Atlas Shrugs

Pamela Geller, American Thinker: Obama Grovels to Russia

Check out my oped piece in the American Thinker: Obama Grovels to Russia

Obama Bows to Russian Imperialism: Sells out Eastern Europe, Next Up Middle East handover

I was being facetious yesterday when I asked if Obama would bow to Putin. I bet Putin was thinking the same thing. Close, very close.

Obama sold out our Eastern European allies when he took a pass on missile defense.

Now I understand that Obama refused France when Sarkozy offered to host a Middle East peace conference later this year. Russia offered and Obama said yes. Russia to host a Middle East "peace" conference? They back Iran. Russia helped create the Israel/"Fakestinian" conflict and they will host a "peace" conference? I ask you.

Putin praised Yaser Arafat.

Romanian intelligence chief Ion Mihai Pacepa in The Wall Street Journal Online back in 2003 clarified Arafat’s Russian connections.  Mr. Pacepa was the highest ranking intelligence officer ever to have defected from the former Soviet bloc. The author of "Red Horizons" (Regnery, 1987), he is finishing a book on the origins of current anti-Americanism.

As Romania’s former spy chief, Pacepa has read Arafat’s KGB file. He says that Arafat was a KGB agent. According to Pacepa, Arafat “is a career terrorist, trained, armed and bankrolled by the Soviet Union and its satellites for decades.”

In his Wall Street Journal column, Pacepa described Moscow’s plan to make Arafat the national leader of the Palestinians. And this was what Arafat has became and went on to conduct the greatest terror offensive of them all -- against Israel.

Former Romanian intelligence chief Ion Mihai Pacepa describes Arafat as

“an Egyptian bourgeois turned into a devoted Marxist by KGB foreign intelligence.” Arafat was trained at the Balashikha special-ops school in Russia. Pacepa also relates how “the KGB destroyed the official records of Arafat’s birth in Cairo, replacing them with fictitious documents saying that he had been born in Jerusalem and was therefore a Palestinian by birth.” 

Perhaps Putin can do the same for Obama.

Putin was/is KGB to the bone.

The KGB's Man

By ION MIHAI PACEPA

The Israeli government has vowed to expel Yasser Arafat, calling him an "obstacle" to peace. But the 72-year-old Palestinian leader is much more than that; he is a career terrorist, trained, armed and bankrolled by the Soviet Union and its satellites for decades.

Before I defected to America from Romania, leaving my post as chief of Romanian intelligence, I was responsible for giving Arafat about $200,000 in laundered cash every month throughout the 1970s. I also sent two cargo planes to Beirut a week, stuffed with uniforms and supplies. Other Soviet bloc states did much the
same. Terrorism has been extremely profitable for Arafat. According to Forbes magazine, he is today the sixth wealthiest among the world's "kings, queens & despots," with more than $300 million stashed in Swiss bank accounts.

* * *
"I invented the hijackings [of passenger planes]," Arafat bragged when I first met him at his PLO headquarters in Beirut in the early 1970s. He gestured toward the little red flags pinned on a wall map of the world that labeled Israel as "Palestine." "There they all are!" he told me, proudly. The dubious honor of inventing hijacking actually goes to the KGB, which first hijacked a U.S.
passenger plane in 1960 to Communist Cuba. Arafat's innovation was the suicide bomber, a terror concept that would come to full flower on 9/11.

In 1972, the Kremlin put Arafat and his terror networks high on all Soviet bloc intelligence services' priority list, including mine. Bucharest's role was to ingratiate him with the White House. We were the bloc experts at this. We'd already had great success in making Washington -- as well as most of the fashionable left-leaning American academics of the day -- believe that Nicolae
Ceausescu was, like Josip Broz Tito, an "independent" Communist with a "moderate" streak.

KGB chairman Yuri Andropov in February 1972 laughed to me about the Yankee gullibility for celebrities. We'd outgrown Stalinist cults of personality, but those crazy Americans were still naïve enough to revere national leaders. We would make Arafat into just such a figurehead and gradually move the PLO closer
to power and statehood. Andropov thought that Vietnam-weary Americans would snatch at the smallest sign of conciliation to promote Arafat from terrorist to statesman in their hopes for peace.

Right after that meeting, I was given the KGB's "personal file" on Arafat. He was an Egyptian bourgeois turned into a devoted Marxist by KGB foreign intelligence. The KGB had trained him at its Balashikha special-ops school east of Moscow and in the mid-1960s decided to groom him as the future PLO leader.
First, the KGB destroyed the official records of Arafat's birth in Cairo, replacing them with fictitious documents saying that he had been born in Jerusalem and was therefore a Palestinian by birth.

The KGB's disinformation department then went to work on Arafat's four-page tract called "Falastinuna" (Our Palestine), turning it into a 48-page monthly magazine for the Palestinian terrorist organization al-Fatah. Arafat had headed al-Fatah since 1957. The KGB distributed it throughout the Arab world and in
West Germany, which in those days played host to many Palestinian students. The KGB was adept at magazine publication and distribution; it had many similar periodicals in various languages for its front organizations in Western Europe,
like the World Peace Council and the World Federation of Trade Unions.

Next, the KGB gave Arafat an ideology and an image, just as it did for loyal Communists in our international front organizations. High-minded idealism held no mass-appeal in the Arab world, so the KGB remolded Arafat as a rabid anti-Zionist. They also selected a "personal hero" for him -- the Grand Mufti Haj Amin al-Husseini, the man who visited Auschwitz in the late 1930s and
reproached the Germans for not having killed even more Jews. In 1985 Arafat paid homage to the mufti, saying he was "proud no end" to be walking in his footsteps.

Arafat was an important undercover operative for the KGB. Right after the 1967 Six Day Arab-Israeli war, Moscow got him appointed to chairman of the PLO. Egyptian ruler Gamal Abdel Nasser, a Soviet puppet, proposed the appointment. In 1969 the KGB asked Arafat to declare war on American "imperial-Zionism" during the first summit of the Black Terrorist International, a neo-Fascist pro-Palestine organization financed by the KGB and Libya's Moammar Gadhafi. It appealed to him so much, Arafat later claimed to have invented the imperial-Zionist battle cry. But in fact, "imperial-Zionism" was a Moscow invention, a modern adaptation of the "Protocols of the Elders of Zion," and
long a favorite tool of Russian intelligence to foment ethnic hatred. The KGB always regarded anti-Semitism plus anti-imperialism as a rich source of anti-Americanism.

The KGB file on Arafat also said that in the Arab world only people who were truly good at deception could achieve high status. We Romanians were directed to help Arafat improve "his extraordinary talent for deceiving." The KGB chief of foreign intelligence, General Aleksandr Sakharovsky, ordered us to provide cover for Arafat's terror operations, while at the same time building up his international image. "Arafat is a brilliant stage manager," his letter concluded, "and we should put him to good use." In March 1978 I secretly brought Arafat to Bucharest for final instructions on how to behave in Washington. "You
simply have to keep on pretending that you'll break with terrorism and that you'll recognize Israel -- over, and over, and over," Ceausescu told him for the umpteenth time. Ceausescu was euphoric over the prospect that both Arafat and he might be able to snag a Nobel Peace Prize with their fake displays of the olive branch.

In April 1978 I accompanied Ceausescu to Washington, where he charmed President Carter. Arafat, he urged, would transform his brutal PLO into a law-abiding government-in-exile if only the U.S. would establish official relations. The meeting was a great success for us. Carter hailed Ceausescu, dictator of the
most repressive police state in Eastern Europe, as a "great national and international leader" who had "taken on a role of leadership in the entire international community." Triumphant, Ceausescu brought home a joint communiqué in which the American president stated that his friendly relations with
Ceausescu served "the cause of the world."

* * *
Three months later I was granted political asylum by the U.S. Ceausescu failed to get his Nobel Peace Prize. But in 1994 Arafat got his -- all because he continued to play the role we had given him to perfection. He had transformed his terrorist PLO into a government-in-exile (the Palestinian Authority), always
pretending to call a halt to Palestinian terrorism while letting it continue unabated. Two years after signing the Oslo Accords, the number of Israelis killed by Palestinian terrorists had risen by 73%.

On Oct. 23, 1998, President Clinton concluded his public remarks to Arafat by thanking him for "decades and decades and decades of tireless representation of the longing of the Palestinian people to be free, self-sufficient, and at home."
The current administration sees through Arafat's charade but will not publicly support his expulsion. Meanwhile, the aging terrorist has consolidated his control over the Palestinian Authority and marshaled his young followers for more suicide attacks.

Mr. Pacepa was the highest ranking intelligence officer ever to have defected from the former Soviet bloc. The author of "Red Horizons" (Regnery, 1987), he is finishing a book on the origins of current anti-Americanism.

Media Laps Up Obama's Weak and Hopelessly Naive Capitulation to Russia

UPDATE 10:13 pm: Obama says we did not win the cold war. OBAMA REVISING HISTORY. Obama said, "We don't have to diminish other people in order to recognize our role in that history". Yes, he said that. Listen to this - WATCH IT:

Who can forget how the media derided and mocked George W. Bush when, after a 2001 visit, he said of Vladimir Putin, "I looked the man in the eye. I was able to get a sense of his soul, a man deeply committed to his country and the best interests of his country."

They pounded him relentlessly. Six years later the NY Times was still running headlines like Mr. Bush Gets Another Look into Putin's eyes.

So it is amusing to watch the media cows groveling at Obama groveling to an evil despot (note, in the article, the media is still blaming Bush). Am I the only American who winces in embarrassment when Obama does his ass kissing/apology tours?

Obama Lauds Putin’s ‘Extraordinary Work’ in Visit to Mend Ties

July 7 (Bloomberg) -- U.S. President Barack Obama lauded Prime Minister Vladimir Putin for his service to Russia, continuing a three-day push to overcome the animosities of the George W. Bush era.

“I am aware of not only the extraordinary work you have done on behalf of the Russian people in your previous role as prime minister -- as president -- but in your current role as prime minister,” Obama told Putin.

Yes, invading Georgia was an extraordinary moment. He appears weak and easily beatable. The man is groveling to Russia. I am going to puke.

Obama has accomplished worse than nothing. He abandoned our allies in the region as he dumps a desperately needed missile defense plan for Poland.

When queried in his press conference with Mededev by Ben Feller of the Associated Press as to whether he trusted his Russian counterpart and whether he believed he's truly in charge, Obama said:

"I trust President Medvedev"

On the matter of whether Prime Minister and former President Vladimir Putin is really calling the shots, Obama was even more simpering.

"My understanding is that President Medvedev is the president. Prime Minister Putin is the prime minister. And they allocate power in accordance with Russia's form of government, in the same way that we allocate power in the United States," he said.

Obama wishes.

Could you imagine if Bush had displayed such stupidity and naivete? They would have ripped Bush to shreds. Trust Medvedev. What asshattery. Groveling to Putin. This 8 years after Bush "looked into Putin's eyes". So eight years later, we know what he is.

Putin is a KGB thug who has assassinated numerous journalists. Does Obama admire Putin's war in Grozny? He trusts Medvedev? Wow. I mean just wow. There really is no word for this kind of stupidity. It's more than stupidity, it's just evil. The only nuclear reduction the Russians will undertake is selling more of their weapons to America's enemies.

Obama in Russia - Will Nuclear Disarm US by a Third

Dear leader is in Russia (how appropriate for the Fourth of July weekend), working ever so hard on nuclear disarming the United States, while the evildoers in the world furiously rush to build nuclear weapons. Have there ever been as many warlike moves across the world that did not precede all out war?  Nuclear proliferation is on the march as a worldwide "trend" (Medvedev's word) -- both in the Middle East and the Korean peninsula -- so,disarming makes perfect sense. Right?

Russia is only too happy.

Dear leader is having his daily propaganda media moment (in Russia):

Obama's "reasoning" to reduce our nuclear arsenal by as much as a third is to "set the example" so that  other nations will follow suit. Get it? It gives him more credibility in dealing with warmongers Iran and North Korea.

Priceless Obama quotes: 

"Yes, I trust Medvedev"  "We've accomplished all the goals that we have set" [to disarm America]. Putin and Medvedev allocate power "much the way we do in the United States".

Although Medvedev is diminutive in size (midget almost), he looms large, looks taller than the six foot one Obama.

More: Obama says "we have a mutual interest" in keeping both of our "populations safe".

Note to the President: it is not in Russia's interest to keep the US  safe.

Obama has signed off reducing nuclear warheads and delivery systems.  Never has an American president done more to empower our enemies.

UPDATE:  Read McCarthy today -- gives some indication of BO's psychological landscape:

Obama: Student Radical   [Andy McCarthy]

During the campaign, I wrote a piece called "Why Won't Obama Talk About Columbia? — The years he won't discuss may explain the Ayers tie he keeps lying about." So now, nearly six months into the Obama presidency, the mainstream media has finally done a bit of the candidate background reporting it declined to do during the campaign — other than in Wasilla — and whaddya know?  The New York Times unearthed a 1983 article called, "Breaking the War Mentality," that Columbia student Barack Obama wrote for a campus newspaper. The article shows that Obama dreaded American "militarism" and its "military-industrial interests," while effusing enthusiasm for the dangerously delusional nuclear-freeze movement.

Moreover, while indicating a preference for the political wisdom of reggae singer Peter Tosh over Ronald Reagan or Scoop Jackson, Obama bewailed the "narrow focus" of anti-militarism activists, worrying that they were targeting the "symptoms" rather than the real "disease," namely, America's underlying economic and political injustice:

Generally, the narrow focus of the [Nuclear] Freeze movement as well as academic discussions of first versus second strike capabilities, suit the military-industrial interests, as they continue adding to their billion dollar erector sets.  When Peter Tosh sings that "everybody's asking for peace, but nobody's asking for justice," one is forced to wonder whether disarmament or arms control issues, severed from economic and political issues, might be another instance of focusing on the symptoms of a problem instead of the disease itself.

Read it all.

UPDATE: Obama did not insist upon missile defense. He gave that up. The most critical piece of the negotiation was ignored. This, yet again, exemplifies how weak a leader he is. He got nothing and gave all.

Obama did not address or resolve Russian opposition to the basing of a proposed U.S. missile defense system in Poland and the Czech Republic. President Medvedev emphatically stated that it had not been resolved. It should have. These are our allies.  Georgia was invaded by Russia. Why would  any sane person trust them?

