World Terrorism: News, History and Research Of A Changing World #4.

National Review Online ^ | August 02, 2006 | Walid Phares on the Mideast

[DAVEY CROCKETT]

Tehran & Damascus Move to Lebanon Lebanon-born Walid Phares is a senior fellow at the Foundation for the Defense of Democracies. Author of the recent book Future Jihad, he was also one of the architects of 2004’s United Nations resolution 1559, which called for the disarming of Hezbollah. NRO editor Kathryn Lopez recently talked to Phares about what’s going on in the Mideast, what happened to the Cedar Revolution, and this war we’re all in.

Kathryn Jean Lopez: What is “Future Jihad”? Are we seeing it in the Mideast now?

Walid Phares: “Future Jihad,” which has already begun, refers to a new and potent form of Islamic terrorism, characterized by a Khumeinist-Baathist axis. These are the two trees of jihadism, so to speak — the Salafism and Wahabism embodied in al Qaeda and the sort of jihadism led by Iran and also including Syria, Hezbollah, and their allies in Lebanon.

The alliance has not been in entire agreement as to strategy. The al Qaeda branch began its “Future Jihad” in the 1990s; its efforts culminated on 9/11 and have continued explosively since then. The international “Salafists” aimed at the U.S. in the past decade in order to strengthen their jihads on various battlefields (Chechnya, India, Sudan, Algeria, Indonesia, Palestine, etc.). “Weaken the resolve of America,” their ideologues said, “and the jihadists would overwhelm all the regional battlefields.”

As I argue in Future Jihad, bin Laden and his colleagues miscalculated on the timing of the massive attack against the U.S. in 2001. While they wounded America, they didn’t kill its will to fight (as was the case, for instance, in the Madrid 3/11 attacks). I have heard many jihadi cadres online, and have seen al Jazeera commentators on television, offering hints of criticism about the timing. They were blaming al Qaeda for shooting its imagined “silver bullet” before insuring a strategic follow up. But bin Laden and Zawahiri believe 9/11 served them well, and has put a global mobilization into motion. Perhaps it has, but the U.S. counter strategy in the Middle East, chaotic as the region currently appears, has unleashed counter jihadi forces. The jury is still out as to the time factor: when these forces will begin to weaken the jihadists depends on our perseverance and the public understanding of the whole conflict.

The other “tree” of jihadism, with its roots in Iran, withheld fire after 9/11. They were content to watch the Salafists fight it out with the U.S.-led coalition in Afghanistan and Iraq, not to mention within the West, as terror cells were hunted down. Ahmedinejad, Assad, and Nasrallah were analyzing how far the US would go, and how far the Sunnis and Salafis would go as well.

The fall of the Taliban and of the Baath in Iraq, however, changed Iran and Syria’s patient plans. The political changes in the neighborhood, regardless of their immediate instability, were strongly felt in Tehran and Damascus (but unfortunately not in the U.S., judging from the political debate here), and pushed the Khumeinists and the Syrian Baathists to enter the dance, but carefully. Assad opened his borders to the jihadists in an attempt to crumble the U.S. role in Iraq, while Iran articulated al Sadr’s ideology for Iraq’s Shiia majority.

A U.S.-led response came swiftly in 2004 with the voting of UNSCR 1559, smashing Syria’s role in Lebanon and forcing Assad to withdraw his troops by April 2005. In response, the “axis” prepared for a counter attack on the Lebanese battlefield by assassinating a number of the Cedar Revolution leaders, including MP Jebran Tueni. In short, the attacks by Hamas and Hezbollah and the kidnappings of soldiers were the tip of an offensive aimed at drawing attention away from Iran’s nuclear weapons programs and Syria’s assassination of Lebanese Prime Minister Hariri. Hezbollah was awaiting its moment for revenge against the Cedar Revolution too.

What we see now is 1) a Syro-Iranian sponsored offensive aimed at all democracies in the region and fought in Lebanon; 2) Israel’s counter offensive (which it seems to have prepared earlier); and 3) an attempt by Hezbollah to take over or crumble the Lebanese government.

Lopez: So…did the Cedar Revolution fail?

Phares: Actually, it would be more accurate to say that the Cedar Revolution was failed. The masses in Lebanon responded courageously in March 2005 by putting 1.5 million people on the streets of Beirut. They did it without “no-fly-zones,” expeditionary forces, or any weapons at all, for that matter, and against the power of three regimes, Iran, Syria, and pro-Syrian Lebanon, in addition to Hezbollah terror. The “revolution” was for a time astoundingly successful; since then it has been horribly failed, and first of all by Lebanon’s politicians themselves. One of their leaders, General Michel Aoun, shifted his allegiances to Syria and signed a document with Hezbollah. Other politicians from the “March 14 Movement” then stopped the demonstrations, leaving them with the support of God knows what. They failed in removing the pro-Syrian President Emile Lahoud and brought back a pro-Syrian politician to serve as a speaker of the house, Nabih Berri. Meanwhile, even as they were elected by the faithful Cedar Revolution masses, they engaged in a round table dialogue with Hezbollah, a clear trap set by Hassan Nasrallah: “Let’s talk about the future,” he said — with the implication, of course, that they forget about the Cedar Revolution and the militia’s disarming. While political leaders sat for months, enjoying the photo ops with Hassan Nasrallah, he was preparing his counter offensive, which he unleashed just a few days before the Security Council would discuss the future of Iran’s nuclear programs.

The Lebanese government of Prime Minister Seniora also abandoned the Cedar Revolution. His cabinet neither disarmed Hezbollah nor called on the U.N. to help in implementing UNSCR 1559. This omission is baffling. The government was given so much support by the international community and, more importantly, overwhelming popular support inside Lebanon: 80 percent of the people were hoping the Cedar Revolution-backed government would be the one to resume the liberation of the country. Now Hezbollah has an upper hand and the government is on the defensive.

The U.S. and its allies can be accused of certain shortcomings as well. While the speeches by the U.S. president, congressional leaders from both parties, Tony Blair, and Jacques Chirac were right on target regarding Lebanon, and while the U.S. and its counterparts on the Security Council were diligent in their follow up on the Hariri assassination and on implementing UNSCR 1559, there was no policy or plan to support the popular movement in Lebanon. Incredibly, while billions were spent on the war of ideas in the region, Lebanese NGOs that wanted to resume the struggle of the Cedar Revolution and fighting alone for this purpose were not taken seriously at various levels. Policy planners thought they were dealing with the “Cedar Revolution” when they were meeting Lebanon’s government and Lebanese politicians. The difference between the high level speeches on Lebanon and the laissez-faire approach from lower levels is amazing. Simply put, there was no policy on supporting the Cedar Revolution against the three regimes opposing it and the $400 million received by Hezbollah from Iran.

The Cedar Revolution was basically betrayed by its own politicians and is now essentially without a head. Nevertheless, as long as the international support remains, the Revolution will find its way and will face the dangers. The one and a half million ordinary citizens who braved all the dangers didn’t change their minds about Hezbollah’s terror. The resistance and counter-attack was to be expected. Unfortunately, thus far Iran, Syria, and Hezbollah have outmaneuvered the West and are at the throats of the Cedar Revolution. The international community must revise its plans, and, if it is strongly backed by the U.S. and its allies, including France, the situation can be salvaged. The good seeds are still inside the country.

More at link...

[nw_arizona_granny]

http://www.albawabaforums.com/read.php3?f=3&i=182808&t=182808


Al-Huni on 'Resistance'
Author: David_IL
Date: 18-08-06 01:23

Libyan Reformist Writer Dr. Muhammad Al-Huni Criticizes Abuse of the Term 'Resistance' in Arab Political Discourse

In an article titled "The Lexicon of Resistance" posted on the reformist website Elaph.com, Libyan reformist writer Dr. Muhammad 'Abd Al-Muttalib Al-Huni criticizes the abuse of the term "resistance" by Islamic fundamentalists and other extremist groups.

The following are excerpts from the article:

Resistance "Has Brought Nothing but Destruction Upon the Region"

"The word 'resistance' has come to be constantly used in the killing fields known as the Middle East. The old ways resist modernity; barbarity resists civilization; the ideology of suicide resists the desire to live; hatred resists tolerance; totalitarianism and dictatorship resist democracy; poverty and disease resist continuous development. All these [types of] resistance prevail in this paralyzed part of the world.

"However, the most noisy [type of] resistance is the suicidal resistance which wraps itself in the cloak of jihad, [but in fact] distorts the justness of the causes [it purports to promote], and corrupts their noble demands by adopting this barbaric style of struggle. This behavior has brought nothing but destruction upon the region. It has caused the whole world to unite against those who act in this manner, and consequently, to oppose the causes that [these people] aim to promote."

The Types of Resistance "Rampant in the Killing Fields [of the Middle East]"

"Let us now closely examine the [types of] resistance so rampant in the killing fields [of the Middle East].

"1. When Shi'ites kill Sunnis and Sunnis kill Shi'ites in Iraq merely for their [sectarian] identity, it is called 'resistance.'

"2. When Janjaweed gangs murder unarmed civilians in Darfour, it is called 'resistance.'

"3. When year after year, Hamas and Islamic Jihad extinguish any spark of peace which can end the suffering of the Palestinian people, it is called 'resistance.'

"4. When Hizbullah takes an entire people hostage and refuses to obey the elected [authorities], dragging Lebanon into destruction, it is called 'resistance.'

"5. The war which is being waged by the new global terrorism under the command of bin Laden, Al-Zawahiri and Al-Zarqawi is called 'resistance.'

"6. The alliance between the defeated remnants of the pan-Arab nationalist chauvinists and [the defeated remnants] of the Islamists - who are both [willing to] ally themselves with any murderer - is called 'resistance.'

"7. Establishing television channels like Al-Jazeera, which misleads the Arab public and causes [the Arabs] to wager repeatedly on the victory of the losing side - is called 'resistance.'

"8. When distinguished Arab lawyers rally by the thousands to the defense of Saddam Hussein while neglecting his victims and disregarding their cases, it is called 'resistance.'

"9. When people eulogize and mourn terrorists who have murdered thousands of Iraqis in the streets of [Iraqi] cities and villages, presenting them as heroes of the Arab nation, it is called 'resistance.'

"10. When Muslim religious scholars issue fatwas permitting murder, suicide, and slaughtering of brothers and compatriots, and when [these scholars] condemn every rationalist idea as 'stupid'... and show contempt for modernity, it is called 'resistance.'

"11. The murder of more than 130,000 innocent Algerian citizens, and the annihilation of a whole generation of journalists, writers and thinkers in Algeria, is called 'resistance.'

"12. Murdering tourists and bombing hotels in Egypt is called 'resistance.'

"13. Bombing hotels in Amman and killing the bride and groom, and anyone [else] who tries to celebrate in these sad killing fields, is called 'resistance.'"

"These Resistance [Groups]... Have No Future"

"What is common to [those who carry out] these types of resistance is that they all present themselves as 'Islamic,' and as the only force that still fights against imperialism in the Arab theater which has been destroyed by political autocracy. They all call for political programs that can be summed up in the slogan 'Islam is the Solution to All Problems.'

