Kavkazcenter.com

PACE condemns Nazism and Stalinism. Moscow dissatisfied

Fri, 03 Jul 2009 14:37:04 GMT

The Parliamentary Assembly of the Organization for Security and Cooperation in Europe (PA OSCE) passed a resolution Friday, condemning the crimes of Nazism and Stalinism. The document entitled "Divided Europe reunited: promoting human rights and civil liberties in the OSCE region in the 21st century", was passed on the last day of PA OSCE in Vilnius. The resolution passed in support of the initiative of the European parliament (EP) to declare August 23, when 70 years ago the Molotov-Ribbentrop Pact was signed, a Day of Remembrance for victims of Stalinism and Nazism. The resolution is initiated by delegates from Lithuania (a member of the Lithuanian Parliament Vilija Aleknaite Abramikiene) and Slovenia (Robert Batelli). The resolution underlined that 20th century Europe had been held in the grip of two major totalitarian regimes, the Nazi and the Stalinist, which brought genocide, violations of human rights and freedoms, war crimes and crimes against humanity. Deep concern expressed in the document in connection with glorification of totalitarian regimes, including the holding of public demonstrations glorifying the Nazi or Stalinist past, warnings of the possible strengthening of extremist regimes, including the neo-Nazi, are also expressed in the document. The resolution contains an appeal to member states of �the OSCE to open their historical and political archives, to fight xenophobia and aggressive nationalism. Resolution of the PA OSCE aroused protests of Russian delegation. According to the head of Russia's delegation to the OSCE, Alexander Kozlovsky, putting the Nazi regime on the same scale as Stalin's in the Soviet Union, which "made a decisive contribution to defeat the fascism, is a violation of history". Kozlovsky believes that thereby the OSCE, whose task is uniting not dividing, pushing business to split.� The head of Russia's delegation expressed hope that "it is possible to learn to speak non confrontational language". We would like to remind that earlier the Russian State Duma passed a law under which individuals and organizations "falsifying history or misrepresenting it" are subject to criminal prosecution. Department of Monitoring, Kavkaz Center

Obama points out that Putin still rules the Russia

Fri, 03 Jul 2009 09:14:42 GMT

US President Barack Obama has said Russia must understand that "old Cold War approaches" to relations with the US belong in the past, BBC reports. The head of the White House said he would convey this consideration to Vladimir Putin during talks in Moscow, which will begin on July 6. US president said the former Russian president - now prime minister - "still has sway" in the country. In an interview with the Associated Press news agency, Obama said Putin was someone who has "one foot in the old ways of doing business and one foot in the new". In the same interview the head of the US administration said the US was developing a "very good relationship" with Putin's successor Dmitry Medvedev. Earlier, Medvedev has expressed optimism about the summit, saying he is hopeful of finding new ways to cooperate with the United States, BBC reports. In a video on his website, he said the new US administration had demonstrated a willingness to build "effective, reliable and ultimately more modern relations". "We are ready to play our part," Medvedev noted. He said the US and Russia were "united by the values of our civilization, the values of respect for human life and human rights and freedoms". We would like to indicate that the meeting between Obama and Putin will be held in the morning of July 7, and it is likely to take place "in a breakfast format". As reported, "it will not be a private dialogue, it will be a dialogue with the closest aides". US President in an interview expressed his hope that as a result the forthcoming visit he would has the best understanding of political approaches of the Russian leaders. As Obama noted he would seek to ensure that Russian leaders came to the conclusion that they can do effectively business with him. Department of Monitoring, Kavkaz Center

