Russian special forces may face difficulties in tracking down the
killers because they has lost many contacts in Iraq since the
overthrow of Saddam Hussein’s regime, said Alexei Makarkin, a
political analyst at the Moscow-based Center for Political
Technologies. The Russian forces are likely to establish contact with
U.S. forces, he said.
.
I've said this before. As soon as the Russians help us out with our
pesky little Middle East problem, we'll help them with their Central
Asia issues... Then our combined forces will secure the natural
resources of latin/south America... The Barbarians will Unite!
That's my phantasm, and I'm sticking to it.
Putin Orders Hunt for Killers of Russians in Iraq (Update2)
http://www.bloomberg.com/apps/news?pid=20601087&sid=aUtfdhPfrC1o&refer=home
June 28 (Bloomberg) — President Vladimir Putin told Russia’s security
services to find and kill those responsible for the deaths of four of
the country’s diplomats in Baghdad, after Russian lawmakers blamed the
U.S. for increased violence in Iraq.
Putin gave a directive to the special forces “to undertake all measures
to find and eliminate the killers,'’ according to the Kremlin’s Web
site. He made the comment during a meeting in Moscow with Saudi Prince
Salman bin Abdulaziz, and said Russia would be “thankful'’ for
information leading to their capture.
A group linked to the al-Qaeda in Iraq organization posted a video on a
Web site on June 25 purporting to show the killing of three of the
Russians. In an accompanying statement, the Mujahedeen Shura Council, a
collection of insurgent groups, said a fourth Russian who was seized
with them June 3 also was killed.
Russia’s lower house of parliament, the Duma, passed a resolution today
blaming “occupying forces'’ in Iraq for failing to protect people living
and working in the country. Deputies singled out the U.S., which led the
invasion three years ago.
“It is our deep conviction'’ the U.S. could have prevented the deaths,
lawmakers said in the resolution, which was supported by 425 of the
Duma’s 450 members. The killings were “possible first of all because of
the growing crisis in the country as the occupying forces increasingly
lose control of the situation,'’ according to the resolution.
The measure was initiated by the pro-Kremlin United Russia, which
dominates the Duma, and was backed by other parties including the
nationalist Liberal Democratic Party.
Fifth Russian
Russian Embassy employees Fyodor Zaitsev, 27, a third secretary; Anatoly
Smirnov, 32, a driver; Rinat Agliulin, 28, a cook; and Oleg Fedoseyev,
41, were snatched in an attack on their car in which a fifth Russian was
killed.
The Mujahedeen Shura Council on June 19 gave Russia 48 hours to pull out
of Chechnya and free Muslim prisoners held in Russian jails. Russia has
tens of thousands of troops in Chechnya, a Muslim republic in its
southern region where rebels are fighting to set up an independent state.
Rossiskaya Gazeta, the official state newspaper, yesterday used the
title “Russian Victims of the American Invasion'’ on a front-page
article about the killings. The paper, citing unidentified analysts,
said the deaths “could be a signal to Moscow from Western special forces
concerned by the rising influence of Russia in Iraq.'’
Opposed Invasion
Putin, along with French President Jacques Chirac and then German
Chancellor Gerhard Schroeder, opposed U.S. plans to invade Iraq in 2003.
The killings confirm “the view of Russia’s leadership and parliament
that the forceful action of the U.S. and its allies in Iraq three years
ago was a mistake,'’ United Russia deputy Konstantin Kosachev, who heads
the Duma’s International Relations Committee, said yesterday.
Russian special forces may face difficulties in tracking down the
killers because they has lost many contacts in Iraq since the overthrow
of Saddam Hussein’s regime, said Alexei Makarkin, a political analyst at
the Moscow-based Center for Political Technologies. The Russian forces
are likely to establish contact with U.S. forces, he said.
Lebanon, Qatar
In 1985, when four diplomats from the then-Soviet Union were kidnapped
in Beirut by Hezbollah, the Soviets responded first by abducting a
family member of a Hezbollah leader, and maiming and killing him. The
hostages were soon freed and Soviet interests weren’t targeted in
Lebanon again.
Russian special agents were arrested and accused of killing Chechen
Zelimkhan Yandarbyev in Qatar in February 2004. Yandarbiev, who briefly
served as Chechen interim president in 1996, was killed in a car bombing
while returning from prayers. Russia denied involvement.
Russian citizens would back the use of special forces against those
responsible for the killing of the embassy staff in Baghdad, Makarkin said.
“These weren’t military people, but innocent diplomats and compensation
will be demanded,'’ Makarkin said. “The people are on the side of the
authorities.'’
To contact the reporter on this story:
Todd Prince in Moscow at [EMAIL PROTECTED]
Last Updated: June 28, 2006 12:40 EDT
