Posted on 09/30/2006 10:18:39 AM PDT by DAVEY CROCKETT
"Global Trends 2015" Terrorism-Related Excerpts
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The following items are terrorism-related items from the National Intelligence Council's "Global Trends 2015: A Dialogue About the Future With Nongovernment Experts" report (December 2000).
Transnational Terrorism (page 50)
States with poor governance; ethnic, cultural, or religious tensions; weak economies; and porous borders will be prime breeding grounds for terrorism. In such states, domestic groups will challenge the entrenched government, and transnational networks seeking safehavens.
At the same time, the trend away from state-supported political terrorism and toward more diverse, free-wheeling, transnational networks—enabled by information technology—will continue. Some of the states that actively sponsor terrorism or terrorist groups today may decrease or even cease their support by 2015 as a result of regime changes, rapprochement with neighbors, or the conclusion that terrorism has become counterproductive. But weak states also could drift toward cooperation with terrorists, creating de facto new state supporters.
Between now and 2015 terrorist tactics will become increasingly sophisticated and designed to achieve mass casualties.
We expect the trend toward greater lethality in terrorist attacks to continue.
Reacting to US Military Superiority (page 56)
Experts agree that the United States, with its decisive edge in both information and weapons technology, will remain the dominant military power during the next 15 years. Further bolstering the strong position of the United States are its unparalleled economic power, its university system, and its investment in research and development—half of the total spent annually by the advanced industrial world. Many potential adversaries, as reflected in doctrinal writings and statements, see US military concepts, together with technology, as giving the United States the ability to expand its lead in conventional warfighting capabilities.
This perception among present and potential adversaries will continue to generate the pursuit of asymmetric capabilities against US forces and interests abroad as well as the territory of the United States. US opponents—state and such nonstate actors as drug lords, terrorists, and foreign insurgents—will not want to engage the US military on its terms. They will choose instead political and military strategies designed to dissuade the United States from using force, or, if the United States does use force, to exhaust American will, circumvent or minimize US strengths, and exploit perceived US weaknesses. Asymmetric challenges can arise across the spectrum of conflict that will confront US forces in a theater of operations or on US soil.
Threats to Critical Infrastructure.
Some potential adversaries will seek ways to threaten the US homeland. The US national infrastructure—communications, transportation, financial transactions, energy networks—is vulnerable to disruption by physical and electronic attack because of its interdependent nature and by cyber attacks because of their dependence on computer networks. Foreign governments and groups will seek to exploit such vulnerabilities using conventional munitions, information operations, and even WMD.
Terrorism.
Much of the terrorism noted earlier will be directed at the United States and its overseas interests. Most anti-US terrorism will be based on perceived ethnic, religious or cultural grievances. Terrorist groups will continue to find ways to attack US military and diplomatic facilities abroad. Such attacks are likely to expand increasingly to include US companies and American citizens. Middle East and Southwest Asian-based terrorists are the most likely to threaten the United States.
Odd all the oil in the world is either controlled by communist or muslim countries.
And we spent all those years being afraid of a nuclear bomb.
Lack of oil, will do more damage to America, than a bomb.
Art has made me laugh, he has captured the spy story to a "T".
I'm falling asleep sitting up.
I don't know how you night owls do it. ;-)
Goodnight.
Mr Velichko told Die Welt that the use of polonium 210 was a crude method of assassination that would not have been used by Russian security services.
"Professionals don't use polonium," he said. <<<
Laugh, first he says they did not do it.
Then says, they have better ways.
Sleep well......
I heard Peter Lance on Coast to Coast, he said he thought that the Blind Shieks death, would bring on the planned attack of August, the England/U.S. airplane threat or a simular plan.
He has some interesting items on his website, but I was not able to open the timeline, could be the million radio listners have it swamped.
http://peterlance.com/Peter%20Lance/Home/Home.html
I will check for articles.
Sweet dreams to you.
http://www.terra.net.lb/wp/Articles/DesktopArticle.aspx?ArticleID=318680&ChannelId=4
US Treasury targets individuals, businesses in S America for allegedly
channeling money to Hizbullah
December 7, 2006
The Bush administration took action on Wednesday aimed at choking off a
major South American fundraising channel for Hizbullah in the
tri-border
area of Argentina, Brazil and Paraguay. The US Treasury Department's
action targets nine people and two entities - a shopping center in
Paraguay and an electronics company, Casa Hamze, located in the
shopping
center.
The United States alleges that the designated targets have provided
financial and logistical support to Hizbullah, considered a terrorist
organization by the US.
Hizbullah called the US action an "attack" on Wednesday.
"This is part of the US policy to attack the party," Hizbullah
politburo
member Ghaleb Abu Zeinab said.