Zbigniew Brzezinski calls Obama not to let Russia has Georgia

Thu, 02 Jul 2009 16:33:24 GMT

American political scientist Zbigniew Brzezinski believes that one of the goals of the visit of US President Barack Obama in Moscow must be non-admission of repetitions of the events of August 2008 in Georgia. In his article published in Financial Times Brzezinski noted that, a serious geopolitical conflict of interests between the US and the Russia Federation results from present aspiration of the Russian leadership to restore the former influence on the post-Soviet territories. "Gaining control over Ukraine would restore in effect an imperial Russia, with the potential to ignite conflicts in Central Europe. Subduing Georgia would cut the west's vital energy connection (the Baku-Ceyhan pipeline) to the Caspian Sea and to Central Asia", Zbigniew Brzezinski believes. According to him, in the summit meetings, Mr Putin and Mr Medvedev will be looking for signs that the new US administration disowns the charters on partnership with Ukraine and Georgia signed by former President George W. Bush. Even an unintentional signal to that effect would be seen as a green light for more muscular Russian actions against these two countries. Meanwhile, Moscow hopes that NATO countries will learn a corresponding lesson from the Russian-Georgian war. It was declared in interview with "the Russian newspaper" by the deputy minister of foreign affairs of Russia Alexander Grushko. On a question, whether a problem of expansion of the Alliance on the East was discussed at the Russia-NATO Council, Grushko has answered: "latest developments in Transcaucasia have once again shown: NATO expansion creates cracks". "It is obvious that if there were no incentive gestures from Brussels which were felt by Saakashvili, he would never dare to a adventure - to defiantly and blatantly violate all the principles under which Georgia signed", Grushko noted. As he said, it is a question of basic principles of OSCE, and about those obligations which were incurred by Georgia not only as a member of the United Nations and the Council of Europe, but also in the mutual relations with the NATO and the European Union. "All documents, which defined base for cooperation between Georgia and NATO, and also between Georgia and the European Union, starts with very simple postulates that conflicts will be resolved by exclusively peaceful means. It is a scandalous example of how the incentive policy which ignored realities and was based on the principle of "A Native - A Stranger", eventually led to such serious consequences for the European security. We hope that NATO countries will learn a lesson and would not in the future impetuously give support to so-called partners, being guided by exclusively ideological preferences", the deputy minister said. Department of Monitoring, Kavkaz Center

CIA report: 'Israel' will fall in 20 years

Mon, 29 Jun 2009 08:39:15 GMT

A study conducted by the Central Intelligence Agency (CIA) has cast doubt over "Israel"s survival beyond the next 20 years, according to a Press TV report. International lawyer Franklin Lamb said the CIA report predicts an inevitable move towards a one-state solution from the two-state one - an effort spearheaded by Washington and the West to see the Palestinians and "Israeli" settlers coexist in the occupied territories. The report forecasts the return of all Palestinian refugees to the occupied territories, and the exodus of two million "Israelis" - who would move to the US in the next fifteen years. "There is over 500,000 Israelis with American passports and more than 300,000 living in the area of just California," Lamb said in an interview with Press TV on Friday, adding that those who do not have American or western passport, have already applied for them. "So I think the handwriting at least among the public in Israel is on the wall...[which] suggests history will reject the colonial enterprise sooner or later," Lamb stressed. He said CIA, in its report, alludes to the unexpectedly quick fall of the apartheid government in South Africa and recalls the disintegration of the Soviet Union in the early 1990s, suggesting the end to the dream of an "Israeli land" would happen "way sooner" than later. The study further predicts the return of over one and a half million "Israelis" to Russia and other parts of Europe, and denotes a decline in Israeli births whereas a rise in the Palestinian population. Lamb said given the Israeli conduct toward the Palestinians and the Gaza strip in particular, the American public - which has been voicing its protest against Tel Aviv's measures in the last 25 years - may �not take it anymore'. Some members of the US Senate Intelligence Committee have been informed of the report. Tel Aviv has not reacted so far to this publication. Source: Agencies Kavkaz Center

