Moscow's Strategy

J R Nyquist.com ^ | May 2005 | Peter Cibulka

[Romanov]

Um, all due respect and what not, but INF was a BI-LATERAL TREATY. Same with SALT I, SALT II, START I, START II, and INF II.

Your scenario re: China and Russia would put Russia in violation of the treaties they signed, ratified and implemented. Plus, you're seriously overstating the "cooperation" btwn China and Russia. BTW, all Russian politicians understand perfectly that if they want to "trouble" the West they can pretend to play footsies with China. NExt thing you know, the West (mainly the mamby-pamby Europeans) are making nice to lure Russia to look toward Europe and not China. I do not know ONE, not ONE Russian who considers China a) reliable, b) a friend, c) a partner, d) an ally, and e) trustworthy.

[Romanov]

Keep in mind the FSB is quite busy battling an islamofascist terrorist movement in a breakaway republic and what their anti-organized crime unit is really busy with is mafiya activity that is on the streets and not on the net (i.e., contract killings, kidnappings, prostitution, money laundering, etc). The FSB has a serious recruiting problem.

[GarySpFc]

If you would have been there within the last few years then you would clearly see what you are saying is pure nonsense. You remind me of the young boy who has read all the sex manuals and now considers himself an expert.

[BeHoldAPaleHorse]

You haven't given anything resembling an explanation of your apparent treason, as you insist Russia is an enemy of this country, but you also do business with them.

[RussianBoor]

So you think that all criticism of Russia, especially here at FR, is due to some PR schlockmeister?

No. I am also fairly critical; after all, I did emigrate myself because I was pretty critical about what is going on there, and this decision was not easy. However, there is criticism and there is criticism. Look, I bet you have been upset and angry when AI compared Guantanamo to Gulag, haven't you?

I have posted here my opinion what Russian problems really are. Several other FReepers here know the situation and they all have similar views. A friendly knowledgeable criticism is always welcome. Nobody is perfect, and Russia is absolutely not perfect. However, the criticism should be fair. Otherwise, it is just PR scum. Russia was no better a year or two ago. There wasn't so much prejudiced and unfair criticism then.



;-))

[K. Smirnov]

most data and voice traffic go through a nation scale virtual firewall unlike anything we have here in the US or in other Western countries.

Tell me more - I am in the IT business in Russia. Any examples, by the way? How about tracing IP packets?

IMHO, that country-wide firewall thing is a complete nonsense. How much money and manpower you need to run this? And what do you gain? Maybe, back in 70's when an international data and voice in USSR was a trickle it was possible. But now... Give me more tinfoil.

[K. Smirnov]

Who is / are the Illuminate?

Read Dan Brown's "Angels and Demons".

Illuminati used to be a secret order (well, real one but long gone). In the Brown's book the author aligns Illuminati with Assassins (the medieval Islamic sect of assassins founded in 11th century by Hasan as-Sabah) to kill the Pope and the candidates for papacy.

Interesting reading, a bit like Umberto Eco, but in the "lite" version. Read the book last Saturday in one go. The reading was so catching, that the whole day I was sitting under the apple tree, reading the book, with only minute interruptions :o)

[GOP_1900AD]

Look here, F#! face, your disingenuous ad hominem is 100% obvious. I did not claim Russia is an enemy. I am just asking questions. And in response to my questions, you are trying to dicredit and slime me. Very, very interesting psy ops on your part. Very interesting discrediting op. Who the hell are you?

[GOP_1900AD]

You keep trying to paint me as a "young boy." Look Bozo, you may be 63 but I'm also an old fart, not as old as you but old enough to know when to kick some butt and when to hold 'em. It's butt kickin' time, pal. Cut it out you prick!

[BeHoldAPaleHorse]

"Look here, F#! face, your disingenuous ad hominem is 100% obvious."

You say one thing, then you say the opposite. Just what is your game, sir?

"I did not claim Russia is an enemy."

Then you didn't write the below item?

"3. The 7/16/2001 treaty with the PRC, now ratified in the Duma. The treaty explicitly states that should the US come into conflict with the PRC over Taiwan, Russian strategic capabilities and Naval forces would be brought to bear against the US.

"Inasmuch as the PRC have overtly aided the Axis of Evil, this, by extension, implies that Russia are aiding the Axis of Evil, and, have now joined an overall axis, defined as early as 1993 by Bodansky, named 'The Trans-Asian Axis'. I am 100% confident that geopolitical events will show me to be correct.


"I will believe that 'Russia is on our side' when I see them make a bold break with their Trans-Asian Axis connections and replace these with connections with the West, and, compliance with arms control agreements."

http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/news/653084/posts?page=32#32

If that doesn't mean Russia is our enemy, just what would it take to make them our enemy?

"I am just asking questions."

So am I. And you raised a DOOZY of a question with your comments.

"And in response to my questions, you are trying to dicredit and slime me."