Abu Zeinab added that "every person who does not follow the US policy
is
being made a victim of the US and Israeli intelligence and being
implicated in such allegations."
Americans are forbidden from doing business with the designated
targets,
whose bank accounts or other financial assets found in the US were
frozen.
Specifically, the department alleges that the designated people gave
financial and other assistance to Assad Ahmad Barakat, whom the
government several years ago added to its asset-blocking list for his
support of Hizbullah.
"Assad Ahmad Barakat's network in the tri-border area is a major
financial artery to Hizbullah in Lebanon," said Adam Szubin, director
of
the Treasury Department's Office of Foreign Assets Control.
The department alleged that Muhammad Yusif Abdallah is a senior
Hizbullah leader in the tri-border area and an important financial
backer of the group.
The department says Abdallah is an owner and manager of the Galeria
Page
shopping center located in Paraguay, which the department also
designated on Wednesday.
The department alleged that Abdallah pays a percentage of his income to
Hizbullah based on the profits he receives from the shopping center.
The department also alleges that Abdallah has been involved in
importing
contraband electronics, falsifying passports, credit card fraud and
trafficking counterfeit US dollars.
Barakat was himself targeted, with the government alleging that he is a
Hizbullah member in the tri-border area.
He is further suspected of trafficking in narcotics, counterfeit US
dollars, arms and explosives, the government said.
Hamzi Ahmad Barakat, who allegedly traveled to Chile to collect money
for Hizbullah and is the brother of Assad Ahmad Barakat, was also
named.
Others named Wednesday are: Muhammad Fayez Barakat, whom the US alleges
is responsible for the Barakat network's finances; Muhammad Tarabain
Chamas and Saleh Mahmoud Fayad, whom the US alleges have been involved
in counterintelligence; Sobhi Mahmoud Fayad, whom the US says served as
a liaison between the Iranian embassy and the Hizbullah community in
the
tri-border area; Ali Muhammad Kazan, who helped raise more than
$500,000
for Hizbullah from Lebanese businessmen in the tri-border region, the
US
alleges; and Farouk Omairi, whom the US says is a member of the
Hizbullah community in the tri-border area.
Egypt cracks down on Brotherhood
One of the top leaders of Egypt's opposition Islamist movement, the Muslim Brotherhood, has been detained.
Police also rounded up about 10 other prominent members and dozens of students in dawn raids.
Khairat al-Shatir is one of two deputies to Brotherhood leader Muhammad Akef, and was taken from his home in north-eastern Cairo, the capital.
The group is officially banned, but its supporters make up parliament's largest opposition group and it is tolerated.
Mr Shatir is the most senior member of the group detained by the authorities since Secretary-General Mahmoud Ezzat was released last year after three months in jail without trial.
Officials have not said why the latest arrests were carried out, but correspondents said it might be related to recent newspaper reports suggesting the movement was setting up a military wing.
Dawn raids
"The number of students arrested was not specified, but it could be as high as 180," a security official told the AFP news agency.
"At least three professors and several student leaders were taken during this sweep," a Muslim Brotherhood official said.
"The 180 students were detained before dawn during a sweep at the al-Safa campus, an annex of al-Azhar [Islamic university]."
Islamist students at the university organised a military-style march there on Sunday, dressed in black uniforms.
The Muslim Brotherhood ran in the legislative elections in November and December 2005, with candidates standing as independents, and won 88 of the 454 seats in parliament.
Essam al-Aryan and Muhammad Morsi of the Muslim Brotherhood's political bureau were released earlier this week, having been arrested six months ago.
Story from BBC NEWS:
http://news.bbc.co.uk/go/pr/fr/-/2/hi/middle_east/6178841.stm
Published: 2006/12/14 11:51:00 GMT
© BBC MMVI
Gaza border shots 'targeted PM'
Mr Haniya's son was shot and injured during the shooting
The convoy under fire
Hamas says the shooting on the convoy of the Palestinian prime minister at a Gaza border post was an assassination attempt by a rival faction.
Ismail Haniya's convoy came under fire when it was allowed to cross, after being held there for several hours.
A bodyguard was killed and Mr Haniya's son was shot in the face as the fire fight erupted at the Rafah checkpoint.
Border guards allied to President Abbas's Fatah faction, exchanged fire with Mr Haniya's security forces.
His convoy came under fire after the crossing was closed by Israel and angered Hamas militants, waiting to welcome him on the Gaza side, stormed the crossing point, overwhelming the border guards.
Chaotic scenes
The BBC's Alan Johnston in Gaza said that during chaotic scenes gunfire rattled around the entrance hall to the customs hall as Mr Haniya's bodyguards shielded him.
He said the incident, as the jeep Mr Haniya was travelling in manoeuvred to avoid the bullets, was captured on television cameras.
