Free Republic

Meet Marina Kalashnikova: a Moscow-based historian, researcher and journalist. Last August she criticized foreign “experts� for suggesting that a conflict with Moscow will not happen because Russia’s elite is too closely associated with the West. According to Kalashnikova, “The West does not care to wake from the dream of its wishful thinking, even when Moscow turns to … reanimating Stalin’s cult of personality together with the ideology of the Cheka [i.e., the secret police].� I’m afraid that Marina Kalashnikova is right. The West has been dreaming, and the West will suffer the consequences. If the Kremlin likes Stalin, then there...

MOSCOW (AP) - A top Russian security official says Moscow reserves the right to conduct pre-emptive nuclear strikes to safeguard the country against aggression on both a large and a local scale, according to a newspaper interview published Wednesday. Presidential Security Council chief Nikolai Patrushev also singled out the U.S. and NATO, saying Moscow's Cold War foes still pose potential threats to Russia despite what he called a global trend toward local conflicts. The interview appeared in the daily Izvestia during a visit by U.S. Secretary of State Hillary Rodham Clinton, as U.S. and Russian negotiators try to hammer out...

Russia practices war in the west The last ten days of September have seen the final phase of the Zapad-2009 and Ladoga-2009 military exercises of the Russian Armed Forces in cooperation with the Belarusian army. The two drills were the largest exercises to be held on the western borders of Russia and Belarus since the end of the Cold War. The field exercices taking place in Russia and Belarus' border districts from Murmansk to Brest, in the Kaliningrad oblast and on the Baltic Sea featured a total of at least 30,000 soldiers and navy servicemen. From the military perspective, the...

Events were not supposed to have turned out this way: Stalin is making a comeback in Russia, the Chinese Communist Party controls capitalism in China, Venezuela — once a friend of the United States — is now a neo-Marxist state, and Latin America itself is dominated by communist or far left regimes. When the Berlin Wall was destroyed by jubilant West Berlin youth, the nightmare was believed to be over. The communist true believers, however, are again a threat to humanity — even within the U.S. government. It is a story gets little coverage in the centralized media. Instead of...

Kyrgyzstan allowed Russia to open a second military base on its territory on Saturday, expanding Moscow's military reach to balance against the U.S. presence in the Central Asian country. The struggle for influence in the region intensified last month -- days after U.S. President Barack Obama completed his visit to Moscow -- as senior Russian officials traveled to Bishkek to press for the creation of a new Russian base.

Russian soldiers train before a joint military exercise between China and Russia in Taonan, in northeast China's Jilin province, July 21, 2009. Generals from both armies directed the drill. The exercise with live ammunition lasted for over one and a half hour. It trained the two armies in strategies and coordination to jointly encircle and suppress terrorists. The five-day "Peace Mission 2009" involve 26-hundred army and air force personnel and special forces, and more than 40 fighter aircraft and helicopters as well as other special reconnaissance equipment. It showcases the determination to fight terrorism and enhance partnership between China and...

State-run Chinese media say police have arrested 1,434 suspects in the deadly ethnic riots in the western Xinjiang region. Officials released no other details. The White House says it is deeply concerned over the deadly violence in and has called for restraint. Chinese officials say at least 156 people were killed and more than 800 hurt in riots between ethic Uighurs and police in Xinjiang. Monday's fighting grew out of what witnesses say was a peaceful anti-government protest by Uighurs Sunday. No one is sure what led the march to explode into violence. But Chinese officials accuse exiled Uighur groups...

Here's a fascinating politics/energy/international relations story that's flying below the radar now, but feels as though it could get huge. The news starts with Uranium One (UUU), a Toronto-listed uranium miner, whose shares plunged 38% on news that the Kazakhstan government was probing whether certain Kazakh mines it owns were acquired illegally. Specifically, it's looking at potentially illegal asset sales by Mukhtar Dzhakishev, the former head of state-owned uranium miner Kazatomprom, who later sought favors from the man who sold the assets to, Frank Giustra, and Bill Clinton. Reuters: [O]ne deal in question was the sale of a 30 percent...

