Russian Spy Agency Denies Pentagon Report ~

Las Vegas Sun ^ | March 25, 2006 at 11:41:26 PST | JUDITH INGRAM ASSOCIATED PRESS

[Ernest_at_the_Beach]

MOSCOW (AP) -

Russia's foreign spy agency denied Saturday that Moscow gave Saddam Hussein information on U.S. troop movements and plans during the invasion of Iraq, while analysts speculated the Pentagon claim was tied to a growing rift between the West and the Kremlin.

A Pentagon report Friday cited two captured Iraqi documents as saying Russia obtained information from sources "inside the American Central Command" in Qatar and passed battlefield intelligence to Saddam through the former Russian ambassador in Baghdad, Vladimir Titorenko.

The Russian Foreign Intelligence Service dismissed the claims.

"Similar, baseless accusations concerning Russia's intelligence have been made more than once," agency spokesman Boris Labusov said. "We don't consider it necessary to comment on such fabrications."

Yevgenia Albats, a Moscow-based journalist who specializes in intelligence matters, said she suspected there was "at least a certain truth reflected in the Pentagon report," considering Russia's close relationship with the ousted Iraqi leader.

But she cautioned that didn't necessarily mean the Kremlin was involved.

"It is sometimes difficult to figure out whether certain steps were undertaken with the knowledge of top Russian authorities or whether those were steps undertaken by certain intelligence officers on their own," Albats told The Associated Press.

She also said the release of the Pentagon report probably had as much to do with the poor state of Russian-U.S. relations as their differences over the Iraq war, which along with other disputes have frayed a once promising partnership between Presidents Bush and Vladimir Putin that developed after the Sept. 11 terror attacks.

Albats noted the report appeared on the heels of Putin's trip last week to China, which added to U.S. unease over strengthening Moscow-Beijing ties. That development has caused Washington to recognize "it had lost whatever leverage it had over Russia," she said.

"It wasn't just another visit to China, it was a statement addressed to the United States," she added. "There is concern in Washington that China plus Russia, combined, will present a real problem for the United States."

A leading Russian Internet news agency, Gazeta.ru, speculated the Pentagon report was released to affect the U.N. Security Council debate on what to do about Iran's nuclear program as Russia and China are resisting U.S. and European demands for a tough stand.

"The leak about Russian spies in Doha can be interpreted as pressure on Moscow, which has taken a tough, principled position on the Iranian nuclear question," it said.

Sergei Oznobishchev, head of the Institute of Strategic Evaluations and Analyses, also tied the report to increasing U.S. distrust for Russia.

"They are irritated by Russia's strengthening position in the international arena and its foreign policy course," Oznobishchev was quoted as saying by the RIA Novosti news agency.

The Pentagon report wasn't the first to raise questions about Russian help for Saddam's regime at the time of the invasion in March 2003.

At the time, Gazeta.ru reported that two retired Russian generals visited Baghdad less than 10 days before the U.S.-led offensive and speculated they were advising the Iraqi military. The report showed photographs of them receiving medals from Iraqi Defense Minister Sultan Hashim Ahmed.

Nezavisimaya Gazeta, a newspaper believed at the time to have well-placed contacts in Russia's military and intelligence spheres, reported in March 2003 that Russian intelligence agents were holding daily meetings with Iraqi officials.

The U.S. administration accused Russian companies of shipping prohibited equipment, including anti-tank missiles, night-vision goggles and electronic jamming devices to Iraq, possibly via third countries. Moscow vehemently denied the allegations.

The unclassified Pentagon report did not assess the value or accuracy of the information Saddam got or offer details on Russia's information pipeline.

The Iraqi documents also left unclear who may have been the sources at Central Command's war-fighting headquarters, which is at Camp As Saliyah just outside Doha, the capital of Qatar. No Russians were authorized to be at the closely guarded base.

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On the Net: http://www.jfcom.mil/newslink/storyarchive/2006/pa032406.htm

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[popdonnelly]

"It seems to be more of a question of who's lying; the Iraqi who made the claim or the Russians in denying it."

Can I have the Iraqi at 50 to 1?

[popdonnelly]

"real of ficticious?" I'm waiting to see the first authentic document that demonstrates Saddam never had WMDs, never had ties with terrorists, and was something more than a liar and an all around bastard. Apparently, those documents aren't necessary. We should apply what I call the "Mary Mapes" standard. If a document damages the case for war, let's declare it genuine. If it supports the case for war, let's declare it fictitious.