UPDATE:  The hand of Soros: "Aiming to change attitudes, Obama will outline his vision for U.S.-Russian relations at a speech at the New Economic School. It is unclear how many people will see it. Russian leaders control the television outlets." (here) hat tip Jonathan Galt

Outreach of the New Economic School: Regional Capacity Building in Russia
by Sergei Guriev, Rector of NES. More  here.

In the decription of NES initiatives here:

In 1999 NES became one of three resource centers in the pilot stage of the regional capacity-building effort undertaken by the Open Society Institute (OSI), the organization funded by philanthropist George Soros

OSI seeks to shape public policies
OSI implements a range of initiatives to advance justice, education, public health,

OSI places a high priority on protecting and improving the lives of people in marginalized communities. (comment: wealth re- distribution, slavery reparations)

Soros.org

Obama's visit to and speech at NES.  A nice by-product of Comrade Obama's trip to Russia.

Puppet and puppet master

UPDATE: Must read Caroline Glick on Obama, radical ideologue -

Obama plans to abandon US allies Ukraine and Georgia and agree to deep cuts in US missile defense programs. In exchange, Moscow is expected to consider joining Washington in cutting back on its nuclear arsenal just as the likes of Iran and North Korea build up theirs.

Of course, even if Russia doesn't agree to scale back its nuclear arsenal, Obama has already ensured that the US will slash the size of its own by refusing to fund its modernization. In short, Obama is working to implement the precise policy he laid out as an unoriginal student conformist 26 years ago.

BY NOW of course, none of this is particularly surprising. Since entering office seven long months ago, Obama has demonstrated that his guiding philosophy for foreign affairs is that the US and its allies are to blame for their adversaries' hostility toward them. All that needs to happen for peace to break out throughout the world is for the US and its allies to quit clinging to their guns and religions and start apologizing for their rudeness. In furtherance of this goal, Obama has devoted himself to putting the screws on US allies, slashing America's defense budget and embarking on a worldwide tour apologizing to US adversaries.

The basic reality that the US is being led by a radical ideologue who clings to his views in the face of overwhelming proof of their falsity is the most fundamental fact that world leaders must reckon with today as they formulate policies to contend with the Obama administration. This is first and foremost the case for Israel.

Since the Netanyahu government took office three months ago, the Obama administration has placed inordinate pressure on Jerusalem in a bid to coerce it into making massive concessions to the Palestinians. These concessions are demanded not for peace, but simply for the sake of placing pressure on Israel. Obama wishes to pressure it to show his good intentions to the Arabs and Iran.

Another Faux Obama Emergency: Bypass Senate Ratification of Russian Arms Treaty

Further proof of the totalitarian-in-chief exercising power he does not have. Exception sets terrible precedent, just as exception makes bad law.

The out-of-control presidency.

US-Russian Arms Negotiators "Under the Gun," Might Temporarily Bypass Senate Ratification for Treaty Jake Tapper, ABC News (hat tip Kenneth S.)

[Italics, emphasis mine]

MOSCOW -- With the clock running out on a new US-Russian arms treaty before the previous Strategic Arms Reduction Treaty, or START, expires on December 5, a senior White House official said Sunday said that the difficulty of the task might mean temporarily bypassing the Senate’s constitutional role in ratifying treaties by enforcing certain aspects of a new deal on an executive levels and a “provisional basis” until the Senate ratifies the treaty.

[...]

Samore said administration lawyers are exploring the "different options that are available. One option is that both sides could agree to continue the inspections by executive agreement; that would work on our side. On the Russian side, as I understand it, that would require Duma approval."

The fact that the administration is preparing for such an extraordinary measure shows just how much pressure the two administrations are under to arrive at an agreement before the 18-year-old treaty expires. While resident Obama and Russian President Dmitry Medvedev are expected to announce progress tomorrow on a nuclear arms reduction treaty – nicknamed “New START” -- to take effect in just five short months, many sticking points that remain unresolved.

[...]

Both the US and Russia have agreed in principle to reduce the number of nuclear weapon delivery vehicles from the current level of 1,600 each, as was negotiated under START, and to reduce the number of nuclear warheads each nation has in its arsenal from 2,200 each, as agreed upon during the 2002 Moscow Treaty.

One of the major sticking points so far has been Russia’s continued frustration at US plans for a missile defense system in Poland and the Czech Republic, an issue [White House Coordinator for Weapons of Mass Destruction, Security and Arms Control Gary Samore] said would “have to be addressed in the new treaty,” though he would not specify just how.

Do you think Obama will throw our allies under the bus? Rhetorical question, I know.

[...]

“In terms of missile defense Poland and the Czech Republic are one thing, Iran is a different one altogether, they are too far apart geographically,” Samore said. “I do not understand how people can say that missile defense is linked to the problems of the Middle East.” He allowed that “the missiles that North Korea is using have tremendous range. This has to be of concern for us. We are located in close proximity to this country.”

Hmmmm, I don't know how people can say the tiny country of Israel is linked to the global jihad.

[...]

After more than four hours worth of meetings with Medvedev on Monday, President Obama and his Russian counterpart will outline what is essentially yet another outline for a treaty. In London in April the two outlined what was an outline for this outline. Since that time, Assistant Secretary of State for Verification and Compliance Rose Gottemoeller and her counterpart, Anatoly Antonov, the head of the department for security and disarmament in the Russian Foreign Ministry, have been negotiating intensely.

President Obama told Russia’s ITAR-TASS/ROSSIYA TV that his “goal is that both countries reduce their nuclear stockpiles in a way that doesn't leave either country with an advantage, but reduces tensions and the expense of maintaining such high nuclear stockpiles when they're not necessary for our defense and our deterrence."

I can only imagine how 'tough' Obama is.

Before the Summit, Obama Forgives Russia for Invading Georgia

Will he apologize too?

BTW, I do not believe, for a nanosecond, that any of treaties that Obama negotiates with notorious evildoers will amount to anything more than the dismantling of our strategic arms. Obama declared before the election that he intended to disarm us, and under the guise of treaties such as SALT he will do just that. Do you really believe he will take a hard line with Medvedev?

Before the Summit, the U.S. Forgives Russia for Invading Georgia
The Jamestown Foundation (hat tip Arnaud)

On Monday July 6, President Barack Obama is expected in Moscow for a summit to discuss nuclear arms control, Iran, Afghanistan the post-Soviet space and other issues. It has been announced that Obama will spend most of July 6 in formal as well as informal talks with his Russian counterpart Dmitry Medvedev. There will be a joint press conference and a late night dinner with spouses (RIA Novosti, July 1). The two presidents will concentrate on discussing a progress report from the Russian and American negotiating teams that are working on preparing a new Strategic Arms Reduction Treaty (START) (Interfax, July 1).

Deputy Foreign Minister Sergei Ryabkov told RIA Novosti that progress in the START negotiations "was more significant than our expectations." Ryabkov expressed optimism that a comprehensive new START treaty with solid verification measures that will "guarantee both sides equal security and a real strategic nuclear arms reduction" will be ready for signing by the end of the year, when in December the present 1991 START-1 expires. According to Ryabkov, the best way to improve U.S.-Russian relations is to build mutual trust that "was lacking over the last several years." He added that it was mainly the task of the U.S. "to work to rebuild mutual trust by concrete actions," since in Russia the U.S. is deeply distrusted (RIA Novosti, July 1).

The understanding that Washington must offer important concessions is widespread in Moscow. It was the Obama administration's idea to "reset" relations with Russia, so if the Americans want that to happen, they must deliver and change their foreign policy significantly to achieve anything. A pro-Kremlin Moscow think-tank - The Council on Foreign and Defense Policy - produced a report "Retuning instead of resetting - Russian interests and relations with the U.S." which argues that Russia might begin to cooperate with the U.S. and NATO on Iran, North Korea and Afghanistan. The U.S. in turn must drastically change its policies in the post-Soviet space by not supporting the anti-Russian regimes in Georgia and Ukraine, stopping any effort to incorporate these or any other former Soviet states into NATO and refraining from developing bilateral military-political partnerships with the former Soviet states. The report calls such a possible U.S.-Russian arrangement a "grand deal" and points out that Georgia or Ukraine are highly important to Russia, but of marginal interest to the U.S., unlike Iran, Afghanistan or North Korea. This fact could make the proposed "grand deal" possible, since Moscow and Washington will each be trading unimportant items for important ones (RIA Novosti, July 1).

Read it all. Obama is consistent, on the side of evil. Again.

Islam Unleashed in Russia: Judge Murdered in Cold Blood while dropping her children at school

Islam on the march in Chechnya, Dagestan, Ingushetia, North Caucasus.......... their depravity knows no bounds. None.  Islamic supremacism on the march.

Gunmen kill top judge, wound 3 in North Caucasus Forbes (hat tip Rut)

NAZRAN, Russia -- Gunmen shot and killed a top judge as she dropped her children off at school in Russia's violent North Caucasus Wednesday, officials said, the latest episode highlighting spiraling violence in a region plagued by poverty, corruption and the rise of radical Islam.

President Dmitry Medvedev held a meeting in the region earlier this week to showcase efforts to stamp out the daily attacks, but three killings, including that of the judge, in the hours after his visit showed how difficult such efforts can be.

In Ingushetia province, the van carrying Aza Gazgireeva, a deputy chief justice of the regional Supreme Court, was attacked opposite a kindergarten in the region's main city, Nazran. She had just dropped her children off at the school, said Madina Khadzaeva, an Interior Ministry spokeswoman.

Gazgireeva died later at a hospital, Khadzaeva said. Five other people were wounded, including a 1-year-old girl who was not Gazgireeva's daughter, emergency officials said.

In Dagestan - a Caspian Sea province where Medvedev held a security council meeting Tuesday in reaction to the killing last week of Dagestan's top law enforcement official by a sniper - militants battled police forces after attacking a police post with automatic weapons and mortars.

Medvedev had called the seemingly endless violence a "cynical challenge" to authorities.

What a thoroughly wrongheaded statement. It shows a complete lack of understanding of the enemy and what motivates them.

Before dawn Wednesday, a group of 10 gunmen attacked a police post with automatic weapons and mortars in southern Dagestan, battling police troops for more than an hour. The gunmen later escaped into the forested mountains, said regional Interior Ministry spokesman Mark Tolchinsky.

Hours earlier on Tuesday, a riot police officer was shot and killed as he headed home after work not far from a base where Medvedev had watched counterterrorism exercises. In another part of the Dagestan capital, a road police officer was killed after trying to stop a car to check documents.

Cyberspies have penetrated the U.S. electrical grid

Today's fresh hell ............if they knock out our electrical grid, we go from the technological age to the pre-industrial age in a nanosecond.

These occurences must be related.

Electricity Grid in U.S. Penetrated by Spies WSJ

WASHINGTON -- Cyberspies have penetrated the U.S. electrical grid and left behind software programs that could be used to disrupt the system, according to current and former national-security officials.

The spies came from China, Russia and other countries, these officials said, and were believed to be on a mission to navigate the U.S. electrical system and its controls. The intruders haven't sought to damage the power grid or other key infrastructure, but officials warned they could try during a crisis or war.

"The Chinese have attempted to map our infrastructure, such as the electrical grid," said a senior intelligence official. "So have the Russians."

The espionage appeared pervasive across the U.S. and doesn't target a particular company or region, said a former Department of Homeland Security official. "There are intrusions, and they are growing," the former official said, referring to electrical systems. "There were a lot last year."

Many of the intrusions were detected not by the companies in charge of the infrastructure but by U.S. intelligence agencies, officials said. Intelligence officials worry about cyber attackers taking control of electrical facilities, a nuclear power plant or financial networks via the Internet.

Authorities investigating the intrusions have found software tools left behind that could be used to destroy infrastructure components, the senior intelligence official said. He added, "If we go to war with them, they will try to turn them on."

Officials said water, sewage and other infrastructure systems also were at risk.

"Over the past several years, we have seen cyberattacks against critical infrastructures abroad, and many of our own infrastructures are as vulnerable as their foreign counterparts, " Director of National Intelligence Dennis Blair recently told lawmakers. "A number of nations, including Russia and China, can disrupt elements of the U.S. information infrastructure."

Officials cautioned that the motivation of the cyberspies wasn't well understood, and they don't see an immediate danger. China, for example, has little incentive to disrupt the U.S. economy because it relies on American consumers and holds U.S. government debt.

But protecting the electrical grid and other infrastructure is a key part of the Obama administration's cybersecurity review, which is to be completed next week. Under the Bush administration, Congress approved $17 billion in secret funds to protect government networks, according to people familiar with the budget. The Obama administration is weighing whether to expand the program to address vulnerabilities in private computer networks, which would cost billions of dollars more. A senior Pentagon official said Tuesday the Pentagon has spent $100 million in the past six months repairing cyber damage.

Overseas examples show the potential havoc. In 2000, a disgruntled employee rigged a computerized control system at a water-treatment plant in Australia, releasing more than 200,000 gallons of sewage into parks, rivers and the grounds of a Hyatt hotel.

Last year, a senior Central Intelligence Agency official, Tom Donohue, told a meeting of utility company representatives in New Orleans that a cyberattack had taken out power equipment in multiple regions outside the U.S. The outage was followed with extortion demands, he said.

The U.S. electrical grid comprises three separate electric networks, covering the East, the West and Texas. Each includes many thousands of miles of transmission lines, power plants and substations. The flow of power is controlled by local utilities or regional transmission organizations. The growing reliance of utilities on Internet-based communication has increased the vulnerability of control systems to spies and hackers, according to government reports.

The sophistication of the U.S. intrusions -- which extend beyond electric to other key infrastructure systems -- suggests that China and Russia are mainly responsible, according to intelligence officials and cybersecurity specialists. While terrorist groups could develop the ability to penetrate U.S. infrastructure, they don't appear to have yet mounted attacks, these officials say.

Russians Go Ape with Jewish wedding

Speechless.

Russian circus goes ape with its Jewish wedding JTA (hat tip Patti)

MOSCOW (JTA) – It's a most unusual “wedding.”

A man dressed in Chasidic regalia speeds in a go-cart around Moscow’s one-ring Circus Nikulina. Aziz Askaryan then dismounts and leads two gangly orangutans -- one in a suit and kipah, the other in a full bridal gown -- on a lurching matrimonial march toward a hastily constructed chupah in front of a guffawing audience.

The mock Jewish wedding between two orangutans has been the closing number for weeks in Act I of the famed Moscow circus, whose theme is “Empire: A Magical Show with Bright National Flavor.”