The occasion of the 17th anniversary since the establishment of diplomatic relations between our countries is an appropriate time to note that Israel was one of the first states to recognize the independent Republic of Kazakhstan - in December of 1991. A few months later, in April of 1992, diplomatic relations were established. Since then Kazakhstan-Israel relations have been strong, boosting progress in political, trade and economic, scientific, humanitarian and military-technical fields. Relations between our two peoples have historical roots. By 1870 there was a Jewish community in the city of Almaty (Verniy), and in 1884 the first synagogue opened....

MOSCOW, April 29 (RIA Novosti) - Joint military exercises of the Shanghai Cooperation Organization (SCO) member states will be held in 2010 in southern Kazakhstan, Anatoly Serdyukov said Wednesday after a session of the SCO defense ministers. "Specific anti-terror activities will be practiced at drills in Kazakhstan. All previous and upcoming military exercises involving SCO countries are of a counterterrorism nature," the Russian defense minister said. The decision to hold the exercises entitled Peace Mission 2010 was made last May in Dushanbe at a similar meeting. The SCO regional security group comprises Russia, China, Kazakhstan, Tajikistan, Kyrgyzstan, and Uzbekistan. Russia...

Russia has stationed its forces just 25 miles (40 kilometers) from the Georgian capital, in violation of the EU-brokered cease-fire that ended last year's brief war. And in recent weeks, it has sent even more troops and armored vehicles to within striking distance of the city ahead of street protests against Georgia's president.

ASTANA, April 20 (RIA Novosti) - Kazakhstan will not take part in NATO-led military exercises in Georgia in May, the Kazakh defense minister said on Tuesday. Kazakhstan was earlier scheduled to take part in the Cooperative Longbow/Cooperative Lancer-2009 command-and-staff exercise, which Russia has criticized as unhelpful in the wake of last summer's armed conflict between Russia and Georgia over South Ossetia. Explaining Kazakhstan's decision, Danial Akhmetov said: "We are too busy for this". The exercise will be held from May 6 through June 1 in Georgia, and will involve 1,300 troops from 19 NATO member or ally states, but will...

The Republic of Kazakhstan in Central Asia is in the process of building the world’s first alien embassy according to some local media reports. If these reports are to be believed, the authorities have already allocated a large plot of land in the city of Almaty for this ambitious project. Facilities to be built within the complex will include a guesthouse, theatre and translation service. A purpose built UFO landing pad and checkpoint will be attached to the embassy.

Just what we need, an Islamic-Russian lead country in charge of nuclear materials. I am sure that Obama will love this idea.

WASHINGTON, March 31, 2009 – A meeting of chiefs of defense here re-emphasizes the shared commitments of Central Asia and the United States to security and stability in the region, the commander of U.S. Central Command said here today. Army Gen. David H. Petraeus told the defense chiefs from Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan, Tajikistan, Turkmenistan, Uzbekistan, Pakistan and Afghanistan that the meeting will help all involved better address their common interests. Combating extremism and the spread of extremism from Afghanistan and Pakistan is at the top of the list of priorities, the general said. “[This means] that all of us have to...

Asia's six-member Shanghai Cooperation Organization, or SCO, held a meeting in Moscow Friday to discuss ways of combating terrorism, drug-trafficking, and organized crime in Afghanistan. Among those invited to the meeting were diplomats from the United States and Iran. U.S. Deputy Assistant Secretary of State for South and Central Asian Affairs Patrick Moon, and Iran's Deputy Foreign Minister Mohammad Mehdi Akhonzadeh spoke within minutes of one another at the SCO's Special Conference on Afghanistan.

MOSCOW, March 18 (RIA Novosti) - Russian-Chinese military exercises dubbed Peace Mission 2009 will be held in the summer in northeastern China, the Russian Defense Ministry said Wednesday. The first bilateral counterterrorist exercises Peace Mission were held in Russia and the eastern Chinese province of Shandong in August 2005, involving warships, aviation, and over 10,000 servicemen including marines and paratroopers. "The final decision on the date, venue, name and forces involved will be made at bilateral consultations to be held in the last 10 days of March," a ministry source said. The Chinese Defense Ministry said Tuesday that joint maneuvers...