[Marine_Uncle]

I had stated my position earlier on this issue. I don't think the US battle plan was leaked to Saddam via. a mole in CENTCOM. As in this post's threads and other postings on the subject, some have ably shown where it is so simple for the Russians to take sat photos, have agents in the various ports of call where the pre war assembly took place, to get as good a picture as required.
The Russians did not need a mole to pass on the info they gave Saddam.
Notice there where absolutely no details on what would constitute the northern force. No indication was made of the airborne to airdrop in the north, no mention of the Marine units that would come up from the south on the eastern side and move through those towns on the far eastern side of Iraq and approach Baghdad.
Now this not mean I don't realize the Russians have agents walking all over the place in downtown USA. To the contrary. And surely they for many many years have had moles and various levels of spies, double agents etc., operating within our agencies. That should not be the issue here. It goes no where. However I do not in the least object to your attempt at reminding folks the Russians have really never changed their game plan. It may look to some on the surface that way. But for those with a historical background, obviously we know that as tripe.
All Freepers surely at this point understand, or at least they should, how Russia worked with Iraq. Iraq was no different to them then Egypt,Syria,Iran,african rouge states etc.. But that is not what this post is about.
And quite franky the list we have seen is no battle plan. It is simply a list of aircraft, ship, tanks, some weapon systems. It contains nothing that constitute a battle plan.
So I think many here are as usual over reacting to things they apparently have little knowledge of.

[dighton]

Think outside the box a little people. Some of you sound as simplistic as the Iraqi generals in your analysis.

Funny how some of us simpletons are still here, and you ain’t.

[Just mythoughts]

This is Putin's big year, he will be hosting the G8 Summit, and he has said it will be about energy security.

Do you think it is in Putin's energy security interest to prevent drilling in ANWAR???

[Romanov]

Those reports were about the two elderly Soviet generals - both of whom participated in the coup against Gorbachev, supported the Oct '93 uprising against Yeltsin, and have made disparaging comments about Putin. They're died-in-the-wool hardline commies and if the Iraqis took their advice I'd be amazed - but it made good "press."

[M. Espinola]

"What was moving between Iraq and Syria that would be of concern to the Russians?"

Russkie spacemen!

[Romanov]

It actually might be time to be thinking about withdrawing from the G8 Summit as long as it's held in St. Petersburg, or returning to the G-7 format.

If it is shown that this intelligence sharing with the Iraqis was indeed sanctioned officially, I'd say we've reached the "punishment" phase in our relationship. If Putin's government is guilty it's a huge slap in the face to Bush and America and should be responded to in kind.

If we do not respond strongly (but only after all the facts are in) we send a very bad message about our own strength. The Russians will be watching how we react to this and what we do about it. They will base future decisions on our handling of this. If we let them slide, they'll continue to play. If we hurt them economically, and politically, they will think twice about crossing us. If they think the Chinese will be there for them they'll be sadly mistaken (as the Chinese have shown time and time again).

If the Russians claim Titorenko acted on his own, I would (were I Bush or Rice) not accept anything less than an investigation and charges brought against the Ambassador.

It's time for Putin and company to a.) reign in their security folk, b.) take a good look at what the US is actually capable of doing to them (speed up NATO membership for Ukraine, Georgia and Azerbaijan, etc.), and c.) realize how much more difficult we can make their lives via blocking arms trading, membership into international organizations, etc.. If they think this is the way to become an honest broker in international politics, it's time for them to go back to the Diplomatic Academy....

Once again, I'd wait until all the facts were in, but if these charges are true, it's time to peel off the nice guy gloves.

[GarySpFc]

Excellent! The rush to judgement by some is a little much, but at the same time if it comes out that Russia did give classified information out without our blessing, then we MUST take off the gloves, and hold them responsible.

[GarySpFc]

And quite franky the list we have seen is no battle plan. It is simply a list of aircraft, ship, tanks, some weapon systems. It contains nothing that constitute a battle plan.
So I think many here are as usual over reacting to things they apparently have little knowledge of.

True!

Indeed there was much which appears as disinformation. The article in the AP reports some of these items.

The report does not address the possibility that the U.S. military deliberately fed false information to the Russians, expecting them to pass it to Saddam. It does say that "such external sources of information were only one of the fog-generators obscuring the minds of Iraq's senior leadership."
Among the information the Iraqis said they received from the Russians, some of which proved inaccurate, was: That the movement of U.S. troops into southern Iraq from Kuwait was a diversion. In fact it was the main avenue of attack, supported by special forces entering from Jordan and paratroopers flying into northern Iraq.
That the ground assault on Baghdad would not begin until the Army's 4th Infantry Division was in place, around April 15. In fact, the 4th Infantry, whose originally planned invasion route from Turkey was blocked by the Turkish government, was not yet on Iraqi territory when the Baghdad ground assault began April 7. Thus, by design or chance, the information from the Russians actually reinforced a U.S. military deception effort.

Also, the locations of Special Forces units were supposedly given out. As I and others have stated 99.99% of those in the Pentagon did not have this information, and I can guarantee you it was not provided. The proof is that none of the units were compromised.

Now, that does not mean we authorized the Russians to provide misinformation, but Senator Carl Levin who is a member of the Senate Intelligence Committee hinted at it. That said, "if" Russia is guilty, then there should be a price to pay. However, if they were passing along misinformation with our blessing, then nothing will be said, and we will likely see a quiet improvement in relations.