It has stirred some conversation among Jewish leaders here. But most say that the act, which might raise eyebrows in the West, is met in Moscow with giggles or yawns.

UKRAINE: Changing Names to Placate Muslims

Dhimmitude abounds. Even the Ruskies Ukranians cave -- how long before the Muslims take over that country? I just don't get it. Why won't free peoples stand up to this tyranny?

Mecca night club in Kiev is renamed after the protest of Moslems (hat tip LN)

Kiev, March 2, Interfax - According to Ukrainian newspaper Segodnya, in Kiev, No Name night club will replace the night club named Mecca following the protest of the Moslem community.

Deputy head of Kiev city administration Sergey Rudyk said that the city authorities had accepted the protest of Moslems and persuaded the owner to rename the club.

The club has removed the plates carrying its old name and is now preparing new ones.

The Moslems of Kiev reportedly referred to the club's name Mecca as "an opened provocation."

"Giving names of Moslem holy places to hot spots shows utter contempt for Moslems of the Ukraine and the whole world. We, therefore, demand to prohibit entertainment facilities to use religious notions," the statement by followers of Islam said.

COUNTDOWN IRAN: NUKE PLANT TO TEST THIS WEEK

Will President Hussein attend the grand opening? Put nothing past the Mansourian candidate. Shame on the civilized men who allowed this to go on. I do not blame Muhammad El Baradei, the Director General of the International Atomic Energy Agency, who is a Muslim. Who do you expect him to be loyal to?

Biden was wrong when he said Obama would be tested in the first 6 months - they started pulling on America's beard the day President Hussein was elected. They smell blood. The sharks are circling.

Iran's president Ahmadinejad calls for "real changes" in U.S. policies

Iran Conducts Tests at Bushehr Plant this Week

TEHRAN (Reuters) - Iran plans to carry out computer tests on its Bushehr nuclear power plant this week in preparation for its launch, official media said on Sunday.

The head of Russia's state nuclear company, Sergei Kiriyenko, will attend Wednesday's "pre-commissioning" of Iran's first such power plant, located on the Gulf coast in south-western Iran, state radio said.

The West, which suspects Tehran of seeking to produce its own nuclear bomb, has been critical of Russia's involvement in building Bushehr. Russia says it is purely civilian and cannot be used for any weapons program.

Kiriyenko said this month Russia aimed to start up a nuclear reactor at Bushehr by the end of the year.

Iranian media said the head of Iran's Atomic Energy Organization, Gholamreza Aghazadeh, would also attend the event at Bushehr.

Mohammad Saeedi, Aghazadeh's deputy, described the tests as a "preliminary phase" for starting the plant and told Reuters this would be followed by its commissioning and launch. He did not give a timetable.

State radio said all Bushehr's activities would be tested with computer software.

"Pre-commissioning is an important step before the actual commissioning of the power plant," the radio quoted Mohsen Delaviz, a spokesman for Iran's Atomic Energy Organization, as saying.

The launch of the Bushehr plant's nuclear reactor has been delayed frequently. Russia last year completed delivery of nuclear fuel to the station under a contract estimated to be worth about $1 billion.

Iran's official IRNA news agency said the plant "is in the final stages of its construction" and the Russian side had boosted the number of staff to "increase the speed of work."

RUSSIA TO OPEN NAVAL BASES IN SYRIA, LIBYA

So, while Obambi is kissing Syria's ass, making foreign policy speeches from Damascus, and forcing Israel to turn over Jewish land to Iran's proxy state, the Russians will be building naval bases.

Obambi is on a collision course with history.

Naval Bases Planned for Libya, Syria 19 January 2009 Moscow Times (hat tip Kenny via Skandenbeg at RedState.com )

 Russia has decided to establish naval bases in Libya, Syria and Yemen within a few years, a military official said Friday, in a sign of Moscow's growing foreign policy ambitions.

"It is difficult to say how much time it will take to create the bases for our fleet in these countries, but within a few years this will be done without question," the unidentified military official told Itar-Tass.

"The political decision on this question has been taken," the official said.

A Navy spokesman could not immediately be reached for comment.

Colonel-General Anatoly Nogovitsyn, deputy chief of the General Staff, said it was too early to name any foreign ports that could host Russian bases.

"There are negotiations conducted with foreign governments. Such publications [on bases] may have a negative effect on the way of these talks," Nogovitsyn said, Itar-Tass reported.

Analysts have said the Syrian port of Tartus could be revived as a Russian naval base. During the Cold War, the Soviet Navy had a permanent presence in the Mediterranean, using Tartus as a supply point.

National media have reported that opening a naval base in the Libyan port of Benghazi was among the main issues discussed during Libyan leader Moammar Gadhafi's visit to Moscow in October last year.

TOLERANCE? A CHURCH FOR A MOSQUE? GOOD LUCK WITH THAT!

Tell the Ruskies not to hold their breath ......

A Russian church for a Saudi mosque?Dhimmiwatch (hat tip Terri)

As Osama bin Laden is fond of saying, "Reciprocal treatment is part of justice." More on this story. "A Russian church for a Saudi mosque?" by Julia Duin for the Washington Times, December 3:

The Saudis have recently asked permission to build a mosque in Moscow, a city where there are only four mosques and 2 million Muslims. The Russians, however, are saying they want, in return, an Orthodox church in Saudi Arabia.

As we all know, the Saudis have a habit of constructing mosques in dozens of world capitals while forbidding houses of worship for any religion whatsoever outside its Wahabist brand of Islam. They've gotten some bad PR locally for some of the hate language in textbooks at the Saudi Academy in northern Virginia. Not only are hapless Christians terrorized and jailed for daring to hold private prayer services in Saudi Arabia, but God help them should they try to convert someone to their religion. And that's for a fellow People of the Book: One can only guess at what the treatment of Buddhists and Hindus must be like.

Wouldn't it be so ironic if the Russians were the first Christian body to win acceptance of the right to build a church in, say, Riyadh? (Some of the Russians are calling for a church in Mecca, but the chances of any other religion getting a foothold within walking distance of the world center of Islam is less than zero.) Of course we all know the Saudis aren't about ready to let Bibles or other religious literature, let alone a church, anywhere near their homeland, but all the same, it's amusing to see the Russians give the Saudis a taste of their own medicine.

HAPPENING NOW: RUSSIA CONDUCTING WAR GAMES WITH VENEZUELA

This goes right to what Victor Davis Hanson was speaking to in his remarks a couple of weeks back at the Resoration Weekend. " but the fact of the matter is the only reason there is any semblance of peace and tranquility in the world today is because in places as diverse as the Aegean, planes over-flying in Greek airspace daily, where there's near fighting on Cyprus, or whether we are talking about the Korean Sea and the Philippines and Taiwan and South Korean democracies not going nuclear because the United States is there, or whether Russian ships keep out of Norway every hour—all of that is predicated on the presence of the United States."
"To be frank, or to put it a different way, Vladimir Putin doesn't give a damn that Barack Obama is African American. And the Chinese autocrats do not hear very well "hope" and "change"—it doesn't translate to Chinese very well—and the Europeans don't care if he has a nifty jump shot.  All they want to know is half the world are vying to try to take advantage of regional opportunities if the United States is not there to stop mold, and to stop rust, which is the natural organic order of the world. They take advantage of it and our friends are there waiting to see which side to join. All of our friends in Europe know that, and Australia and South America. They don't have deities. Nations don't have deities like Barack Obama, they have interests. And their interests are predicated on who is going to win and who is going to lose. Into that void comes Barack Obama."

Russia, Venezuela Launch Naval Exercises

Russia and Venezuela have begun a series of joint naval operations in the southern Caribbean Sea aimed at evaluating their nations' skills in the fight against terrorism and drug trafficking.

Military officials for both countries said the exercises, dubbed "VenRus 2008," will include navigation, rescue and other operations.

A fleet of about 1,600 Russian naval officers is participating in the exercise aboard several Russian warships, which left the port of La Guaira, near Caracas, Monday for the exercises. The vessels arrived in Venezuela late last month in Russia's first deployment in the Caribbean since the Cold War.

The U.S. State Department has said the United States will keep a close eye on the military exercises, but it has dismissed the notion that they represent a challenge to U.S. influence in the region.

OBAMBI ABANDONS US ALLY POLAND?

Why wouldn't Obama stand tall and firm behind our ally, Poland? Especially now at such a hot, critical moment in history.  Why would that coward dance around and hide behind a tree when asked about missile defense particularly when Russia is deploying missiles along NATO borders 

Obama Bellweather Item Alert - no committment to Poland over Missile Shield Villagers with Torches

Barack Obama has made no commitment that a missile defense shield in eastern Europe will go ahead, an advisor to the president-elect said Saturday, in apparent contradiction of statements by Poland

Earlier, a statement from Polish President Lech Kaczynski after the two men spoke by telephone said Obama had said he would go ahead with plans to build a missile defense shield in eastern Europe despite threats from Russia.

But Obama had given no such clear cut undertaking on the controversial program, his senior foreign policy advisor Denis McDonough said in a statement.

(The) "president-elect had a good conversation with the Polish President and the Polish Prime Minister about the important US-Poland alliance," McDonough said in a statement.

"President Kaczynski raised missile defense but President-elect Obama made no commitment on it.

"His position is as it was throughout the campaign, that he supports deploying a missile defense system when the technology is proved to be workable."

The statement by President Kaczynski appeared to put a different spin on the conversation between the two men.

"Barack Obama has underlined the importance of the strategic partnership between Poland and the United States, he expressed his hope of continuing the political and military cooperation between our two countries," the statement read.

"He also said the anti-missile shield project would go ahead," said a statement said.

Kosovo Connection to the Georgian conflict

For those readers interested in getting a better understanding of the Kosovo connection to the South Ossetia conflict and others like it that will follow like dominos if Kosovo independence continues apace, Julia Gorin offers three illuminating blog posts (one long and the other two short):

Albanian Love Gets More Expensive: Toll Booth, Georgia

“Munich” Author George Jonas, on S. Ossetia

Even Staunch U.S. Ally Poland Recognizes the Un-Americanness of U.S. Supporting “Kosova” — and its Consequences, e.g. S. Ossetia

Also of interest:

Bosnian Ambassador to Iran: “We hope that expansion of cultural and religious cooperation with Iran will help revive our Islamic identity.” 

And please comment only after if you've read them.

JEWS GIVE ANOTHER PIECE OF JERUSALEM AWAY to Russia

Every claim is legitimate, (sacred!)  to every religion or sovereignty that was born of or after the birth of Judaism but the Jewish people have no right to her rightful homeland. Ass frickin backwards.

David adds, "The Russians can grab any piece of Georgia they fancy at will, but Israel can't hold onto a courtyard in the heart of Jerusalem which is already under their control and will just become another Trojan horse. and I know the place".

Ministers okay Moscow's property claim J Post

The cabinet on Sunday voted to transfer ownership of Sergei's Courtyard in downtown Jerusalem's Russian Compound to the Russian government.

The move is the culmination of four years of negotiations, after then-Russian President Vladimir Putin, who is currently his country's prime minister, laid claim to the site on behalf of the Russian Orthodox Church.

Sergei's Courtyard currently houses offices of the Agriculture Ministry and the Nature and National Parks Protection Authority, and the Jerusalem branch of the Society for the Protection of Nature in Israel.

On Monday, Prime Minister Ehud Olmert will begin a two-day trip to Moscow. Israeli officials expect the Russians to raise the question of the transfer of Russian church property in Jerusalem.

Olmert had planned to visit Russia last month but the trip was put on hold due to the political uncertainty here.

Israeli officials rejected assertions that an outgoing prime minister should not be making such a trip, saying it was approved by both Defense Minister Ehud Barak, and Foreign Minister Tzipi Livni.

Iran's nuclear program and Israeli concerns over the sale of advanced Russian weapons to Syria are expected to top the talks' agenda.

The Legal Forum for the Land of Israel had said it would petition the High Court of Justice if the current caretaker government approves the transfer of Sergei's Courtyard. The group cited the decision by Supreme Court President Dorit Beinisch two weeks ago preventing the appointment of Supreme Court justices until a new government is formed.

In a letter sent on Friday to the prime minister, Cabinet Secretary Ovad Yehezkel and Attorney-General Menahem Mazuz, the forum wrote: "A caretaker government is not entitled to take important and irreversible decisions that the incoming government will have to deal with."

The transfer of "important property in the center of Jerusalem to a powerful foreign state with interests in this region and imperial designs" was no less important than the appointment of Supreme Court justices, the forum wrote.

Some Israeli officials had expressed concern that such a transfer could set a precedent for other property in the capital owned by the Russian, Greek and Roman Catholic churches. The Knesset and the Prime Minister's Office stand on land originally owned by the Greek Orthodox Church.

huminah huminah huminah

PALIN'S INSIGHTS INTO RUSSIA

Perhaps this is what Palin was talking about while  the tittering hyenas yuked it up over this quote:

"And we've got to keep an eye on Russia. For Russia to have exerted such pressure in terms of invading a smaller democratic country, unprovoked, is unacceptable," she told Gibson. Russia invaded Georgia after the ex-Soviet republic invaded the separatist region of South Ossetia.

Palin said she had insights into U.S. relations with Russia because "they're our next-door neighbors, and you can actually see Russia from land here in Alaska ... from an island in Alaska." (more here)

Van wrote me that the Russian long-range Bear recon and bombers would soon be back. Palin's remarks about these flights were ridiculed in the press.  Well, here they come and they are armed now. He predicts they will show up in Cuba. They have already flown to Venezuela.

First Russian live missile fire air exercise near Alaska

DEBKAfile's military sources report that starting Monday, Tu-160 Blackjack and Tu-95 MS Bear-H strategic bombers will fly missions carrying the maximum combat payload and firing all cruise missiles aboard over sub-Arctic Russia and Belarus, close to Alaska. Moscow is claiming to 18 percent of the oil-rich Arctic's territory.

PALIN WARNS WAR WITH RUSSIA

ABC EXCLUSIVE: GOV. SARAH PALIN WARNS WAR MAY BE NECESSARY IF RUSSIA INVADES ANOTHER COUNTRY

G-d bless this woman. This is exactly what America has been lacking. The era of a foreign policy driven by an impotent and dhimmi State department  is over.

I can only pray it's a McCain/Palin presidency like Bush/Cheney.