Ben Laden responds to Obama's visit

Thu, 04 Jun 2009 14:43:25 GMT

US president Barack Obama delivered a speech at Cairo University on Thursday. In his speech the US president raised a question on existing discords between the West and the Islamic world, spoke about the struggle against the so-called "extremism", talked about the military conflicts in Iraq, Afghanistan, and Pakistan, as well as the Iranian nuclear issue. Addressing to Muslims around the world, the US president said that the cycle of suspicion and discord between the West and the Islamic world must end. "I have come here to seek a new beginning, - Barak Obama said. - I do so recognizing that change cannot happen overnight. No single speech can eradicate years of mistrust". "In order to move forward, we must say openly and listen to each other", the head of the White House emphasized. The US president has also said that America would continue the open war with the so-called "extremism, which poses the great threat to the peace and security of America". "We reject the killing of innocent people - he said. - Whoever kills an innocent, it is as if he has killed all mankind; and whoever saves a person, it is as if he has saved all mankind". We would want to remind that according to estimations of independent observers, the US have killed about 1 million civilians in Iraq. During the blockade of Iraq at the time of Saddam Hussein, more then 2 million children have died in Iraq because of starvation and diseases. Obama touched upon an issue of Palestine, saying that the US would never turn its back on the Palestinian aspiration to get a state of their own. "The existence of two states is the only resolution to the Palestinian problem", - said the American president, having stressed at the same time that "the Palestinians must abandon violence". Obama did not mention about violence from "Israel's" side. The head of the White House said that all problems with Islamic countries must be dealt with through partnership and collaboration. "We must face these problems squarely and discuss them openly", Obama emphasized. Meanwhile, the leader of "Al-Qaeda" Osama bin Laden sharply criticized the new American president. He called his policy hostile to the Muslims, and also made the US administration responsible for growth of anti-Americanism in the world. The new appeal of bin Laden, dated for the visit of Barack Obama to the East, distributed by Arab TV channel Al-Jazeera the day before. It has been broadcasted almost simultaneously with the arrival of Obama in Riyadh. "Obama has sowed new seeds of hatred, and the fruits would be reaped by the American people", bin Laden said. According to him, the new president follows the steps of his predecessor, "following the policy George Bush in antagonising Muslims". Bin Laden has also accused the United States in campaign of "killings, fightings, bombings and destructions", as a result of which millions of Muslims from the Swat Valley in north-west Pakistan had to leave their homes. Such policy can become "the foundation for long wars", the leader of "Al-Qaeda" warned. He urged Muslims not to wait for positive changes from Obama's presidency, and warned Americans to be prepared for the consequences of the White House's policies. The White House responded to this statement. According to the American side, bin Laden has circulated his new statement in order to divert attention from the speech of US President Barack Obama in Cairo.� The White House is not surprised by this attempt, White House Press Secretary Robert Gibbs said. Let us remind that US officials have repeatedly stated that the visit of the new head of the White House to the East is urged to strengthen Washington's contacts with the Islamic world. "The American president is seeking to establish a dialogue with the Muslim world and to overcome the vigilance from both parties, as well as to improve the image of the United States and make efforts to reach a peace agreement between Israel and the Palestinians", BBC Russian reports. Two most important allies of Washington in the region - Saudi Arabia and Egypt - are included in a route of Obama's east tour. The day before Obama held talks with Saudi King Abdullah Bin Abdul Aziz, and then left for Egypt. Meanwhile on the eve, the visit of US president to the East has been commented by other leader of "Al-Qaeda" Ayman al-Zawahiri. In particular, he called Obama a criminal, and said that he is not welcome in Egypt. "Once Obama arrives in Egypt, he will be received by the floggers, thieves, and corrupters: those who made Egypt a location for international torture in the American war against Islam. He will be received by those who besieged and are besieging Gaza. He will be received by the angels of punishment, the forgers of elections, spreaders of vice, and the cowards of Egypt, who handed over Wafa Constantine and her sisters to the monastery prisons to be tortured or killed, in fear of the wrath of America, and to flatter them. America, whose Ministry of Foreign Affairs issues an annual report on religious freedoms in the world. But they pressed the Egyptian Government to hand over Wafa Constantine and her sisters. They overlooked hypocrisy in apparent complicity. It is those corrupt ones who will welcome Obama. Only the corrupt individuals will welcome Obama. As for the noble, pure and righteous men of Egypt, they will despise him in the name of God, and consider him an international criminal and an opportunistic politician who serves the Zionist plan...", al-Zawahiri said. Department of Monitoring, Kavkaz Center

MI6 foil plot to kill Akhmed Zakayev?

Tue, 26 May 2009 16:54:27 GMT

British intelligence service MI6 have uncovered a plot by a Russian hitman to assassinate a former Foreign Minister of CRI Akhmed Zakayev at a London hotel, British Sunday Mirror writes. Employees of MI6 have told Zakayev he faced execution - like his friend, a colonel of FSB, Alexander Litvinenko, killed in the UK with radioactive poison. "Zakayev, 53, was due to meet Russian journalists in the next few days. But intercepted phone calls and information from Russia revealed the dissident, a friend of actress Vanessa Redgrave, was a target for the FSB security service - successor to the KGB", the edition notes. The planned execution was to be a bullet to the back of the head when the group met, newspaper writes, but does not specify, whether killers discussed the plan of murder of Zakayev by phone A security source said: "There is a real concern that the men coming across were to carry out a hit on Mr Zakayev." Zakayev, the former head of Ministry of Foreign Affairs of CRI, declared himself "a prime minister in exile" (the so-called "the telephone government") after the establishment of the Caucasus Emirate. From the end of last year most of Zakayev's circle departed from him, having formed independent groupings, or went to Chechnya to Kadyrov. However, Zakayev, in his closest circle, also has close supporters of Kadyrov. Thus, instead of Yaragi Abdullayev, a "right hand man" of Zakayev, who went to Chechnya, his place has been occupied by Ilyas Arsanukayev, a brother of Abu Arsanukayev, one of the closest aides of Ramzan Kadyrov. Meanwhile, according to the British edition, in his recent interview Zakayev told about a possible assassination attempt on him: "I remember holding a press conference with my dear friends Alexander Litvinenko and Anna Politkovskaya. Now they are murdered and I am the only one left." Kavkaz Center