I don't know if this has occurred to some of the Russianphobes, but haven't you wondered if the US talked with the Russians about the WMD which were supposedly transported to Syria? Both the US and Russia have been very quiet, without any public accusations or repruscions at the official level.

[dr_who_2]

That's the face of a guy you can trust.

[Marine_Uncle]

"I don't know if this has occurred to some of the Russianphobes, but haven't you wondered if the US talked with the Russians about the WMD which were supposedly transported to Syria? Both the US and Russia have been very quiet, without any public accusations or repruscions at the official level."
It would be hard to imagine them not talking about many things concerning Iraq, Syria, Iran, etc., at many levels. Perhaps their are those that know what was shipped out via. ground convoy and air freight. A perhaps one fine day all of a sudden we shall read some verifable ariticles on what went out.
One thing I have for a long time held in reservation is that anyone would want to ship say drums of precuros required to generate say VX nerve gas or Sarin. Those type of things do not make sense to me. Why would one ship things that have short shelve lives. It would be easy to just drive the drums to one of the rivers, or for that matter anywhere in the vast western desert areas and simply bury them. No one would ever find a trace. Don't even bother keeping records. Just assign crews to do it on a routine bases for a few weeks.
I really believe there are many things buried in the deserts of Iraq that will never be found.
As we are discovering via. the Harmony files, and what some of us have known for some time via. other sources. Saddam goons took great care in attempting to hide wmd programs from the inspectors. Why does it not make sense in this particular area, they would have set up special groups to disperse the crap without leaving any document paper trail behind. At any rate. To me, providing the butcher with some sort of alleged battle plan, means little. We only have to examine the tons of evidence since the 70's of Russia's involvments in building up Iraq. As with the French, Germans, Italians, Bulgarians, Yugoslavians, and other European countries, all of them where both legally and illegally helping Saddam for money through nuclear equipment sales, weapons systems, etc., to avoid oil blackmailing and to increase their personal coffers. None of them have much of an excuse.

[Stellar Dendrite]

quite telling gary, you get quite mad when i post the truth about the lying, US troop killing putin who you support.

hey gary how funny it is that you support putin who said hamas wasn't a terror group and he invited them to moscow.
guess what? hamas supports the chechens. by supporting putin, you support the chechens! pat yourself on the back gary, you're a traitor to russia.



Hamas supports Chechen rebels - part of global Jihad

http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/news/1576247/posts?page=1

[Stellar Dendrite]

"Anyone can shrill and post lots of links, which agree with their position."

and yet you have not disproven any of those articles, gary. i know it steams you up to have people on this forum that prove what a lying scumbag murdering enemy of america that putin is. he is literally arming every enemy, yet here you cheer him on and attack those of us who point out the truth.
quite telling.




you applaud putin, gary. a man who's actions of selling munitions to iraq helped build IED's that killed american troops. if you want to support the death of american troops, perhaps you're on the wrong forum?

[strategofr]

"KGB trained Zawahiri, says former agent, etc. "

Impressive series of links. Do you believe, As I do, that the Russians have also penetrated the American and European Left and largely control them? (I'll admit, I can't prove this.)

[Frank T]

"No wonder McVain want's to shut down the Internet. The rulers can't afford to have WE The People actually aware of what is going on."

He's a right-winger in the old Continental European sense of the word. He's catholic, too, I bet?

[Frank T]

And if true, that means the person is responsible for extra military deaths, due to the 4th infantry not being able to move in to Iraq through Turkey.

There *is* that paleocon element out there, and it seems that dog bit back in this case.

[Fruit of the Spirit]

I'm not questioning the authenticity of the documents. I'm just wondering why the Iraqis say it's so and the Russians are denying it ever happened.

Could there have been an error in the translation of the documents?

[bill1952]

The Drunken Fatman Kennedy agrees with you, but State does not want to withdraw from the G8 summit.

Asked whether the Russians were lying when they said it was nonsense, White House national security adviser Stephen Hadley said: "We don't know yet. We know there's a document, we know that got into the hands of the Iraqis. We know that it dealt with war plans that we had."

Sen. Edward Kennedy (news, bio, voting record), a Massachusetts Democrat, said on "Face The Nation" that if it turns out to be true, the United States should review its relationship with Russia and whether to attend the G8 summit in St. Petersburg this summer.

But Hadley said the setting in St. Petersburg would put international focus on issues of democracy in Russia, so "at this point we think there's a lot of value in going forward with the G8."

He added: "It's going to challenge Russia, it's going to challenge President Putin to make clear and answer some of the concerns that the international community has raised."

http://news.yahoo.com/s/nm/20060326/ts_nm/iraq_usa_russia_dc;_ylt=Aq2t98O535Yr1WO4w1ZiEv9Z.3QA;_ylu=X3oDMTA5aHJvMDdwBHNlYwN5bmNhdA--

[Romanov]

You'll note I stated "IF" the charges are true - which is basically what Hadley said. He did not rule out skipping the G8 function.

DFK, on the other hand, was for pulling out of it immediately - a stupid move if the charges are unfounded.