Read this post from Atlas yesterday:

RUSSIA ON WARPATH, DANGEROUS MOVES

BTW, ABC News' Charles Gibson has three interviews with Vice Presidential candidate Governor Sarah Palin on September 11 and September 12. The first interview took place today. The interview will air on “World News with Charles Gibson” at 6:30PM EST tonight.

UPDATE: And she's pro-Israel -- pass that along to your dhiimi leftarded Jewish friends: (from China Confidential)

What was Sarah Palin's crime in the eyes of Matthews, Buchanan, and Brown? The Governor of Alaska said thursday she would not "second guess" Israel should it decide to strike Iran.

Asked three times by (anti-Israel) ABC news anchor Charlie Gibson what she would do were Israel to plan a strike on Iran to keep it from achieving nuclear weapons capability, Palin each time answered with a variation of her refusal to second-guess Israel.

"We are friends of Israel," she said the first time. "I don’t think we should second-guess the measures that Israel has to take to defend itself and its security."

She also said that Iran must not achieve such weapons capability under its current maniac-in-chief, Mahmoud Ahmadinejad.

There's more. Read it all

RUSSIA ON WARPATH, DANGEROUS MOVES

UPDATE 9/10 8:28pm: Russian Muslim Leader Declares Anti-US Jihad

Talgat Tadzhuddin, one of Russia's two competing chief muftis, has once again declared jihad against the US, this time because of its support for Georgia, ...

UPDATE: The Marxist Obama can be depended upon to take the KGBs’ side (I know they changed the name) in any conflict. The Post editorial that follows gives an example.

Putin is trying to overthrow Georgia’s pro-free market, pro American president Mikheil Saakashvilli. For starters, he proclaimed a boycott on Georgia’s wines and spirits. It hurt the economy because Russia was their largest market. But the Georgians didn’t whine about it –they started marketing to the EU and America. We can help them by buying their wines. Georgian brandy is good stuff.  Historian Richard Holbrooke says that if Saakashvili survives, Putin loses and freedom wins. I’ll drink to that.  [I got this info from the 9/6 WSJ article, How’s Your Drink? by Eric Felton eric.felton@wsj.com  -Geo.

August 15, 2008 Editorial in the New York Post

The phone may not have rung at 3 a.m., but when word came of Russia 's brutal invasion of neighboring Georgia , one of the two presidential candidates instinctively understood the adventure's long-range implications.

And one did not.

Indeed, the crisis in the Caucasus is giving voters real insight into how John McCain and Barack Obama might handle a foreign-policy emergency.

In his first public reaction, Obama merely called on " Georgia and Russia to show restraint" - a reflexive exercise in what Sen. Joe Lieberman rightly labeled "moral neutrality."

Then Obama called for a UN Security Council resolution condemning Russia - apparently unaware that Moscow , a permanent Security Council member, can veto any such resolution.

He also suggested sending an international force under "an appropriate UN mandate" to South Ossetia . (See above, Security Council veto.)

Obama's initial reaction was that only Georgia 's territorial sovereignty was at stake - and that the way to resolve that issue was to negotiate.

But McCain immediately understood that the real issue wasn't just a Georgian territory violation, but Vladimir Putin's premeditated effort to let Eastern Europe know that Russia intends thoroughly to dominate what it terms its "near abroad."

And, belligerently, to let the world know that Moscow again considers itself a player on the global stage.

"World history is often made in remote, obscure countries," McCain said. "It is being made in Georgia today."

Translation: Small regional clashes can have ominous wider implications.

And, unlike even President Bush, McCain appreciates the real nature of Russia 's leader.

Where Bush famously described looking into Putin's soul and seeing someone "straightforward and trustworthy," McCain retorted: "I looked into Mr. Putin's eyes, and I saw three things: a K and a G and a B."

His firm line from the start - calling on Russia to be booted from the G-8 and for NATO to immediately admit Georgia - was a model of what the entire Western response should have been.

Obama's campaign, meanwhile, decried McCain's approach as "belligerent," and pointed out that one of his advisers formerly lobbied for the Georgian government - criticism that mirrored almost exactly attacks on McCain emanating from Putin's foreign ministry.

Pretty weak beer.

The crisis in Georgia was the first real election-season test for the two men who seek to become commander-in-chief. Only one passed.

Daryl said, "Talking, cajoling, and threats of a good scolding worked just great with Hitler and Tojo, too.

Obama should become President of Sesame Street. He may be able to handle that.

Leave being Commander-in-Chief and leading America through the dangers of the real world to John McCain. We can trust him to handle that.

Check out what Russia is up to post Georgia invasion. America is lost in the presidential election and Putin knows it - they are moving their chess pieces - belligerent war posturing. Much thanks to Van for the links.

Russia prepares to launch Iran's Bushehr nuclear power plant J Post

Russia says to send nuclear warship to Caribbean

US-Russian naval rivalries heat up over Black, Caspian, Persian Gulf seas Debka

DEBKAfile's military sources report Washington is testing the Turkish government's response to the permanent anchoring of US warships at either of the two Georgian ports of Poti or Batumi. This would be quid pro quo for Moscow's interest in bases in Iranian Azerbaijan and the Persian Gulf.

Our sources report that the US anticipates a protracted period of tension with Russia for the following reasons:

1. US and NATO vessels will need safe coastal berths when the approaching winter storms strike the Black Sea. As time goes by, Turkey, which under international conventions controls the passage of naval vessels through the Dardanelles, will be under increasing pressure from Russia to block the waterway to NATO.

3. Washington is well aware of the talk in Moscow and Tehran in recent days about establishing Russian naval bases in Iran: Iranian Azerbaijan on the Caspian Sea and an Iranian-held island in the Persian Gulf.

The latter, if Moscow and Tehran reached agreement, would terminate US naval control of the Persian Gulf waters opposite Iran forces and drastically upset the balance of strength in the region. Washington's response to this talk is its bid for a permanent Black Sea base.

Here's some more on the Russia Venezuela Naval issue. A good piece from the excellent IBD Editorials series. They get it.

The Russians have little respect for Chavez, but their anger over the U.S. missile shield treaty with Poland and the U.S. Navy's relief mission to Georgia coincide their interests with his.

This threat to sea lanes will increase the burden on U.S. forces who must monitor the new activity. It also underscores how important it is for Congress to permit new drilling for reasons of national security. If Russia can gain control of 25% of Europe's oil just by menacing Georgia, it could get an even more impressive return in the Caribbean.

Van opines, "the entrance to the Black Sea is through the narrow Dardanelle Straits. Russia is trying to persuade Turkey to block this vital passage to our ships. Russia is Turkey's biggest trading partner, so the economic incentive is great.

Russia has announced plans to acquire an Iranian port for its Mediterranean fleet. This would spell the end of our dominance of the Persian Gulf region.

Russia has announced plans to finish the Iranian Nuclear plant at Busheir. This has been on hold for 5 years, due to pressure from the U.S. That understanding has now gone south.

Venezuela/Chavez has made huge military purchases of planes, armament and submarines as of late. There are also stories out there that Hezbollah is operating there against the Jews.

The STRATEGIC BALANCE of POWER in the world is in a major state of flux right now. The pieces on the chessboard are being re-arranged. To put it in non-diplomatic terms, the shit is going to hit the fan soon!"

INVASION: RUSSIA PRESSES ON, RECOGNIZES REBEL REGIONS

UPDATE: Who will blink?

US aid warship will defy Russian control of Georgian port of Poti DEBKAfile Special Report (hat tip Van)

Georgian soldiers were shooting down women, old people and children in South Ossetia osinform.ru/news/

Georgian soldiers were shooting down women, old people and children in South Ossetia. Eight populated areas were wiped off from the face of the earth. Their defenders fell during Georgian aviation attack. As witnessed by Ilona Djioeva, resident of Dmenis village, “Georgian war- civilians’ houses and then the village was entered by soldiers who shot up old people, women and children”.

“We managed to get to the positions of the Russian peace-making contingent and they helped us to get to a safe place. Georgian shot down escaping people; the wounded were shot through the head. Only a few people survived. Russian soldiers helped us to get out of it.

Now my mother and I are going to Mozdok region, which is in Ossetia. We don’t know anything about my brother. He works in Tskhinval militia” – told IA Regnum correspondent, a 19 year old student.

This is not going to go away. In fact, it will only get worse. Russia will not stop at Georgia. Why should they, the UN will do their circle jerk, foreign policy bus driven by Condi will continue their hand wringing and Russia will press on. Emis.

Amid mounting US-Russian frictions, Cheney to visit Georgia, Iwo Jima sails for Middle East

From Mike Allen's playbook:

DIRECT DEFIANCE OF THE U.S. and EUROPE – Reuters, 'Russia recognizes Georgia rebel regions': 'Russian President Dmitry Medvedev announced on Tuesday that Moscow had decided to recognize two rebel regions of Georgia as independent states, setting it on a collision course with the West. ...

The West had strongly urged Moscow not to recognize the two regions and to back Georgia's territorial integrity. Britain 'categorically rejected' the move, Germany called it unacceptable and France expressed dismay.'

The Georgian conflict over South Ossetia is spiraling into a contest between the US and Russia over control of the Black Sea region and the eastern Mediterranean. The US Vice President Dick Cheney will stop over in Georgia, the Ukraine, Azerbaijan and Italy during a trip starting Sept. 2. President Bush "felt it was important to have the vice president consult with allies in the region on our common security interests," said the White House spokesman Monday, Aug. 25. (Debka)

Read previously at Atlas: Listen to my radio show on KFNX with Ambassador John Bolton discussing, Russia, Georgia Iran and the new world order: Download aug21_show.mp3

:RUSSIA TAKES WAR TO THE MIDDLE EAST 8/21/08

USELESS CONDI SAYS NYET TO GEORGIA IN NATO UPDATED: RUSSIANS SEIZE US VEHICLES 8/19/00

DESPITE "CEASEFIRE" RUSSIA CONTINUES WAR ON GEORGIA 8/18/08

ATLAS EXCLUSIVE: NIDRA POLLER, "DIVINE REALITY"8/16/08

GEORGIA: BOLTON ON THE BLOODY BEAR AND THE DEER IN THE HEADLIGHTS8/15/08

GEORGIA: The Poisonous Fruit of an "Independent" Kosovo  8/14/08

GEORGIAN PRESS CONFERENCES 8/13/08

RUSSIAN IMPERIALISM ON THE MARCH 8/13/08

We Are America, Act like it! 8/11/08

RUSSIA INVADES GEORGIA: WHERE'S NATO? WHERE'S THE US? 8/11/08

RUSSIA TAKES WAR TO THE MIDDLE EAST

I am watching my daughter lose the tennis finals but I saw this come across my news ticker and I had to post it via blackberry. Russia has re-emerged from its secondary status and seized its previous standing as treacherous superpower. Anyone watching the bloody aggression in Georgia could see a new era of Soviet aggression. Israel is America's proxy in the Middle East and if recent events are any indication, friends of the US do not fare well when our balls are to the wall.

The Russians put Arafat and the PLO on the map so we know where the Ruskies stand. Terrible, all of it
.
The balance of power is shifting rapidly (for the worse) will all but eliminate an Israeli raid on Iran..

Note the words "the West awaits". Yeah, that seems to be the norm,
now, to just WAIT around while the rest of the world makes their move.
We must be taking a page from the EU playbook

Big Russian flotilla led by Admiral Kuznetsov carrier heads for Syrian port
DEBKA  Exclusive Report

USELESS CONDI SAYS NYET TO GEORGIA IN NATO UPDATED: RUSSIANS SEIZE US VEHICLES

UPDATED: 3:48 Russia moves SS-21 missiles into Georgia: US defense official

Yulia Klimchuk cries during her son's funeral in Tbilisi

 

Georgian dead.

Why didn't the Georgians blow up the damn tunnel?

Georgians curse 'tunnel of misfortune'

The Georgian Times is running a piece today on the history of the Roki Tunnel, which runs beneath the Caucasus mountains connecting South Ossetia and Russia. As one of the only routes connecting North and South Ossetia, the tunnel was critical in Russia's ability to launch its counterattack into Georgia on Aug. 8.

Georgians long resisted the construction of the tunnel during the Soviet period, fearful of an influx of North Ossetians into Georgia, but the project was finally greenlit in the early 1990s by Georgia's first communist party secretary and later president Eduard Shevardnadze. The Georgian Times notes:

Shevardnadze perhaps did not imagine, when signing off the Roki project, what a fatal role this tunnel would play in the history of Georgia."

UPDATE: JOHN BOLTON ON CONFRONTING THE THREAT (BTW, Bolton will be joining me Thursday night on my radio show, Voices of Freedom,  on KFNX (8PM Pacific time, 11pm NY time)

Russia seizes US vehicles 

UPDATE: 3:30PM: Russia hits back at Nato warning

BBC News - 1 hour ago
Russia has dismissed a warning by Nato that normal relations are impossible while its troops remain inside Georgia. Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov accused Nato of bias and of trying to save the "criminal regime" in Tbilisi.

UPDATED: 8/19/08 1:26 Russia blockades port in Georgia and seizes soldiers 

Russia seizes US vehicles

The Russians have taken a page from Islamic jihad in dealing with Condi. Pay her lip service but pursue your malevolent aims. She is an idiot and she's got the whole wide world in her inept hands. Condi is a byproduct of affirmative action, the very definition of the Peter principle,
("In a Hierarchy Every Employee Tends to Rise to His Level of Incompetence"), clearly she rose to the highest level of her incompetence.

"Unaacceptable", the Bush administration's favorite word, has no meaning whatsover. Iranian nukes - "unacceptable"! Everything Condi has said is "unacceptable" has been accepted.

The White House reported today:   

 "Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice Monday ruled out accelerating Georgia's admission to NATO in response to the Russian invasion. But she warned Moscow that it is playing 'a very dangerous game' by resuming Cold War-era strategic bomber patrols close to the Alaskan coast.

Another toothless bite. I am sure the Ruskies are quaking in their combat boots.

'Russia is a state that is unfortunately using the one tool that it has always used whenever it wishes to deliver a message and that's its military power,' Rice told reporters en route to an emergency meeting of NATO foreign ministers set for Tuesday. 'That's not the way to deal in the 21st century.' ... Finally, she said, the foreign ministers will reassess overall relations with Russia, which has been seeking membership in international financial institutions and closer ties with the European Union. 'Frankly, Russia can't have it both ways. It can't act in a way that it did in the Cold War when it was the Soviet Union and expect to be treated as a responsible partner,' Rice said."  (Jonathan S. Landay, "Rice: Moscow Playing 'Dangerous Game' With Bomber Runs Off Alaska," McClatchy, 8/19/08)

More Atlas Coverage Here.