"The bodyguard to Ismail Haniya was killed during an assassination attempt," said Hamas spokesman Fawzi Barhoum.
Mr Haniya had been prevented from crossing into Gaza and held at the border point for almost eight hours.
Israel closed its border saying that the tens of millions of dollars Mr Haniya was carrying as he returned from a foreign trip would fund "terrorist operations".
Mr Haniya crossed late on Thursday, following hours of intense negotiations, leaving the money on the Egyptian side with his aides.
Early elections?
Mr Haniya had been due to return to Gaza on Thursday after cutting short his first trip abroad as prime minister to deal with mounting tensions between his Hamas group and rivals Fatah.
Inter-faction tensions have increased since the killing of three sons of a pro-Fatah security chief on Monday.
President Mahmoud Abbas has spoken of the possibility of fresh elections.
Hamas would regard as tantamount to a coup, our correspondent says, an attempt to usurp the mandate that it won in elections just under a year ago.
Foreign donations
On Thursday Israeli Defence Minister Amir Peretz had ordered European Union monitors to close the Rafah crossing point.
Israel had said Mr Haniya would only be allowed to cross into Gaza if he left the money - reported to total more than $30m (£15.3m) - on the Egyptian side.
Israel says that money, in particular from Iran, goes directly to the funding of "terrorist operations" against Israel.
Mr Haniya's Hamas government has been hit by a Western-led boycott of its government and officials have had to carry in millions in cash.
Israel, the US and the EU all regard Hamas as being a terrorist organisation.
There are reports that the money has been deposited in an Arab League bank account in Egypt, our correspondent says.
Story from BBC NEWS:
http://news.bbc.co.uk/go/pr/fr/-/2/hi/middle_east/6181681.stm
Published: 2006/12/15 02:44:22 GMT
© BBC MMVI
Man held over Gaza child killings
A Palestinian militant has been arrested in connection with the killing of the three young sons of a Palestinian security officer on Monday.
Hisham Mukhmir of the Popular Resistance Committees was arrested in Gaza City, witnesses said.
In response, members of the Popular Resistance Committees seized a Fatah-linked security officer.
In a separate development, Israeli troops killed two Palestinians in the West Bank, Palestinian officials said.
Rising tension
On Thursday morning, gunfire erupted as Palestinian security officers moved to arrest the militant in Gaza City in connection with the killing of the three sons of Baha Balusheh - who were aged six to 10.
At least two people were injured in the exchange of fire, officials said.
The Fatah-linked security officers said they arrested the militant from the Popular Resistance Committees (PRC).
The shooting of the three sons - on a street crowded with children - has caused outraged among Palestinians.
Fatah has blamed Hamas militants for the killing, a claim rejected by the group.
In retaliation for Thursday's arrest, PRC members said they kidnapped the Fatah-linked security officer in Gaza City.
Tension has been rising in Gaza ahead of Palestinian Authority President Mahmoud Abbas' weekend speech in which he is expected to outline his plans for resolving a long stand-off with Hamas.
There have been suggestions that Mr Abbas could call for early elections, following the collapse of talks with Hamas over forming a unity government.
Hamas, which took power after a stunning election win over Mr Abbas' Fatah party in January, has warned that such a move would amount to a coup.
West Bank violence
In the West Bank, Israeli troops shot dead two Palestinians in separate incidents, Palestinian officials and medics said.
They said one of the men was killed when the Israeli army clashed with stone-throwing demonstrators in the village of Kafr al-Deek, near Ramallah.
The army said the soldiers opened fire because they felt their lives were in danger.
In a later incident, a Palestinian man was killed outside the city of Nablus by Israeli soldiers.
The man was identified by residents and medical sources as a local militant.
Israeli security sources said he had been planning attacks against Israel.
Story from BBC NEWS:
http://news.bbc.co.uk/go/pr/fr/-/2/hi/middle_east/6179861.stm
Published: 2006/12/14 15:06:44 GMT
© BBC MMVI
Christian video game draws anger
By Richard Allen Greene
BBC News, Washington
A new Christian video game has sparked calls for a boycott from groups who say it is "training for religious warfare".
The game, Left Behind: Eternal Forces, is based on a wildly successful series of novels about the struggles on earth after true believers ascend to heaven.
Players can command the army of good - the Tribulation Force - against the anti-Christ's Global Community.
The game's makers reject criticism, saying their detractors "have a clear hatred of Biblical Christianity".
An alliance of liberal groups including the Christian Alliance for Progress, the Campaign to Defend the Constitution, and Talk2Action, have urged the giant retailer Wal-Mart, among others, to stop stocking the game, which was released last month.