"The project of these resistance [groups] has had its day in the Arab world. It made the most noise and [caused] the most bloodshed, and therefore its dreadful collapse is highly imminent. [This program] betted on a wild horse, and has left not a single seed that can sprout, nor a single bud that can open. They are the murderers of the future, and therefore they have no future."

http://memri.org/bin/latestnews.cgi?ID=SD125306



Then I saw that wisdom excelleth folly, as far as light excelleth darkness.

[nw_arizona_granny]

[This site confuses me, there are a lot of Israel and US supporters and also jihadi....this appears to be an imported post, as the replys are supporting the good guys.......]

SOON KATYUSHAS IN IRAQ!!
Author: Maon
Date: 17-08-06 11:53

Right under the nose of the American bandit invaders/occupiers. There are about 20,000 American troops and American stooges in Baghdad. The situation in Baghdad WORSENS!

In other words, the Americans have totally lost control of Baghdad in spite of their huge manpower and murderous firepower. There are only 2 possibilities:. viz
1. The Americans are so terrified that they cowardly hide in the bunkers, foxholes, armoured vehicles.
2. The Americans flee whenever there is a firefight.

The Iraqi Natiomal Liberation forces are getting KATYUSHAS TO ATTACK THE AMERICANS. In the near future, the Green Zone will become a Blood Red Zone. The Katyushas are terrifying. One barrage of 500 shells should effectly reduce any America base to rubble.

It looks like the al Qaeda shall supply ground to air guided rockets to the Iraqi National Liberation fighters soon. That means all American helicopters, transport planes and passenger planes will be shot down. The N Koreans shall be more than happy to sell these rockets just like American selling such rockets to Taiwan.

http://news.messages.yahoo.com/bbs?action=m&board=37138459&tid=apiraq&sid=37138459&mid=2306382

above from:
http://www.albawabaforums.com/read.php3?f=3&i=182736&t=182736

[nw_arizona_granny]

http://www.albawabaforums.com/list.php3?f=4

Many for sale's on this list, phones, I see one that says it is
"unlocked", that I think is what they were talking about that changes the trac phone, into a more expensive phone.

No shortage of phones for sale in the muslim world.

[nw_arizona_granny]

http://metimes.com/print.php?StoryID=20060817-102219-4413r

Middle East Times
Somali Islamists break up meeting of moderate clerics
By AFP
Middle East Times
Published August 17, 2006

Hardline Islamists controlling much of southern Somalia forcibly broke up a meeting of moderate clerics in the capital Thursday, further asserting their authority in the lawless nation.

Officials with the Supreme Islamic Council of Somalia (SICS) said that the conference of clerics and peace activists from the Al Islah group in a Mogadishu hotel was illegal as it had not been approved.

"The meeting was not licensed and the organizers did not have permission to hold it," SICS spokesman Abdukarim Ali Muddey said after heavily armed Islamic gunmen broke up the meeting. "We have to be a community ruled by laws.

"People must seek permission to have a meeting, and we will license it as long as the forum is not a threat to public safety or Islamic teaching," he said.

Members of Al Islah, a charity that operates Muslim clinics and schools throughout Somalia, confirmed that the meeting had been disbanded but declined to discuss the matter further.

The agenda for the conference was not clear, but the group has been pushing for a resumption of dialogue between the Islamists and Somalia's increasingly weak and marginalized transitional government.

Arab League-mediated talks between the two sides slated to resume this week in Khartoum failed to take off after the Islamists demanded a delay and the withdrawal of Ethiopian troops alleged to be in Somalia to back the government.

During the first round of talks in June, both sides agreed to cease fire and recognize each other, but they have since traded accusations of violations.

The rise of the Islamists, who seized Mogadishu from warlords in June after months of fierce fighting and have rapidly expanded their territory since, poses a severe threat to the government's already limited authority.

As they have moved beyond the capital, the Islamists have begun to enforce an increasingly strict brand of Sharia law, closing down cinemas and photo shops and punishing what they consider to be un-Islamic behavior.

Somalia has been without a functioning central authority for the past 16 years since the 1991 ouster of strongman Mohamed Siad Barre.

Copyright © 2006 News World Communications, Inc. All rights reserved.

[nw_arizona_granny]

http://metimes.com/articles/normal.php?StoryID=20060814-110933-4237r

Iran's police raid rooftops for 'decadent' sat dishes
August 14, 2006

TEHRAN -- Iran has launched a crackdown against "decadent" satellite television in the Islamic republic, raiding rooftops in Tehran and other major cities to seize hundreds of illegal dishes.

The action followed a warning issued last month by Tehran's metropolitan police chief to the country's estimated 3 to 4 million satellite television watchers who defy the law.

"The use of satellite dishes is prohibited by law and we ask people not to use this equipment anymore," Morteze Talaie was quoted as saying in the press.

Police armed with warrants raided rooftops of large apartment blocks and high-rises in the chic northern and western areas of Tehran Sunday and have conducted similar operations in other cities, witnesses and press reports said.

"Police seized scores of satellite dishes in Velenjak [northern Tehran] and after loading their vans, they took off," a resident identifying himself as Hamid said.

Programs broadcast on satellite channels are considered "decadent" by the authorities in the Islamic republic which frequently try to jam the airwaves.

[nw_arizona_granny]

Friday, August 18, 2006



GREEK PROMOTION





Hezbollah TV 'hijacking' Internet use
UPI

August 9, 2006

AUSTIN, TX, USA -- Al Manar, Hezbollah's television outlet, has been getting US Internet service by hijacking connections, the San Antonio Express-News reports.

Earlier this week, Al Manar successfully connected through Broadwing Communications, which is based in Austin, Texas. The television station hacked into a Broadwing customer's site, the newspaper said.

"Broadwing acted decisively to terminate service as soon as we concluded that our services were being used in violation of our Acceptable Use Policy," a Broadwing vice president, Donovan Dillon, told the newspaper in an e-mail.

Aaron Weisburd, the founder of a group that tracks Islamic extremist Websites, said after Broadwing took the Al Manar site down it reappeared a few days later on a private cable line in New York.

The US Treasury Department classified Al Manar as a terrorist entity in March, making it illegal for any US companies to do business with it.

http://metimes.com/articles/normal.php?StoryID=20060809-094842-5368r

[nw_arizona_granny]

http://www.detnews.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=/20060818/METRO/608180427/1003

Man saves teen from fire; 2 dead

Detroit Police are investigating incident, which occurred in broad daylight, as firebombing.

Oralandar Brand-Williams / The Detroit News

DETROIT -- When Derrick Grant heard the frantic screams of a neighbor and saw the smoke, he dashed into action.

Grant ran down the street of the 19100 block of Conley looking for anything he could use to break open the armored front door of the burning home in order to save the woman and two girls inside.

He quickly found a crowbar and went into action trying to get the victims out of the house.

He first pulled the 14-year-old out and then he heard the screams of another girl on the side of the house on the city's east side.

Despite his heroic efforts, Grant and another man could not save the woman and a second female thought to be her niece.

"We heard the other girl scream, saying she couldn't get out," said Grant referring to the teenager.

"The flames rolled out (and) there was too much fire. I couldn't reach in and get her," he said.

Detroit Police spokesman James Tate said his department is investigating the incident as a firebombing.

"It appears it was intentionally set," Tate said. He would not elaborate on how the fire was set.

The incident at 19147 Conley occurred in broad daylight around 5:30 p.m. Thursday at a time when children are outside playing and residents are sitting on their porches.

"We need to bring this to a quick resolution," Tate said.

"We're hopeful that someone did see something. We need them to come forward," he said.

continued..................

[nw_arizona_granny]

http://www.axisglobe.com/print_article.asp?article=1029

Axis Information and Analisys
15.08.2006
Eurasian Secret Services Daily Review
AIA Staff
Slovenian president's envoy jailed in Sudan for spying
A Sudanese court has sentenced Slovenian president's special envoy Tomo Kriznar to two years in jail for spying and entering the country illegally, news agencies are reporting. He was involved in the peace process

Tomo Kriznar (photo: Dnevnik)
Tomo Kriznar
between Sudan's government and rebels in the troubled Darfur region.
The Sudanese minister of Justice, Mohamed Ali al-Mardhi, said that Al-Fashir Criminal Court Monday convicted the Slovenian Tomo Kriznar under Article 53 of the Criminal Law for 1991 (espionage) and Article 66 of the same law (publishing false news) and Article 10 of the Passports, Migration and Nationality Act for 1994 (entering Sudan without an entry visa), the Sudan Tribune writes today. The court sentenced the defendant to two years imprisonment and a fine of 500,000 dinars and confiscation of exhibits found with the defendant of photography equipment and films. The court ruled that the defendant should be expelled after serving his prison term, the Sudan Tribune says.
The envoy is a well-known human rights activist in Slovenia and was arrested in July for not having a valid visa. At an earlier court hearing Kriznar admitted entering Darfur without a Sudanese visa, but denied the spying charges. According to earlier reports by the official news agency Suna, Sudanese investigators said Kriznar, who is well-known in Slovenia as a human rights activist and best-selling writer, was taking pictures and shooting video material of villages around Darfur. Reportedly, he had uncovered evidence of mass graves in the region. The conflict in Darfur, a vast region in western Sudan, started in 2003. It is estimated that more than 200,000 people have died and more than two million have fled their homes during the conflict.

New Slovak military intelligence chief appointed
Slovak Defence Minister Frantisek Kasicky appointed ubomir Skuhra as the new Director of Slovak military counter-intelligence (VOS), Bratislava-based weekly The Slovak Spectator reports. Skuhra, 38, an experienced officer who has served in numerous positions in the defence and intelligence community, replaces colonel Vladimir Kotrus, who was recalled in mid-July. According to The Slovak Spectator, VOS is a special agency of the military establishment that gathers and evaluates information deemed vital to the defence of the country - including activities jeopardising Slovakia's sovereignty, territorial integrity, defence capability, and the leaking of classified data.

Latvian political party activist to charge against Security Police
Ieva Zvejsalniece, Board Member of the New Era party, announced she would charge against the Security Police of Latvia and daily Neatkariga accusing them of the publication of private telephone conversation material and infringement of inviolability of a private life, Riga-based daily Chas writes. Similar actions are punishable and this case once again proves indifference of the law enforcement system to observance of human rights, considers Zvejsalniece. She emphasizes that in Latvia, unlike other countries, recording is done by the secret services, not by mostly anonimous "well-wishers".
This is already the second scandal with the publication of content of phone conversations in the Baltic countr this year. The first exploded in the spring, when the public LTV channel played recorded conversations of the Jurmala city council deputies and businessmen willing to purchase their votes in the city mayor election.
Making comments in the TV channel LNT morning program 900 Seconds on the situation around the the scandal, Einars Repse - the leader of the New Era party and the former Prime Minister, declared that the popular practice in Latvia of listenings of telephone conversations and submitting of such evidence to media creates serious threat to democracy.

