a filmmaker of the new documentary Suicide Killers, I will tell you that Hany Abu-Assad’s film Paradise Now is an artistically fashioned fiction. A dangerous fiction about dangerous people in a dangerous world. As fiction, his film stages good and bad characters. And since the film is about the final days of life for two suicide bombers, the killers automatically become the heroes.

Hany Abu-Assad tries to portray his heroes as human beings. On this, I could not agree more. In his interview with Newsweek, he says the Palestinians “wanted to see these characters as superheroes, as almost inhuman in their great powers.” “Suicide Killers,” as I call them in my documentary, represent the saddest of human tragedies in their denial of life for death.

Depending on our point of view, we could justify anyone’s behaviour. The temptation would be great to make a film on Charles Manson or Jack the Ripper from an inside perspective that excuses their actions, just as we could rationalize Nazism by the poverty in which the Versailles Treaty emerged from Germany in the twenties. But in all cases—including suicide bombings—it’s important to identify the real causes and not make them up. Unfortunately, when we deal with the issues of Moslem expansion, the desire for Islamic world domination, the intolerance of Occidental culture, the Muslim extremists’ rejection of the modern world, their inferiority of women, and the glorification of jihad and shahada, the conclusion is always the same: to blame Israel or the United States.

Presented from the Palestinian point of view, moderate or otherwise, suicide bombings are the result of occupation, oppression, lack of freedom, and the desire for cultural pride. All of this reasoning is a lie. A myth. I spent hours speaking with would-be suicide bombers in Israeli jails and with their families in Gaza, Jordan, the West Bank and inside Nablus, where Paradise Now was filmed."

http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/news/1505619/posts?page=21

"MULTICULTURALISM" FORUM GATHERS MOSCOW'S
SUPPORTERS
Jamestown Foundation ^ | October 19, 2005 | Vladimir Socor

Posted on 10/19/2005 7:06:09 PM PDT by Tailgunner Joe

On October 15 in Moscow, officials from the presidential
administration and other Kremlin-connected figures hosted a "Forum
on Democracy and Multiculturalism in the Euro-East." The participants
included representatives of Abkhazia, South Ossetia, Transnistria, and
Karabakh, activists of pro-Russia parties and associations from
several post-Soviet countries, and Moscow figures who -- according to
Kremlin consultant Gleb Pavlovsky, speaking at the Forum -- "play a
major if often shadowy role in developing Russia's real policy"
(Regnum, October 15).

continued at above link, with valuable comments.

Tailgunner Joe was kind enough to post these links in Post
#21, I had missed them and thought that you might have also, the entire thread should be read...........

Looks like Russia is getting some help from the UN on the Georgia
front. It's clear that Russia is advancing the Eurosocialist mission to
Balkanize Georgia and Eastern Europe

Abkhazia: Europe's Trap Door - "Wahhabi organizations have sprung
up on the territory of Abkhazia, and where Wahhabis are, terrorists
are not far behind."

Russia welcomes Balkans' integration into EU - "The role of the EU in
the region will be constantly increasing until the issue of Balkans'
integration in the European community is resolved."

Russia says UN should continue monitoring Kosovo - "Moscow has
always advocated the key role of the UN in every stage of the Kosovo
settlement."

Putin praises role of International Court of Justice - "The very
existence of the International Court of Justice in the system of the
United Nations is a major condition for the stability and lawfulness of
the organization..."

**Russia signs International Criminal Court treaty!!!**

Russia Warns U.S. not to Break International Law in Afghan Attack

Russia Urges Respect for "International Law" With Al-Qa'idah Suspects

Iraq war unjustified: Putin - "Anything done without the sanction of the
UN Security Council, cannot be accepted as just and justified."

Putin blasts US war in Iraq - "The use of force abroad, according to
existing international laws, can only be sanctioned by the United
Nations. This is the international law."