"It's about religious warfare. The way to win is to convert or kill. You have both the Inquisition and the Crusades," says Frederick Clarkson of Talk2Action.
"Anybody who is not a follower of Jesus is the enemy," he claims.
'Dehumanising the enemy'
Mr Clarkson is particularly concerned that the $39.95 (£20) game - which is rated for teenagers due to violence - is being marketed through churches.
Game excerpts
"Pastors and youth leaders recommend the game to their parishioners," he says, giving its message the stamp of authority.
And that message is the "dehumanisation of the feared other - Catholics, Jews, Muslims, the wrong kind of Protestants, people deemed to be sinners", he says.
That dehumanisation, he warns, is a first step towards genocide.
Jeffrey S Frichner, a co-founder of Left Behind Games, utterly rejects that characterisation of his game.
None of the missions in the game has a "convert-or-die" objective, he insists.
"It's the anti-Christ that desires you to convert or die, and you are defending yourself against that on the good side," he says.
"You will absolutely lose each level and never win the game if you choose physical warfare as a means."
'Evangelising - respectfully'
The word "convert" does not even appear in the game, he adds - and neither does the word "Christian".
"The game itself is just a great game. People of other faiths could play it and not know it's Christian," he says.
He freely admits the game aims to evangelise.
"But it is doing it in a way which is very respectful, not Bible-thumping."
When players successfully complete a level of the real-time strategy game, "you get a vignette that has some kind of Biblical truth and a find-out-more button", he says.
That leads players to a website where they can discuss issues, say a prayer and "become a believer", Mr Frichner says.
He thinks that will appeal to young people.
"People are drawn to things that provide answers. My personal position is that the Bible provides all those answers."
'Summer blockbuster'
Left Behind: Eternal Forces is not the first Christian video game, but it is the most ambitious to date, experts say.
"This is the first Christian developer that tried to produce a triple-A title, the summer blockbuster of video games," says Brian Crecente, editor of the games blog Kotaku and a video games writer for the Rocky Mountain News newspaper.
Video games are no longer just about amusing people, but about trying to send a message
Brian Crecente,
Kotaku editor
He is intrigued by the moral complexity of the game, which he saw played late in development, before its release.
"Your characters can do physical combat, but when they do, they lose morale and have a greater chance of becoming evil.
"In some sense, that can represent what happens. In the real world, you can't get involved in a gunfight and walk away and forget it."
He is critical of the game on other grounds, though, saying that in trying to deliver entertainment as well as a message, the developers have fallen short on both.
"It's a muddled message and a kind-of entertaining game," he says.
Kill the president
It is not the only violent video game with a message raising concern this holiday season.
The Global Islamic Media Front has released a game called Quest for Bush, in which players aim to kill the US president.
Adam Raisman, an analyst at the Search for International Terrorist Entities (Site) Institute who has played the game, calls the free download "propaganda", but stops short of labelling it recruitment.
"We can't say this is preparation for jihad, but it puts out the idea that you can walk around with a gun and shoot American soldiers," he says.
"It is putting the thought in your head that Bush, Blair and Rumsfeld are the guys you're going after."
Mr Crecente, the games writer, has not seen Quest for Bush (also known as Night of Bush Hunting, the literal translation of its Arabic title).
But he says both it and Left Behind: Eternal Forces are part of an effort in the gaming world to deal with important issues.
"Whenever games take on something important, they are accused of trivialising the subject," he says.
"This shows that video games have gotten past the birthing pains. They are no longer just about amusing people, but about trying to send a message."
What do you think of the controversy? Send us your comments with the link below:
Story from BBC NEWS:
http://news.bbc.co.uk/go/pr/fr/-/2/hi/technology/6178055.stm
Published: 2006/12/14 20:09:45 GMT
© BBC MMVI
The radio is now saying 2,500 dead ducks in Idaho.
Still unknown cause, will have a press meeting Sat. AM
But CNN says it could be the fungus.
The most ever before, was 500 last year in Ohio.
Gunmen seize Haiti schoolchildren
A dozen schoolchildren in Haiti have been abducted by gunmen who hijacked a school bus and a car on Wednesday in broad daylight, local media report.
One group of children was travelling to school on the private bus when the men stopped it, forced their way aboard and diverted it, local radio reported.
Another gang stopped a car carrying four children and two adults, and fled with the car and the children.
Kidnappings for ransom have become the top security threat in the country.
Both incidents took place in the north of the capital, but it was not immediately clear if they were linked.
Haitian police spokesman Frantz Lerebours said it was not known exactly how many children were missing.
Mounting insecurity
About 10 children have been reported abducted since November, including two who were killed by their captors.
One parent told local radio: "We feel disenchanted in front of this upsurge of insecurity. Children are going to school and you do not know if they will come back.