The Interpol searches for Delimkhanov and his gang

Wed, 29 Apr 2009 13:01:28 GMT

Following the picture of personal butcher of Kadyrov and the so-called State Duma deputy, Adam Delimkhanov, the names and pictures of six more Russian nationals have been placed on Interpol's website, listed as wanted in connection with the assassination of Yamadayev, the former ringleader of "Vostok (East)" gang. The international arrest warrant have been issued for Marvan brothers, Tirpal and Salman Kimayev, Zelimkhan Mazayev, Ramazan Musiyev, and also for Elimpasha Khatsuyev, who has already been detained in Russia. It has previously been reported that one of the Kimayev brothers is a citizen of Kazakhstan, not a Russian. Kimayev and Mazayev were declared wanted in the beginning of April. All the specified people, according Dubai police, have participated in organization of the murder of Yamadayev. One of the killers wanted by Interpol, Elimpasha Khatsuyev, has recently been arrested in Russia for complicity in the murder of other Yamadayev - Ruslan. Ruslan Yamadayev has been shot dead at traffic lights in downtown Moscow in September last year. According to the investigation, Khatsuyev was driving a BMW with a killer inside. Isa Yamadayev has told that Khatsuev was in Dubai in December last year. "Exactly at this time, according to the police, pistols from Chechnya were brought to the Emirates. One of them used for assassination of Sulim", he said. Elimpasha Khatsuyev's friends have confirmed that in December he really was in the Emirates "on vacation". Sulim Yamadayev has been considered to be one of Kadyrov's main competitors for a role of Moscow's main puppet in the occupied Chechnya. In April of last year a gunfight between Kadyrov and Yamadayev men took place in Gudermes city when their cars did not make way each other. After that Kadyrov accused Yamadayev in participation in a number of crimes. In May of 2008 Yamadayev was dismissed from his post as commander of the "Vostok" gang. At Kadyrov's initiative three criminal cases instituted against him. Meanwhile the Russian authorities have stated that they would not search for people placed Interpol's website without the corresponding decision by Russian court. Thus, problems for the wanted may appear only if they cross the border. Earlier the London's newspaper Independent reported: "Delimkhanov is the second member of the Russian Duma to be wanted in another country for murder. Andrei Lugovoi, whom British authorities suspect was behind the murder of Alexander Livinenko in London, was elected to the Duma in late 2007". Dubai's news agency Gulf News provides information on the identity of a wanted criminal by Interpol, Delimkhanov: "A cousin and close associate of Kadyrov, Delimkhanov is expected to be the president's pick as his successor. Some reports have stated that Delimkhanov was once the driver of Salman Raduyev, the Chechen rebel commander." We would like to remind that Demilkhanov, when he was a ringleader of "oil regiment" gang, had kidnapped aged father of Dokka Umarov and tortured him to death, having pulled out eyes of 72-year-old man when he was still alive. Adam Delimhanov, who shot from his nominal pistol the ringleader of "Goretz Highlander", Baisarov in the centre of Moscow, is considered to be Kadyrov's private successor. He is also accused of organizing the murder of Ruslan Yamadayev. Department of Monitoring, Kavkaz Center