I hope US learns 'Iraqi lessons': Putin - "We have repeatedly called
our American partners' attention to this reality. And eventually they
realised the need to reach a political settlement in Iraq using the UN
mechanisms. I believe that the new administration will undoubtedly
bear in mind 'Iraqi lessons' when determining its foreign policy."

Putin Wants U.N. to Take Lead in Iraq

Russia's Putin urges US to give UN role in Iraq - "The faster we go
along the path as set down by international law, the better it will be.
The longer we delay a resolution within the U.N. framework, the more
it will look like a colonial situation."

UN must lead global fight against terrorism -Putin

Putin meets Annan, praises global UN role - "We have no other
effective mechanism for resolving international problems today."

Annan praises Putin as Russia formally accedes to Kyoto Protocol -
"This is a historic step forward in the world's efforts to combat a truly
global threat."

Putin Calls for Global Fight Against Terrorism Under UN Flag - a "new
global constitution free of Cold War stereotypes"
21 posted on 11/22/2005 6:46:50 PM PST by Tailgunner Joe

November 23, 2005 Anti-Terrorism News

Terrorism suspects held in Spain
http://www.cnn.com/2005/WORLD/europe/11/23/spain.arrests/index.html
Police have arrested eight suspected Islamic terrorists in Alicante and
Granada wanted for providing logistical support, including financing,
to radical Islamic groups; most of the eight arrested appeared to be
Moroccan-born or Algerian-born militants, and were likely linked to the
Islamic radical Salafist Group for Call and Combat

(Spain) Drugs gang arrested for financing Islam terrorism
http://www.expatica.com/source/site_article.asp?subchannel_id=81&story_id=25585&name=Drugs+gang+arrested+for+financing+Islamic+terrorism
Different story on arrests in Alicante and Granada

(Netherlands) 'Terrorist suspect escaped during detention centre fire'
http://www.expatica.com/source/site_article.asp?subchannel_id=1&story_id=25578&name=%27Terrorist+suspect+escaped+during+detention+centre+fire%27
the 30-year-old man, identified only as Mustafa A., was being monitored
by the Dutch security service (AIVD) prior to his escape

(Iraq) Indian kidnapped in Afghanistan found dead
http://www.washingtontimes.com/upi/20051123-044832-3643r.htm

Iraq Insurgents Kill Senior Sunni Leader
http://interestalert.com/story/siteia.shtml?Story=st/sn/11230000aaa06298.ap&Sys=siteia&Fid=WORLDNEW&Type=News&Filter=World%20News

Kuwait: Door-to-Door Jihad Preachers Arrested
http://www.adnki.com/index_2Level.php?cat=Religion&loid=8.0.231654988&par=0

3 Brigades May Be Cut in Iraq Early in 2006
http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/10166449/

Car Bomber Kills 21 in Iraq (update)
http://www.foxnews.com/story/0,2933,176345,00.html
Update on Tuesday bombing in northern Iraq

U.S. Restores Military Ties With Indonesia
http://interestalert.com/story/siteia.shtml?Story=st/sn/11220000aaa00bc9.ap&Sys=siteia&Fid=WORLDNEW&Type=News&Filter=World%20News

Russia, Indonesia To Fight Terrorism Together
http://www.neftegaz.ru/english/lenta/show.php?id=59810

(NYC) House Leader Pledges to Return 9/11 Funds
http://1010wins.com/topstories/local_story_326120639.html

Bush al-Jazeera 'plot' dismissed
http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/uk_news/politics/4459296.stm

Iraq Insurgents Kill Senior Sunni Leader
http://news.yahoo.com/s/ap/20051123/ap_on_re_mi_ea/iraq;_ylt=A86.I0faPYRDgwcBJhKs0NUE;_ylu=X3oDMTA2Z2szazkxBHNlYwN0bQ--
Khadim Sarhid al-Hemaiyem, leader of Sunni Batta tribe and brother of
candidate in Dec. 15 election, killed along with 3 sons and son-in-law
at his home in Baghdad suburb