"You who take them to school may not return home sometimes as they might abduct either you or the children."
Authorities blame the crimes on well-armed street gangs that flourished after a 2004 rebellion overthrew former president Jean-Bertrand Aristide.
A Brazilian-led UN peacekeeping force has been deployed since then.
Story from BBC NEWS:
http://news.bbc.co.uk/go/pr/fr/-/2/hi/americas/6179341.stm
Published: 2006/12/14 12:38:41 GMT
© BBC MMVI
14 December 2006
Balancing Venezuelan-Iranian relations
Some argue that Iran uses Venezuela to further its geopolitical goal of undermining US power, but others say the relationship is more balanced than many thought.
By Sam Logan for ISN Security Watch (14/12/06)
With presidential elections behind him, many observers believe that Venezuelan President Hugo Chavez will start his quest to create a New World Order, one where the US is in a weakened position economically and diplomatically, if not also militarily, to influence other countries around the world. The Islamic Republic of Iran appears to be the country most aligned with Chavez’s global plans to undermine US power in the world.
Looking beyond close economic and diplomatic ties, it appears that Iran’s leaders see Venezuela as an important geopolitical part of their own plans to undermine US power. However, some experts argue that the relationship between these countries is more evenly balanced than at first glance.
There are clear indications, experts say, that Venezuela and Iran have been working together to further their common foreign policy goals.
The two countries have formed an alliance within the Organization of Petroleum Exporting Countries (OPEC) to counterbalance what they view as a powerful and influential partnership between the US and Saudi Arabia.
In addition, Venezuela’s support of an Iranian nuclear energy program is part of a larger strategic alliance that creates a gravitational center around which other countries can orbit in opposition to US hegemony. Venezuela’s partnership with Iran moves the country a little closer to acceptance on the global stage.
Finally, Iran’s increased presence inside Venezuela opens another front from which Iran may launch geopolitical attacks on the US. Iran seeks to outflank the US and work with Chavez to force Washington into a more defensive stance.
Perception as a deterrent
“Since the war in Iraq has changed the power dynamics in the Middle East, Iran is unquestionably the strongest and most robust regional power,” Islamic studies professor at the University of California, Santa Barbara, Reza Aslan, told ISN Security Watch.
“While they’ve done a pretty good job of extending their reach across that region, what they want to do now is reach beyond the Middle East, and they see Chavez as a real ally in so far as trying to not only combat the unipolarization of the world, but also to feed off of each other,” Aslan said.
The most logical starting point was oil and Saudi Arabia’s hegemonic position within OPEC, he said. The close relationship between the US and its Middle Eastern ally exists because the former is the largest single market for oil, while the latter is the largest single source of oil. Saudi Arabia’s privileged position gives it some sway in Washington - something both Venezuela and Iran would like to change.
Together, the two countries control a significant portion of the world’s proven reserves. Neither can compete with Saudi Arabia in terms of export, but the perception of a closely united Iran and Venezuela cancels some of the power Saudi Arabia has over dictating export quotas and the price of oil. But the focus is not entirely on Saudi Arabia.
A sudden cut off of Iranian and Venezuelan oil likely would produce a spike in price that Saudi Arabia would not be able to quickly control at Washington’s request. The threat of closing down exports in Iran and Venezuela becomes more tangible as these countries grow closer together.
New World Order
Undermining the US' ambitions in around the world is the one unifying factor that brings Iran and Venezuela closer together, experts say. The pair, along with Cuba and other countries that form the core group of the Non-Aligned Movement, have created a gravitational core of countries that all seek to topple what many feel is a US economic and military empire.
This group of smaller countries seems to have unofficially tapped Chavez as their leader. Iran would happily stand at the forefront, but cannot due to Washington’s efforts to convince the rest of the world that Iran is their enemy, not just a US enemy.
“Whenever Iran seeks to do business with a country, the United States tries to convince that country not to do business with Iran,” Trita Parsi, the president and co-founder of the National Iranian American Council, told ISN Security Watch. “When Iran finds a market where it does not have to deal with that aspect, it’s an opportunity the Iranians can hardly afford to say no to.”
Iran has emerged as a regional power in the Middle East – a power that some observers say the US must eventually engage and recognize as a regional leader, if it hopes to succeed in Iraq.
Within Latin America, Venezuela has also emerged as a regional power, wielding considerable influence over a number of Caribbean nations, Nicaragua, Ecuador, Bolivia, Argentina, oppositional movements in Peru and Mexico and possibly the Revolutionary Armed Forces of Colombia (FARC). Due to Venezuela’s regional leadership position and the fact that Chavez will remain in power for at least another six years, conservative observers say Washington cannot longer afford the luxury of ignoring Venezuela, just like it can no longer ignore Iran’s influential role in Iraq.