Ex-KGB agent raises funds for Russian seminary in America
As a KGB agent in the Soviet Union, Alexander Tsutserov considered missionaries a possible threat, Rocky Mount Telegram writes. Now a faculty member of the Moscow Evangelical Christian Seminary, Tsutserov is visiting the United States to raise money for students who wish to attend the school. Tsutserov has received religious training in the United States and Scotland. What Tsutserov could not share – and probably what many people at the church wanted to hear – was what he did for the KGB during his time with the agency, the paper says. Tsutserov is tight-lipped about that part of his life. He said he did not want to share because he had given his word never to disclose anything related to his former job and because he wanted to respect his former colleagues. The only detail he would give is that his life resembled that of St. Paul, the New Testament figure who persecuted the

Aggressive protester detained in Tallinn (photo: Delfi)
Aggressive protester detained
in Tallinn
Christian church before he joined the faith. Tsutserov would not say if his job involved persecuting the church in Russia. He quit the KGB in 1993 because he felt his work at the agency was opposed to his new faith. "It was the KGB that was responsible for killing Christians, destroying churches," Rocky Mount Telegram quotes him as saying.

Security Police of Estonia to investigate attack on sex-minority rally participants
The Security Police of Estonia (KaPo) will start investigating of circumstances of the violence that was taking place during the last weekend’s rally of Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual, and Transgender people in Tallinn, daily Postimees reports. A group of unidentified assailants attacked the Pride parade, beating participants and throwing stones and sticks at them, injuring about 15 people, organizers said.
KaPo is given a task to establish whether there were episodes of kindling social hatred, the paper writes. The order to transfer the materials of the initiated criminal case on the fact of an attack on the rally participants to the Security Police for the further investigation was given by the Pohja district Office of Public Prosecutor. The law enforcement bodies do not exclude that in case additional information and evidence on voiced discriminating statements, threats and urging to physical violence against the participants of the rally will be obtained during the investigation, the case would be switched over to actions kindling social hatred. This crime if it has led to death of a person or caused other heavy consequences is related to the competence of the Security Police, Postimees explains. A Frenchman participating in the Tallinn march was rushed to hospital with a head injury, Lisette Kampus, spokeswoman of Tallinn Pride said. Although police tried to intervene, they were "too slow to react" and were understaffed, she is quoted by the paper.

[nw_arizona_granny]

http://www.axisglobe.com/article.asp?article=1033

17.08.2006
Eurasian Secret Services Daily Review
AIA Staff
Russian security service says justified to fire on Japanese boat
A Russian border guards patrol opened fire on a Japanese vessel in disputed waters yesterday, killing a fisherman and triggering a harsh protest from Tokyo as tensions mounted over a perennial territorial

Russian border guard vessel (photo: NTV)
Russian border guard vessel
dispute between the Pacific powers, news agencies are reporting today. Russians were forced to open fire on a Japanese vessel in Russia's territorial waters, the Federal Security Service (FSB) said. According to Interfax, more than three tonnes of crab and octopus caught without permission and crab traps have been found on board the Japanese fishing vessel seized in Russia's Far East early on Wednesday morning, the Russian Federal Security Service (FSB) said in a press release. "The vessel did not respond to demands to stop, [and] it made dangerous maneuvers preventing an inspection team from approaching it," the FSB said in a statement, adding that the border guards shot two warning salvoes. Japan earlier said a Russian patrol boat opened fire on the Japanese vessel yesterday, killing one man aboard.
Russia's border guards, which were transferred to the FSB in 2003, often stop suspected poachers, including Russian crews, in the area. "The crew [of the vessel] was trying to throw the [illegal] catch and fishing equipment overboard," the FSB statement said. The Russian coast guard in the Far East confirmed that warning shots were fired at the Kisshin maru 31, but said the ship could have been hit inadvertently as the result of rough seas, according to RIA Novosti. The vessel has been towed to the nearby port of Yuzhny-Kurilsk, where Russian military prosecutors will conduct an investigation into the shooting and the illegal border crossing, the FSB said.
Relations between Russia and Japan have long been strained over the Kuril Islands. Japan maintains that their seizure by the Soviet Union at the end of WWII was illegal, and the dispute has until now kept the two countries from signing a formal peace treaty. According to Japan Coast Guard officials, there have been 39 known instances of Japanese fishing boats being fired on by Soviet or Russian vessels since March 1950, Asahi Shimbun writes today. The last time occurred in April 2000 about 100 kilometers south of Nemuro. In that incident, a fishing boat from Miyagi Prefecture was towed into Russian territorial waters, no crew members were injured. However, one of three crew members died when Soviet authorities fired at a shark fishing boat off one of the Habomai islets in the Northern Territories in October 1956. According to the First Regional Coast Guard Headquarters, the waters around Nemuro are rich fishing grounds. A total of 9,000 people have been captured by former Soviet or Russian authorities since 1946, Asahi Shimbun says.

Many type liquid explosives terror threat real – former KGB officers
Terrorist attacks using liquid explosives represent a very real threat, a former KGB officer Vladimir Kozlov told a press conference in Moscow today, according to the RIA Novosti news agency. Fears of such attacks were provoked in Europe after an alleged plot to perpetrate a series of bombings on board of US-bound airliners was foiled in London earlier in the month, the agency notes. Kozlov, a retired officer with the Vympel special task force, said that the threat of terrorist acts using liquid explosive substances was real because instructions on how to make explosive devices were available on the Internet. However, Russia's security services were skilled in discovering explosive devices, he said and praised the country's high level of transport security. Kozlov stressed that special task groups of Russian secret services - the Main Intelligence Directorate, the Foreign Intelligence Service and the Federal Security Service - had staff capable of accomplishing such missions.
Earlier this week, Moscow's chief explosives expert Adolf Mishiyev told a news conference August 15 that there were many other types of liquid explosives, which meant that international terrorism had reached a new level in terms of training. Mishiyev said five types of nitroglycerin were most common, and that they were capable of exploding from the slightest shock. "In terms of power, nitroglycerin can be compared to RDX, and 1-1.5 kg of it is enough to carry out a terrorist attack on board a plane," RIA Novosti quoted him as saying.

Polish poet, playwright Zbigniew Herbert wasn’t SB informer - Institute of National Memory
Zbigniew Herbert (photo: AG)
Zbigniew Herbert
Institute of National Memory resolutely denies the report publicized by the magazine Wprost that the poet, playwright and essayist Zbigniew Herbert was an informer of socialist Poland’s security service (SB), Polish Radio reports. The article under the headline «Denunciation of Pan Cogito» alleges that the poet informed the SB on the Polish emigration circles in the West Europe. Malgozata Ptasinska-Wujcik from the Institute of National Memory told that was manipulation with documents and the security service had failed to recruit the poet. Still she had recognized that such attempts were made. But the SB agents did not count with the fact that had been dealing with a person of honour, Ptasinska-Wujcik added. The historian of the Institute of National Memory noted that Herbert should have talk to the SB functionaries each time when he applied for prolongation of his passport. In the 1960s such interviews were spent with everyone who wished to receive a passport for travelling abroad. She emphasized also that his friends and relatives knew about these contacts of Herbert, radio adds.
Herbert’s widow has announced her intention to bring an action against the weekly magazine. Katarzyna Herbert said she knew all the files of her husband and she was sure by 100 per cent that employees of the Institute of National Memory had honesty performed their work.

Georgian labourists consider Saakashvili an agent of Russian secret services
The leader of Georgian labourists, Shalva Natelashvili, at a press conference accused the President of Georgia, Michael Saakashvili, of cooperation with the Russian secret services, online paper Kavkaz Centr reports. Natelashvili has said that an acknowledgement of it is the fact that Saakashvili and his government is transferring all expensive objects of the country’s infrastructure to Russia without any obstacles. Natelashvili has noted that Saakashvili has transferred to Russia already 70 per cent of power manufacturing facilities, while «for his own PR-campaign he speaks only on liberating Georgia from the Russian pressure».

Romania’s President demands to see his Securitate file, if there is such
Traian Basescu (photo: AP)
Traian Basescu
Romania’s President Traian Basescu refuted accusations that he used to cooperate with the former Communist secret police, Securitate, Romanian Evenimentul Zilei newspaper reports. “Give it to me and I will make it public”, Basescu told representatives from the Conservative and Social-Democratic Parties, who demanded the Romanian head-of-state to flash his file to voters. Basescu announced at a special press conference yesterday that he had not provided any information to the former secret police.
On the other hand, the former President Emil Konstantinescu announced that when Basescu became a party member his file had been destroyed and there was a proof for that – a microphone. Basescu responded to the accusations adding that he did not want to hide anything and while he was a commander of a ship he used to sign reports for the trips, which Securitate might have had been interested in, according to news agency Mediafax.
Basescu made a press statement yesterday addressing claims he launched the campaign to disclose current politicians who worked as informers or were monitored by the former communist secret services. He said the declassification of the archives of former secret police or Securitate was not meant to discredit or attack anyone and that the process of making the files public will carry on. Basescu said that if the process of revealing Securitate members gets lost in political games and discussions about some persons, then there’s a chance we miss the point. “The greatest error will be that the will demonstrated in declassifying the archives should be used in political fighting,” Basescu emphasized.
August 15, the head of ruling coalition Conservative Party Dan Voiculescu claimed Basescu was a collaborator of the former communist secret services. Mediafax writes that the Romanian authority in charge of granting access to files of former communist intelligence services, CNSAS, yesterday emphasized it holds no file or document concerning a possible collaboration of Romanian President Traian Basescu with the former communist secret services.
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17.08.2006
Analysis of the Russian Involvement in the Lebanon Crisis
Pavel Simonov, Sami Rosen
A whole set of Russia's strategic interests was reflected in the Lebanon crisis: starting from the geopolitical rivalry with America, and ending with the struggle against radical Islam in the North Caucasus. However, the participants of the conflict have ignored Moscow's peacemaking efforts. Thereon, Iran, Syria, HAMAS, and Hezbollah benefit from this ignorance...