'Dirty Bomb' Suspect Padilla Indicted
http://www.foxnews.com/story/0,2933,176361,00.html
Suspected dirty bomber Jose Padilla indicted on criminal charges in
Miami

Canadian national charged with terrorism
http://www.canada.com/national/story.html?id=ca8c818b-f40c-414a-97f3-0319b5aa31a9
Padilla co-conspirator and former Canadian resident Kassem Daher has
been charged with conspiracy to murder and providing support to
terrorists as part of a North American cell. Daher, a former Edmonton-area
cinema owner, is a Lebanese native who came to Canada in the 1980s and left
in 1998. The Canadian Security Intelligence Service has linked him to
al-Qaida.

Student Convicted in Plot to Assassinate President Bush
http://www.foxnews.com/story/0,2933,176409,00.html
An Arab-American college student, Abu Ali, was convicted Tuesday of
joining Al Qaeda and plotting to assassinate President Bush. Ali could get
life in prison on charges that included conspiracy to assassinate the
president, conspiracy to hijack aircraft and providing support to Al
Qaeda.

(Iraq) Suicide bomber kills 18 in Kirkuk
http://www.cnn.com/2005/WORLD/meast/11/22/iraq.main/index.html
Mortar explodes near ceremony; U.S. ambassador safe

Terror website investigated (Australia)
http://www.news.com.au/story/0,10117,17338345-1702,00.html?from=rss
Police investigating Anshar El Muslimin website linked to Jemaah
Islamiah that tells terrorists how to attack westerners and warns of attacks
across Jakarta

Israel Govt Calls on Lebanon to End Hezbollah Artillery Attacks
http://www.bloomberg.com/apps/news?pid=10000087&sid=aeyBkzFPrL0M&refer=top_world_news

US using 'technical means' to see if Zarqawi killed: official
http://www.breitbart.com/news/2005/11/22/051122161512.06wiw87k.html
US spokesman in Iraq: "We are looking into the incident in Mosul but we
have no indication at this time that any of the dead were Mr Zarqawi"

Israeli jets attack south Lebanon
http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/middle_east/4459500.stm
Israeli warplanes have bombed southern Lebanon, a day after Lebanese
guerrillas attacked Israeli soldiers in a border area

Arab shows decry Islamists
http://www.washingtontimes.com/world/20051122-120054-8860r.htm

23 November 2005

In light of today's analysis on Uzbekistan, we encourage you to
read:

"The Significance of Sino-Russian Military Exercises"
http://www.pinr.com/report.php?ac=view_report&report_id=366

Uzbekistan's New Foreign Policy Strategy
Drafted By: Erich Marquardt, Yevgeny Bendersky
http://www.pinr.com

On November 14, Russian President Vladimir Putin and Uzbek
President Islam Karimov agreed to a mutual security pact. The
agreement is further fallout from the United States' loss of
Uzbekistan as a staging ground for operations in Afghanistan and
in the region. After becoming concerned that the United States
and the European Union were pushing for a change in
government in Tashkent, Karimov severed his ties with the
United States and the European Union and moved into the
embrace of Russia. The agreement, called the "Treaty on Allied
Relations," formalizes Uzbekistan's shifting foreign policy.

The Treaty on Allied Relations

The Russian-Uzbek security pact creates a military alliance
between the two former Soviet republics, stating that "in case of
aggression against one of the parties by a third state, it will be
viewed as an act of aggression against both countries." The
agreement also allows the mutual use by both parties of each
other's military bases and installations.

The agreement was expected since it followed the United States'
loss of influence in Uzbekistan. While U.S.-Uzbek relations had
been souring for some time since their high in 2001, the catalyst
occurred when Karimov suppressed a rebellion in the city of
Andijan on May 13, 2005. The United States joined the European
Union in calling for an independent investigation of the incident.
Moscow, however, stood with Tashkent.