You're the one who came down with a credibility problem because your statements cannot be reconciled with each other.

"Very, very interesting psy ops on your part. Very interesting discrediting op."

Interesting that you are quick to accuse others of launching operations against you. Are you an operator?

"Who the hell are you?"

Just a guy looking for an answer to a pretty basic question.

If Russia is allied with our enemy China, then Russia is a de facto enemy of this country. People who trade with the enemy can expect to get questioned about it.

[GOP_1900AD]

And you are a Russophile on one post and Joe Embargo here. No more to discuss, Mr. Dialectic.

[GOP_1900AD]

FYI. Interview with Malina.

[GOP_1900AD]

FYI. Interview with Cibulka, translated by Malina.

[Paul Ross]

Interesting parallel development?

Putin Amendment May Allow Third Term.

H'mmmmmmmm.

[GOP_1900AD]

Interesting that you, as a reputed IT professional, would think that interference in packets destined to or from the West is "tin foil." It's actually fairly straightforward. Of course, in normal countries such as the US, we've never had a government telecom monopoly (and the past private one, Ma Bell, was broken up by the Consent Decree). As a result, there are many, many international connection points between the US and the rest of the world. Physically, these consist of links between ARBOC and other local phone co switches and long distance switches. As there is no government censorship, therefore, there is no capability to do it here in the West.

Whereas, in much of the East, since there was a combination of government monopolies building the telco infrastructure, and, limited infrastructure historically, the number of international connect points is much less and is easier to control. The archetype is China, which the below examples relate to. However, this could equally apply to Tajikstan, Bugaria, the Czech Republic or Russia. The only real difference is that these countries have a more primative version than China,

Of late. Cisco has provided most of the equipment used to do the heaviest lifting. Filtering while maintaining overall throughput is the goal:

http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/technology/2234154.stm

* The main contact points connecting China's internet with the worldwide system consist of nine Internet Access Providers that control the physical lines to the outside world.

http://cyber.law.harvard.edu/filtering/china/

* As a technical matter, anecdotal reports have described a shifting set of barriers to surfing the web from Chinese points of access -- sites that are reported unavailable or domain names that are unknown to the system or that lead to unexpected destinations, individual pages that are blocked, and the use of search keywords that results in temporary limits to further searches.

* Adopting a more conservative standard for determining which inaccessible sites were intentionally blocked and which were unreachable solely due to temporary glitches, we find that 18,931 sites were inaccessible from at least two distinct proxy servers within China on at least two distinct days. We conclude that China does indeed block a range of web content beyond that which is sexually explicit. For example, we found blocking of thousands of sites offering information about news, health, education, and entertainment, as well as some 3,284 sites from Taiwan.

* China's Internet filtering efforts remain opaque, and in the absence of government cooperation or admission of filtering methods, data probing of the sort used in our study remains a useful tool in determining the scope of filtering. The authors have previously studied filtering in Saudi Arabia and in American public libraries; in these locations, blockage of a web page leads to an error message clearly explaining that the requested page is unavailable due to intentional blockage. In contrast, China's systems make it difficult for a user to distinguish between an intentional block and a temporary network or server glitch. This may be intentional or may reflect technical happenstance -- that this implementation was easier or cheaper, given the size and design of China's network infrastructure. But some newer forms of Chinese filtering -- namely, redirection of a request for a sensitive web site to another web site -- can be either more or less obvious to the user than an apparent network glitch, depending on whether the substitution is noticed.

http://www.policy.house.gov/html/news_item.cfm?id=112

* Denying ISP access. Many governments in the Middle East and Asia retain monopoly control of Internet Service Providers (ISPs). This occurs most often in nations that maintain state control of telecommunications systems. This monopoly power enables governments to enforce restrictive policies over the people?s access to the Internet.

http://www.tprc.org/abstracts/tan.txt

* Since telephone service prior to 1980 was non-existent or inadequate, China has been able to "leapfrog" generations of intermediate technology. The speed of construction has been attributed to the low cost of labor in China (about 5% of
a telecommunications installation compared to about 50% in the U.S.).[31] As a result of rapid construction of new technology, a high percentage of China's telephone lines that now exist are less than five years old and provide an
excellent channel for modem dial-in Internet access of the kind typically used by individuals in their homes.

* At present it appears that MPT's bottleneck control of international Internet connections gives MPT the edge.

* The China National Public Data Network (CHINAPAC) is an X.25 network started in 1989 and upgraded in 1994. CHINAPAC now has access nodes in all areas covered by the telephone network (700 cities).[5] CHINAPAC can be accessed at leased line speeds up to 64 Kbps as well as through the public telephone network. MPT also operates a nationwide digital data transmission network called the Digital Data Network (DDN). Built in 1994, the DDN provides data services from 30 Mbps to 2 Gbps with more than 3,000 nodes. The DDN is the backbone of China's information highway plans.