Ruins of Beirut (photo: AFP)
Ruins of Beirut

The Lebanese-Israeli crisis lasted from July 12 till August 14, 2006. An attack of Hezbollah on the frontier areas in the western part of Northern Israel had served as its pretext. Local settlements were stricken by missiles and mortars, eight servicemen were killed and two were abducted. Israel replied with a large-scale operation against Lebanon, with an aim of causing of utmost damage to all infrastructure of Hezbollah, and first of all, the expulsion of its armed formations from the south of the country. However, the basic losses have incurred the Lebanese state institutions ($9 billion damage) and civilians (90% of 1,109 victims are civilians). It entailed daily rocket bombardments by Hezbollah of northern areas of Israel (3,970 rockets in total). As a result of diplomatic efforts of key players of the world politics, on August 11 the United Nations Security Council adopted a resolution on the solution of the Israeli-Lebanese crisis. According to this document, on August 14 Israel and Hezbollah stopped active military operations. Already now it is obvious that this crisis will have appreciable consequences for the domestic political situation in Lebanon and Israel. It will for certain be reflected on the general atmosphere in the region. Most likely it will concern the further course of the Arab-Israeli conflict and foreign policy position of Syria, and possibly, also Iran’s influence in this part of the Middle East.
The crisis has had also certain significance for the world politics. One of its consequences is a certain strengthening of the United Nations status undermined as a result of the United States unilateral actions in Iraq. Although the United Nations, by virtue of internal contradictions, almost a month was unable to influence the course of the crisis in Lebanon, this very structure had put an end to the active phase of confrontation. In parallel, Britain, France, and Germany used the events in Lebanon to increase their mutual coordination on the Middle East issues. Participating in the solution of the crisis, Paris and Berlin also achieved additional warming in relations with Washington, noticeably injured by the contradictions on military campaign in Iraq. At the same time, similarly to the second Intifada, crisis in Iraq, and the Iranian nuclear program problem, for the basic geopolitical players the war in Lebanon became a test of their authoritativeness and a chance to raise their influence in the region. First of all, this concerns the United States, Britain, Germany, France, Russia, Turkey, Saudi Arabia, and Egypt.
Russia takes a special place in the Great Game for the future of the Middle East, claiming the role of "a connecting link" between the Muslim world and the western civilization. This was repeatedly showed during the crisis in Lebanon, too. President Vladimir Putin and Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov clearly let know that Moscow was capable to become the intermediary between Iran, Syria, Hezbollah, and HAMAS, on the one hand, and Israel and accordingly the United States, on the other.
During the debate in the United Nations Security Council on the French-American draft resolution, in the contacts with the western diplomats, the Russian representative Vitaly Churkin positioned himself as "an advocate" of the Arab world, in particular, of the Lebanese government. At the same time, in this crisis Moscow was guided also by more pragmatic interests.

Big Politics

Vladimir Putin and George Bush (photo: Official site of the Russian President)
Vladimir Putin and George Bush

For the last six years the paramount problem of President Putin’s foreign policy had consisted in returning Russia its status of one of the biggest world powers. A special significance was paid to conducting its own foreign policy independent of the West. That, as well as the distinctions in the state administration, emphasized the difference of the Putin’s team from the westernized Russian leadership of the first half of the 1990s.
To continue this line and against the background of change of power in Georgia, Ukraine, Kyrgyzstan, and also destabilization in the East Uzbekistan, the tendency of renewal of rivalry with the West was precisely designated between 2003 and 2005 in the Russian foreign policy. The Middle East tactics of the Kremlin had been developed also under influence of the great power aspirations, the underlined independence and growing rivalry with the United States. Realizing the unique place of this region in the world politics, Putin in 2004-2006 initiated activization of the Russian diplomacy on the given direction. This was showed by establishment of strategic partnership with Turkey, strengthening of relations with Syria, President’s indicative visits to Egypt, Palestine, and Israel, and also by an official recognition of HAMAS.
Against this background, the war in Lebanon became a serious challenge for Putin's foreign policy. Events in the Middle East obliged Russia to confirm its status as one of the leading world powers in practice. Moscow could not play an alternative to Washington in the solution of this conflict, though. Not possessing the levers of real influence on the situation, the Russian diplomacy was compelled only to simulate an increased peacemaking activity.
Besides this, Moscow had to fix its special role in the Middle East settlement at a geopolitical level. It became possible owing to the fact that the G8 summit in St.-Petersburg on July 16-17 coincided with the beginning of the active phase of the crisis in Lebanon. In a few days, in an interview to the radio Ekho Moskvy, Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov particularly emphasized the following: «We

Sergey Lavrov (photo: Kommersant daily)
Sergey Lavrov
suggested that the Great Eight does not limit itself by that statement on the Middle East that was prepared in advance, still before the splash of violence there, and pays a special attention to this problem». Vladimir Putin, too, emphasized the role of Russia in the discussion of the Middle East crisis. At a press conference on July 16 he called the statement of the G8 leaders on the situation in the region one of the main results of the summit. Putin noted that exactly thanks to Russia «it was possible to smooth the contradictions in many respects» in the given question. The Head of the International Affairs Committee of the Council of Federation, Mikhail Margelov, making comments on the achievements of the Kremlin within the framework of the G8 meeting, concluded that the summit had accepted Russia’s claims for the great power’s status.

Middle East policy

Having declared itself a successor of the Byzantium, since the 18th century the Russian monarchy claimed a special role in the Middle East politics. It was shown not only in the wars with Persia and Turkey for the possession of the Caucasus and Balkans, but also in the struggle against France for the control over Christian relics of Palestine and Lebanon, and also in the rivalry with other European powers for the patronage over the Christians all over the Middle East. During the Soviet period Moscow began to actively restore its regional positions in the 1950s, and up to the end of the 1980s it was one of the key players in the Middle East policy.
Under the first Russian President Boris Yeltsin (1991-1999), the Kremlin lost its influence in the region. However, with the coming to power of Vladimir Putin, considerable attention was paid to restoration of close relationships with the traditional Arab partners of the USSR, in particular with Syria, Iraq, Algeria, and Libya. In an interview to the Egyptian daily Al-Ahram, in April 2005, President Putin had precisely designated the continuity of his diplomacy in the Middle East. He emphasized that Russia, continuing traditions of the Soviet Union, maintains "special, very close ties with the Arab world".
Demonstrative activity
Against this background, during the crisis in Lebanon it was necessary for Moscow to show that it, the same as before, fills an important place in the regional politics. Right at the beginning of military operations, on July 14, this was announced by the presidential aide Sergey Prihodko who emphasized that "Russia has been enjoying traditional authority

Sergey Prihodko (photo: Sovershenno Sekretno)
Sergey Prihodko
in the Middle East". In the Russian Foreign Ministry’s statement, published on August 12, it was also marked that Moscow "has been traditionally playing an active role in the region".
With an aim to demonstrate an active participation in the solution of the Lebanon crisis, the Russian leadership between July 13 and August 12 held intensive contacts with the Middle East politicians. Vladimir Putin had held phone conversations with his Iranian counterpart Mahmoud Ahmadinejad (twice) and Israeli Prime Minister Ehud Olmert. Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov was keeping contact (by phone and meeting in person) with the head of the Egyptian diplomacy, Ahmed Aboul Gheit. Simultaneously he had phone negotiations with his Iranian counterpart Manouchehr Mottaki and Lebanese Prime Minister Fouad Siniora. Andrey Denisov, the First Deputy of Lavrov, maintained contacts with the Syrian Foreign Minister Walid Muallem and the leader of the parliamentary majority of Lebanon Saad al-Hariri. Another Russian Deputy Foreign Minister, Alexander Saltanov, and the ministry’s special representative Sergey Yakovlev were paying visits to Palestine, Jordan, Syria, and Israel. Security Council Secretary Igor Ivanov visited Algeria, Libya, and Egypt. Simultaneously, visits to Moscow by the Saudi Foreign Minister Prince Saud Al Faisal and the National Security Council Secretary General, Prince Bander bin Sultan, Algerian Minister of Energy and Mines Chakib Khelil, Iran's Deputy Foreign Minister for Asia-Pacific affairs Mehdi Safari, and the leader of the parliamentary majority of Lebanon Saad al-Hariri took place.
Problem of equilibrium
The first war between Arabs and Israel in the post-Soviet period became a test for Moscow’s declared balanced position in the Middle East conflict. From the beginning of the 1990s this principle was considered as a distinctive feature between the Russian diplomacy and the Soviet policy in the region. While the given innovation belonged to the first Foreign Minister of Russia, "Westerner", Andrey Kozyrev (1990-1995), it had been invariably observed by his successors, including by Vladimir Putin's protégés.

Andrey Kozyrev (photo: Stringer-news)
Andrey Kozyrev
At the same time, the Russian President is a supporter of an overwhelming rapprochement with the Islamic world, keeping to the opinion that his country traditionally belongs not only to European but also to Muslim civilization. In August 2003 he even put forward an initiative of Russia's joining the Organization of the Islamic Conference. In June 2005 Russia received an observer’s status within the framework of this forum. Against this background, with the beginning of the Lebanon crisis, it was important to Moscow to demonstrate to the Islamic world that the same as before it is supporting the Arab partners in a critical situation.
On a declarative level, Russia more or less had managed to observe the principle of equilibrium. It was Putin who declared such a necessity in the first days of the war. At a press conference on July 16 he emphasized that «Russia’s position should remain balanced». The sense of such an approach, in his opinion, is that «Moscow maintains a feedback with all sides of the conflict, and this is the uniqueness of its position today».
Especially at the initial stage of the crisis, the Russian leadership criticized both participants of the confrontation, placing emphasis on the losses of the Lebanese side. The Foreign Ministry’s statement published July 14, contained “resolute condemnation of abduction of servicemen, bombardment of the Israeli territory”. Simultaneously, “the military actions unleashed by Israel” were considered as “disproportionate and inadequate use of force”. Minister of Defence Sergey Ivanov spoke in the same vein the next day. On July 16 Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov accused Hezbollah in «provocations, including those aimed at disruption of the intra-Lebanese dialogue». Four days later his ministry, reminding of the necessity of "release of the abducted Israeli servicemen”, accused Israel in «an unprecedented scale of victims and destruction» in the Lebanese territory. However, on July 25 Vladimir Putin declared that «the State of Israel has the right to and should live in conditions of safety». Two days later, the Deputy Director of the Middle East and North Africa Department of the Russian Foreign Ministry, Oleg Ozerov, was taking part in «a round table» discussion that had gathered Russian diplomats and experts, Lebanese and Palestinian politicians and journalists. With Ozerov's tacit consent, the participants of the forum declared Israel «the shock-troops of global fascism» and Ozerov himself accused Israelis of the attempts «to bomb Lebanon back to the Stone Age». On July 31, the Russian Foreign Ministry subjected Tel Aviv to strictures for «the gross violation of elementary norms of international humanitarian right». On a level with this, three days later, again in a Foreign Ministry’s statement, it was marked that «there are no doubts on the necessity of providing security of Israel, preclusion of bombardments of the Israeli territory and acts of terror with the victims among civilians».
Since the beginning of August, the official documents and appearances of the Russian officials were devoted mainly to the drafting of the United Nations Security Council’s resolution on the Lebanon crisis. Mentioning of the abducted Israeli soldiers and bombardments of the Israeli territory disappeared from the documents, and there was only the scale of victims and destruction on the Lebanese side marked. And if up to that point, at a level of declarations Russia adhered to the principle of balance, in practice it obviously gravitated to its traditional pro-Arab line.
This manifested itself in scarcity of contacts with the Israeli leadership, in comparison with the activity on the Arab-Iranian direction. So, the first telephone conversation between Vladimir Putin and Ehud Olmert took place on August 12 under an initiative of Tel Aviv, only after adoption by the United Nations Security Council of the resolution on the Lebanon crisis.

