- Just as the U.S. began to use ground troops in its war
against terror in Central Asia, Moscow declared that "the blitzkrieg
against Afghanistan has failed."
-
- The assumed failure, according to Russia, has caused
"high-ranking politicians [in the U.S.] to feel hesitant" about
the "further prospects" of military operations in
Afghanistan.
-
- Moscow is also declaring that "the United Nations
must act as a unifying body in the anti-terror crusade" for a global
effort to succeed, and warns against "an even more threatening
dimension"
if the war against terror expands to include other nations.
-
- The remarks were made over the Voice of Russia World
Service, the official broadcasting service of the Russian
government.
-
- Despite the alleged failure of the American military
operation, "the Pentagon generals," Moscow asserts, now
"demand
that military action be extended beyond Afghanistan." According to
Moscow, U.S. Defense Secretary Donald Rumsfeld has "demanded that
the chiefs of staff should draw up plans for attacks on other
countries."
-
- Describing the U.S. as "drawing itself into a
corner,"
Russia declared that "Washington is now aware of the need of a
political
settlement" and urged negotiations.
-
- Russian Foreign Minister Igor Ivanov ñ speaking
at the recently concluded Asia Pacific Economic Cooperation, or APEC,
summit
in Shanghai, China ñ reiterated the official position of the Russian
government regarding the anti-terror campaign.
-
- Any anti-terror campaign "must be based exclusively
on the United Nations Charter and the relevant Security Council
resolution,"
Ivanov declared.
-
- Attending the same conference, Russian President Vladimir
Putin supported Ivanov's statement. Although stating that "we have
declared our direct support for the United States," Putin also said,
"The world's governments must create legal instruments to enable
a response to terrorism."
-
- The APEC summit concluded on Sunday.
-
- In addition to Somalia, an oft-mentioned future target
of the anti-terror campaign is one of Russia's prime allies in the Middle
East, Iraq.
-
- Iraq has been consistently mentioned in connection with
research and development of weapons of mass destruction and the terrorist
group led by Osama bin Laden, as well as a possible source of the strains
of anthrax currently encountered in the United States.
-
- Radio Free Europe/Radio Liberty has tied Iraq to anthrax
in the U.S., citing reports that operatives from Osama bin Laden's
al-Qaida
network obtained anthrax from sources in the Czech Republic.
-
- The Czech Interior Minister Stanislav Gross, however,
dismissed the possibility of Iraqi intelligence passing anthrax on to
al-Qaida
terrorists, according to Radio Free Europe/Radio Liberty.
-
- Iraqi Foreign Minister Naji Sabri denied claims that
Iraq supplied al-Qaida, describing the allegation as "bulls---,"
Radio Free Europe/Radio Liberty stated.
-
- Whether or not Iraq is involved in the present anthrax
attacks upon the U.S., it remains committed to the development and
production
of biological, chemical and nuclear weapons of destruction.
-
- Even more disturbing, Iraq's major ally, Russia, is a
potential source for the development of such weapons. Since the fall of
the Soviet Union, Russian weapons scientists are known to have sought
employment outside of Russia, and old Soviet materials stockpiles are
known to be poorly guarded.
-
- In January, a report from the Russian Military News
Agency
revealed that Russia was unable to complete its destruction of chemical
weapons. In October 2000, an article entitled "The Secret of the
Killer Bacteria" in the German weekly newsmagazine Der Spiegel
reported
the inability of verifying Russian compliance with biological weapons
agreements and the possibility that biological and chemical weapons are
still being produced.
-
- In April 1997, Radio Netherlands carried a report that
Russia had developed a new and particularly deadly strain of anthrax and
timed the completion of the new strain to circumvent an international
convention which came into effect that same April.
-
-
- I.J. Toby Westerman, is a contributing reporter for
WorldNetDaily who focuses on current events in the Commonwealth of
Independent
States and the Balkans.
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