Horses were first tamed at least 5,500 years ago, by peoples who not only rode them but milked them as well. Archaeological research has shown that the domestication of horses began at least 1,000 years earlier than thought, among the Botai culture that thrived in what is now Kazakhstan between 3700BC and 3100BC. A British-led team of scientists has discovered three lines of evidence that point to an equestrian tradition among the Botai, who lived in a region where wild horses are known to have been abundant. The findings, published in the journal Science, also show that the animals were...

ASTANA, March 4 (RIA Novosti) - Kazakhstan has signed a contract with Russia on the purchase of S-300 air defense missile systems, the Kazakh defense minister said on Wednesday. "We have recently signed a contract with Russia and are buying S-300 systems," Danial Akhmetov said. Last month, Kazakhstan announced plans to equip 10 battalions with S-300 air defense missile systems bought from Russia, with deliveries to begin in 2009. The latest version of the S-300 family is the S-300PMU2 Favorit, which has a range of up to 195 kilometers (about 120 miles) and can intercept aircraft and ballistic missiles at...

MOSCOW -- Russia is reasserting its role in Central Asia with a Kremlin push to eject the U.S. from a vital air base, along with a Moscow-led pact to form an international military force to rival NATO. The moves potentially complicate the new U.S. war strategy in Afghanistan. The moves mark Russia's most aggressive steps yet to counter a U.S. military presence in the region that it has long resented. They pose a challenge for the administration of U.S. President Barack Obama, which sees Afghanistan as its top foreign-policy priority and is preparing to double the size of the American...

MOSCOW, February 4 (RIA Novosti) - The collective rapid-reaction force to be created by a post-Soviet regional security bloc will be just as good as comparable NATO forces, Russian President Dmitry Medvedev said on Wednesday. The Collective Security Treaty Organization (CSTO) agreed on Wednesday at a summit in Moscow to set up the new force, to be based in Russia. Medvedev said the force, to be comprised of a "sufficient" number of units, would be "well trained and well equipped." "Russia is ready to contribute a division and a brigade," he said. "This gives you an idea of the scale."...

"OPERATION CAST LEAD The IDF's Fight Against Terror in Gaza" # A blessed New Year to everyone here and abroad. Today's thread beginning January 1, 2009 (U.S.A. Time)

A Russian Proton-M rocket was launched into space Thursday with three new satellites for Moscow's GLONASS navigation system, aimed at competing with US and European systems, a report said.

WASHINGTON, Dec. 22, 2008 – The number of daily attacks in Iraq has dropped nearly 95 percent since last year, a U.S. military official said yesterday. Iraq suffered an average of 180 attacks per day this time last year. But over the past week, the average number was 10, Army Brig. Gen. David G. Perkins, a Multinational Force Iraq spokesman, said. “This is a dramatic improvement of safety throughout the country,” Perkins told reporters during a wide-ranging news conference in Baghdad yesterday. He added that the country’s murder rates have dropped below levels that existed before the start of American...

Bishop Schneider of Kazakhstan standing in the sanctuary at Assumption Grotto, July 20th, 2008 following the 9:30am Mass. The bishop delivered the sermon at all Masses that weekend and went to Sts Cyril & Methodius to celebrate Mass the following Saturday. It was during his July visit that he went to EWTN where he appeared in a televised Mass, and recorded the program to be aired this Wednesday. Bishop Athanasius Schneider, ORC of Kazakhstan will be featured on EWTN Live with Fr. Mitch Pacwa this coming Wednesday night, December 17th. If you don't have cable, watch it online if...

Central Asia has escaped Soviet domination, but the newly independent states have replicated communist repression. Nations like Kazakhstan never really moved forward. Now it is retreating on religious as well as political liberty. The U.S. and Europe have to decide whether to allow the Kazakh government to take over leadership of the Organization for Security and Cooperation in Europe (OSCE).