Vitaly Tshurkin (photo: Izvestia)
Vitaly Tshurkin

Moreover, at the United Nations level Russia was making common cause with the Arab countries, consistently defending interests of the Lebanese government. Not incidentally on July 24 the Security Council Secretary Igor Ivanov had undertaken on behalf of the Russian leadership «to reckon with the view of the Arab countries in the proposals on the Middle East settlement». On August 8 Vitaly Churkin, the Russian representative in the UN, rejected the initial Franco-American draft resolution. He gave reason for the position that France and the United States had insufficiently considered the wishes of the Arab world and the Lebanese leadership. On August 10 Churkin declared an intention to present Russia's own draft resolution providing humanitarian ceasefire for 72 hours. According to the Israeli ambassador in the United Nations, Dan Gillerman, the Russian initiative served first of all the interests of Hezbollah as it gave it time for regrouping and aggregation of forces in the south of Lebanon.
On August 11 the United Nations Human Rights Council decided to send to Lebanon a commission for investigation of infringements of the international humanitarian rights and human rights by Israel. Sergey Lavrov, the chief of Russian diplomacy, is the Chairman of the UN Human Rights Council since May 2006. He was also one of the main initiators of the given resolution. Except for Russia, 26 more member states of the United Nations Human Rights Council voted for it, 11 were against and 8 abstained.
Ties with Hezbollah and HAMAS

Khaled Mashal and Sergey Lavrov (photo: RIAN)
Khaled Mashal and Sergey Lavrov
The current Middle East crisis became also a test for the Russian concept of dialogue with all political forces possessing real influence in the region. The given concept extends not only to the countries ranked by the West to «the axis of evil», such as Iran and Syria, but also to HAMAS and Hezbollah that are registered in the lists of terrorist organizations in Israel, the United States, and a number of European countries.
Contacts with these Lebanese Shia and the Palestinian Islamists' movements have become an important element of the Kremlin’s independent course in the Middle East. Moscow established tacit contacts with Hezbollah at a level of the Deputy Foreign Minister Viktor Posuvalyuk in 1997-1998. In January 2006 Russia became the first non-Muslim country that had supported conducting of dialogue with the new leadership of Palestine in the person of the leaders of HAMAS. President Putin emphasized then that "our position concerning HAMAS differs from the American and West European". On the invitation of the Russian leadership the delegation of this organization headed by the head of its Political bureau Khaled Mashaal paid a visit to Moscow in March. In such a way the Kremlin aspired to raise its own influence in the zone of the Arab-Israeli conflict. In May Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov declared that the dialogue with HAMAS is called to promote "transformation" of this organization on the way «of recognition of the State of Israel and refusal of violence».
Two months earlier, Lavrov noted «a political role» of Hezbollah in the Lebanese politics and supported representation of this organization in local power structures. Simultaneously the Foreign Ministry Spokesman, Alexander Yakovenko, emphasized that Hezbollah «is an influential force presented in the Lebanese parliament, participating in the political, economic, and social life of the country».
Against this background, as a result of the capture of Israeli soldiers by the HAMAS and Hezbollah insurgents directly in the territory of Israel, in June and July 2006, Russian diplomacy appeared in a rather inconvenient position. First, these events have shown that neither HAMAS nor Hezbollah are intending "to transform” and recognize the Jewish state or to refuse violent methods. Secondly, now it was necessary for Russia to prove that its contacts with these organizations had not passed in vain and it is capable to render at least some influence on them.
With the view that the new crisis in the Middle East was provoked by the actions of HAMAS and Hezbollah, Moscow first of all had tried to justify its contacts with these organizations. On July 16 Vladimir Putin declared that he did not regret about the invitation of the HAMAS representatives to Russia. «It is necessary to talk not with those who are pleasant as negotiation partners, but with those who can influence the situation», he ascertained. Further, on July 20, Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov emphasized that both of these organizations are non-uniform and are subdivided into the "moderate" and "radical" elements. In the Hezbollah's case, he said, "radicals" arranged abduction of the Israeli servicemen while the "moderate" figures «has been supporting integration into political life of Lebanon». As follows from Lavrov’s statement, these are «the moderate elements» who are the suitable partners for negotiations. Later he added that «any arrangements should be coordinated with all the basic forces in Lebanon, including Hezbollah". A week after, the Head of Department on Struggle Against International Terrorism of the Federal Security Service (FSB), Yury Sapunov, explained in an interview to the Rossiiskaya Gazeta why HAMAS and Hezbollah were not included in the Russia’s list of terrorist organizations. The main reason was that they had not been noticed in terrorist activity in the territory of Russia. At the same time, Sapunov had recognized that «these organizations use terrorist methods».

Yuri Sapunov (photo: Rossiiskaya Gazeta)
Yuri Sapunov
In parallel, Moscow tried to provide legitimatization of its contacts with HAMAS and Hezbollah, claiming that the contacts with them promoted peacemaking efforts of the Russian diplomacy, and accordingly the prompt settlement of the conflict. For the first time Sergey Lavrov made such statement as late as July 3, soon after the capture of Israeli servicemen by the HAMAS insurgents. He repeated the same also on July 16, already after the beginning of the Lebanon crisis. One day prior to that, his Defense Ministry colleague, Sergey Ivanov, told that «Russia is using the contacts with HAMAS with a view of reduction of tension in the Middle East». At the same time, negotiations on the cease-fire in Lebanon and also the contacts aimed at the exchange of the captured between Israelis and Palestinians, have been showing that Moscow has failed to involve even symbolically its contacts with the local Islamic movements. Relations with them have not promoted a real increase of Russian influence in the zone of the Middle East conflict. On the other hand, the dialogue with Moscow was effectively used by Hezbollah and particularly by HAMAS to strengthen its own image at a regional and domestic political level.

National security

The collapse of the Soviet Union promoted sharp activization of contacts of local Muslims with other part of the Islamic world, in particular with the large religious centres in Saudi Arabia, Egypt, and Pakistan. Consequently, revival of the spiritual life of Muslims of the Central-Asian republics, Russia, and a little later of Azerbaijan, has begun. Islamic fundamentalist organizations took advantage of these processes, as well as of the weakness of regimes of the new independent states. Since the first half of the 1990s they began to actively expand their influence on the Muslims of the former Soviet Union. As a result, radical movements were originally formed in Tajikistan and Uzbekistan, then in the republics of the North Caucasus and Azerbaijan, and also in Kyrgyzstan and Kazakhstan. In 1998-2000 they entered an open armed opposition with the secular authorities in the Chechen Republic, Dagestan, Uzbekistan, and Kyrgyzstan. Under influence of these events representatives of the Russian expert community, secret services and later on - of the military-political establishment, realized that the Muslims of the former Soviet empire are an integral part of the modern Islamic world. Accordingly, processes of the religious and political character in Arab countries, Afghanistan and Pakistan, to some extent are reflected in the situation in the North Caucasus and in the Muslim republics to the south from Russia. Thus «the interrelation of the Islamic communion» has become a factor of Russia’s national security.
In March 2000 the Security Council Secretary Sergey Ivanov, who filled the post of the Minister of Defence a year later, in an interview to the radio Voice of Russia, combined the Islamic neighbours of his country in "a half-moon", «bending around our southern borders and directly adjoining to them». Ivanov explained that this very "half-moon", reaching from Bosnia-Herzegovina in the West, up to Sudan in the South and Pakistan in the East, is a source of ideas of the radical

Sergey Ivanov (photo: AFP)
Sergey Ivanov
Islam and terrorism for Russia. The given concept reflected in the perception of the new Russian leadership of the situation in the Middle East. Henceforth, the unrest of the Sunni fundamentalists in Syria and North Lebanon, collisions in the Palestinian territories or destabilization in Iraq were estimated by Moscow not only from the point of view of regional interests, but also with regard of possible consequences in Central Asia and the Caucasus. In this connection fears were expressed that the second Intifada or Saddam Hussein's overthrow would provoke growth of radical sentiments all around the Islamic world, that in the final could be reflected, for example, in the position of the Central-Asian regimes.
The present Lebanon crisis was also considered in the given context. Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov quite clearly declared this on July 20 in an interview to the radio Ekho Moskvy. He reminded that Central Asia, Afghanistan and the Middle East are forming «a kind of a belt that is interconnected» and constitute a source of threat for security of Russia and the allied regimes of the CIS southern republics.
Moscow again was worrying that the Arab-Israeli war would cause the growth of Islamic sentiments among the Muslims not only in the Middle East but also beyond its borders. This became one of the reasons for such a sharp criticism coming from the Kremlin, concerning victims among the civilians in Lebanon. Most intelligibly it sounded on July 18 and on August 2 in the appearances of the head of the Parliamentary Committee on International Affairs, Konstantin Kosachev, representing Edinaya Rossia (United Russia) ruling party. According to him, «such large-scale operations do not weaken and do not stop the activity of the terrorist organizations, but only strengthen their positions».
The events in Lebanon really caused a wide resonance all over the Islamic world. Russian Muslims did not remain indifferent, too. Though they did not organize such mass protest rallies as their Arab coreligionists, many of their leaders had condemned the «Zionist aggression» in the most rigid form. It is indicative that the largest gathering in Russia in support of Lebanon, consisting of more than 5,000 participants, took place on August 11 in Dagestan, a traditional stronghold of Islam in the Caucasus.

Failures of Russian diplomacy

Against the background of the previous Israeli-Lebanese war in 1982, Moscow considered for a few times an opportunity to mediate between the Arabs and the Jewish state, in a counterbalance to the American peace initiatives. This is described in the book Script for the Third World War by Oleg Grinevsky, who headed the Middle East Department of the Soviet Foreign Ministry in the beginning of the 1980s. However, as he said, similar ideas met with an obstacle of the lack of diplomatic relations between the USSR and Israel, broken off after the 1967 Arab-Israeli war. Without reliable contacts with both parties of the conflict, Moscow was deprived of an opportunity to really promote its settlement. With the collapse of the Soviet Union, it seemed that the situation changed. Since the end of 1991 Russia has been maintaining full-scale relations with all countries of the Middle East. The regional tour of President Vladimir Putin in the spring 2005 became an important acknowledgement of the balanced policy of the Kremlin. He visited not only Egypt and Palestine, but he also appeared the first leader of the Russian state who paid a visit to Israel.
Illusive mediation
In the beginning of the Lebanon crisis, on July 16, Putin emphasized that «Moscow had a feedback with all sides of the conflict, and this can even be called confidential relations». It followed from his words that the Kremlin claimed for «a unique position» in the solution of the new Middle East crisis. Many Russian, Arab, and European experts tended to an opinion that Moscow could really accelerate an end of the war, using its relations with Israel, Iran, and Syria. Special hopes on Russia were put by the representatives of Sunni, Druze, and Christian communities of Lebanon, unwillingly involved in the conflict between «Zionism and Shia fundamentalism». On August 3-4 the leader of the Lebanese parliamentary majority, Saad al-Hariri, paid a visit to Moscow. During his meetings with the Russian leaders he not only asked them «to put pressure upon Israel so that it stopped fire», but also sharply criticised the intervention of Syria and Iran in Lebanon's internal affairs. It became clear from an interview with al-Hariri, published in the Russian press, that he was expecting from Moscow to render influence not only on Tel Aviv, but also on Damascus and Tehran. As far back as July 17, Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov confirmed that his country was making efforts in the given direction. In an interview to the British TV channel Sky News, he declared that special relationship between Russia, Syria, and Iran allowed hoping for inclusion of these countries in the settlement of the conflict between Israel and Lebanon. Lavrov also admitted that «we had been already asked to use this influence to attempt to find a way out of the situation». He concluded on this basis that «it was reasonably useful from our side to support contacts with all these forces to try to involve them [in the solution of crisis], in positive sense». On July 20, in an interview to the radio Ekho Moskvy, Lavrov added that «Syria and Iran were able to put pressure on Hezbollah". Further he announced that «all those who had relations with Syria and Iran are working in favour of this». It was clear that first of all the minister