Strange relations
Aslan described the relationship between Iran and Venezuela as “one of these strange bedfellows the war on terror has created.”
“It’s not one of the only ones, but one of the more interesting,” he said.
Iran’s relationship with Venezuela has become a bullet point on the list of developing situations for closer observation and study in Washington.
During US National Intelligence Director John Negroponte's testimony to the US Senate’s Select Intelligence Committee on 2 February, he outlined his concern for Iran’s nuclear weapons program as well as the country’s efforts to increase trade and beat sanctions.
Dan Burton, former chair of the Subcommittee on the Western Hemisphere of the Committee on International Relations, has been much more forceful with his language. In a statement during a hearing on energy security earlier this year, Burton said: “Any alliance between terrorist-sponsoring nations and leftist leaders in Latin America will be viewed as a serious and direct threat to the security of the United States and our friends in the hemisphere.”
Rumors abound – rumors such as Venezuela mining uranium to send to Iran. Even if there are just shreds of truth to such murmurings, perception is again a factor at play.
Beyond rumors
Beyond the rumors, experts say there is one resounding fact that cannot be ignored: Venezuela and Iran will only deepen their relationship in the future, as they need each other to further geopolitical strategies to undermine US power in both the Middle East and Latin America.
The Iran-Venezuelan partnership has become a mutually beneficial relationship that some fear could evolve from a nuisance to what Burton has called a “direct threat,” and those same observers fear that 2007 will decide to what extent the threat is real and the rumors are true.
Sam Logan is an investigative journalist who has reported on security, energy, politics, economics, organized crime, terrorism and black markets in Latin America since 1999. He is the Latin American correspondent for ISN Security Watch.
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13 December 2006
Litvinenko case shows Russian vulnerability
Less important than who committed the exotic murder is how Moscow is dealing with it.
Commentary by Sergei Blagov in Moscow for ISN Security Watch (13/12/06)
Facing mounting criticism in the wake of the poisoning death of former Russian security officer Alexander Litvinenko, the Kremlin appears to be mulling damage-control measures.
Among other ideas, Moscow's English-language satellite television channel, Russia Today, reported earlier this month that officials were considering filing libel suits against international journalists over their reporting of the Litvinenko case. The outlet said the Russian Federal Press and Mass Media Agency was already monitoring publications worldwide.
Moscow has had plenty of opportunities to observe what it views as libelous "journalistic misconduct." The headlines have been less than cautious. The UK newspaper The Sunday Telegraph titled one story “The rotten heart of Russia,” while The Los Angeles Times headlined an article “Russia’s poisoned democracy.” The Financial Times said that the billions generated by the commodity boom also means that Russian money, linked to the Russian state, is an increasingly powerful and potentially corrupting force in western Europe.
Certainly, Moscow viewed such allegations as extreme and outrageous, despite the fact that they do reflect real policy problems.
Incidentally, it was Litvinenko who had accused the Kremlin of poisoning him and of ordering the murder of Russian journalist Anna Politkovskaya, gunned down in Moscow in October.
Citing Litvinenko's deathbed statements can hardly be interpreted as defamation. And would-be defendants may well argue that the claimants had no reputation to defend, making possible libel suits a risky endeavor for the Kremlin.
As no evidence has been revealed to support any accusations against the Russian authorities in these two murders, officials in Moscow claim that the murders played into the hands of Russia’s enemies.
Earlier this week, Putin's aide, Igor Shuvalov, argued that Litvinenko's death had been organized by someone who wanted to harm Russia's image abroad, conceding it has been a disaster for Russian public relations. Yegor Gaidar, a former prime minister and another victim of a possible poisoning, also subscribed to this point of view.
Unsolved murders and dramatic poisonings are centuries-old Russian traditions. Historians still argue about the role of the suspicious death of Prince Dmitry, the younger son of Ivan the Terrible, in the late 16th century. A few decades ago, author Maxim Gorky and Josef Stalin were rumored to have been poisoned in 1936 and 1953, respectively. But in recent times, suspicious deaths have become far too frequent, even by Russia standards.
Russia's threats to slap libels suits on international media hardly come as a surprise. In recent years, some Kremlin-connected tycoons successfully harassed Russian media organizations by filing expensive libel suits in domestic courts. But hitting critical journalists with huge damage payments in the West would require proof of actual malice and outrageous disregard for the truth.
Russian officials would have to prove that international media outlets knowingly invented and perpetrated allegations of the Kremlin's involvement in the death of Litvinenko despite serious doubts about the truth of such a claim. In other words, in order to demonstrate actual malice Moscow would need to solve Litvinenko's death and prove it was not involved before suing for libel.