Russian spies threaten the Netherlands

Tue, 21 Apr 2009 20:15:44 GMT

A Dutch intelligence service warned Tuesday of a growing threat posed by foreign espionage in the country, pointing in particular to Russia, China and Morocco. "The Netherlands and Dutch citizens are... attractive targets for foreign intelligence services," said the annual report of the General Intelligence and Security Service (AIVD), released in The Hague. "The threat posed by clandestine intelligence activities is big and diverse. "The secret activities of other countries in the Netherlands affects national sovereignty and can harm national security." Dutch membership of the European Union and NATO, as well as the country's hosting of a number of international organisations, made it a prime target for spies, said the report. "Also the presence of large groups of migrants attracts unwonted foreign intelligence activities." The agency's report said Russian intelligence services were active in the Netherlands with a particular interest in information about NATO, the techno-science sector, the defence industry and energy. China was seeking to "exert influence over political decision-making" in different sectors, it said, while the Moroccan intelligence service "had attempted to set up a network of informants in the Netherlands." In September, the Dutch government protested through diplomatic channels after claims that a policeman of Moroccan descent had been dismissed on suspicion of spying, leading Morocco to recall two diplomats from The Hague. The AIVD said Tuesday that too much government and individual transparency posed a real danger, adding: "The Dutch are not sufficiently aware of the risks of espionage and foreign manipulation." It also warned that the country with its technological advances was an "interesting target for countries and organisations that pursue the possession of weapons of mass destruction." The AIVD, which focuses its intelligence gathering on non-military threats, reports to the minister of internal affairs. It said "jihadist terrorism" was a danger to the Netherlands, particularly since far-right Dutch MP Geert Wilders brought out his anti-Islam film Fitna. There were more and more reports of people from Europe undergoing military training in Pakistan and Afghanistan, said the service. The Dutch terror level was raised a year ago from "limited" to "substantial". Source: Agencies Kavkaz Center

New abuse claims at Guantanamo

Thu, 16 Apr 2009 20:38:16 GMT

More claims of mistreatment of detainees at the US prison facility in Guantanamo Bay have emerged after Al Jazeera obtained a letter from an inmate saying he had been abused since the Obama administration came to power. Adnan Farhan Abdul Latif, a Yemeni national held since 2001, said in a letter to his lawyer dated to April that "oppression has increased, torture has increased and insults have increased". "I have seen death so many times," he wrote. "Everything is over, life is going to hell in my situation. America, what has happened to you?" The letter emerged on Thursday, two days after another inmate, Mohammad al-Qurani, told Al Jazeera in a phone call that he had been mistreated since Barack Obama, the US president, was elected last November. David Remes, one of Abdul Latif's lawyers, said he had seen evidence of abuse on his client during meetings at the Guantanamo Bay facility in Cuba. "We have met with our clients, we know the men and the experiences are uniform and universal," he said. "I've seen the marks on these men, I've taken inventories that show the scars, that show the open wounds, that show the rashes. "Adnan Latif ... has a badly dislocated shoulder blade. I've seen the evidence of physical torture and I've also heard about the evidence of psychological torture." 'Beaten and tear-gassed' Al Jazeera reported on Tuesday that Mohammad al-Qurani had been beaten and tear-gassed by guards after Barack Obama, the US president, pledged to end abuse at the camp in January. Al-Qurani said in a phone call to Al Jazeera that the alleged ill-treatment "started about 20 days" before Barack Obama became US president and "since then I've been subjected to it almost every day". He made the call to Sami al-Hajj, an Al Jazeera cameraman who was himself held at Guantanamo Bay for more than six years. On Thursday Robert Wood, a US state department spokesman, said he had not seen the allegations regarding al-Qurani and "did not want to get into specific cases". However, he did say that the state department would "certainly have been looking into a number of these issues". The call is believed to be the first made from a Guantanamo Bay inmate to a media organisation. Secrecy 'ramped up' In January, a US judge ordered the release of al-Qurani, who was only 15-years old when he was captured in Pakistan in 2001, after saying there was no evidence to justify his detention. He is currently in the Camp Iguana area of Guantanamo Bay, where prisoners go after they have been approved for release before being transferred. Cory Crider, a member of al-Qurani's legal team, told Al Jazeera on Wednesday it was hard to ascertain how al-Qurani had been treated in recent months as the situation varied from camp to camp within the facility and also there had been� "ramping up" of secrecy under the new administration. However, Crider said the last time she saw al-Qurani before his transfer to Camp Iguana she had seen abrasions on his hands "that I don't really think he did himself". "I think that where he is now is a significant, significant improvement over where he was before, but there's no question ... that over the years this kid has been seriously mistreated," she said. Chad concerns The ambassador of Chad to the US told Al Jazeera on Tuesday he would raise the claims of abuse of one of its citizens with the US authorities. "I will bring these allegations to my authorities and also will talk to my counterparts at the state department," Mahmoud al-Bashir said. The allegations by al-Qurani come after claims by several other Guantanamo inmates that they had been subjected to mistreatment, in violation of international law. On his second day in office, Obama ordered the closure of the prison, which has been heavily criticised by rights groups over reports of ill-treatment of detainees. He also ordered that prisoners held there be treated in line with the Geneva Conventions, which prohibit the abuse of detainees. Source: AlJazeera

Gates: 'Israeli strike on Iran unlikely in '09'