Mahmoud Ahmadinejad and Vladimir Putin (photo: AFP)
Mahmoud Ahmadinejad and Vladimir Putin
meant Russia.
After Putin's telephone conversations with his Iranian counterpart Ahmadinejad on July 25, expectations put on the intermediary mission of the Kremlin had noticeably increased in the Russian mass media. The daily Nezavisimaya Gazeta underlined in this connection: «Putin is the only from the leaders of key powers who can afford to hold negotiations with the leadership of Iran. And these negotiations might appear fruitful. From all the sides anyhow involved in the Middle East standoff, Russia has the greatest influence on Iran». Online-paper KM.ru concluded in the connection with the conversation between Putin and Ahmadinejad that «Russia is obtaining good chances to strengthen its influence in the world, becoming the intermediary between the world community and the countries indirectly involved in the military confrontation».
Only upon the end of the active phase of the crisis in Lebanon on August 14, it became obvious that intermediary achievements of Moscow had appeared illusive. It was found out that despite its contacts with all parties of the conflict, Moscow possessed no more influence on its settlement than it had had during the Soviet period. As well as in the beginning of the 1980s, its practical contribution was reduced mostly to participation in the United Nations Security Council debate.
The reason of Russia's "powerlessness" consists in the fact that in crisis situations the key participants of the Middle East conflict really do not listen to its opinion. Israel continues to mainly reckon with its main strategic partner and patron, the United States. Syria, since the times of Hafez al-Assad, considers Moscow, first of all, as a supplier of arms and in the issues of the Middle East settlement its also prefers to hold a dialogue with the Americans. Iran is ready to practically cooperate with Russia only on those directions where the latter has a real influence or where their interests coincide, as for example, in Tajikistan and Afghanistan. In other questions Tehran accepts any help of Moscow with readiness, but only on the conditions of its own. The ineffectual participation of the Kremlin in the solution of contradictions around the Iranian nuclear program eloquently shows the degree of Russia's influence on the leadership of the Islamic Republic. During the crisis in Lebanon, in its contacts with Americans and Europeans, Moscow had represented itself as a defender of Tehran and Damascus, categorically rejecting statements on their participation in the actions of Hezbollah. Due to Putin's position, similar accusatory against Iran and Syria were not included in the declaration adopted on the results of the G8 summit in St. Petersburg. However, in return for this, neither Tehran, nor Damascus had put any efforts for a successful outcome of Moscow's intermediary mission in the Lebanese settlement.
Diplomatic initiatives
During the Lebanon crisis, Russia put forward a series of initiatives which were not connected with Iran and Syria, and also did not bring any result. The first of them was a demand of an «immediate cease-fire», essentially distinguishing Moscow’s position from the approach of Washington, London, and Berlin. For the first time this demand was contained in the Russian Foreign Ministry’s statement issued on July 20. Subsequently it was repeated almost ten times in the appearances of the Russian officials, including President Putin. However, neither Israel, nor Hezbollah reacted to this demand, and the operations stopped only on August 14, after adoption of the corresponding resolution by the United Nations Security Council.
On July 22 Moscow put forward one more initiative: to hold in Beirut «a meeting of all those countries and the parties which could really promote an overcoming of the crisis». Since the very beginning, the realization of this proposal seemed to be rather doubtful. By virtue of existing conditions, the government of Lebanon could hardly provide safety of such a large forum. It is no wonder that nobody at all reacted to this initiative. On August 8 the First Deputy Foreign Minister of Russia, Andrey Denisov,

Andrey Denisov (photo: Afghanistan.ru)
Andrey Denisov
suggested «as an intermediate step, to urgently adopt a brief resolution of the United Nations Security Council on humanitarian cease-fire». This very day the Russian ambassador to the organization, Vitaly Churkin, declared that Moscow was going to reject a Franco-American draft resolution on the settlement of the crisis in Lebanon as the given document was allegedly not equitable to the interests of Beirut. Three days later he informed that Russia decided to bring its own draft resolution to the United Nations Security Council on the «humanitarian cease-fire for 72 hours». The Lebanese government positively reacted to this initiative, while Hezbollah did not reacted in any way to it (in contradistinction to the Franco-American draft resolution), and Israel had rejected it in the most categorical form. One more plan of the Russian diplomacy had again appeared fruitless.
Having suffered one failure after the other, Russian diplomats tried to exceed in every possible way their own role in adoption on August 11 of the Franco-American draft resolution. With this aim the accent was made on Moscow’s initiative of the «humanitarian cease-fire for 72 hours». The Russian representative to the United Nations, Vitaly Churkin, announced on August 12 that the Russian draft resolution «had conceived mobilizing influence on the Security Council members». Although only some days prior to that Moscow had refused to support the Franco-American project, Churkin declared that the Russian initiative was called «to accelerate the process of development of the resolution on Lebanon». The same was emphasized in the statement of the Russian Foreign Ministry: «the Russian initiative on adoption of a brief decision of Security Council on the humanitarian cease-fire had helped to accelerate a let-out for a consensus on the Franco-American resolution».
Parliamentary initiative
At one level with the efforts of diplomats, members of the Russian Parliament also tried to bring their contribution to the solution of the Lebanon crisis. Representatives of the ruling Edinaya Rossia (United Russia) party, Chairman of the State Duma Boris Gryzlov and the Head of the International Affairs Committee Konstantin Kosachev acted as initiators there. On July 17 a decision was made “to make more active inter-party and inter-parliamentary contacts with the Israeli and Lebanese bodies, with an aim of prompting of the conflicting parties to start direct contacts.” Kosachev declared the next day that he already «had sent a number of written appeals to his counterparts, in particular the Chairman of the Foreign Affairs and Defense Committee of the Israeli Knesset, Tzachi Hanegbi, and the Chairman of the Foreign Affairs and Migration Commission of the Lebanese National

Vladimir Putin and Boris Gryzlov (photo: Official site of Borys Gryzlov)
Vladimir Putin and Boris Gryzlov
Assembly, Abdellatif Al-Zein, and also to a number of influential politicians of Israel and Lebanon with whom there are direct contacts». He also explained that these appeals contained a request «to immediately enter direct contacts with each other, and through these contacts to start to put pressure upon the corresponding governments to stop violence just now». Kosachev added that «Russian members of parliament, Russian politicians, I am speaking, certainly, about the United Russia, are ready to contribute to adjustment of direct contacts between politicians of the mentioned countries». He emphasized that «we have many such opportunities». The given initiative sounded rather impressively. Leaning on the authority of the ruling United Russia party, it must have been coordinated with Putin's administration; especially when the former Interior Minister Boris Gryzlov acted as its main initiator. He is considered to be an absolute creature of the Kremlin and uses to put forward any initiative only under the instruction or, as a last resort, after coordination with the Presidential apparatus. Accordingly, the appeal to the Israeli and Lebanese members of parliament became one more direction of the Middle East intermediary activity of the Kremlin.
At the same time, this initiative originally had a clearly demonstrative character. In the political atmosphere of the first days of war in Israel and Lebanon, the so high level members of parliament simply could not «start to put pressure upon the corresponding governments». Such a step would have been apprehended as nor less than a treachery. Moreover, Tzachi Hanegbi and Abdellatif Al-Zein themselves were active supporters of continuation of military actions: respectively of the “counterterrorist operation” and “resistance to aggression”. It had followed from their public statements. The Russian members of parliament responsible for conducting of the international contacts should have known about it.
In any case, the given initiative not only failed to bring any result, but even did not receive coverage neither in the Lebanese, nor in the Israeli mass media.
Problem of abducted soldiers
In parallel with the initiatives on general and political settlement of the Lebanese crisis, Moscow incurred an intermediary mission to achieve the release of Israeli reservists, abducted by Hezbollah. On July 16 Vladimir Putin stated: "We are making effort through all the existing channels to achieve the release of the Israeli soldiers". The Russian President stressed: "I have sufficient grounds to suppose that our effort is not done in vane". The next day, Putin's assistant added: «We have found necessary to take advantage of all political and other opportunities, our positions in the Middle East, to try to influence those people or those forces which, as we believe, are somehow connected with the kidnappers». As it is known, till now the Israeli side has not received even an acknowledgement that the abducted servicemen are alive.

Conclusion

The crisis in Lebanon has shown that despite the significant efforts, for six years of President Putin's rule, the Russian diplomacy was unable to achieve a real influence in the Middle East, in particular in the zone of the Arab-Israeli conflict. It was extremely important for Moscow to bring an appreciable contribution to the settlement of the recent crisis in Lebanon. It had been dictated by Russia's global and regional interests, as well as by considerations of the national security. At the same time, all initiatives put forward by Moscow appeared to be ineffectual. Israel and Hezbollah, the direct participants of the confrontation, and also their patrons (the United States, Iran, and Syria), had, in fact, ignored Russia's peacemaking efforts. Russia, in its turn, did not manage to render real influence even on its main regional partners, Syria and Iran. Absence of practical results was surrogated by imitation of a vigorous peacemaking activity. It was expressed both, in numerous contacts with the representatives of the political establishment of the Middle East countries, and in frequent appearances of the Russian ambassador to the United Nations, Vitaly Churkin. As a result, Moscow's main achievement in settlement of the Lebanese crisis, as it was declared, was the acceptance of the Franco-American draft resolution in the United Nations Security Council on the given problem.
Fundamental revision of its regional policy is required in order to change Russia's status in the Middle East. Most likely, at least up to the 2008 presidential elections, the Kremlin would not be making such a decision. Accordingly, in the immediate future, Russia will continue to simulate an active participation in the further settlement of the Middle East conflict, simultaneously playing no essential role in it. One should expect that, as before, this will be widely used by the conservative regimes and radical elements in the region, in particular Iran, Syria, HAMAS, and Hezbollah. Factually not reckoning with Russia’s interests, they are considering «the Russian factor» as one of the elements of restraint of activity of the United States in the Middle East, and also within the frame of strengthening of their own international position.