A little more than a month after the rebellion, Tashkent
restricted U.S. flights out of Karshi-Khanabad. Then, on July 29,
Tashkent chose to evict the United States from the base
altogether, giving it a January 2006 eviction ultimatum. [See:
"Rice Attempts to Secure U.S. Influence in Central Asia"]

The alliance served as Karimov's recognition that a security
blanket provided by Russia would serve the purpose of limiting
U.S. and E.U. attempts to weaken Karimov's government.
Karimov said on the same day of signing the agreement, "I
would say [Washington's] main goal is to discredit Uzbekistan's
independent policy, disrupt peace and stability in the country,
and make Uzbekistan obey."

For Russia, the alliance is important since it reasserts Moscow's
traditional influence in its "near abroad," and gives it the ability
to limit U.S. and E.U. influence in Central Asia. It also provides
Russia the opportunity to work on improving relations with other
former Soviet republics in the region that have drifted toward the
U.S. and E.U.

Indeed, the preamble to the treaty states that Russia and
Uzbekistan "will fully meet the vital interests of the two
countries' peoples and serve the cause of ensuring and
strengthening national, regional and international security and
stability." Putin, as reported by Interfax, said that the treaty "will
allow both countries to strengthen interaction, unite our forces
and resources and use their humanitarian potential in order to
ensure stability and achieve progress in the region." Karimov
echoed Putin's statements, saying, "The strengthening of
Russia's positions in Central Asia will guarantee peace and
stability and meet the fundamental interests of our peoples."

While Russia has security agreements with Tajikistan,
Kazakhstan and Kyrgyzstan, its agreement with Uzbekistan goes
further as it commits Moscow to the military defense of
Uzbekistan if it is attacked by a third party. This statement refers
more to the ability of the two countries to integrate their efforts
against a large scale insurgency or even a civil war than the
actual defense against a third country since there are no real
threats from another state at present. The two possible states
that might have anything to do with such a definition are Iran
and China, and neither one of them is willing to antagonize
Russia by supporting anti-Uzbek actions. However, the clause
also is a veiled signal to the United States.

Uzbekistan's Geopolitical Position

(Continued at link)

[ATC] Non-Muslims are "Sinful Animals" says top Khamenei
Aide

Tehran, 21 Nov. (AKI) - A close advisor to Iran's Supreme Leader, Ayatollah Ali
Khamenei, Ayatollah Ahmad Jannati has condemned non-Muslims, saying they
"cannot be called human beings but are animals who roam the earth and engage
in corruption." Jannati made the controversial remarks on Sunday at a ceremony
in north-eastern Iran to commemorate the 'martyrs' of the Revolutionary Guards
and the (1980-1988) war against Iraq.

“If the Islamic Republic of Iran is still standing on its feet, we owe it to our
martyrs. If it was not for our martyrs, we would not have these precious young
men with vivid Islamist views,” Jannati was quoted a saying.

The ayatollah heads the powerful Guardian Council, a non-elected body made up
of clerics and lawyers, which can veto legislation. As well as being a top aide to
Khamenei, he is a mentor of Iran's hardline president, Mahmoud Ahmadinejad.

http://www.adnki.com/index_2Level.php?cat=Politics&loid=8.0.231408514&par=0

The Newsletter gives a url of: jamestown.org

Note the end, the new contract with Russia is already taking effect.
granny

ANDIJAN SHOW TRIAL VERDICT CONDEMNED BY WEST

The first criminal trial related to the May uprising in Andijan, Uzbekistan,
ended in Tashkent on November 14. The Supreme Court of Uzbekistan
sentenced the 15 defendants to prison terms ranging from 14 to 20
years. According to Judge Bakhtier Dzhamalov, the investigation proved
that a peaceful demonstration in front of the Andijan district
administration building was the result of provocations. He then
announced that the court had found the accused guilty of violating a
number of articles of the Criminal Code of Uzbekistan, in particular,
terrorism, attempting to overthrow the constitutional order, murder, and
hostage-taking.

