U.S., Russia at odds over war on terrorism
By John Chalmers
MUNICH, Germany, Feb 3 (Reuters) - Russia laid bare its differences with
the
United States over the war on terrorism on Sunday, challenging President
George W. Bush's attack on the "axis of evil" and accusing the West of
double
standards.
The cracks emerged at a security conference in Munich over the weekend
as
Washington, ratcheting up its rhetoric against Iraq and Iran, signalled
it
could take pre-emptive action.
U.S. Deputy Defense Secretary Paul Wolfowitz told the meeting on
Saturday
that countries tolerating terrorism would be held to account and
referred to
the State of the Union address last week in which Bush described Iraq,
Iran
and North Korea as an "axis of evil" seeking weapons of mass
destruction.
But Russia, which has better relations with all three, insists the
U.S.-led
campaign against terrorism in Afghanistan must not be expanded to other
countries and has been increasingly irritated by the American
sabre-rattling.
Russian Defence Minister Sergei Ivanov, in a blunt rebuff, told
Wolfowitz and
the other delegates on Sunday there was no evidence that Iran had
connections
with terrorist organisations.
And he said Russia had its own list of "rogue states," naming U.S. ally
Saudi
Arabia, which Moscow says helps fund Chechen separatists fighting its
own
troops: "Not many people in the West like the fact that we have some
commercial ties with the countries which you describe as rogue states,"
Ivanov said.
"Well, we don't like...some of your allies like Saudi Arabia or Gulf
states
who give finance to terrorist organisations."
A Russian deal to build Iran a nuclear power station has been a regular
target of criticism from Washington.
"DOUBLE STANDARDS"
Ivanov also accused the West of "double standards" for failing to
condemn the
Chechens as "terrorists" with the same vigour as they pursue Osama bin
Laden
and his al Qaeda network.
He warned that disagreements over who was counted a terrorist could
undermine
the U.S.-led coalition Russia has joined against the Islamists that the
United States blames for the September 11 attacks on New York and
Washington.
"What is our greatest concern today is the existence till the present
time of
double political standards with regard to separatism, religious
extremism and
fanaticism," Ivanov said.
Analysts say some U.S. policymakers, notably the hawkish Wolfowitz, may
want
to exploit the political momentum at home generated by outrage over the
attacks to strike a decisive blow against Iraqi President Saddam
Hussein.
But Wolfowitz told reporters on Saturday that his comments did not mean
the
United States was about to strike Iraq.
The security conference came ahead of a meeting in Rome on Monday
between
NATO allies and Russia to discuss terrorism.
The 19 countries of the alliance -- spurred by Moscow's help in the war
on
terrorism, especially in providing intelligence -- agreed in December to
establish a forum "at 20" in which Russia could have a full say in some
security issues.
But with Bush's taking the war on terrorism to Afghanistan virtually
alone,
doubts about NATO's continued relevance since the collapse of the Soviet
Union are being voiced again.
NATO Secretary General George Robertson, in a now familiar refrain,
argued
that the Western defence alliance still had a central role in dealing
with
the new, post-Cold War threats.
"Even superpowers need allies and coalitions to provide bases, fuel,
airspace
and forces. And they need mechanisms and experience to integrate these
forces
into a single coherent military capability," he told the Munich
conference.
However, he said NATO must evolve, and one of the biggest challenges was
the
modernisation of European and Canadian forces to ensure a fair sharing
of the
burden with the United States.
APPEAL FOR CASH
Appealing to European finance ministers, Robertson noted that Europe
struggled to maintain its 50,000 peacekeeping troops in the Balkans and
said
hardly any country could deploy effective forces in significant numbers
beyond its borders.
"American critics of Europe's military incapability are right," he said.
"So
if we are to ensure that the United States moves neither towards
unilateralism or isolationism, all the non-U.S. allies -- Europeans and
Canadians -- must show a new willingness to develop effective crisis
management capability."
The NATO chief also urged Washington to ease "unnecessary restrictions"
on
foreigners acquiring American technology or face problems forming
military
coalitions with European forces.
Serbian News Network - SNN
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