Modern-day Russia has a dismal record when it comes to solving high-profile cases. The deaths of two Russian journalists - Vlad Listyev and Dmitry Kholodov - have remained unsolved more than a decade. An American investigative journalist of Russian descent, Paul Klebnikov, was gunned down in Moscow two years ago and the murderers remain at large. Another crusading journalist and colleague of Politkovskaya, Yury Schekochikhin, died three years ago, officially suffering from an "unknown toxic reaction," raising suspicions of poisoning. However, the authorities classified his autopsy record.
Not surprisingly, Russia is perceived as an increasingly dangerous place, and the Kremlin is viewed as ultimately responsible for the climate of lawlessness. Under these circumstances, Russia’s official claims of “political stability” may well appear detached from reality.
The country's culture of violence has long been viewed as connected with widespread corruption. In Russia, money can, and does, buy the law, politicians, judges and media alike.
In its latest report, released in November, the Paris-based Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development (OECD) said corruption in Russia "has been growing in recent years."
But the recent bad publicity likely comes as a surprise for Moscow, which seems to believe that the West is too busy elsewhere (Iraq and Afghanistan) - and Europe too dependent on its energy resources - to bother with assassinations and such. Moscow also likely felt there was some leeway as the West needs Russian cooperation for nuclear non-proliferation efforts, Iran and the war on terror. Certainly, Litvinenko was not more important than these other issues.
But the Litvinenko story has made for the type of drama mainstream media loves, and something that reads like a spy thriller is certain to have a long shelf life.
Less important than who committed the exotic murder is how Moscow is dealing with it. Litvinenko was an unusual critic, and one that the Kremlin would not likely have benefited from silencing. The identity of his murderers may never be revealed, and it is plausible, as are many other theories, that his assassination was meant to harm Russia’s reputation.
If that is true, the plotters have succeeded. Litvinenko's mysterious death dealt the Kremlin a sensitive blow and uncovered Russia's vulnerability, whatever its actual intent. Suspicious deaths happen in many places in the world, but only unstable regimes can be shaken by a sudden demise of a relatively marginal person. And Russia's potential instability, rooted in culture of violence and graft, may well become a security challenge for many other nations.
Sergei Blagov is a Moscow-based correspondent for ISN Security Watch.
The views and opinions expressed herein are those of the author only, not the International Relations and Security Network (ISN).
Printed from http://www.isn.ethz.ch/news/sw/details.cfm?id=17040
Online version provided by the International Relations and Security Network
A public service run by the Center for Security Studies at ETH Zurich © 1996-2004
http://en.rian.ru/world/20061215/56964015-print.html
Kyrgyz lawmakers consider closing U.S. airbase
15/12/2006 10:32 MOSCOW, December 15 (RIA Novosti) - Kyrgyzstan's parliament passed a resolution Friday instructing the government to consider closing a U.S. airbase in the Central Asian country's capital, Bishkek, following a fatal incident involving an American serviceman.
Alexander Ivanov, 42, a truck driver with the fuel services company Aircraft Petroleum Management and the father of two, was fatally shot last week by Airman Zachary Hatfield while undergoing a routine security check at the Manas airbase.
The resolution calls on the government "to consider the expedience of the U.S. airbase's further stay in the country," and instructs law enforcement agencies to publish the results of the investigation into the criminal case in national newspapers.
Manas is the only U.S. base in post-Soviet Central Asia since Uzbekistan evicted American troops from its territory last year. Kyrgyzstan recently raised the leasing fee for the Manas base from the current $2.6 million to $150 million as of 2007.
The command of the airbase, which the United States has maintained in Kyrgyzstan since its anti-terrorism campaign in neighboring Afghanistan in 2001, said earlier the U.S. airman who killed the Kyrgyz national acted in self-defense and in accordance with security instructions, a statement argued by Ivanov's fellow drivers.
President Kurmanbek Bakiyev has asked the U.S. side to make sure the serviceman accused of the killing stays in the country through the end of the probe being conducted by U.S. officials and Kyrgyz prosecutors. The Foreign Ministry has also demanded stripping him of immunity.
The resolution also calls on the government to revise the provisions of a Kyrgyz-U.S. agreement stipulating the status of U.S. military servicemen and civilian employees in Kyrgyzstan, and demands Hatfield's handover to Kyrgyz authorities for questioning.
The Shanghai Cooperation Organization, a regional security and economic group that comprises the former Soviet Central Asian republics plus Russia and China, has demanded that Washington provide a timetable for withdrawing its troops from its member states.
In September, an American KC-135 tanker entered into a collision with the Kyrgyz presidential airplane, severely damaging a wing of the Tu-154, which was sometimes used for commercial flights.