Related items:
War in Lebanon Divided Between Russia and Germany (08.08.06)
PLO, HAMAS, and Hezbollah: History of taking hostages and exchange of prisoners with Israel (1968-2006) (07.08.06)
Russia Might Get Involved in the Middle East Conflict (19.07.06)
Russia is Ready to Release the Israeli Captives of Hezbollah (14.07.06)
Iraqi Failure of the Russian Intelligence (04.06.06)
Russia Revives Turkish-Israeli Strategic Partnership (28.05.06)
Israel's Declaration of Independence Written by Moscow’s Agent (22.05.06)
Mossad Agents Eliminated in the Northern Caucasus (27.03.06)
Fatah Activists Feel Offended by Vladimir Putin (23.02.06)
Russia is Ready for Dialogue With HAMAS (03.02.06)
Armenia and Israel Throw Down a Gage to Iran and Turkey (20.01.06)

[nw_arizona_granny]

http://www.geocities.com/svetlana.gubareva/other/115.html

The 'Nord-Ost' people also pointed out several descrepancies in the figures, and were able to show, from the government figures that "the number of dead does not add up to 129, but to a minimum of 174 persons." <<<<

So they hide 1/3 of the deaths, why?

Only to save face, so the world does not know how they failed.

No, I did not forget that we lost 3,000, plus Oklahoma City and Waco.

Are our figures changed also?

I really do wonder if Russia has allowed their mystery gas to be sold on the black markets....?

[nw_arizona_granny]

Yes, I think that everyone has a limit.

Where is all that "to each his need" talk, just talk?, not real life.

I was shocked at all the money we gave to the people in New Orleans. Why?

In 1973, Bill ruptured the wall of his heart, he lay in the hospital 3 months the first time, then another 6 weeks.

We had taken legal custody of a 6 month old baby, this was the middle of summer in Yuma, Az area [Wellton]..

Wellton, was a tiny town and my job had closed a week before Bills accident, I had no baby sitter, so Lisa went to intensive care to see grandpa, yes, they let him have her on the bed, as he fretted, if he couldn't see her.

I asked for help.

2 or 3 months later, I suddenly got a $ 19. check, and got it each month for her, nothing for us, and for awhile as our savings slipped away, I thought the worry over money would kill Bill.

When it was over and I worked at the Court, the welfare person came to the court house to meet people and one day, as we had a cup of coffee, during a quiet time, I asked her if she remembered my case and why I had not gotten help.

She told me it was for those who needed it and could not take care of themselves.

I had taken care of me for a lifetime, without their help, and that told them I would survive.

So there is no reason to how the welfare departments are run, all I wanted to do was say to Bill "don't worry, it is covered".

Years, before, in real estate, I had sold a widow's shack for her and we found that the help she had gotten for her 4 or 5 kids, was a lein against the property....

That is what I expected, we had 8 good acres, but it couldn't be sold at that time, there was no market for it.

When Bill finally came home, I took a waitress job for 75 cents an hour and it got me out and a little cash, LOL, the whole cafe was about 20 x 15 foot , tiny and that was the wage in Wellton for that job.

The Judge was also my insurance man, so he knew all there was to know about me, he saw me working there, came out to the house 2 days later and hired me to work as a court clerk.

I do understand the fear a homeless or almost homeless person feels, the shock of a sudden illness and all that life offers, has been offered to me.

Maybe that is why I have a feeling for the Russians who have lost so much.

[JockoManning]

SHELTERING IN PLACE INFO --




SNIP:


If you do not want to trust in weather and traffic, the alternative is what the experts call “sheltering in place.” You want to be in a building, as solid as possible to block the gamma rays, as airtight as possible to keep out radioactive dust. You need to turn off air conditioning, close vents, seal the seams around windows and doorways. If you wondered what former Homeland Security Secretary Tom Ridge was talking about, this is what you need the duct tape for. Abandon rooms with windows broken by the blast.

The dust that does not seep into the building will settle outside, on the roof and on the ground, emitting gamma rays. A car with an intact windshield stops 30 to 50 percent of the radiation — probably not enough, however, to save someone who’s inside the car and stuck in traffic a few miles downwind of ground zero.

A wood-frame house, similarly, stops just 30 to 60 percent of gamma rays. A windowless basement stops 90 percent. The middle floors of a concrete apartment building, safely away from both roof and ground, stop 99 percent or more. But there is no 100 percent protection.

For those whom evacuation and shelter fail — or for those, like the thousands fleeing in blind panic, who never try either — there is still decontamination. A lethal dose of radiation takes time to build. The sooner the radioactive dust is off the skin, the better. And it is not that hard to remove. “Radiation contamination is easier than chemical,” said Col. David Jarrett, a medical doctor and the director of the Armed Forces Radiobiology Research Institute in Bethesda. “Simply removing the clothes and washing takes off up to 90 percent.”


END OF SNIP
===

[JockoManning]

Surviving Nuke Blast Thread posted by ExSoldier Synopsis, link to article at end.


SYNOPSIS OF THREAD:

2006 Marker / Refresher / Timely

Surviving a Nuclear Attack [Anywhere]

Everyone’s first reaction is wrong because the problem is not, in fact, the nuclear blast. If at this point you’re still alive and uninjured — and after a Hiroshima-sized explosion at ground level, 99 percent of the people in the D.C. area

[or anywhere else for that matter]


are — then your real problem is the radioactive dust that the blast threw into the air. According to the estimates in National Planning Scenario No. 1, an explosion that kills 15,000 people outright could eventually expose 200,000 people to lethal doses of radiation if they stay exposed and unprotected in the fallout path for 24 hours. Sitting downwind in gridlock, with your vehicle’s windshield shattered, goes a long way toward giving you a lethal dose. All sorts of simple alternatives — moving away from downwind, seeking proper shelter, even taking a shower — go a long way toward saving you.

Fallout is simply radioactive dust, launched miles into the air in a mushroom cloud and then carried on the wind. Much of it is alpha particles, whose radiation cannot penetrate bare skin, or beta particles, which cannot penetrate layers of clothing. Both are most dangerous if inhaled — or if they settle on food that is eaten unwashed. More deadly are the gamma rays, whose radiation can go through walls. But even gammas cannot hurt you from cloud height. The danger starts when the dust settles to earth.

The ideal is to avoid the fallout in the first place. In apocalyptic gridlock, you cannot drive very far. But you may not have to. Normal winds blow the cloud into a long but narrow plume, just a few miles across. In typical Washington-area weather, Virginia, Montgomery County in Maryland, and most of the District itself are not in the fallout path at all. People in the path could conceivably walk out of the fallout zone in the 10 or 15 minutes before the dust begins to fall — if they know which way to go.

But, of course, you cannot count on perfectly typical weather. The wind might shift; the breeze you feel at ground level may be blowing crosswise to the radioactive clouds five miles up; a still day might cause the fallout to seep outward slowly in all directions; sudden rain or snow could wash the dust out of the sky, heavily dousing everything beneath the storm but sparing areas farther out.

If you do not want to trust in weather and traffic, the alternative is what the experts call “sheltering in place.” You want to be in a building, as solid as possible to block the gamma rays, as airtight as possible to keep out radioactive dust. You need to turn off air conditioning, close vents, seal the seams around windows and doorways. If you wondered what former Homeland Security Secretary Tom Ridge was talking about, this is what you need the duct tape for. Abandon rooms with windows broken by the blast.

The dust that does not seep into the building will settle outside, on the roof and on the ground, emitting gamma rays. A car with an intact windshield stops 30 to 50 percent of the radiation — probably not enough, however, to save someone who’s inside the car and stuck in traffic a few miles downwind of ground zero. A wood-frame house, similarly, stops just 30 to 60 percent of gamma rays. A windowless basement stops 90 percent. The middle floors of a concrete apartment building, safely away from both roof and ground, stop 99 percent or more. But there is no 100 percent protection.

For those whom evacuation and shelter fail — or for those, like the thousands fleeing in blind panic, who never try either — there is still decontamination. A lethal dose of radiation takes time to build. The sooner the radioactive dust is off the skin, the better. And it is not that hard to remove. “Radiation contamination is easier than chemical,” said Col. David Jarrett, a medical doctor and the director of the Armed Forces Radiobiology Research Institute in Bethesda. “Simply removing the clothes and washing takes off up to 90 percent.”

Every major Washington-area hospital has some decontamination facilities, but 10,000 radiation patients in one day would swamp them. So mass decontamination falls to fire departments, with their mobile pumps and generators; their protective gear; their hazardous-materials experience; and, because both Maryland and Virginia have nuclear power reactors, their years of radiation training. Area firefighters can quickly set up special decontamination tents, and they have plans to take over buildings that have lots of showers — so high school gyms, for example, are a good place to head for. In the chaos of those first hours, said Michael Cline, state coordinator at the Virginia Department of Emergency Management, “the real key is to make sure people go to those facilities.” It will take every firefighter available to man the decontamination sites, and every cop to control the crowds pouring in panic out of the city.



FOR ENTIRE ARTICLE, GO TO

NUCLEAR THREAT INITIATIVE [NTI]



http://www.nti.org/d_newswire/issues/2005_6_24.html#A0F258F9


http://www.nti.org/index.html

REFERENCE LINK:

http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/1429926/posts

[nw_arizona_granny]

[It is too slow on my dial uppone line to my computer, I tried, I get 2 words and a pause, repeated]

MUST WATCH VIDEO
by: karlsonic 08/16/06 04:48 pm
Msg: 2306325 of 2306992
5 recommendations

A recent Charlie Rose interview with Wm Kristol and Richard Holbrooke was a view of things to come.
You can watch it here: http://video.google.com/videoplay?docid=8281753702222990054&q=tvshow%3ACharlie_R ose

from:

http://news.messages.yahoo.com/bbs?action=m&board=37138459&tid=apiraq&sid=37138459&mid=2306325

[nw_arizona_granny]

http://en.rian.ru/russia/20060818/52793151-print.html

Russia has no info on preparation for N.Korea nuclear tests

18/08/2006 13:02

MOSCOW, August 18, (RIA Novosti) - Russia's Foreign Ministry said Friday it had no information confirming that North Korea was preparing to launch nuclear tests.

Media in the United States cited Thursday a senior military official as saying U.S. intelligence had observed suspicious vehicle movements at a North Korean test site. An unidentified senior State Department official later said the U.S. intelligence community considered a test to be a real possibility.

"We believe that with account for efforts to resolve the situation on the Korean Peninsula, escalating tensions would be counterproductive, while all suspicions should be cleared up at the negotiating table," the Russian ministry said.

North Korea conducted test launches of ballistic missiles in early July, including a long-range Taepodong-2, in an apparent attempt to force the international community, especially the U.S., to make concessions during nuclear talks.

The six-nation talks, which involve North and South Korea, Russia, China, Japan and the United States on resolving the problems around North Korea's controversial nuclear programs opened in 2003, but stalled in last November.
other articles


14:05 21/07/2006 Six-party talks on N.Korea at ASEAN forum unlikely-Russia source
19:44 28/07/2006 Russian FM against bilateral problems at six-nation talks on North Korea

[nw_arizona_granny]

[note: 8-22 meeting day]

http://en.rian.ru/business/20060818/52796617-print.html

Iranian delegation to arrive in Russia for nuclear talks Aug.22

18/08/2006 13:47 MOSCOW, August 18 (RIA Novosti)-A senior Iranian delegation will arrive in Russia next week to discuss nuclear cooperation, Russia's nuclear power equipment and service export monopoly said Friday.

