Posted on 03/25/2003 8:14:28 PM PST by Porterville
THE WALL STREET JOURNAL: BELARUS SELLS ARMS TO TERRORISTS 11:19, 29/04/2002
In his recent article for the popular “The Wall Street Journal” Mark Lenzi wrote that terrorists get weapons from the very center of Europe – Belarus. This country, he writes, was called by the US Secretary of State Colin Powell Europe’s only rogue state. During the forthcoming talks between Putin and Bush this issue had to be included into the meeting’s agenda. It is namely through the solution of the Belarusian issue that Kremlin may help Washington combat international terrorism. George Bush’s Administration needs to work out a strategy on dealing with Belarus, which shipped last year the deadly weaponry to the Islamic fundamentalists.
Literally a few days before the September 11 terrorist attack on America the US Secretary of State Colin Powell called Belarus “Europe’s only rogue state”. This definition remains unaltered, while its authenticity becomes ever more apparent today with the Europe’s last stronghold of terrorists challenging the international law, continuing to provide Iraq and other rogue states and terrorist groups with the high quality military equipment, giving them a permanent base in Europe.
In the context of a complex political situation in the Middle East and Iraq, the US presidential Administration of George Bush the junior needs to do something about this insolent Lukashenko.
Over the last year alone, according to the East European surveillance and the directory “Jane’s Defence International”, Belarus has secretly shipped $500mln of arms to the Palestinian guerillas and countries, which provide shelter to terrorists such as Iran and Syria, including the 120-mm mortars, anti-tank missiles, landmines etc.
Secret collaboration with Iraq, despite the risk, presents particular interest to Lukashenko as an opportunity to earn hard currency. This year the officials from the US Department of State confirmed that the Iraqi air-defense officers passed military training in Belarus on how to handle the S-300 artillery complex.
Since April 1 there have been undertaken three attempts to knock down American and English aircrafts, patrolling the no-fly zone over Iraq (last year saw 420 such attacks). Taking into account the current cooperation between Baghdad and Minsk in the sphere of air defense, Washington should reevaluate its policy of non-interference into other countries’ affairs.
This will seem especially poignant now with Saddam Hussein redeploying his air-defense systems into the territories, over which the Iraqi aviation can’t fly. Hussein allegedly does that in protest against the Israeli military operation against Palestinians. The Administration must realize that the Belarusian tanks and other weapons daily threaten the lives of American and British pilots, which patrol the skies over Iraq.
Belarus-Iraqi cooperation in air defense is only part of the matter. Their illicit transactions were documented by the UN commission and found reflection in the report, prepared last June by two respected pundits within the framework of the Wisconsin Project on Nuclear Arms Control.
In 1995 in breach of the UN-imposed sanctions against Iraq, the agents of this country purchased specialized tanks with diamond instruments, used in manufacturing the components of nuclear weapons. In late 1998 president Lukashenko again secretly infringed on the UN sanctions by selling to Baghdad devices, used to produce optical systems for the long-range missiles, designed to deliver strikes at Israel.
Lukashenko dares seriously criticize the international community. His best friends can all be found in the international “bad guys” directory: Libya, Iran, Cuba, Syria – which the US Department of State calls sponsors of terrorism.
As concerns Syria, Lukashenko does not even try to hide his assistance in modernizing his military capacity. “No matter how hard they criticize us,” – said Lukashenko: “We will continue to render military assistance to Syria, because they pledge to do the same to us.”
Muammar Quaddafi, blacklisted by Washington among its deadliest foes, openly calls Lukashenko his best European ally, especially after the European dictator paid a visit to Libya last year. Recently Lukashenko has strengthened diplomatic relations and intensified trade with Libya, intending to sell her his weapons in order to get some hard currency, which is vital for the decaying Belarusian economy.
Belarusian leader cares little for the UN arms embargo on Libya. For one to grasp Lukashenko’s priorities he should recall that during the first week after the September 11 tragedy in US he cancelled his visit to the US embassy to bring condolences and instead attended the meeting with the leader of the Libyan Defense Council. It turns out that Lukashenko likes being an international outcast, while any threats by the States or Europe are of little importance to him, for his trade turnover with the West is insignificant. In fact, the sanctions would bring about an opposite effect as to the political situation in the country.