Kazakhstani Soldiers march in a pass and review during their end of mission ceremony, Oct. 20, 2008 on Forward Operating Base Delta. Photo by Spc. Tiffany Dusterhoft. FORWARD OPERATING BASE DELTA — Soldiers from the Kazakhstan contingency to Iraq reflected on their accomplishments and lessons learned during an end-of-mission ceremony at Forward Operating Base Delta, Oct. 20, 2008, marking the end of their support of Operation Iraqi Freedom since deploying to Wasit province in March of 2003. . “Since the first day, [our] Soldiers have been meritoriously carrying out their mission,� said Lt. Gen. Bulat Sembinov, Kazakhstan deputy minister of...

Vienna: The International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) conference started on Monday with Syria, Iran and Israel in the spotlight. Syria and Iran are trying to get a seat on the UN nuclear watchdog board, while Israel is taking fire from Islamic countries for its nuclear programme. The IAEA's 145 member countries gathered in Vienna for the 52nd general conference, an annual meeting to draw up general policies on nuclear issues. Board members are designated and elected each year by the general conference. A seat is set to become free this year with the expiry of Pakistan's one-year term. Diplomats close...

FOB DELTA — Kazakhstani Soldiers conducted a three-day course here in basic explosives handling and safe demolition techniques for 10 Iraqi Army Soldiers, Sept. 22 - 25. “It’s a good chance for us to share our experience with them,” said Azat Mukhamadiev, liaison officer for the Kazakhstani contingent. “Our officers are graduates of military academies and have extensive experience in practical exercises and training our troops.” The training consisted of two days of classroom exercises, followed by a controlled detonation conducted by the Iraqi and Kazakhstani Soldiers. “We taught procedures for finding and destroying unexploded ordnance, as well as the...

In another frustrating foul-up on the path towards converting Soviet-era military missiles into cash-paying satellite launchers, a military-industrial team in Moscow has announced the 'indefinite suspension' of plans to launch an earth resources survey satellite for Thailand. The reasons: at the last moment, for the second time, overflight permission has been revoked by a country downrange of the launch site. First Uzbekistan, and now Kazakhstan, denied permission for dropping the booster's spent first stage onto their territories. "We never thought we'd see a repeat of the Uzbekistan case," lamented Thongchai Charuppat, director of Thailand's "GeoInformatics and Space Technology Development Agency...

I remember back a few years seeing Free Tibet bumper stickers on progressive Saabs and hippie VWs. Tibet is still in China's clutches, Russia is busy slapping around it's former vassal states, but the world is focused on the supposed crimes of George Bush. I can understand the argument that we never should have invaded Iraq, although I think that point is now moot. I can also understand those who think war is wrong and who insist that might doesn't make right. What I can't understand is those on the left who criminalize the Iraq invasion but see nothing wrong...

With its invasion of Georgia, Russia has announced to the world that its superpower status is back. The Kremlin is once more flexing its military muscles -- the same way it did between 1945 and 1991, and the results are turning out to be just as bloody. There are already hundreds of dead and thousands of wounded and refugees. The tiny region of South Ossetia, located in the Caucuses mountains of southern Russia, is at the center of these tensions. It is a complicated conflict within conflicts. Georgia, which broke away from the Soviet Union after its collapse in 1991,...

Now, I'm sure almost everyone here has heard of Tom Clancy. I'm sure a number of you also know of various books and video games that carry his name, but are not necessarily completely created by him (story-wise). I will say that he seems to have an uncanny knack for seeing the future. Case in point: the plot summary of Tom Clancy's Ghost Recon, a video game published for the PC in 2001. Here's the plot summary for Ghost Recon. xxxx Ghost Recon Ghost Recon begins in August 2008, with civil unrest in Russia. Ultra-nationalists have seized power in Moscow,...