Atomstroiexport, which is building a nuclear power plant in the Islamic Republic, said the working visit would be made from August 22 to 26 and the delegation would include a deputy head of the Atomic Energy Organization of Iran, Mahmud Jannatian.

"The program includes a visit to Unit 3 of the Kalinin nuclear power plant," an Atomstroiexport spokesman said.

The plant is based in the Tver Region in central Russia.

The company is building Unit 1 of the Bushehr nuclear power plant under a contract worth about $1 bln.

The unit was to be launched by the end of this year. But in July it was announced that Atomstroiexport and Iran had agreed a new schedule under which the nuclear plant will be put into operation in the second half of 2007.
other articles
15:20 13/08/2006 Iran says loses confidence in Europe to settle nuclear issue

19:46 11/08/2006 Russia, Iran presidents discuss Middle East conflict on phone
13:34 06/08/2006 Iran to continue relations with Russia despite UN resolution
12:56 06/08/2006 Iran to develop civil nuclear energy despite UN Security Council
12:39 06/08/2006 UN Security Council resolution on Iran unacceptable - official

[nw_arizona_granny]

http://en.rian.ru/russia/20060818/52791099-print.html

Youth movement picketing British Embassy in Moscow

18/08/2006 12:36 MOSCOW, August 18 (RIA Novosti) - A Russian pro-Kremlin political youth movement set up a picket in front of the United Kingdom's Embassy in Moscow on Friday.

About 25 activists of the Nashi ("Ours") movement are demanding an apology from Ambassador Tony Brenton for participating in the Different Russia conference in Moscow July 12. Held by Russian opposition leaders ahead of the Group of Eight summit in St Petersburg, the conference aimed to draw attention to what organizers said was a clampdown by President Vladimir Putin's administration on democratic and economic freedoms.

Nashi activist Yevgeny Ivanov said the conference was marred by the presence of Eduard Limonov, leader of the ultra-nationalist National Bolshevik Party, and Viktor Anpilov, head of the hard-line communist Working Russia party. "The ambassador offended all Russians by supporting these people," Ivanov said.

The picket, which is expected to gather some 50 people, will last until 5.00 p.m. Moscow time (1.00 p.m. GMT).

other articles
16:05 15/06/2006 Moscow court upholds ban on radical National Bolshevik Party
11:16 06/06/2006 Radicals facing charges after gate-crashing Moscow press forum
17:34 18/05/2006 Putin talks army, xenophobia, family violence to youth movement

[nw_arizona_granny]

http://en.rian.ru/analysis/20060818/52784699.html

War in Lebanon gives birth to new Middle East

18/08/2006 10:29 MOSCOW. (RIA Novosti political commentator Marianna Belenkaya) - Israeli and American politicians, Syrian President Bashar Assad and many Islamic leaders say the war in Lebanon has changed the balance of power in the Middle East and given a new political image to the region.

The Middle East is changing, but how?

At the beginning of the war between Israel and Hizbollah, U.S. Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice described the plight of Lebanon as part of the "birth pangs of a new Middle East", free of the influence of extremist movements. She was apparently referring to Lebanon's Hizbollah and Palestinian Hamas.

When the war ended, U.S. President George W. Bush claimed Hizbollah had suffered a defeat in the month-long conflict.

Many Israeli politicians agree with the American leader, although they say more cautiously that Israel has merely changed the situation on its northern border in its favor.

But statements by Hizbollah's leaders show that the movement has not accepted defeat. Moreover, it is claiming a bigger social and political role in Lebanon, and insists that other political forces in the country must respect it.

Lebanese Defense Minister Ilyas al-Murr said the Lebanese military would go to southern Lebanon "not to disarm Hizbollah, but to defend the country and strengthen the victory of the Lebanese resistance." He added: "The Lebanese army must ensure the safety of the people, including resistance members."

The Arab media are writing about Hizbollah's victory over Israel, something no Arab state has attained before. The resistance movement has significantly strengthened its position in the Middle East and the Islamic world as a whole, which cannot leave anyone indifferent, especially Arab leaders.

Syrian President Bashar Assad said: "The substantial achievements of the Islamic resistance represented by Hizbollah have changed the region's outlook. The U.S.'s intention to create a 'new Middle East' in line with its blueprint has failed."

This is true because Hizbollah has shown that it can stand up not only to Israel, but also to the United States.

"Hizbollah cannot be viewed as a purely terrorist organization now, because it has won the support of the majority of the Lebanese people and authorities," said Vladimir Akhmedov, a senior researcher at the Institute of Oriental Studies of the Russian Academy of Sciences. "Thousand-strong demonstrations in the East and West display Hizbollah banners and portraits of Hassan Nasrallah. If we keep saying that Hizbollah is a terrorist organization, we will have to admit that terrorists have won the war. Why then did we fight in Afghanistan and Iraq, and why did we initiate action against Iran? To fight terrorists who turn out to be ordinary people?"

Akhmedov said that Hizbollah had proved to be a viable organization militarily, politically and in terms of information. To progress now, it should stop fighting Israel in order to strengthen its influence in Lebanon.

"Its priority objective now is to provide material assistance to war victims and to help the authorities deal with the consequences of the war," he said. "This is a way of expanding its influence in the country and strengthening its foothold in state institutions, including the army. Nasrallah said on August 14 that Hizbollah's heavy weaponry and militants should form the basis of a stronger Lebanese state, which leaves no doubt regarding the organization's strategic plans."

Many Islamic political movements in other Mideast countries have similar objectives. Their popularity rests on the idea of social justice, which the mostly poor Arab people readily embrace. This is why these organizations are formidable rivals to many regimes in the region, and the war in Lebanon has strengthened their standing.

It is logical that the bulk of Arab governments showed restraint towards Israel during the war in Lebanon. Unlike during the Palestinian intifada in 2000-2002, Egypt and Jordan did not sever diplomatic ties with it, and Qatar did not close the Israeli representative office in its capital, Doha.

During the war, the Israeli newspaper "Yedioth Ahronoth", citing a source in the Defense Ministry, wrote: "Moderate Arab regimes are [quietly] expressing support for Israel's actions," which means that "Arab countries would be glad if Israel did away with Hizbollah."

But Israel has not lived up to these "quiet" expectations.

These trends show that the Middle East is changing. Nobody in the region, including members of the most radical Islamic movements - especially when they get seats in government - can seriously hope that Israel will disappear from the political map. Therefore, the sides should find acceptable conditions for a peaceful coexistence.

This is where opinions on ways of attaining this goal split. Some Arab regimes have opted for dialogue and pragmatic cooperation with Israel. Others, mostly those that represent the unofficial "resistance project", prefer fighting, when and if necessary.

The war in Lebanon has shown again that it is not Arabs who should recognize Israel, but Israel, the West and Arab regimes who should accept the fact that radical Islamic movements such as Hizbollah and Hamas are an inalienable part of Middle Eastern politics. Ignoring them is useless, which means that we have a choice between trying to liquidate them (which has proved impossible) and coming to terms with them.

But different views of the new landscape of the Middle East make the second objective extremely difficult to achieve.

The opinions expressed in this article are those of the author and may not necessarily represent those of RIA Novosti.

[nw_arizona_granny]

6 killed in northern plane crash

NORMAN WELLS, N.W.T. (CP) - Six people flying out to attend a funeral
were
found dead Wednesday in the wreckage of a small commercial plane that
crashed in a remote, mountainous area of the Northwest Territories.

"There had been a drowning . . . and these people had attended the
funeral
of the drowning victim," said RCMP Sgt. Larry O'Brien.

"We can't confirm identities yet, our members are still working on
that."

However, a relative of some of the victims, who didn't want her name
used,
identified them as Judith Pierrot, a young child; Farrah Grandjame, a
teenager; and adults Gary Grandjambe, Kenny Stewart and Alfred
Mazazumi.

The pilot also died.

"There's people gathered everywhere, the families and stuff," said the
woman
from Norman Wells, who would only say one of the victims was a cousin
and
another was a nephew.

"We've been talking to people in Fort Good Hope and they're just
totally in
shock. The whole region (is related)."

She said so far there is no indication what caused the crash.

"Nothing yet. I don't think the bodies have even been brought in yet,
at
this point."

However, she said many people she knew were already flying out to Fort
Good
Hope to lend support to their relatives there.

"That's the only way, because there's no roads up here to drive in. So
they'd either have to go by boat or plane."

A man who answered the phone at the Fort Good Hope Co-op said he also
knew
all the victims, but couldn't talk because he was busy taking food to
the
homes of the relatives.

News of the deaths spread quickly in the tight-knit community. On
Farrah
Grandjambe's webpage on the blogging site www.bebo.com, condolences
were
already being posted for the 17-year-old.

"I shed a tear but I know that won't bring you back," wrote Tara H. "I
still
can't believe it, I miss you too much . . . Why God had to take you, I
don't
know."

The site gave a poignant glimpse into the life of the girl.

"Well as for me, I am a little native from the North that use to live
in a
very small community but moved away for my last years in high school,"
she
wrote.

"I currently live in a big house with a whole load of natives, and it
gets
pretty crazy in there, if you know what I mean."

RCMP said the North-Wright Airways plane left Fort Good Hope with five
passengers and a pilot, and was due to arrive in Norman Wells about
1:15
p.m.

But when it didn't arrive by 2:50 p.m., a search and rescue effort was
mounted by RCMP along with civilian personnel.

"When the plane was reported missing, several planes were sent up from
Norman Wells - commercial planes - to search for it," said O'Brien.

"In addition, a helicopter left Norman Wells with one of the local RCMP
members on board, and it was these planes that were able to find the
crash."

An ELT - or emergency locator transmitter - signal was picked up which
pointed to a specific area where the plane had gone down somewhere
between
the two communities.

"It's a beacon that goes off in the airplane automatically during an
accident," explained John Lee, western regional manager of the
Transportation Safety Board.

When the crash site was found, there were no survivors.

"Our investigators will be deploying tomorrow morning," said Lee. "We
conduct parallel investigations at the beginning of all aircraft
accidents,
and when the RCMP determine there is no criminal involvement, they
typically
say . . . that they would hand it over to us."

O'Brien said dealing with the crash was putting a strain on the
resources of
the small detachments involved.

"What we've done to help the members in Fort Good Hope and Norman
Wells,
we've sent members out of Yellowknife," he said.

"Several members have flown up to assist the detachment both in terms
of
dealing with the crash and dealing with policing in those communities."

Fort Good Hope is a community of about 600 people 800 kilometres
northwest
of Yellowknife.

It was the site of another fatal plane crash that killed four people on
New
Year's Eve 2001.

Pilot error was eventually determined to be the cause of the crash of a
Cessna 172 owned by Ursus Aviation. The plane hit a snow-covered
mountainside.

Three people survived the impact but died from exposure before rescuers
found them.
http://cnews.canoe.ca/CNEWS/Canada/2006/08/16/1759737-cp.html