Posted on 11/22/2002 12:55:11 PM PST by Destro
Putin Questions Terrorism Efforts
By RON FOURNIER
AP White House Correspondent
PUSHKIN, Russia (AP)--Russian President Vladimir Putin told President Bush on Friday the United States should not wage war alone against Iraq, and questioned whether White House allies like Pakistan and Saudi Arabia are doing enough to fight terrorism.
``Where has Osama bin Laden taken refuge?'' the Russian said in a joint news conference with Bush at an 18th-century czarist castle.
The sharply worded question, though not a direct criticism of Bush, underscored the frustration felt by U.S. officials since the al-Qaida leader resurfaced after months of silence in an audiotape praising recent terrorist attacks.
Meeting beneath the golden domes of Catherine Palace, Bush cited the recent arrest of al-Qaida's Persian Gulf operations chief, Abd al-Rahim al-Nashiri, as evidence of the U.S.-led coalition's success.
``People who love freedom are one person safer as a result of us finding this guy,'' the president said.
But Putin, while issuing a statement in support of Bush's Iraq policy, followed quickly with severe doubts about the war on terrorism.
``We should not forget about those who finance terrorism,'' Putin said, noting that 15 of the Sept. 11 terrorists were Saudi citizens. ``We should not forget about that.''
Putin also cited reports that bin Laden is hiding in the Afghanistan-Pakistan border region, wondering aloud whether Pakistan President Musharraf Pervez has done enough to stabilize the area.
``What can happen with armies, arms, weapons that exist in Pakistan, including weapons of mass destruction?'' he said.
``Russia's a friend, not an enemy,'' Bush said at the news conference.
Putin said he did not think the alliance's expansion was necessary, but pledged to maintain warm relations with NATO allies, including the new invitees that were in the Soviet Union's sphere less than a decade ago.
The two leaders released a statement demanding that Iraq comply with the U.N. resolution or face ``severe consequences.''
But Putin urged Bush not to go to war without the consent of the United Nations, a pledge the president has been unwilling to make.
``Diplomats have carried out very difficult and very complex work, and we do believe that we have to stay within the framework of the work being carried out by the United Nations,'' Putin said.
With war on the horizon once again, Russia wants assurances that military action in Iraq won't jeopardize its economic interests with Baghdad or drop oil prices so low that it hurts Moscow's already ailing economy.
Though there was little talk about the issue Friday, Bush has assured Putin he will do what it can on both counts, administration officials said. They said Moscow may be overestimating America's influence in a postwar Iraq.
Putin fears that lifting the U.N. trade sanctions on Iraq after a war could trigger an influx of Western oil interests that would collapse oil prices. The administration officials, who spoke on condition of anonymity, said Russia has been told the United States cannot control oil markets, but Bush has long supported efforts to keep oil prices stable.
Russia also wants to protect Russian oil contracts in Iraq, and hopes to recover more than $8 billion in debts owed by Iraq.
Bush has assured Putin that Russia will be a major player in building a postwar Iraq, officials said, meaning Moscow would be free to pursue its debts while oil industry competes on an even playing field in Iraq with Western interests.
On another sticky issue, Bush renewed his hope that Putin can find a political way to resolve the fighting in Chechnya, which Russia considers a breakaway province, U.S. officials said. Bush has acknowledged terrorist elements in the Chechnya.
AP-NY-11-22-02 1408EST
(Excerpt) Read more at austin360.com ...
This is what American experts told Saddam Hussein in 1980. But Iranian regime did not collapse under the Iraqi attack and the long and debilitating war was the result.
I think we use to call that sh!tt!n in your mess kit, pard.
Is it at least possible and reasonable that we should continue to direct our efforts against states that are offering sanctuary and have demonstrated (at the governmental level) a compunction to use weapons of mass destruction and a willingness to destabilize the region?
You talkin' bot Pakistan?
I'd say that's a real good surmise since the Russians had been promised repeatedly in the past that it wouldn't happen.
We may be having some chickens come home to roost one of these days.
They better be (IMHO) just to keep Musharraf alive.
And if you think all the whacko muslims in Pakistan are refugees, you are SERIOUSLY deluded.
The fact that the Saudis do not have terror camps in their own country cannot be dismissed so tritely as not "sh$tt$ng in their own mess". It is more likely that they do not tolerate it and run these people out of the country.
Look, I do believe that the Faad family is riddled with either religious nutcases and/or are being blackmailed by these terror thugs. They are involved, cannot be ignored, and must be dealt with decisively. Timing is what I am arguing as operative.
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