Two members of the U.S. Congress are spearheading an effort to nominate the president of Kazakhstan, Nursultan Nazarbaev, for a Nobel Peace Prize, in recognition of Kazakhstan’s decision in the early 1990s to give up nuclear weapons it inherited upon gaining independence from the Soviet Union. The two chief sponsors are Darrell Issa, a Republican from California, and Charlie Melancon, a Democrat from Louisiana. In late June, they circulated a letter to other members of Congress seeking their support for Nazarbaev’s nomination. The letter also nominates Senator Richard Lugar and former Senator Sam Nunn, who created a U.S. program offering...

Ideology matters again. The big development of recent years is the rise not only of great powers but also of the great-power autocracies of Russia and China. True realism about the international scene begins with understanding how this unanticipated shift will shape our world. Many believe that when Chinese and Russian leaders stopped believing in communism, they stopped believing in anything. They had become pragmatists, pursuing their own and their nation's interests. But Chinese and Russian rulers, like past rulers of autocracies, do have a set of beliefs that guide their domestic and foreign policies. They believe in the virtues...

FORWARD OPERATING BASE DELTA — The Wasit Provincial Reconstruction Team leader and 214th Fires Brigade commander briefed the Wasit Provincial Council last week on reconstruction efforts in the province. More than $38 million dollars have been spent on those efforts in Wasit province since Jan. 1, 2007 by Coalition forces and the PRT. “We have done a lot as a team, and it has been a team effort,” said Col. Peter Baker, the 214th FB commander, “but there is more to do so that essential services are available to all. “We are working on developing processes and systems to put...

Stepping up a campaign to join a Eurasian security and economic bloc dominated by Russia and China, Iran is looking for allies within the organization to back its bid, but political analysts doubt it will succeed. Late last month, Iran secured the support of one of the members of the six-country Shanghai Cooperation Organization, Tajikistan, which later this year will host the bloc's annual summit. Established in its current form in 2001, the Shanghai Cooperation Organization (SCO) comprises Russia, China, and four Central Asian states -- Uzbekistan, Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan and Tajikistan. Together they control a large proportion of the non-Arab...

Wheat futures soar after Kazakhstan moves to restrict grain exports By STEVENSON JACOBS, AP Business Writer NEW YORK 2/25/08 - Wheat futures shot up 60 cents a bushel Monday after Kazakhstan said it would slow grain exports by imposing customs duties, adding to concerns over tightening global supplies. Other commodities traded mixed, with crude oil gaining and gold falling. Wheat prices have surged to historic highs as bad weather has battered crop after crop around the globe, most recently in India and Canada. Foreign buyers scrambling to lock in supplies have increasingly turned to other wheat-growing countries like the United...

The existence of Ulba, a metallurgical plant in remote north-east Kazakhstan, was a state secret in Soviet times, fabricating nuclear fuel and casings for atomic bombs. “This was defence plant 2A and its address was Mailbox Ten. Children were told their parents made wheelbarrows and spades,” says Svetlana Mordvinova, a nuclear specialist at the Ulba information centre. After the cold war ended, Kazakhstan surrendered its atomic weapons. Ulba was taken over by Kazatomprom, the state nuclear power company, and converted for civilian purposes. “We had enough missiles to destroy the planet twice, but we gave them all up and we...

Kremlin seeks to strengthen clout in central Asia Feb 07 2008, 03:20 © AP Russian President Vladimir Putin (right) and Uzbekistan’s President Islam Karimov walk side-by-side at their Feb. 6 meeting in the Kremlin. MOSCOW (AP) – President Vladimir Putin sought to strengthen Russia’s economic and political clout in Central Asia during talks with the leader of strategically located, resource-rich Uzbekistan on Feb. 6. During his meeting with longtime President Islam Karimov, Putin worked hard to secure Moscow’s grip on natural gas supplies from Uzbekistan, a key country in the ex-Soviet region. Russia already has a monopoly on supplies from...

via translation - ALERT - Kazakhstan will break contracts for the exploitation of natural resources ASTANA - Kazakhstan, a former Soviet republic in Central Asia is rich in oil and ores, will break contracts for exploitation of raw materials whose investors have failed to meet the conditions, announced Thursday Prime Minister Karim Massimov .