 

Photos of the Russian Front in Georgia

Defense Official: Russia Has Short Range Missiles in South Ossetia  FOX News

Scenes from  Georgia (go here for more pics) - the aggression continues

Click below for photo essay and updates

DESPITE "CEASEFIRE" RUSSIA CONTINUES WAR ON GEORGIA

UPDATE: Russian Army Dig In Outside Tbilisi (hat tip Michael)

RUSSIA'S WAR ON GEORGIA AIMED AT THE WEST Vladimir Sokor Eurasia Daily

18 August  

16:00 Russian military are exploding barracks and other installations of the Senaki military base.  

13:00 Russian Troops start movement towards Sachkhere and Borjomi.  

11:00 Russian Troops Blocked Road near Kaspi Again.

17 August  

19:30 More bridges mined by Russian Military in Kaspi district  

Russian soldiers are mining two local bridges in Kaspi district.  

16:30 Supsa oil terminal approached by Russian armored vehicle

One Russian armored vehicle approaches the Supsa oil terminal on the Black Sea coast.

14:05 Russians are mining roads in Svaneti  

Russian troops are mining the road and bridges south of Mestia, Svaneti region.  

13:25 Russian military helicopters land in Senaki

Eight Russian military helicopters have landed at the Senaki military base

Chronology of Bombing Facts

Forced Labor in South Ossetia (hat tip Michael)

"Labor even turns monkeys into humans," said a Russian officer, who along with armed Ossetians escorted one group of about two dozen Georgians through the streets of the capital.

The Russian officer threatened to arrest an Associated Press photographer if he took pictures, and would not give his name.

It appeared to be the first sign of abuse of Georgians in the Russian-controlled province.

Russian armored vehicles move in Orjosani, between the capital Tbilisi and strategic town of Gori, Georgia, Saturday, Aug. 16, 2008. Russian President Dmitry Medvedev signed a truce with Georgia on Saturday, a definitive step toward ending the fighting there despite the uncertainty on the ground reflected by Russian soldiers digging in just 30 miles from the Georgian capital. (AP Photo/Darko Bandic)

Russian forces remain in Georgia

IGOETI, Georgia (AP) - Russian forces built ramparts around tanks and posted sentries on a hill in central Georgia on Saturday, digging in despite Western pressure for Moscow to withdraw its forces under a cease-fire deal signed by Russian President Dmitry Medvedev.

The United States and France said it appeared Russia was defying the truce already. Russian troops still controlled two Georgian cities and the key east-west highway between them Saturday, cities well outside the breakaway provinces where earlier fighting was focused.

UPDATE: AUDIO:  George Freidman, founder and CEO of Stratfor on Chicago Public Radio Talking about Russia and Georgia

UPDATE: In this week’s issue of THE WEEKLY STANDARD Dan Blumenthal and Christopher Griffin warn that Russia’s invasion of Georgia could have devastating effects on Taiwan. The Chinese are wary of democratic, pro-American Taiwan, just as the Russians are concerned with democratic, pro-American Georgia. The slow American response to the Georgian situation might encourage the Chinese to act aggressively and follow in Putin’s footsteps.

UPDATE: Estonia, Google Help 'Cyberlocked' Georgia (Updated)

UPDATE: Click below for INTELLIGENCE BRIEFING UPDATE (hat tip Michael)

ATLAS EXCLUSIVE: NIDRA POLLER, "DIVINE REALITY"

Nidra Poller, American expat living in not so gay Paree, weighs in on the European's view of Russia's invasion into Georgia. It is all so ....inconvenient it seems. *sigh* (/sarc tag off)  How does Poller live in that morally bankrupt hell hole? (Photo placard reads: "Europe Wake Up")

DIVINE REALITY

Paris 14 August 2008

Nidra Poller

The last time breaking news looked like a movie was 9/11. That should be a tipoff. The mega-apocalypse WTC film was a real jihad attack on U.S. soil and Russian tanks rumbling into Georgia is the intrusion of naked reality in a presidential campaign that pits a lithe young Democrat floating on a cloud of mythology against a grizzly veteran whose wings were clipped in a real war.

The deceivingly small-scale Russo-Georgian conflict, supposedly resolved by exquisite European diplomacy, reminds us that a sudden outburst of military brutality can threaten the integrity of a sovereign nation in the space of a few short days.  It will come as no surprise to learn that near unanimous public opinion in France blames the uppity Georgian president Sakaashvili for foolishly provoking a big, strong, heavily armed bully who has no scruples about striking back 100 to 1. French media—customarily hostile to the government-- looked on with benign neutrality as Foreign Minister Bernard Kouchner went into peacemaking action, followed by President Sarkozy’s one-day negotiation of a theoretical cease fire agreement. French officials and commentators studiously refrained from casting blame on Russia and, paradoxically, dismissed President Bush as a lame duck sitting on the sidelines.

Newscasts in the opening days of the conflict were deliberately confusing. Tanks and soldiers were not identified, burning buildings were not located, early Russian claims of 2,000 casualties in Southern Ossetia were indiscriminately relayed, separatist claims of the two disputed regions were taken at face value. However, as the violence intensifies and Russian forces display utter disregard for the terms of the cease fire, reports from French journalists on the ground, visibly shocked by what they are seeing, have become more precise. Though the French president intervened in his role as acting president of the EU, the East-West fissure immediately widened, with former Soviet satellites insisting on unambiguous recognition of Georgia’s territorial integrity.

The question is what can Europeans—united or divided—do about it? Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov says the world can forget about Georgia’s territorial integrity. The French, absorbed by August vacations and inflated hopes for Olympic medals, would prefer to forget about Georgia altogether.  Scenes of distressed refugees lugging mattresses were upstaged by the tears of former Olympic swimming champion Laure Manadou--a has-been at the age of 21--and the joys of gold medalists Steeve Guenot and Alain Bernard.

Prestigious print media, busy raking “Micha” over the coals for his ill-fated, impulsive adventure, have shown no interest in geopolitical analysis of the conflict. There is nothing comparable to Melik Kaylan’s incisive exposé of Georgia ‘s strategic importance as a vital node on the East-West North-South axis ( “Welcome Back to the Great Game”  Wall Street Journal )

The outbreak of old-fashioned war, just weeks after Barack Hussein Obama made a whirlwind foreign tour to show he knows his way around, clarifies the hope he inspires in European voters, who would give him a dictator’s +80% score. They are dying to replace the detested Bush with this kinder, more humane, articulate emblem of diversity who will bring America back into the club of urbane civilized nations epitomized by Europe. When know-it-all Europeans are finally called upon to take leadership in dealing with troubles in their own backyard, all they have to offer is one-size-fits-all negotiations:  nobody is to blame, both armies should return to their previous positions, international peacekeepers will move in, and hopefully the whole thing will slip back into the shadows.

This is the kinder more humane approach we are invited to adopt. It is based on an appealing bookish worldview that arranges messy reality into a static three-dimensional text in which the outcome of every action is totally obvious because it can be read on the following page. In the imaginary world of peace campers, hindsight is foresight. No threat is real unless it has already materialized—Saddam Hussein’s Iraq in 2003, Ahmadinejad’s Iran today—and once it does materialize it becomes the fault of George W. Bush and the Zionists.  George W. Bush was supposed to know in advance about 9/11 but no one told us last month to beware of Russian tanks on the make.

Waving Tibetan flags is a lot easier than getting involved in a mess in the Caucasus. While Georgian civilians cry their hearts out the Dalai Lama tours French pagodas dispensing Buddhist teachings and reminding the world of human rights violations in Tibet. His visit is exploited by lightweights as a water pistol to spit in China’s eye and a sash to beat the French president. Sarkozy has been treated as an unscrupulous coward because he didn’t boycott the opening ceremony of the evil Chinese Olympics and now, to avoid offending the unforgiveable Chinese, he is not meeting with the saintly monk. Would anyone dream of doing a hatchet job on the old bonze? In Le Monde for example? Would a snooty journalist ask why the old spiritual pinup is pulling at the sleeve of China’s kimono right smack in the middle of the Beijing Olympics? What could he expect but more repression? You don’t anger the Chinese dragon unless you’ve got a magic sword in your belt!   

 

Above and beyond the choice of a president, American voters will be choosing between the illusion of international harmony –if only we all talk and listen to each other-- and the reality of hostile powers that must be met with military force. Europe, especially France, has been a standing reproach to the American use of military might. And the Democratic Party has used this European scolding as leverage. Today we have a graphic illustration of the world as it is and the results that can be expected from dreaming it out of reality.

 

GEORGIA: BOLTON ON THE BLOODY BEAR AND THE DEER IN THE HEADLIGHTS

They are waving American flags ....  poor bastards. Counting on America is like counting on Paris Hilton  (with friends like us)

Watch this video. Who is next indeed?  

Bolton eviscerates the administration and the West for its spinelessness in dealing with Russia. It's lengthy but it's the best analysis out there - so go here and read it:

Excerpt:

After Russia's invasion of Georgia, what now for the West?  John R Bolton (hat tip Van)

At least for now, the smoke seems to be clearing from the Georgian battlefield. But the extent of the wreckage reaches far beyond that small country.

As bad as the bloodying of Georgia is, the broader consequences are worse. The United States fiddled while Georgia burned, not even reaching the right rhetorical level in its public statements until three days after the Russian invasion began, and not, at least to date, matching its rhetoric with anything even approximating decisive action. This pattern is the very definition of a paper tiger. Sending Secretary of State Condeleezza Rice to Tbilisi is touching, but hardly reassuring; dispatching humanitarian assistance is nothing more than we would have done if Georgia had been hit by a natural rather than a man-made disaster.

The European Union took the lead in diplomacy, with results approaching Neville Chamberlain’s moment in the spotlight at Munich: a ceasefire that failed to mention Georgia’s territorial integrity, and that all but gave Russia permission to continue its military operations as a “peacekeeping” force anywhere in Georgia. More troubling, over the long term, was that the EU saw its task as being mediator – its favourite role in the world – between Georgia and Russia, rather than an advocate for the victim of aggression.

Even this dismal performance was enough to relegate Nato to an entirely backstage role, while Russian tanks and planes slammed into a “faraway country”, as Chamberlain once observed so thoughtfully. In New York, paralysed by the prospect of a Russian veto, the UN Security Council, that Temple of the High-Minded, was as useless as it was during the Cold War. In fairness to Russia, it at least still seems to understand how to exercise power in the Council, which some other Permanent Members often appear to have forgotten.

The West, collectively, failed in this crisis. Georgia wasted its dime making that famous 3am telephone call to the White House, the one Hillary Clinton referred to in a campaign ad questioning Barack Obama’s fitness for the Presidency. Moreover, the blood on the Bear’s claws did not go unobserved in other states that were once part of the Soviet Union. Russia demonstrated unambiguously that it could have marched directly to Tbilisi and installed a puppet government before any Western leader was able to turn away from the Olympic Games. It could, presumably, do the same to them.

Fear was one reaction Russia wanted to provoke, and fear it has achieved, not just in the “Near Abroad” but in the capitals of Western Europe as well. But its main objective was hegemony, a hegemony it demonstrated by pledging to reconstruct Tskhinvali, the capital of its once and no-longer-future possession, South Ossetia. The contrast is stark: a real demonstration of using sticks and carrots, the kind that American and European diplomats only talk about. Moreover, Russia is now within an eyelash of dominating the Baku-Tbilisi-Ceyhan pipeline, the only route out of the Caspian Sea region not now controlled by either Russia or Iran. Losing this would be dramatically unhelpful if we hope for continued reductions in global petroleum prices, and energy independence from unfriendly, or potentially unfriendly, states.

[....]

Europe’s rejection this spring of President Bush’s proposal to start Ukraine and Georgia towards Nato membership was the real provocation to Russia, because it exposed Western weakness and timidity. As long as that perception exists in Moscow, the risk to other former Soviet territories – and in precarious regions such as the Middle East – will remain.

Obviously, not all former Soviet states are as critical to Nato as Ukraine, because of its size and strategic location, or Georgia, because of its importance to our access to the Caspian Basin’s oil and natural gas reserves. Moreover, not all of them meet fundamental Nato prerequisites. But we must now review our relationship with all of them. This, in effect, Nato failed to do after the Orange and Rose Revolutions, leaving us in our present untenable position.

By its actions in Georgia, Russia has made clear that its long-range objective is to fill that “gap” if we do not. That, as Western leaders like to say, is “unacceptable”. By drawing the line clearly, we are not provoking Russia, but doing just the opposite: letting them know that aggressive behaviour will result in costs that they will not want to bear, thus stabilising a critical seam between Russia and the West. In effect, we have already done this successfully with Estonia, Latvia and Lithuania. Accordingly, we should have a foreign-minister-level meeting of Nato to reverse the spring capitulation at Bucharest, and to decide that Georgia and Ukraine will be Nato’s next members. 

Second, the United States needs some straight talk with our friends in Europe, which ideally should have taken place long before the assault on Georgia. To be sure, American inaction gave French President Sarkozy and the EU the chance to seize the diplomatic initiative. However, Russia did not invade Georgia with diplomats or roubles, but with tanks. This is a security threat, and the proper forum for discussing security threats on the border of a Nato member – yes, Europe, this means Turkey – is Nato.

Saying this may cause angst in Europe’s capitals, but now is the time to find out if Nato can withstand a potential renewed confrontation with Moscow, or whether Europe will cause Nato to wilt. Far better to discover this sooner rather than later, when the stakes may be considerably higher. If there were ever a moment since the fall of the Berlin Wall when Europe should be worried, this is it. If Europeans are not willing to engage through Nato, that tells us everything we need to know about the true state of health of what is, after all, supposedly a “North Atlantic” alliance.

Finally, the most important step will take place right here in the United States. With a Presidential election on November 4, Americans have an opportunity to take our own national pulse, given the widely differing reactions to Russia’s blitzkrieg from Senator McCain and (at least initially) Senator Obama. First reactions, before the campaigns’ pollsters and consultants get involved, are always the best indicators of a candidate’s real views. McCain at once grasped the larger, geostrategic significance of Russia’s attack, and the need for a strong response, whereas Obama at first sounded as timorous and tentative as the Bush Administration. Ironically, Obama later moved closer to McCain’s more robust approach, followed only belatedly by Bush.