Two of the convicted men, Sabir Muidinov and Farkhad Hamidov, will
serve 20-year jail terms in high-security prisons. The other 13 people
will be sent to regular prison facilities. Three citizens of Kyrgyzstan, who
were among the accused, were sentenced to 14 years in prison.

The United States condemned the trial of the alleged organizers of the
disturbances in Andijan. State Department Deputy Spokesman Adam
Ereli called the trial verdicts "based on a less-than-transparent process
and less than credible evidence." Washington will «continue to call for an
investigation and continue to have doubts about the convictions, doubts
about the evidence, doubts about the process, and concerns about the
overall way this issue has been handled by the Uzbek government," he
added (state.gov, November 14).

United Nations High Commissioner For Human Rights Louise Arbour also
stated that "serious questions remain concerning the fairness" of the
trial. She called on the government of Uzbekistan to ensure that the
convicted men can invoke their right to appeal the verdict (Kommersant,
November 15, 16).

According to Kommersant, Russia was actually the only country that
unconditionally supported the way the Uzbek government dealt with the
Andijan uprising. As the newspaper points out, the trial of the first group
of suspects accused of organizing an uprising in Andijan was remarkable
for several surprising coincidences.

During the first days of the hearings, Russian Defense Minister Sergei
Ivanov flew to Tashkent to watch joint counter-terrorism maneuvers
between the two countries (see EDM, September 27). Many observers
concluded that the visit was a demonstration of Moscow's support for the
Uzbek authorities. The end of the trial, in turn, coincided with Uzbek
President Islam Karimov's well-publicized visit to Moscow. On November
14, the presidents of Russia and Uzbekistan signed a new bilateral
partnership treaty between Russia and Uzbekistan (see EDM, November
16, 17). According to Russian President Vladimir Putin, the treaty "takes
our countries to a critically new quality and maximum degree of
closeness of cooperation." Islam Karimov also remained content with the
results of the visit to Russia and stated that the treaty, "Demonstrates
with whose interests our interests coincide and with whom we intend to
build our future" (Kommersant, November 16).

The sudden worsening of relations between Uzbekistan and the West,
and the corresponding reorientation of Tashkent towards Moscow and
Beijing, were reflected in publications by the government-controlled
Uzbek press. According to the website uzbekinfo.narod.ru, the Uzbek
press launched a massive propaganda campaign against the West
following the Andijan events. As the website points out in the article, "A
Friend Is Known to be in Trouble," and published in the newspaper of the
Uzbek parliament, Novoe slovo, the United States was branded an
"enemy of the people." According to the author, China and Russia have
proved to be the best friends of the Uzbek people. "The number of such
articles is increasing with every day," a journalist from Novoe slovo
admitted, but who did not want to disclose his name to the website.
According to the website, Uzbek journalists had criticized only American
organizations prior to the bloody Andijan events: the Soros Fund,
Internews-Uzbekistan, the International Republican Institution, etc. Now,
according to Dzhahonghir Mamatov, a former member of the Uzbek
parliament, a leader of the Democratic Fund of Uzbekistan, there is an
unofficial order for all prominent Uzbek political scientists and politicians
to start writing articles sharply critical of the foreign policy of the United
States and other Western countries (uzbekinfo.narod.ru, November 15).

With the Andijan verdict, Tashkent has underlined its indifference to
Western opinion.

--Igor Rotar

This reads like a good novel.

URL is: Jamestown.org

HOPES FOR KREMLIN DIALOGUE WITH KABARDINO-BALKARIA
INSURGENTS FADE

On November 4, the Kabardino-Balkaria branch of the Russian Federal
Security Service (FSB) summoned Ruslan Nakhushov, chairman of the
local Islamic Institute, for interrogation. According to Kommersant,
Nakhushov visited the FSB the very day that the summons was served.
He returned to his office after the interrogation, but somebody called
him from the FSB and asked him to return. Nakhushov complied and,
after the second visit, called Susanna Varitlova, his deputy, to say that
everything was fine and that he would be in his office in 10 minutes.
Nobody has seen Nakhushov since. He apparently disappeared, and his
cell phone is not working (Kommersant, November 7).