Belarus’ problem remains poignant for the US. However, solving it won’t be too hard – they only need political will. The Kremlin’s influence on Belarus cannot be overestimated: Russian energy subsidies are one of the reasons why the Belarusian economy hasn’t collapsed to the end.
President Putin is one of the leaders, respected by Lukashenko, as the one having enough power in his hand and enough leverages to topple him once and for all. The Administration of Bush must take it to heart and work out its strategy towards Belarus, which would be reflected in the new relations between Washington and Moscow.
During the upcoming visit to Russia by Bush the junior, he must convince Putin to lay pressure on Lukashenko, so that he would halt secret weapon supplies to terrorists and rogue states. This is the most important issue in which Moscow can help Washington in its fight against world terrorism.
Given Moscow refuses to use her influence over Belarus in this case, Lukashenko will then keep trading in arms with the terrorist world. This being the case, Washington will have to ponder the possibility of imposing direct embargo on the export of Belarusian weapons.
A "Mafia in uniform"
Russian criminal organizations are heavily involved in the arms market, as is the Russian military. In Russia, two separate but overlapping processes seem to have fused in ways that have greatly stimulated the illegal arms trade. The first is the massive growth of organized crime, fueled by hyperinflation and unemployment and facilitated by the long-standing link between criminals and corrupt officials and politicians.
The second process is the criminalization of millions of members of the armed forces, who have suffered a severe decline in status. The members of the Russian military receive their wages months late and work under appalling conditions. As a result, the military has become what Graham Turbiville calls a "Mafia in uniform."2
For self-preservation on the one hand or unmitigated greed on the other, all ranks of the armed services are engaged in their own entrepreneurial activities. Privates have sold their rifles to local criminals; high-ranking officers have sold much more significant equipment to foreign governments.
Extensive corruption-combined with a partial transition to a capitalist economy-has resulted in the de facto privatization of Russia's military equipment. And the growth of organized crime and the criminalization of the Russian military have merged in ways that make combating the flow of stolen arms extremely difficult.
The outflow of Russian weapons seems to be increasing. Itar-Tass reported last May that in the first three months of 1998, 465 illegal arms dealers were arrested, and approximately 1,500 weapons, 170,000 cartridges, 30 kilograms of explosives, and 147 bombs were confiscated. One operation not only prevented the selling of Grad rockets to Abkhazia, but also resulted in the confiscation of 180 rockets with 18 tons of explosives.
Arrests are the exception rather than the rule. In the summer and fall of 1998, the Russian economic crisis precipitated a further hemorrhaging of Russian military weapons. According to one report, between September 22 and 28 more than 17,000 rounds of ammunition, several thousand stun grenades, six grenade launcher rounds, and 10 grenades were stolen from a Pacific Fleet ammunition dump.3 In October it was reported that customs officials in the far eastern city of Khasan had blocked an attempt to sell five assault/transport helicopters to North Korea.4
Movement toward the formal commercialization of the Russian military-something along the lines of China's People's Liberation Army-is taking place. But whether the process is formalized and legitimized or continues clandestinely, the exodus of arms is likely to continue. Consider the weapons that Russian gangs deploy: Four criminals arrested in Tambov had 17 assault rifles, an assault rifle with an under-the-barrel grenade launcher, 11 other grenade launchers, five grenades, 13 pistols, an industrial explosive device, and more than 800 cartridges of ammunition.
Illegal guns are also being shipped into Russia. One of the most bizarre incidents involved several officials of the Russian embassy in Finland. Acting on information received in August 1996, the Moscow Regional Directorate for Combating Organized Crime identified eight former and current embassy employees, including the first secretary, who had bought more than 200 firearms and more than 5,000 rounds of ammunition in Helsinki and smuggled them into Russia using diplomatic immunity to proceed unhindered through customs controls.
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