In any event, let us have a full general election debate over the implications of Russia’s march through Georgia. Even before this incident, McCain had suggested expelling Russia from the G8; others have proposed blocking Russia’s application to join the World Trade Organisation or imposing economic sanctions as long as Russian troops remain in Georgia. Obama has assiduously avoided specifics in foreign policy – other than withdrawing speedily from Iraq – but that luxury should no longer be available to him. We need to know if Obama’s reprise of George McGovern’s 1972 campaign theme, “Come home, America”, is really what our voters want, or if we remain willing to persevere in difficult circumstances, as McCain has consistently advocated. Querulous Europe should hope, for its own sake, that America makes the latter choice.

PHOTO: Georgian President Mikhail Saakashvili reacts during a rally in Tbilisi, Georgia, Tuesday, Aug. 12, 2008. Some thousands of Georgians gathered Tuesday in an emphatic show of support for President Mikhail Saakashvili after the country came under attack from Russian forces.

UPDATE: Read it all, and then after sufficient frustration read Glick and weep:

In their statements Wednesday on Russia's invasion of Georgia, both US President George W. Bush and Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice openly acknowledged that Russia is the aggressor in the war and that the US stands by Georgia.

This is all very nice and well. But what does the fact that it took the US a full five days to issue a clear statement against Russian aggression tell us about the US? What does it say about Georgia and, in a larger sense, about the nature of world affairs?

Russia's blitzkrieg in Georgia this week was not simply an act of aggression against a small, weak democracy. It was an assault on vital Western security interests. Since it achieved independence in 1990, Georgia has been the only obstacle in Russia's path to exerting full control over oil supplies from Central Asia to the West. And now, in the aftermath of Russia's conquest of Georgia, that obstacle has been set aside.

Georgia has several oil and gas pipelines that traverse its territory from Azerbaijan to Turkey, the main one being the Baku-Tbilisi-Ceyhan pipeline. Together they transport more than 1 percent of global oil supplies from east to west. In response to the Russian invasion, British Petroleum, which owns the pipelines, announced that it will close them.

This means that Russia has won. In the future that same oil and gas will either be shipped through Russia, or it will be shipped through Georgia under the benevolent control of Russian "peacekeeping" forces permanently stationed in Gori. The West now has no option other than appeasing Russia if it wishes to receive its oil from the Caucasus.

Russian control of these oil arteries represents as significant a threat to Western strategic interests as Saddam Hussein's conquest of Kuwait and his threat to invade Saudi Arabia in 1990. Like Saddam's aggression then, Russia's takeover of Georgia threatens the stability of the international economy.

While Russia's invasion of Georgia is substantively the same as Saddam's attempt to assert control over Persian Gulf oil producers 18 years ago, what is different is the world's response. Eighteen years ago, the US led a UN-mandated international coalition to defeat Iraq and roll back Saddam's aggression. Today, the West is encouraging Georgia to surrender.

Whether due to exhaustion over the domestic fights about the wars in Afghanistan and Iraq, dependence on Russian oil supplies, a residual and unjustified belief that Russia will side with the West in a confrontation with Iran over its nuclear weapons program, or the absence of an easy option for defending Georgia, it is manifestly clear that today the West is fully willing to accept complete Russian control of oil supplies from Central Asia.

Notwithstanding the strong statements issued Wednesday
by Bush and Rice, the West has taken two steps to make its willingness to accept Russia's moves clear. First, there was French President Nicolas Sarkozy's photogenic mediation-tour to Moscow and Tbilisi on Tuesday. And second there was the US's response to Sarkozy's shuttle diplomacy on Wednesday.

Sarkozy's mediation efforts signaled nothing less than Europe's abandonment of Georgia. During his visit to Moscow, where he met with Russian dictator Vladimir Putin and Putin's Charlie McCarthy doll, "President" Dmitry Medvedev, Sarkozy agreed to a six-point document setting out the terms of the cease-fire and the basis for "peace" talks to follow.

The document's six points included the following principles: The non-use of force; a cease-fire; a guarantee of access to humanitarian aid; the garrisoning of Georgian military forces; the continued deployment of Russian forces in South Ossetia and Abkhazia, and anywhere else they wish to go; and an international discussion of the political status of Abkhazia and South Ossetia.

As a reporter for France's Liberation noted, by agreeing to the document France abandoned the basic premise that Georgia's territorial integrity should be respected by Russia. Moreover, by leaving Russian forces in the country and giving them the right to deploy wherever they deem necessary, Sarkozy accepted Russian control of Georgia. By grounding Georgian forces in their garrisons, (or what is left of them after most of Georgia's major military bases were either destroyed or occupied by Russian forces), Sarkozy's document denies Georgia the right to defend itself from future Russian aggression.

[...]

"We shouldn't make any moral judgments on this war. Stopping the war, that's what we're interested in," French Foreign Minister Bernard Kouchner explained, adding, "Don't ask us who's good and who's bad here."

Then there is the fact that Georgia has gone out of its way to liberalize and democratize its society and political system and to be a loyal ally to the US. It sent significant forces to Iraq and Kosovo. Far from returning the favor, in Georgia's hour of need, all the US agreed to do was give Georgian forces a free plane ride home from Iraq. That the administration has no intention of defending its loyal ally was made clear Wednesday afternoon when the Pentagon sharply denied Georgian claims that the US would defend Georgian airports and seaports from Russian aggression.

The Pentagon's blunt denial of any plan to restore Georgian sovereignty was one of the first truly credible statements issued by the US Defense Department on the conflict. It took the US four days to acknowledge Russian aggression beyond South Ossetia. Even as convoys of journalists were shelled, civilian's homes were bombed, and Georgian military bases were destroyed by Russian forces in Gori, a Defense Department official said, "We don't see anything that supports [the Russians] are in Gori. I don't know why the Georgians are saying that."

The general lesson that emerges from Washington's claims of ignorance is that reality itself is of no concern to policy-makers bent on ignoring it. Through its obvious lies, Washington was able to justify taking no action of any sort against Russia and not speaking out in defense of Georgia until after Russia forced Georgia to surrender its sovereignty through the French mediators.

The US and European willingness to let Georgia fall despite its strategic importance, despite the fact that it has operated strictly within the bounds of international law, and despite its obvious ideological affinity and loyalty to them will have enormous repercussions for the West's relations with Ukraine, the Baltic States, Poland and the Czech Republic. But its aftershocks will not be limited to Europe. They will reverberate in the Middle East as well. And Israel, for one, should take note of what has transpired.

[...]

If nothing else comes of it, the West's response to the rape of Georgia should end that delusion. Georgia did almost everything right. And like Israel was, for its actions Georgia was celebrated in the West with platitudes of enduring friendship and empty promises of alliances that were discarded the moment Russia invaded.

Georgia only made one mistake, and for that mistake it will pay an enormous price. As it steadily built alliances, it forgot to build an army. Israel has an army. It has just forgotten why its survival depends on our willingness to use it.

If we are unwilling to use our military to defeat our enemies, we will lose everything. This is the basic, enduring truth of international affairs that we have ignored at our peril. No matter what we do, it will always be the case. For this is the nature of world affairs, and the nature of man.

GEORGIA: The Poisonous Fruit of an "Independent" Kosovo

The obscure and terrible result (apart from the obvious bloodshed, displacement, and ruin)  of the hostilities in Georgia is what a break, what a victory it is for Islam. The global jihad could not have engineered it better.  Islam is served by a break in a US-Russo alliance.

Had we followed the Bush doctrine, a coherent plan of opposing jihad and Islamic expansion we could have kept our policies clear and cogent, and consistent of application, not in the least having an opportunity to maintain if not cordial at least not crises level communication with Russia, with no costs to allied policies such as advancing and promoting democracy and market economies consistent with our own. Instead, Condi,  Burns, Hadley were so busy trying to establish a terror state in the heart of Israel, theys have got this all fubar, "fucked up beyond all relief."  and, they delude themselves into thinking they advance American interests, in some odd, "complicated"  fashion.

Instead of defining our  philosophy "by a conscious, rational, disciplined process of thought and "scrupulously logical deliberation' -- we "accumulated a junk heap of unwarranted conclusions, false generalizations, undefined contradictions, undigested slogans, unidentified wishes, doubts and fears, thrown together by chance, but integrated by your subconscious into a kind of mongrel philosophy and fused into a single, solid weight: self-doubt, like a ball and chain in the place where your mind's wings should have grown." Ayn Rand

The line in the sand was drawn with the US backing of an independent Kosovo.

 Bush offered military aid to a breakaway Kosovo. The Russians were The Serbian Parliament is set to rejected Kosovo's unilateral declaration of independence and Russia signaled that it will support Belgrade on this issue.

The Kosovan chickens are coming home to roost. *sigh* Back in February, Glick warned, KOSOVO'S STARK WARNING.

Back on March 8th I reported  that South Ossetia was seeking recognition - (with the rejoiner , "Hate to say I told ya so .............they won't be the first or the last) and Dr. Eldad wrote here, "The Muslim Republic of Kososo".

"The independence of Kosovo is a precedent that all EU countries with an ethnic minority should pursue"

South Ossetia: The perfect wrong war

Let's review the battle of arguments in the South Ossetia conflict and try to analyze the essence while keeping an eye on the bigger picture, the one that affects democracies' national security and international efforts against terror forces.

[...]   

The roots of the local conflict

Since 1999, the outcome of the Western campaign in Kosovo brought about a parallel status quo to the one established in South Ossetia and in Abkhasia. In short, NATO had created an autonomous area for the ethnic Albanians inside a sovereign country, Serbia; while Russia and the CIS have insured autonomous status for South Ossetians and Abkhasians inside another sovereign state, Georgia.

From a Russian perspective the two cases were linked and would eventually be resolved via negotiations. From a Western perspective Kosovo was "unique" and was to be resolved differently, that is granted independence unilaterally. But as long as Russian-American relations especially under Presidents Bush and Putin were warm, the de facto enclaves in Kosovo and Ossetia lived in stability.

The challenge began when during winter 2008, the US and the European Union decided to unleash Kosovo's separation despite Serbia's opposition. In international jurisprudence, breaking away entities need validation by the country the partition is going to affect. In Canada for example, Quebec would always need the other provinces to agree on separation. Agreement of "both sides" is usually sought.

But in the case of Kosovo, for international political motivations, including a gesture to please the Organization of the Islamic Conference (OIC) in the midst of a campaign to win hearts and minds, Washington and Brussels went ahead swiftly and endorsed Pristina's declaration of separation from Belgrade. The Western powers argued that going back to Serbia was out of question for the Kosovars; therefore going forward was the only option, despite Serbian claims inside the province.

The underlying geopolitical reasoning was that no force including the Russians would be able to oppose the move. "They are too far" to intervene, assumed the diplomats. But Moscow made its intentions known the day of Kosovo's declaration of independence.

And of course for more on  the Kosovo factor -  Julia Gorin today at Republican Riot:

All the Confused Imposters Weigh in on South Ossetia

As people weigh in on the South Ossetia showdown now that a Balkans-rooted crisis finally has their attention, they are starting the clock, and their observations, from this incident as if it were isolated from that which precipitated it. For example, you get posts like the one from Political Maven Monica Crowley yesterday, drawing a Munich analogy well after the real Munich-style appeasement was done in Kosovo when she wasn’t looking — at her country’s hands. Crowley writes:

When Nazi Germany seized control of Czechoslovakia in 1938, appeaser extraordinaire Neville Chamberlain referred to it as “a faraway country of which we know little.”

The Nazi invasion was based on the simple and reasonable enough-sounding pretext that ethnic Germans in the Sudetenland wanted to be annexed to the Fatherland. Hitler’s invasion of that small, seemingly insignificant country led, of course, to total war in Europe and a global conflict that cost 100 million lives. All because the Western democracies didn’t see—or didn’t want to see—the unsatiable appetites of an expansionist power led by a coldly calculating mass murderer.

The insatiable appetites of an expansionist power are those of an expansionist Islam, which early on set its sights on the Balkans. And the West has been helping secure that prize for it. The “faraway country of which we know little” was Yugoslavia, and the Munich analogy culminated in a faraway province of which we know little, called Kosovo. In Kosovo, the Albanian-wrought NATO invasion was based on the simple and reasonable enough-sounding pretext that ethnic Albanians in Kosovo wanted to be annexed to the Fatherland (something that Albanians have made no secret of despite our leaders’ denials and decoy reasons for our support of a policy driven by the threat of violence).

The much more solid Kosovo-Munich parallels abound, including from the author of the book Munich and from former Czech Foreign Affairs Minister Jiří Dienstbier, who pointed out that the Czech Republic’s reluctant decision to recognize Kosovo in June took place on the territory of the former Sudetenland. For God’s sake, John McCain’s statement calling on the U.S. and EU to recognize the illegal Muslim land grab in Kosovo as independence was prepared for a February security conference in Munich!

The current Russia-Georgia crisis is the “total war in Europe and a global conflict costing millions of lives” of which Crowley speaks. It is part of the chaos stemming from the U.S.-led NATO “invasion of that small, seemingly insignificant country,” in which we did the Muslim Albanians’ bidding — first downplaying their Muslimness, then proudly announcing that we were doing it to buy Islamic good will. Of course, one would have to have been paying attention to the fallout from Bill Clinton’s congressionally unapproved war to have a clue.

Crowley continues:

Russia has used the pretext that ethnic Russians living in a part of the independent republic of Georgia want to be folded into Russia. The Georgians, they say, are doing “ethnic cleansing” of the Russians there, requiring Russia to intervene to defend them.

Of course, this requires Russian tanks, fighter jets, and now ground troops to sweep into Georgia proper, killing thousands while they begin to occupy the country.

Where is Crowley’s cynicism about the “ethnic cleansing” claims that continue to be used to justify wresting Kosovo from sovereign Serbian land even nine years after those claims were debunked the very year of our invasion by every major newspaper after we all moved on — including by the late Daniel Pearl? An invasion in which we didn’t have even the minimal interest and kinship that the Russians can use for their much more solid pretext. An invasion which “of course required [NATO] tanks, fighter jets, and” — if Wesley Clark, John McCain, Joe Lieberman, and even George W. Bush had their way –”ground troops to sweep into [Serbia] proper, killing thousands while they begin to occupy the country.”