A government commission subsequently determined that the American crew was responsible for the accident.
other articles
12:05 08/12/2006 U.S. airman killing of Kyrgyz man self-defense - command
15:23 07/12/2006 Kyrgyz president to monitor inquiry into killing at U.S. airbase
14:59 14/11/2006 U.S. pilots responsible for Sep. collision with Kyrgyz airliner
10:56 04/10/2006 Russian minister hails military ties with Kyrgyzstan
http://en.rian.ru/russia/20061215/56954412-print.html
Morning re-cap of main news, December 14
15/12/2006 08:26 * President Vladimir Putin said the deployment of mobile Topol-M intercontinental ballistic missile systems makes a major contribution to Russia's national security
* The government has approved a $6.5 billion increase in the overall budget of the Sakhalin-1 oil and gas project in Russia's Far East, to $19.3 billion, the Industry and Energy Ministry said
* The Russian government aims to raise up to 400 billion rubles ($15 billion) through newly-issued shares in wholesale generating companies, the energy minister said
* The state-run Development Bank, which the Russian government is planning to form by merging three banks, will start its work in the second half of 2007, the economics minister said
* Russia's prime minister has voiced his support for the finance minister's proposal to transfer the Investment Fund's capital to the new Development Bank
* Russia's Finance Ministry called for a revision of the fixed non-investment sum in the oil revenue fund, over concerns that it will fail to cover budget losses in times of lower oil prices
* Gazprombank, a subsidiary of Russian energy giant Gazprom, said it plans to set up an asset management company in Luxembourg, and obtain a license for its operations after December 15
* Poland's PKN Orlen bought a 53.7% stake in Lithuanian oil refinery Mazeiku Nafta from Yukos International UK B.V., a UK-based subsidiary of bankrupt Russian oil company Yukos, for $1.49 billion, a Yukos spokesperson said
* Uzbekistan will almost double the price of natural gas it sells to Kyrgyzstan as of 2007, the Kyrgyz first deputy prime minister said
* Ukraine's president confirmed that there is a growing conflict between the president and the prime minister in the country, and blamed the situation on the premier
* Businessman Andrei Lugovoi, a key witness in the case of a Russian security service defector's murder, said the results of his medical examination will not be known on Friday, as previously expected
* The ex-wife of Dmitry Kovtun, a witness in the Litvinenko's case, was released from a German hospital along with her children and a boyfriend, with no traces of polonium-210 radiation found during medical tests, Kovtun's German lawyer said
* The head of Russia's environmental watchdog has proposed firing his deputy, Oleg Mitvol, who led a recent crackdown on a vast Shell-led hydrocarbon project in Russia, a source in the federal service said
* Russia's natural resources minister said he was satisfied with the work of the outspoken deputy head of Russia's environment watchdog, whose boss, Sergei Sai, is seeking his dismissal, and urged Sai to focus on the shortcomings in his own work
* Russia's ambassador to the UN Security Council, Vitaly Churkin, said the organization agrees on the main points of a draft resolution regarding Iran's disputed nuclear activities
* Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov arrived in Brazil, for a visit to boost bilateral ties
* Lebanese Prime Minister Fouad Siniora is expected to arrive in Moscow for a working visit to discuss the current situation in his country
* Japan's government distanced itself from Foreign Minister Taro Aso's proposal to resolve a long-standing territorial row with Russia over four Kuril islands by dividing them down the middle
* A fourth and final train transporting equipment and ammunition has left Russia's garrison in Vaziani, outside the Georgian capital
* RIA Novosti and Russian publishing house Moskovskiye Novosti will launch a new version of English-language paper The Moscow News, RIA Novosti's editor-in-chief Svetlana Mironyuk said
* Russia's largest carmaker AvtoVAZ plans to sign a framework agreement on cooperation with Canadian car parts manufacturer Magna by December 22, a spokesman for the Russian company said
* The bodies of two Russian sailors from a fishing boat in the Baltic Sea, have been discovered by Lithuania's helicopters, a sea rescue center in Kaliningrad, Russia's exclave on the Baltic, said
* Prosecutors in Karelia, a northwest Russia region have launched criminal proceedings against Alexander Belov, the leader of a far-right anti-immigration organization, Belov said
* Prosecutors in Siberia have charged nationalist leader Boris Mironov, former head of the Russian Print Media Committee, with propagating race-hate, a deputy regional prosecutor said
* An alleged Moscow serial killer, arrested in June, has been charged with 49 murders, but claims that he killed 62 people in all, a senior police official said
* A court in the Urals city of Yekaterinburg has handed down prison terms for two young men convicted of a racially-motivated attack on a Somali television reporter, the regional prosecutor's office said
* There are currently more than 364,000 people in Russia including 2,284 children registered with HIV, the virus causing AIDS, the country's chief sanitary doctor said
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