* The Chinese Government has concentrated on funding telecommunications projects that lead to more efficient centralized government planning.

* The Chinese government prohibits foreign operation of telecommunications networks.

* The absence of telecommunications law bolsters the influence of the MPT as both the dominant telecommunications
common carrier and the telecommunications regulatory agency.

* CHINANET is China's commercial ISP operated by the government via the MPT.

* Connecting private ISPs to the centrally administered CHINANET enables government authorities to monitor and potentially censor Internet services and content offered by the new private ISPs. Private ISPs not only need CHINANET for their international Internet connectivity but also to coordinate the following technical requirements in order for interoperability to take place: network access point (NAP) / Internet exchange (IX) establishment; network information center (NIC) services; network operation center (NOC) services; and domain naming system (DNS) standardization.

* The best way to control access is by becoming the only access provider. In China, there are already multiple ISPs but private commercial ISPs are mandated to use CHINANET and MPT facilities and all ISPs are regulated by the government.

* New commercial hardware and software tools provide Internet censorship abilities without limiting network access or the prospect of employing masses of censors to monitor all Internet traffic. These tools do not attempt to
censor transmissions within the network but rather attempt to block undesired content at each user's computer. [My note - such malware is, of course, easy to sneak into users' systems]

* If China is attempting to build a national intranet to take advantage of established network connectivity while limiting access to information forbidden by Chinese Internet regulations, it would become the largest intranet in the world if successfully implemented.[14] One private ISP, CIC, is creating an intranet using filtering technology from Sun Microsystems. CIC provides unlimited network access within China but has screened menus to access the Internet. Users will be able to petition to open a channel to any
international ISP subject to review by the MPT and MPS. CIC is being periodically inspected by the MPS.

* During the process of writing this paper, evidence for the existence of just such a national firewall system for China has been independently verified by several sources.

* Rather than attempting to completely block Internet access in an intranet model, Chinese Internet regulations instead appear aimed at steering the flow of traffic through officially controlled firewalls on these international connections.[12] Officially, the MPT says it does not want
to limit points of access into China but make more efficient use of expensive international circuits linking China's networks to the Internet (gaining economies of scale over fewer "fat pipes" versus many smaller pipes).[10]

* A variant of packet filtering and a relatively new technique is called dynamic route filtering. In dynamic route filtering the firewall has the ability to dynamically add or delete entire sets of packet filters when a particular set of circumstances occur. Possibilities of triggering events for dynamic route filtering include day and time restrictions, traffic load shedding (maximum
number of simultaneous connections), and known suspicious events.[1] With this technique, it is possible to have a firewall that detects suspicious activity to automatically deny a computer access for a period of time. In the Chinese
context, this technique can be used to dynamically alter filters in order to track and censor user communications that are likely to migrate to different network connections. [My note - this technique is very difficult to prove. Ironically, equipment providers themselves probably have the most evidence that it is happening]

[Paul Ross]

Pinging FYI

[BringBackMyHUAC]

==Q: After the "collapse" of communism Russia let many Jews immigrate to Israel. Has this situation been used to advance Moscow's strategic goals?

Cibulka: First, it must be explained that tens of thousands of Russian Jews, interspersed with pretended Jews, left the USSR for Israel and America during the Brezhnev era. In this way the KGB and GRU not only managed to export thousands of agents of influence but also tens of thousands of criminals whose Jewish ethnicity was often a fabricated. This has been the cornerstone of Soviet state organized crime which has flourished to the present time, increasing its influence since 1990. This situation is best described in Robert Friedman's book, Red Mafia.

---

I wonder if the so-called "Jewish" Neo-Nazi movement in Israel can be connected to these phony Jews?

[BringBackMyHUAC]

==Cibulka: As I have stated before, Russia is determined to fight America through surrogates.

I have always maintained that Russia and Red China maintain their nuclear arsenals to keep the US and allies at bay while they sponsor terrorism and revolution to accomplish their goals. The question is, would they be willing to let third-parties acquire/develop nuclear devices and use them on the US and its allies even if the remotest possibility existed that such an attack could be traced back to them? I think that depends on how powerful we allow the Eurasian alliance to become (especially Red China). Having said that, the Soviets and the Red Chinese have always shied away from direct military confrontation to advance their agendas. Instead, they have relied on terrorism, revolution, proxy wars, etc. I don't see how that has changed. Although, they probably never anticipated that the US and allies would willingly allow their economies to be used to build their war chests to levels beyond their (and Golitsyn's) wildest imagination. This might encourage an arrogance that would entertain heretofore unthinkable actions.

[hershey]

Russia is probably a fair weather friend. Considering the recent past oil deals under the table with Saddam, etc., selling stolen nukes and who knows what all, it makes sense to remain vigilant.

[RussianBoor]

That's all very instructive but really irrelevant to Russia...