Go, read Gorin.

GEORGIAN PRESS CONFERENCES

UPDATE 4:23pm: MCCAIN PRESS CONFERENCE NOW. I gotta tell you, the man is positively presidential.  Obambi looks like a babe in the woods, more like a deer in the headlights:

Welcomes France and EU's involvement. Disturbed that the "peace agreement" did not speak to Georgia's sovereignty".

We must review our NATO alliance

Must review Russia's membership in the G8 and World Trade organization.

NATO must review membership of Georgia and Ukraine as soon as possible.

Lieberman and Graham going to Georgia (Armed Services Committee). Hopes other members will do as well

We have to do what we can to reassure other countries in the region .....

Q&A: Question on Obama's remark on McCain's "belligerence":

This isn't the time for partisanship and sniping.

This is about the lives of hundreds, thousands of people. This is not the time for that.

"I have been to Georgia on several occasions. I know the President of Georgia, I know him well. I know the people of Georgia after enjoying a period of peace and prosperity, the people of Georgia are suffering mightily."

Questions: Would you take military action:

"No"

He doesn't see this as a return to the nuclear standoff of old." In the 21st century, nations do not invade other nations." We must show solidarity. An attack on a NATO member nation, is an attack on all.

Remains concerned about the integrity of Georgian sovereignty.

US is still a beacon of hope and liberty across the world.

I recognize we are a member of the international community

UPDATE: CONDI PRESS CONFERENCE: "WE STAND WITH GEORGIA". Oy, we know what that means. Just ask Israel.

UPDATE: "This is not 1968 and the invasion of Czechoslovakia where Russia can threaten a neighbor, occupy a capital, overthrow a government and get away with it," Rice said just hours before leaving for France. "Things have changed.". Meanwhile Russia is  further advancing into Georgia.

Laughingly, the Obama spokesbots' position is McCain made things worse for strongly backing Georgia.

Obama adviser Susan Rice, appearing on MSNBC's "Hardball" Tuesday night, accused McCain of responding irresponsibly.

"We were dealing with the facts as we knew them. John McCain shot from the hip, very aggressive, belligerent statement. He may or may not have complicated the situation."

Who the hell are these folks rooting for? What country do they represent?

BUSH: "WE STAND WITH THE GOVERNMENT OF GEORGIA"

Do Obama and Russia Share Advisors? RedState

[...]. While one might think the White House would have the best statement, given the Secretary of State’s expertise in Russian affairs, the media and bloggers all recognized McCain’s as the most forcefully in support of the Republic of Georgia, an American ally.

Barack Obama’s campaign statement was perhaps the most pathetic statement ever issued by a Presidential candidate or President about an international military incident. Even Jimmy Carter was more forceful when Russia invaded Afghanistan.

I fisked it here.

BUSH PRESS ONFERENCE: WASHINGTON - President Bush put the U.S. more firmly than ever on Georgia's side in its conflict with Russia on Wednesday, sending humanitarian aid on American military planes to help the embattled ex-Soviet republic and displaying growing impatience with Moscow's aggression.

"In recent years, Russia has sought to integrate into the diplomatic, political, economic and security structures of the 21st century," the president said. "The United States has supported those efforts. Now Russia is putting its aspirations at risk by taking actions in Georgia that are inconsistent with the principles of those institutions."

Bush also gave repeated and unqualified assurances of "America's unwavering support for Georgia's democratic government."

And he announced that U.S. military assets and personnel would be deploying into the conflict zone. Though they are only going on a humanitarian mission, Bush made a point of noting that "we will use U.S. aircraft, as well as naval forces" to distribute supplies. He warned Russia not to impede relief efforts in any way.

All this appeared designed to answer criticism that Bush has not done enough to stand by his 2005 pledge, made from the center of Tbilisi before tens of thousands of citizens, to "stand with" the people of Georgia.

But only hours before Bush's remarks Wednesday, Saakashvili called the Western response of late inadequate. "I feel that they are partly to blame," said Saakashvili, who talked with Bush by phone earlier in the day. "Not only those who commit atrocities are responsible ... but so are those who fail to react."

[...]

From Moscow, Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov derided Georgia's leadership as "a special project of the United States" and said the U.S. will have to choose "either support for a virtual project, or real partnership on issues that really demand collective action." This was a reference to U.S. cooperation with Russia in the U.N. Security Council on Iran, North Korea and other global hot spots.

RUSSIAN IMPERIALISM ON THE MARCH

*****TOP POST SCROLL FOR NEW POSTS, UPDATES, PRESS CONFERENCES****

UPDATE: RUSSIA THREATENS, TELLS JOURNALISTS  TO GET OUT OF GEORGIA.

Situation Report, Russo-Georgian Conflict (hat tip Van)

Despite, lips flapping otherwise, Russia continues its aggression into the sovereign nation Georgia .A Russian tank battalion is occupying  Gori on Wednesday and was controlling access roads into and out of the city. Georgian troops pull back. A "peace agreement" with the Russian is as good as a "peace agreement" with "Palestinian Gazans". Worthless.  Utter contempt of free men.

Looking towards the future, McCain has been brilliant during the is crisis. He has been more presidential than Bush and made oybambi look positively foolish.

Where is the rabid anti-war leftards on the looting, burning and killing innocent Georgians .

Looking down the road, Dagby D'Anconia analyst over  Wheeler's Rational Oasis posits this:

Russian Aspirations Beyond the Pipeline 

If Russia takes and holds Georgia with a mass of troops, or enough of Georgia to have an occupied path north to south in Georgia... .

And then there is the imminent expected chaos in Iran once it is attacked by Israel....

Russia has only to roll across little Armenia to take a role in the military situation in Iran.

Thus Russia can take advantage of the situation and claim a warm water port in the Persian Gulf as well as the oil and gas fields of Iran on the way to the Gulf. (See map below) .

Iran could not say no to the bear ally or the bear enemy.  The Russians could sweep down along the oil and gas fields to the Gulf and provide a barrier line of Russian troops protecting Iran from the Americans.

If they occupy territory beyond the pipeline, it will become obvious their aspirations are far beyond the pipeline.  They too sense the moment of opportunity for gas, oil and a warm water port is coming. .

It might even involve a Yalta-like situation where we end up thanking the Russians for stabilizing the nuclear situation in Iran for us.

Clic for map of oil and gas fields of Iran.

If we try to hold this situation off by reining in Israel (as seems to be happening) then the Iranians get to finish their bomb.  Its a win either way for Russia as oil either comes under their control, or is destroyed in war.

The only solution is to stop the Russians now.  Thus President Bush has dispatched Condi with "humanitarian aid" which we hope includes the weaponry specified by Jack in "Georgia can be Putin's Afghanistan". The Russians dare not block the delivery of such "aid" when Condi is accompanying it.

President Bush:

"I've also directed Secretary of Defense Bob Gates to begin a humanitarian mission to the people of Georgia, headed by the United States military. This mission will be vigorous and ongoing. A U.S. C-17 aircraft with humanitarian supplies is on its way. And in the days ahead we will use U.S. aircraft, as well as naval forces, to deliver humanitarian and medical supplies."

UPDATE: I agree with Stop the ACLU - STEP IN!

UPDATE: CHINA CONFIDENTIAL makes three good points:

 

1. Weakness invites aggression. Russia was weak after the breakup of the Soviet Union. The United States took advantage of Russia's weakness by expanding and strengthening NATO and seeking to isolate and further weaken Russia. Today, the United States is weak--or is perceived as being weak by much of the world. So Russia is taking advantage of the opportunity to hit back.
 
2. Politics is about power, not public relations. Russia has the power to crush and intimidate its adversaries if they cross certain red lines, and is not afraid of using it--in sharp contrast with Washington, which seeks to accommodate and appease its worst enemies (e.g. nuclear-armed, Stalinist North Korea and nuclear-arming, Islamist Iran).
 
3. Oil and gas matter more than carbon credits. The world runs on real energy, not on alternative energy dreams, schemes and scams. Russia, unlike the US, has a national energy policy and is not afraid to produce its way to prosperity ... while the US, in the grip of environmental extremists and global warming zealots and charlatans led by former Vice President Al Gore and House Speaker Nancy Pelosi, worries about "saving the planet."

 

We Are America, Act like it!

UPDATE: 'Unacceptable': Bush Denounces Russian Attacks on Georgia

Bush may have found his balls. And it's a good thing. It has  become a handicap,  being an American ally. When the going gets tough, the "tough" appease and chances are you'll be very much on your own if you are an "American ally".  Look at our recent record. We lost Lebanon to Hezb'allah, we have thrown Israel to the Islamic barbarians, Taiwan is screwed, Japan is staring at NORK's nukes and the Tibetans are as good as dead.  Who'd I miss?  Oh yeah, Colombia.

With a friend like America who needs enemies?   We have done more to diminish our hegemony than any foreign entity ever could. We have little credibility.

Full story on Russia invading Georgia here.

Bush warns Russia to pull back in Georgia  MATTHEW LEE hat tip Van

WASHINGTON (AP) - President Bush on Monday demanded that Russia end a "dramatic and brutal escalation" of violence in Georgia, agree to an immediate cease-fire and accept international mediation to end the crisis in the former Soviet republic. Almost immediately after his return from the Olympics in China, Bush warned Russia in his strongest comments since the fighting erupted over Georgia's separatist South Ossetia region last week to "reverse the course it appears to be on" and abandon any attempt it may have to topple Georgia's pro-western government.

Sounds good.

[...]

Wood said the United States was hopeful that the U.N. Security Council would pass a "strong" resolution on the fighting that called for an end to attacks on both sides as well as mediation, but prospects for such a statement were dim given that Russia wields veto power on the 15-member body.

WTF?

UPDATE: I forgot Cuba. Who can forget the Bay of Pigs. (thanks to Cyber Ray in the comments.)

UPDATE: South Vietnam (hat tip Nat) - how could I forget :p

UPDATE: Didn't Bush's daddy screw over the Marsh Arabs in Iraq as well? And, the Kurds? Add Cambodia to South Vietnam. (hat tip etertz)

RUSSIA INVADES GEORGIA: WHERE'S NATO? WHERE'S THE US?

FLEEING THE CITY, THE PEOPLE WERE SCREAMING, 'THE RUSSIANS ARE COMING, THE RUSSIANS ARE COMING!" The Russians are leaving death and destruction in their wake.

Georgia is a key US ally.

*****SCROLL FOR UPDATES*******

UPDATE 3:39: THE MINISTER OF FOREIGN AFFAIRS IS BLOGGING (go here) (hat tip slimguy)

Monday, August 11 - 20:20 Tbilisi, Georgia
** UPDATE ** URGENT: Russian Ground Forces Invade Georgia, Georgian Army Retreats to Defend Capital; Government Appeals for Urgent International Intervention

At this hour, the invading army of the Russian Federation has entered Georgian territory outside the conflict zones of Abkhazia and South Ossetia. The Georgian army is retreating to defend the capital. The Government is urgently seeking international intervention to prevent the fall of Georgia and the further loss of life.

"We no longer know the limits of the invading Russian army—Russia seems intent on overthrowing the democratically elected government of Georgia and occupying the country," said Alexander Lomaia, the Secretary of the National Security Council. "As a consequence, the National Security Council has just decided to bring the Georgian army to Tbilisi in order to defend the capital and prevent the fall of Georgia."

UPDATE 3:20:.(Dr. Wheeler's analysis See below)

Georgia is where Russian barbaric imperialism must be stopped. It can be stopped, but the action to do so must be now, before Russia's seizure of Georgia is consolidated.  Then Ukraine is next.

I am calling upon every conservative leader to support freedom fighters in Georgia as they did in Afghanistan, Angola, and Nicaragua 25 years ago, and demand that President Bush provide that support as did President Reagan

RUSSIA HAS BROADENED ITS ATTACK ON GEORGIA (BUSH,  COME HOME!)

Russia has invaded Georgia. It's all about oil. It galls me how the the truly evil players are given a free pass and America is always kicked in the head when she finally take some action and does the right thing. But watch how this plays out -- Russia, China, Islam -- all given carte blanche to pursue their malevolent goals. Has the UN blamed Israel yet?

And the UN is worthless. If they can't blame Israel or America they have no role (and we foot the bill).

As President Saakashvili of Georgia appeals to America and the "world community" to intervene to stop the war in his country, the Security Council is mired in a Cold War-like paralysis that will likely lead in the next few days to a Russian veto on a proposed cease-fire resolution, diplomats say. (The NY SUN)

What are they going to do? Send Putin a strongly worded letter? They can't agree on the wording of a proposed ceasefire.

Russia opened a second front of fighting in Georgia on Monday, sending armored vehicles beyond two breakaway provinces and seizing a military base and police stations in the country's west, the Georgian government and a Russian official said. Around midday ET, Georgia's national security council head said Russian troops had taken the key city of Gori.

Georgia's national security council head said Russian troops have taken the key city of Gori. (WSJ)

Nothing happens for decades, then decades happen in a day. The world has changed mightily in the last couple of  days. This move on the global chessboard  is of major significance.   Russsia obviously planned this for some time to coincide with the Olympics. Ironically, it comes on the death of  Solzenitzen (" evil does exist in the world")>

Expect nothing from the spineless Democrat cowards in Congress. They are  on vacation both figuratively and literally, meanwhile the world burns. The Russians have called our bluff and our hand.

This is a proxy attack on the West (read America). Who do you want in charge, McCain or Obambi? McCain was right about Putin.

Remember when Condi was being named to the Cabinet, her credentials were on Russian/Soviet tactics? Abject failure. The upside is perhaps she'll have to stop supporting the jihad and be forced to concentrate on something else.

We can only hope.

If the West does not respond, we can kiss years of effort goodbye as our influence, hegemony might wane almost overnight. The two Presidential candidates weighed in, Obama with a weak sad liberal  reply and McCain with some force of conviction-a good window to how he might respond as President. While Obama is in Hawaii trying to clean up the COLB, the world is at war. This will have serious consequences on the November election.

As for Bush. I hope he finds his balls. This is a huge slap in the face for the U.S. and President Bush, who met with Putin at the Olympics in Beijing. Putin then ordered Russian troops into Georgia and flew to North Ossetia on the Russian side of the border directly from Beijing.

Russia and the Middle East are all empowered by the recent gain in Petrodollars [DRILL NOW!]  and, along with China, are flexing their new-found strength against the West. Essentially, America IS the West. The Democrats refusal to allow us to develop our own natural resources has crippled us and done us irreparable harm in the near and mid term. They are looking out for our enemies, not America. Vote them out in November. Check out Pelosi's corruption here.