Fri, 03 Apr 2009 08:41:48 GMT

SLIDESHOW: Israel & Region | World "I guess I would say I would be surprised...if they did act this year," Gates told the Financial Times in an interview published late on Wednesday. He also said that Iran would "probably not" cross a nuclear "red line" within the year, even as Israeli officials talk about Iran having crossed the technological threshold for making a bomb and setting a timeline for dealing with the issue in months rather than years. "I think we have more time than that. How much more time I don't know," Gates said of the end-of-2009 benchmark. "It is a year, two years, three years. It is somewhere in that window." His comments contrasted with those of Gen. David Petraeus, the top US army commander in the Middle East, who told Congress Wednesday that Israel "may ultimately see itself so threatened by the prospect of an Iranian nuclear weapon that it would take preemptive military action to derail or delay it." And Gates's take Wednesday on Iranian nuclear capabilities echoed his comments moderating Chairman of the US Joint Chiefs of Staff Adm. Mike Mullen's more aggressive assessment in February, when he said Teheran had enough fissile material for a nuclear bomb only to have Gates say the Islamic republic wasn't close to having such a weapon. The mixed messages highlight the different roles played by Gates, a political appointee implementing the Obama administration's program, and military personnel who are not advocating certain policy goals, according to analysts here. They also pointed to the different assessments with the US government about how close Iran is to obtaining a nuclear weapon and the best way to handle the issue. "The US is clearly schizophrenic in terms of how it views the Iranian threat," asserted Ilan Berman of the American Foreign Policy Council, saying the disagreements over intelligence implications and the correct approach did not end with the Bush administration. On top of that, he said, the civilian Gates faces a different task than the men in uniform who serve under him at the Pentagon. While the latter present their assessments - often not in the greatest concert with their plainclothed superiors - Gates has an administration to represent. "Secretary Gates has a boss. The boss has articulated a course of action. It's not good office politics to outline a threat scenario which is undermining of that policy, at least in public," Berman said, contending that if Iran is seen as being closer to producing a nuclear weapon it hurts the administration's argument that there's time to pursue diplomacy. "Gates is in the political business, and he's trying to persuade Israel to delay" an attack on Iran, rather than merely present a policy-neutral assessment of the likelihood of such an attack, Berman added. Though Lawrence Korb, a former US assistant secretary of defense now with the Center for American Progress, differs with Berman on whether Gates is pursuing the right course on Iran, he agreed that political considerations drive the secretary in a way they don't for armed service officials. "Obviously he is speaking for the administration. The military people have to speak the truth to Congress," Korb said, characterizing Gates's message as "basically trying to say, 'Let's not get carried away.'" He added that the differences in this case between the two sets of assessments were "slight" - noting that Gates did not directly contradict Petreaus but rather set a time limit the latter did not - and weren't necessarily an indication of untoward massaging of facts. "It doesn't mean that he isn't stating his own opinion," said Korb of Gates, whom the former described as by nature and by virtue of his CIA background "extremely cautious." Tom Neumann, executive director of the Jewish Institute for National Security Affairs, agreed that Gates is "usually toned down in his comments," and that attribute was likely magnified by the lack of clear intelligence about Teheran's exact nuclear capabilities and timeline for creating a bomb. "I'm not sure anyone really knows" about Iranian capabilities, he said. "It's really a question of where you are politically. If you want military action, you're going to say they're close rather than further. If you favor diplomacy, they they're further away." Neumann said that with the different voices that have emerged on these issues within the US government, "The question really is, is the administration coordinating or not?" Having to make that query, he said, could serve a purpose: "They're probably coordinating - they are leaving options open." Source: JpostCom

Survey. The majority of Chechens living in Europe support the Caucasus Emirate

Sun, 22 Mar 2009 18:19:28 GMT

According to Caucasus Times edition, earlier this year the editorial staff received results of the study, which has been conducted among the Chechen refugees in Poland by the Columbia University Graduate School of Journalism. According to the study, 66% of the surveyed refugees said that, in their view, the struggle for independence should be continued, 54% stated that they have positive attitude towards the idea of creating a single Islamic state. �� The edition indicates that despite the significant part of the Chechen Diaspora, which is Euro-oriented and in many respects got the so-called democratic values, many of them continue to sympathize the Caucasus Emirate. Kavkaz Center