WASHINGTON, Feb 5 - The United States is worried that Russia, China and OPEC oil-producing countries could use their growing financial clout to advance political goals, the top U.S. spy chief told Congress on Tuesday. Such economic matters joined terrorism, nuclear proliferation and computer-network vulnerabilities as top U.S. security threats described by National Director of Intelligence Michael McConnell in an annual assessment.

Bill Clinton just can't seem to keep his sleazy private dealings out of the news: This time, it's a 2005 dinner he shared with a wealthy mining mogul and Kazakhstan's president, after which the businessman wound up with a coveted contract in that country. The sordid story- about Clinton's meal with Kazakh strongman Nursultan Nazarbayev and UrAsia Energy Ltd. head Frank Giustra- ran on the front page of Thursday's New York Times. Reporters Jo Becker and Don Van Natta Jr. deserve kudos: They describe how Clinton praised the Kazakh dictator, absurdly, for "opening up the social and political life of...

Ethics: Is it just us, or is there something off about ex-president Bill Clinton using his influence overseas to enrich a pal and then accepting the pal's big donation to his foundation? This looks like a bribery racket.Strong words, yes, but a New York Times report details a 2005 incident of Clinton and a minor Canadian mining financier jetting into Kazakhstan, where the two met with the local strongman. Shortly afterward, Clinton's pal won a huge uranium-mining contract that left competing mining companies astounded. Anything untoward? Clinton says of course not. After all, doesn't every ex-president jet in to Central...

Bill Clinton helps a Canadian mining magnate win a lucrative uranium contract from Kazakhstan's state-owned nuclear holding company Kazatomprom. The magnate subsequently donates $31 million to the William J. Clinton Foundation and pledges $100 million more. Both men deny it until the New York Times tracks down a very happy Kazatomprom executive. Amid this revelation, Hillary Clinton is trying to conduct a presidential campaign. Through no fault of her own, this series of transactions constitutes a very serious problem for Mrs. Clinton

Also, Bill Clinton seems to have used his influence to aid a mining executive by praising a central Asian dictator (contrary to U.S. policy) and in return received a 31 million dollar donation for his foundation. That's pretty sleazy. It also makes Hillary Clinton the latest in a long line of female politicians hurt by their husbands' business dealings.

Bill Clinton back at centre of ethics debateBy Alex Spillius Last Updated: 3:02am GMT 01/02/2008 Bill Clinton used his influence with the president of Kazakhstan to help a business friend gain a lucrative uranium mining deal, it has been claimed. Bill Clinton: influence The report in the New York Times will raise concerns about possible conflicts of interest that the former president could face if he returns to the White House as "first gentleman" and raised the spectre of the financial scandals that dogged the Clintons in the White House. Mr Clinton has already began cutting his links to Ron...

Late on Sept. 6, 2005, a private plane carrying the Canadian mining financier Frank Giustra touched down in Almaty, a ruggedly picturesque city in southeast Kazakhstan. Several hundred miles to the west a fortune awaited: highly coveted deposits of uranium that could fuel nuclear reactors around the world. And Mr. Giustra was in hot pursuit of an exclusive deal to tap them. Unlike more established competitors, Mr. Giustra was a newcomer to uranium mining in Kazakhstan, a former Soviet republic. But what his fledgling company lacked in experience, it made up for in connections. Accompanying Mr. Giustra on his...

The China-Russia-Iran Axis   By Jamie Glazov FrontPageMagazine.com | Tuesday, January 22, 2008 Frontpage Interview's guest today is Steve Schippert, co-founder of the Center for Threat Awareness and managing editor for ThreatsWatch.org.FP: Steve Schippert, welcome to Frontpage Interview. Schippert: As always, my pleasure, Dr. Glazov. FP: We've gathered here today to discuss the Iran-Russia-China alignment. I think a good place to start is with Russia sending nuclear fuel to Iran. What do you make of this development? Schippert: The 11-shipment Russian supply underway of 80 tons of enriched uranium nuclear fuel for the Russian-built 1,000 megawatt light water reactor...