Russian Footprints What does Moscow have to do with the recent war in Lebanon?

National Review Online ^ | August 24, 2006, 6:55 a.m. | Ion Mihai Pacepa

[Thunder90]

Putin is not a Col. in the KGB anymore, he is the premier of the "Ex" USSR..

[FreeAndRight]

To many of us, Russian, this is just known facts and history. The cold war was never over, it just went in to the next phase.

[GSlob]

'Putin is a communist, no doubts about it." - Yes, and 2x2=4, and water in its liquid state is wet. Parroting the self-evident truths beyond certain point loses meaning.

[justa-hairyape]

Putin, former KGB, was raised during the soviet hey days and is communist through and through.

According to Russian press articles, Putin first volunteered for the KGB when he was under aged. I think he was 16 at the time. Can you imagine what the KGB would do to a volunteer like that during the height of the Cold War ?

[eeevil conservative]

BINGO!

[FreeAndRight]

Considering that most of the Russian population was always anti-Western and anti-Semitic, not that much my friend.

[M. Espinola]

"Putin is not a Col. in the KGB anymore, he is the premier of the "Ex" USSR.."

The Putin Pushers keep asserting I am still stuck in the Cold War, thus, oy vay does this mean 'ex-Col' Putin, boss of the current neo-USSR could have me shipped off to Siberia? :)

[justa-hairyape]

Considering that most of the Russian population was always anti-Western and anti-Semitic, not that much my friend.

Luckily not ALL of them.

Hey you Russian Chekist Tatars !

We got Ana !

[FreeAndRight]

That is why I said MOST and not ALL. :-)And my wife's name is aNNa with double NN. And if you got her, tell her to stop by the liquor on the way home and get me some kalbasa and bottle of vodka. LOL...

[GodGunsGuts]

From Little Green Footballs: "Both of these Soviet weapons are made in Iran."

Does that mean Iran is licensed by Russia to build the anti-tank (and other) weapons in question?

[justa-hairyape]

Does that mean Iran is licensed by Russia to build the anti-tank (and other) weapons in question?

At the very least someone had to teach them how to make it. The Russians are geniuses at using third party surrogates to do their bidding. After the Middle East succumbs to a nuclear exchange between Israel and Iran, Russia will become an Oil Czar with plausible deniability. They will no doubt use their 'useful idiots' throughout Europe and the US to blame the whole problem on that 'cowboy' Bush and us Vast Right Wing Conspirators.

[GodGunsGuts]

Excellent post. Given your sober outlook, you may also be interested in the following (and somewhat surprising) article re: Ecumenism and Castro--GGG

http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/1689584/posts

[Mount Athos]

I researched some more. Russia has not given the Russian manufactured Kornet to Iran. But they gave some to Syria. Israel believes some of these were transferred to Hezbollah.
This is very serious because the weapons work well against Israeli tanks.

The Iranians have been manufacturing knockoffs (older version) from the year 2000.

500 kornets were sold from a ukranian company to saddam before the start of the last iraq war. There's also a long list of countries that have the kornet, so a third country transfer isn't out of the question.

[Mount Athos]

Here's another article.

http://www.kommersant.com/page.asp?idr=527&id=698954

[GodGunsGuts]

==Gary writes: Secondly, the Fajr-3 and Fjar-5 rockets are Iranian, and were not even designed in Russia.

Just happened to stumble onto the following:

The Fajr-3 and Fjar-5 are N. Korean Multiple Rocket Launchers (MRL) which are heavily dependent on PRC technology and were licensed to be produced in Iran. It remains to be seen whether the provenance of said technology goes back further than the PRC.

After discovering the above, I have decided to check on the respective pedigrees of the remaining weapons as "made in such and such" country doesn't necessarily show where the weapon was designed--GGG

[GarySpFc]

I also have done more research on the Fajr-3 & Fajr-5.

I stand by my statement that that the Fajr-3 and Fajr-5 are from Iran. One might say the Fajr-3 design is originally from North Korea, and the Fajr-5 from China, but there has been changes made to the original design. Note the following:

Fajr

The Fajr ("dawn") program appears to be centered around foreign-designed artillery rocket systems that have been modified slightly for production within Iran. Although the program appears to have begun in the later part of the Iran-Iraq War it may, in fact, trace its origins to the war's early years. Reliable information is available for only two of the Fajr systems: Fajr-3 and Fajr-5.

In the late 1980s, the North Korean-produced 240mm M-1985 multiple rocket launcher (MRL) was exported to Iran and subsequently produced under license (with minor changes) by Shahid Bagheri Industries as the Fajr-3 (a.k.a., Fadjr-3). Iran has reportedly supplied Hezbollah forces operating in Lebanon -- via Damascus -- with as many as 36 Fajr-3 systems. To date these are not known to have been employed against Israel, but are of significant concern to the IDF. It is presently unclear as to whether the North Korean-produced 240mm M-1991 MRL system has been supplied to Iran. In March 1990, Iranian Defense Minister Akbar Torkan announced that mass production had begun of the Fajr-3 artillery rocket with a range of 45km.

The Fajr-3 is a 5.2m long, solid-fueled rocket with a diameter of .24m and a weight of 407kg. It carries a 45kg warhead to a distance of 43km.

In the late 1980s or early 1990s, Chinese-produced 302mm WS-1 MRL was exported to Iran. Here it underwent significant changes and was subsequently produced as the Fajr-5 (a.k.a., Fadjr-5). The most significant modification was the changing of the diameter of the rocket from 302mm to 333mm. This is believed to have been undertaken to take advantage of existing Iranian factory tooling. This and other changes resulted in a decrease in maximum range from 80km to 75km. Like the Fajr-3, Iran has reportedly supplied Hezbollah forces operating in Lebanon -- via Damascus -- with the Fajr-5 systems. To date these are not known to have been employed against Israel, but due to their greater range, they are of even greater concern to the IDF.

The Fajr-5 is a 6.6m long solid fuel rocket with a diameter of .33m and a weight of 915kg. It carries a 90kg warhead to a distance of 75km. Both the Fajr-3 and -5 are produced under the auspices of the Aerospace Industries Organization. Little is known concerning other systems within the Fajr family.

No information is available concerning possible inventory levels for the Fajr-3 or -5. These systems are capable of being armed with conventional high explosive, chemical, biological, and radiological dispersion warheads.

[RusIvan]

Israel has been attacked with Soviet Kalashnikovs and Katyushas, Russian Fajr-1 and Fajr-3 rockets, Russian AT-5 Spandrel antitank missiles and Kornet antitank rockets. ==

"Russian Fajr-1 and Fajr-3 rockets"?!:) As they say "the small lie creates the big distrust" to that article.

[Kozak]

"Hundreds of Russian technicians also started helping the government of Iran to develop the Shahab-4 missile, with a range of over 1,250 miles, which can carry a nuclear or germ warhead anywhere in the Middle East and Europe."

Shahab 1 AKA SCUD B

"Another report claimed that in 1987 Iran received more than 200 Scuds directly from the Soviet Union. In return, the USSR was allegedly permitted to establish an electronic listening post in northern Iran."

[Kenny Bunk]

How many times do these Russki converts think they can trot out these hoary old Tales of the Cold War for money?

Old news. OK, still interesting, but a blinding glimpse of all that was made obvious years ago. Next thing you know, he'll be "revealing" that Arafat was gay, and controlled by handsome blond STASI agents under KGB orders, who catered to his whims and bankrolled him.

Good thing all the old NAZI agents who ran these Mullahs for Hitler are dead, or we'd be bored to death with those war stories, too.

[Perdogg]

Fajr-3 are North Korean in origin.