Bush's representative criticizes Obama's Russian policy

Sat, 21 Mar 2009 10:19:27 GMT

Less than two months after his inauguration, President Obama's Russia policy has gone badly awry, John Bolton, the former deputy secretary in Bush's administration and the former US ambassador to UN, thinks. "US relations with Russia in the next four years will be difficult because of Russian belligerence and assertiveness, not because Rice and Lavrov, or their respective bosses, didn't each think the other was wonderful", Bolton writes. "Believing that less-than-ideal relations between Washington and Moscow stemmed from Washington's "confrontational" approach shows an unprecedented bias toward the other side of the negotiating table in our own top negotiators", Bolton notes. "A weak knowledge of history, a lack of strategy and perspective, and a domestic political agenda of revanchism have so far characterized the Obama administration's relations not only with Russia, but with much of the broader world as well", the well-known American "hawk" considers. "The administration's biggest mistake to date was suggesting that US missile-defense sites in Poland and the Czech Republic might go unbuilt if Russia could deliver an Iran without nuclear weapons", Bolton emphasizes. "Democrats have never felt comfortable with missile defense because it violates their Cold War precept that defense is destabilizing and vulnerability is good", the author claims. According to him, the US president made it clear to Russia that missile defense could be a bargaining chip. "This is completely opposite to the strategy of Ronald Reagan, who refused to offer his Strategic Defense Initiative as a bargaining chip, thus driving the Soviet Union to despair and significantly contributing to its eventual destruction", Bolton writes. He thinks that the missile defense is not just about Iran, but about other threats, such as North Korea. "Pakistan already has many nuclear weapons that, in the hands of a radical Islamist regime, would be a grave peril for the United States and its friends", the author emphasizes. "The actual result could well be that the United States gives up the Polish and Czech sites while Russia not only doesn't deliver a nuclear-free Iran but doesn't even try very hard", Bolton thinks. "The Obama administration seems to believe that difficulties in U.S.-Russian relations stem from attitudes and actions on our side, particularly the Bush administration's manner and methods", the high-ranking diplomat believes. He criticized the US president for the fact that "in the Obama view, the problems can now be essentially eliminated simply because administrations have changed". "Rice's relationship with Lavrov was testy, it was because of Russia's protecting Iran's nuclear-weapons program, Russia's invasion of Georgia, and Russia's threats to cut off oil and natural gas to Western Europe", Bolton believes. After working as a deputy secretary in Bush's administration, John Bolton was appointed US permanent representative to the UN. However, he has not been approved by the Senate because of a confrontational style. He had reputation of one of the most hard neoconservatives in Bush's administration. Kavkaz Center

Ex-Bush admin official: Many at Gitmo are innocent

Fri, 20 Mar 2009 11:25:05 GMT

Many detainees locked up at Guantanamo were innocent men swept up by U.S. forces unable to distinguish enemies from noncombatants, a former Bush administration official said Thursday. "There are still innocent people there," Lawrence B. Wilkerson, a Republican who was chief of staff to then-Secretary of State Colin Powell, told The Associated Press. "Some have been there six or seven years." Wilkerson, who first made the assertions in an Internet posting on Tuesday, told the AP he learned from briefings and by communicating with military commanders that the U.S. soon realized many Guantanamo detainees were innocent but nevertheless held them in hopes they could provide information for a "mosaic" of intelligence. "It did not matter if a detainee were innocent. Indeed, because he lived in Afghanistan and was captured on or near the battle area, he must know something of importance," Wilkerson wrote in the blog. He said intelligence analysts hoped to gather "sufficient information about a village, a region, or a group of individuals, that dots could be connected and terrorists or their plots could be identified." Wilkerson, a retired Army colonel, said vetting on the battlefield during the early stages of U.S. military operations in Afghanistan was incompetent with no meaningful attempt to determine "who we were transporting to Cuba for detention and interrogation." Navy Cmdr. Jeffrey Gordon, a Pentagon spokesman, declined to comment on Wilkerson's specific allegations but noted that the military has consistently said that dealing with foreign fighters from a wide variety of countries in a wartime setting was a complex process. The military has insisted that those held at Guantanamo were enemy combatants and posed a threat to the United States. In his posting for The Washington Note blog, Wilkerson wrote that "U.S. leadership became aware of this lack of proper vetting very early on and, thus, of the reality that many of the detainees were innocent of any substantial wrongdoing, had little intelligence value, and should be immediately released." Former Defense Secretary Donald Rumsfeld and Vice President Dick Cheney fought efforts to address the situation, Wilkerson said, because "to have admitted this reality would have been a black mark on their leadership." Wilkerson told the AP in a telephone interview that many detainees "clearly had no connection to al-Qaida and the Taliban and were in the wrong place at the wrong time. Pakistanis turned many over for $5,000 a head." Some 800 men have been held at Guantanamo since the prison opened in January 2002, and 240 remain. Wilkerson said two dozen are "terrorists", including confessed Sept. 11 plotter Khalid Sheikh Mohammed, who was transferred to Guantanamo from CIA custody in September 2006. "We need to put those people in a high-security prison like the one in Colorado, forget them and throw away the key," Wilkerson said. "We can't try them because we tortured them and didn't keep an evidence trail." But the rest of the detainees need to be released, he said. Wilkerson, who flew combat missions as a helicopter pilot in Vietnam and left the government in January 2005, said he did not speak out while in government because some of the information was classified. He said he feels compelled to do so now because Cheney has claimed in recent press interviews that President Barack Obama is making the U.S. less safe by ordering Guantanamo closed and reversing other Bush administration policies. The administration is now evaluating what to do with the prisoners who remain at the U.S. military base in Cuba. "I'm very concerned about the kinds of things Cheney is saying to make it seem Obama is a danger to this republic," Wilkerson said. "To have a former vice president fearmongering like this is really, really dangerous." Source: Agencies Kavkaz Center