Nakhushov, a former KGB officer who worked in North Africa, became a
famous public figure in Kabardino-Balkaria early the 1990s. After the
first Chechen war (1994-96) Nakhushov worked for the Peacemaking
Mission of Russian General Alexander Lebed. Nakhushov is credited with
freeing 180 Russian prisoners-of-war from Chechnya (Kommersant,
November 7).

Together with Anzor Astemirov and Musa Mukozhev, Nakhushov
organized the Islamic Institute, which seeks to protect the rights of the
Muslims in Kabardino-Balkaria. Nakhushov sharply criticized the local
security officials' repressive actions toward the Muslim population. Unlike
Astemirov, who became the leader of Yarmuk rebel group, and
Mukozhev, who went underground, Nakhushov had always tried to find
legal ways to solve problems, and he preferred to negotiate rather than
to use violence. After the October 13 attack on Nalchik, the capital of the
republic (see EDM, October 15), Nakhushov offered to negotiate
between the authorities and the Islamic rebels. Arsen Kanokov,
president of Kabardino-Balkaria, planned to meet with Nakhushov to
discuss a possible dialogue with the Muslims. In an interview with
Novaya gazeta Kanokov called Nakhushov "a candidate for building a
bridge to negotiate with young Muslims" (Novaya gazeta, October 31).

Nakhushov's relatives and friends immediately blamed security officials
for his disappearance. "We still hope that he will appear again, but such
witnesses are usually not left alive. Ruslan had a lot of information on
very sensitive issues about the activities of the special services in
Kabardino-Balkaria," journalist Orkhan Dzhemal told Kavkazsky Uzel
(November 7). The law-enforcement agencies did not like Nakhushov's
activity, and his office had been raided several times. On November 11,
Nikolai Shepel, the deputy Russian prosecutor-general for the Southern
Federal District, hinted that Nakhushov might have gone into hiding
because criminal proceedings had been started against him for assisting
terrorists. However, Shepel's words only served to fuel rumors that
Nakhushov had been kidnapped by security officials. "He did not plan to
hide or to be on the run," his lawyer insisted (Kavkazsky Uzel, November
11). Regnum news agency sources linked to law-enforcement agencies
also believe that Nakhushov was kidnapped by the local FSB (regnum,
November 11).

Nakhushov's disappearance from the Kabardino-Balkaria political scene
could stymie the last chance to start a peace process in the region. After
the raid on Nalchik, President Kanokov was ready for a dialogue. He
made a speech on local television and promised to return the bodies of
the rebels and civilians killed in the attack to their relatives. However,
he had to change his tone after meeting with Russian President Vladimir
Putin in Moscow. Kanokov claims that Putin told him that everything
should be done by the book, which in practice meant that no corpses
would be returned. Kanokov also obliquely indicated in his television
interview that the Russian authorities were very hesitant to build new
mosques in Kabardino-Balkaria, saying that they would start the process
"very slowly and carefully" (Novaya gazeta, October 31).

The Kremlin and local security officials did not welcome the measures
proposed by Kanokov, including a dialogue with the rebels through
Nakhushov, opening mosques, and returning the bodies. According to
Kommersant, Kanokov has a problem dealing with the republican
Ministry of Internal Affairs, which directly reports to Moscow. On
November 11, a group of Russian politicians, public figures, and human
rights activists, including Boris Nadezhdin, a deputy chairman of the
Union of the Right Forces political party, held a press conference in
Moscow at which they blamed the administration of the Russian
president and security officials for the "destabilization in the Caucasian
republics." The group demanded serious changes in Russia's ethnic
minority and religious policies (Kavkazsky Uzel, November 8).

However, the disappearance of Nakhushov and the failure of Kanokov to
control the law-enforcement agencies suggest that the policy is unlikely
to be significantly altered in the near future.

--Andrei Smirnov

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