Tel Aviv declares preparation for war with Iran

Tue, 17 Mar 2009 11:48:16 GMT

As Israeli talks of war on Iran gain momentum, Israel's military Chief of Staff says the army must prepare for a military aggression. In a meeting with top US diplomats on Monday, Lt. Gen. Gabi Ashkenazi said Israel could not live with a nuclear Iran and that an Israeli military strike was a "serious" option in retarding the country's progress. Ashkenazi -- whose requests to meet with President Barack Obama and his American counterpart Admiral Mike Mullen was turned down -- made the remarks in a meeting with US Secretary of State Hillary Clinton and her designated US envoy to the Persian Gulf, Dennis Ross. The Israeli general and the American hosts discussed the Iranian issue shortly after reports revealed that the Israeli Prime Minister-designate Benjamin Netanyahu plans a "major military confrontation" in the next few months. Israel, believed by many to be the sole possessor of a nuclear arsenal in the Middle East, says Iran and its nuclear program pose an "existential threat" to Tel Aviv. Under the claim, Israeli officials in the military and the government regularly threaten to launch aerial strikes against Iranian nuclear infrastructure. Ashkenazi added that any final decision on Iran would be made by the government. He, however, said that he had been tasked with drawing up contingency plans since a military operation was a 'concrete possibility'. Source: Agencies Kavkaz Center

Austria frees suspect in Chechen murder case

Mon, 16 Mar 2009 19:58:40 GMT

A Vienna criminal court spokesman said today (Mon) only three Chechens remained in detention in the case of Chechen Umar Israilov, who was murdered in January in Vienna. Spokesman Christian Gneist said the court had ordered the release of a fourth Chechen suspect on 20 February for lack of evidence. Gneist added the court had ordered the continued detention of one of the three Chechens in jail today and would decide the fate of the other two in the coming weeks. Meanwhile, Polish authorities are considering Austria's request for the extradition of Chechen Turpal Ali J., suspected to be one of Israilov's assassins. He was arrested on 19 February near Warsaw. Vienna public prosecutor's office spokesman Gerhard Jarosch said today the relevant Polish court had received all necessary documentation from Austria. Austrian Interior Ministry spokesman Rudolf Gollia said recently that Turpal Ali J. was "not the executioner" but his accomplice. "That is the assumption supported by the results of the investigation," Gollia added. Israilov was chased down and shot by two men on a Vienna street in broad daylight on 13 January 2009. Jarosch said it would have been better had news of Turpal Ali J.'s arrest remained secret since publicity about the arrest might make it harder to find the trigger man. Jarosch added DNA found on a jacket abandoned by one of the two men who had killed Israilov had played a role in Turpal Ali J.'s arrest. Israilov's murder may have been a political killing as he used to be a bodyguard for Chechnyan President Ramzan Kadyrov, unpopular in his country as he is seen as a puppet of Russian President Vladimir Putin, before falling out with him. Israilov's efforts to publicise Kadyrov's massive violations of human rights may have been the reason for his murder. Israilov had lived three-to-four years in Austria before his death. He applied for asylum in September 2005, and his application was approved in June 2007. Israilov had claimed he was being followed in the days before his death, according to the Austrian police. Source: Agencies Kavkaz Center