(much thanks to Van who has been sending me key updates all through the Russian invasion).

Times Online: Russia strikes a blow at its fears of Nato encirclement There is much more at stake in the fighting than the future of two small breakaway republics, however. A greater conflict is under way.

One key is the recognition earlier this year by Nato and European Union countries of Kosovan independence from Serbia. Russia opposed this; Serbia has long been its client state. However, it tried to turn the defeat to its advantage by pushing the argument that, if Kosovans could be independent, so too could the Abkhazians and Ossetians.

This was a significant development in Russia's reaction to what it regards as steady western encirclement.

"It's not about Georgia any more," Saakashvili said. "It's about America, its values: we are a freedom-loving nation that is right now under attack."

Saakashvili knows full well, however, that his country is of great economic importance to western Europe because of the Baku-Tbilisi-Ceyhan (BTC) oil pipeline, which runs through central Georgia south of the breakaway region.

Although it lies hundreds of miles from troubled South Ossetia, the BTC pipeline is flanked by key Georgian military installations that were among the first targets attacked by Russian jets as the conflict erupted late last week.

Why won't  the the US the West help our ally Georgia? Why won't we  admit Georgia  to NATO?

But American diplomats conceded that the US had few options and ruled out military intervention on behalf of Georgia. "We have no good options," a US National Security Council official told The Daily Telegraph.

Good ole' American know how!

Forgive me for not reporting on it sooner but I have been drowning in Obamalfeasance.

TIMES ONLINE: Russia strikes a blow at its fears of Nato encirclement There is much more at stake in the fighting than the future of two small breakaway republics, however. A greater conflict is under way.

One key is the recognition earlier this year by Nato and European Union countries of Kosovan independence from Serbia. Russia opposed this; Serbia has long been its client state. However, it tried to turn the defeat to its advantage by pushing the argument that, if Kosovans could be independent, so too could the Abkhazians and Ossetians. This was a significant development in Russia's reaction to what it regards as steady western encirclement.

"It's not about Georgia any more," Saakashvili said. "It's about America, its values: we are a freedom-loving nation that is right now under attack."

Saakashvili knows full well, however, that his country is of great economic importance to western Europe because of the Baku-Tbilisi-Ceyhan (BTC) oil pipeline, which runs through central Georgia south of the breakaway region.

Although it lies hundreds of miles from troubled South Ossetia, the BTC pipeline is flanked by key Georgian military installations that were among the first targets attacked by Russian jets as the conflict erupted late last week.

  John and Scott over at Powerline has excellent analysis here:

Today's Wall Street Journal publishes a column by the president of Georgia laying out the stakes involved in Russia's invasion of his country. The war on Georgia, he says, is a war about the future of freedom in Europe. Implicit in his assessment of the stakes is a plea for help.  Marc Champion's article Fighting raises the stakes for embattled U.S. ally" on page A10 of the Journal also makes clear the stakes involved here.

What is to be done?  Commenting on John Hinderaker's post on "the oil angle," our friend at the State Department sketches out an answer:

This is a huge event, and our inaction has been a disgrace. Have you noticed that Secretary Rice and President Bush's responses have virtually mirrored Senator Obama's recommendations? It is heaps of shame on the current administration for letting a close ally dangle like this, and is instructive of just how bad an Obama foreign policy would be.

There have been only a very few times that I have been embarrassed by this Administration.  This has been one of them. 

Your last post on the energy route made an important point. Georgia is important to the West for more than just political reasons. It is an incredibly strategic location. That pipeline is an independent source of energy for the West, and an independent source of income for countries in the Caspian Basin. It allows them to have an independent foreign policy. It gives, say, Azerbaijan and Kazakhstan the freedom to allow US arms to fly across their territory on the way to Afghanistan. Did you know that Russia forbids the transport of US military hardware across its territory, even by plane? Of course, Iran does too. Look at a map and think of where the large US logistical bases are located (Germany). That leaves only a narrow corridor -- across Georgia and Azerbaijan -- that we can use to supply our troops in Afghanistan.

There's another point here. Russia is best influenced from Tbilisi, Astana, Kiev, etc. -- not from Moscow. Russia is a bully. It does not respond to demarches, security council rebukes and harsh denunciations. Remember Orwell's comment about goose-stepping armies (and yes, the Russians still goose-step):

The goose-step, for instance, is one of the most horrible sights in the world, far more terrifying than a dive-bomber. It is simply an affirmation of naked power; contained in it, quite consciously and intentionally, is the vision of a boot crashing down on a face. Its ugliness is part of its essence, for what it is saying is "Yes, I am ugly, and you daren't laugh at me," like the bully who makes faces at his victim.

Russian aggression meets "anticipatory capitulation" Bidinotto

UPDATE: The War in Georgia Is a War for the West

UPDATE 2:03: Apparently Ambassador Khalilzad, US Ambassador to the UN,  managed to separate himself from his liplock with Qaddafi, and made these remarks. They are from meetings within the Security council chambers and later his remarks to the press….

Focus  on one point that Ambassador Churkin made. Ambassador Churkin referred to his minister’s phone conversation with Secretary of State Rice this morning. That conversation raises serious questions about Russian objectives.

In that conversation, Foreign Minister Lavrov told U.S. Secretary of State Rice that the democratically elected President of Georgia “must go”.

I quote again: “Saakashvili must go.”

This is completely unacceptable and crosses a line. I want to ask Ambassador Churkin, is your government’s objective regime change in Georgia, the overthrow of the democratically elected government of Georgia. Mr. President, Russia must affirm their aim is not to change the democratically elected government of Georgia and it accepts the territorial integrity and sovereignty of Georgia .

Complete remarks in the below links here, here and here

UPDATE: I do not like that Bush is in a quasi hostile nation during this crisis. BUSH COME HOME! [UPDATE- he's home]

UPDATE 3:31: Dr Jack weighs in: GEORGIA CAN BE PUTIN'S AFGHANISTAN

Time to stop the hand-wringing about Russia's re-igniting the Cold War by invading Georgia.  Time to start thinking of what a golden opportunity this presents.

First the reality. Russia, before, during, and after the Soviet Union was and remains a brutal imperialist dictatorship.  The Soviet Union was simply the same old Czarist Russian imperialism with Marxism-Leninism as an ideological rationale. The fall of the USSR only meant the fall of the rationale.

So Russia is back to where it has always been, with the Russian compulsion for brute force bullying as its way of dealing with the world.  It is no accident, comrades, that  Russians were the Soviets, and it is no surprise whatever that they are behaving like Soviets in Georgia today.

Thus the fundamental reality of how to conduct foreign policy with Russia, however distasteful it may be to the squishes at the State Department chronically afflicted with terminal testicular atrophy:

The only thing Russians in the Kremlin understand and respect is superior force and the willingness to use it against them.  If you don't give them a punch in the mouth and a bloody nose the moment they start to bully you, they will keep bullying you until you start fighting back hard - or you capitulate and obey their orders.

It's either-or, win-lose. Those are their rules.  The golden opportunity Putin is giving us by invading Georgia is that it gives us the perfect excuse to play by his rules.

[...]

The Georgians are better fighters, are far better trained and organized than the Afghan Mujahaddin. 2,000 Georgian soldiers have been fighting hard, battle-trained, in Iraq with Coalition forces - and are being flown back to Georgia.

Putin is serving himself up on a platter.  Give the Georgians Stingers and Javelins, give them additional material and intel support, and they can make Georgia Putin's Afghanistan.

It is absolutely necessary for this to happen. 

UPDATE: 4:07: Georgian Jews flee Russian border, expecting invasion Gil Ronen hat tip  ShyGuy

Most Jews living near the Georgia-Russia border have fled a Russian invasion, an advocacy group quoted by the JTA said. In a bulletin to its membership Friday, the National Conference on Soviet Jewry (NCSJ) said that according to its contacts, most of the Jewish community in Gori, an area near the conflict zone, have left for the capital Tbilisi.

The Jewish Agency has opened a crisis room that will help track down Jews in Georgia. After Russian jets bombed the city of Gori and oil pipelines in the region, the Foreign Ministry issued a warning against Israelis traveling to the region. Extra staff will be sent to the Israeli embassy in the Georgian capital of Tbilisi, to help track down Israelis and Jews in the affected areas. Foreign Minister Tzipi Livni will hold a special discussion on the situation on Sunday.

Communication with the region was not possible throughout Saturday, officials said. Anyone seeking information on relatives can call the crisis room in Jerusalem at +972-2-6202202.

Russia: Rampant Radioactive Smuggling

You'll need an ambien tonight;

Report Reveals Rampant Smuggling of Radioactive Materials Clarissa Ward, ABC News

In a troubling disclosure, the Russian Federal Customs Service has revealed that authorities thwarted more than 850 attempts to smuggle highly radioactive materials in and out of Russia in 2007. Eighty-five percent of these smuggling attempts were going into the country, and 15 percent were going out.

The figures are likely to fuel fears about how many illegal exports were not detected, and what the potential dangers of such radioactive materials can be. In December last year, police in Slovakia arrested three people, who were attempting to sell 2.2 pounds of uranium for $1 million. Meanwhile, Britain continues to demand the extradition of Russian MP, Andrei Lugovoi, the prime suspect in the poisoning of former KGB officer, Alexander Litvinenko, who was killed with radioactive polonium-210 in London in November 2006.

Radioactive materials are not hard to come by in the Commonwealth of Independent States (CIS). During the Soviet era, more than 15 different agencies had access to radioactive materials, from the Ministry of Geology to Metallurgy. Since the collapse of the Soviet Union, there is little knowledge of where all these radioactive materials ended up.

In addition, following the nuclear disaster at Chernobyl in 1986, there is still a large piece of contaminated land which has not been fenced off. Vladimir Chuprov, who heads the energy section of Russian Greenpeace, told ABC News that a significant part of confiscated radioactive materials come from this area.

"Part of what is brought in comes from Chernobyl and the zone around Chernobyl," he said. "If there was no Chernobyl, there would be no problem with radioactive materials."

Muslim Russia

Important read it ........while considering the Islamisation of the European continent;

Russia's Muslims begin talking about a 'Muslim Russia' hat tip wolf

Russia's Muslims are beginning to change the way they talk about the relationship between their religious community and their country, a shift that reflects their own growing self-confidence but one that frightens many ethnic Russians who see it as a threat to their own status. Until recently, Daniyal Isayev writes in a commentary on the Islam.ru portal, the Muslims of Russia, like most analysts who discuss their community, typically spoke "about ¡Islam and Russia,' ¡Islam in Russia,' and even ¡[non-ethnic] Russian Islam." But they "never" referred to "'Muslim Russia.'" Now, he writes, ever more of the faithful there are doing just that, a reflection of "how much is changing both in the world and in Russia itself" -- and "especially in the consciousness, self-conception and position of Muslims" living in that country(go here).

This shift does not represent a split in Russian society, the Muslim commentator insists, but rather represents an affirmation that Islam is "an inalienable part of Russia" and that "Russia as a state and civilization could not exist without Islam and the Muslims." The Islamic community emerged "on the territory of contemporary Russia not only centuries earlier than in many other regions of the world which today are considered traditionally Islamic but centuries before the appearance of the [ethnic] Russian people and [ethnic] Russian and [non-ethnic] Russian statehood." "Muslim Russia," he writes, "is Derbent, Kazan, Astrakhan, Ufa, Tyumen, Orenburg and so on. Today, this is also Moscow and St. Petersburg. {It] is the creativity of Pushkin, Lermontov, and Tolstoy, ... an enormous territory and peoples of Northern Eurasia who were drawn together by the Golden Horde." Moreover, "Muslim Russia is [also] the victories on the fronts of the First and Second World Wars, gold medals at the Olympics and scientific achievements of recent years." And the future of Muslim Russia, Isayev suggests, is certain to be even richer and more beneficial to the country. That is because "Muslim Russia is not a finished or finally completed phenomenon. [It] is a dynamically developing present and a magnificent future of our country," one in which Russia's Muslims "every day acquire ever greater certainty in their own strength, in their own goals, and their own future." In many ways, Muslims today are playing in Russia the role of the creative minority that the English historian Arnold Toynbee suggested every country needs. And by doing so, they are thus helping others in Russia to overcome the "deep crisis" that many have been experiencing. Of course, Isayev concedes, "Muslims of Russia are a religious minority," but that should not disturb them at all. "In this there is nothing strange or out of the ordinary. The entire history of Islam was written by Muslims who were [at one point] minorities in their own motherland," whether that was in Mecca or somewhere else. And precisely because Russia's Muslims live today "not only on the borders with non-Muslim societies but also on the borders of a new, post-industrial world, which puts before Islam ever new challenges," they may have a special role to play not only for Russia itself but for the entire Muslim world. Indeed, in this, the 21st century, it is entirely possible that "Muslim Russia can become the advance guard of the development of Islam in Northern Eurasia" and even of the development of the Islamic community of the entire world. "Only Allah knows," Isayev concludes, just what role in the future Muslim Russia is fated to play." But there is one role that "Muslim Russia" is already playing: as a bogeyman to many non-Muslim Russians who feel that the rapid growth of the Islamic community in their country at the present time represents a threat not only to their way of life but even to the existence of the Russian state itself.

Read it all here.

UK exports Islamic Terror to Russia

Lionheart has all the video and the exclusive here:

UK exports Islamic Terror to Russia

"Internet Exclusive" - Never before seen video footage

MI5 have this week publicly stated that Al Qaeda are grooming British Moslem children for Jihad and terrorist operations against our country within mainland Britain. As you can see in the picture above there is a young child around the age of 6 or 7 who is in the presence of Abu Hamza, Omar Bakri and other Jihad leaders who are all preaching 'Holy War' against Russia within a Mosque in Great Britain - This is natural to Moslem children.

In the same MI5 press briefing this week, Jonathan Evans, who is head of MI5 condemned Russia and China for their spying activities that he said is at Cold War levels, he said that foreign agents are causing the British intelligence services to concentrate on their activities within Britain when their time could be better spent dealing with home grown and International Islamic Terror threats.

I agree with Jonathan Evans that if foreign agents are gathering information on sensitive British targets then that is wholly un-acceptable and is nothing less than an act of War.

What the short video's that you are about to view show, is that if the British intelligence services and the British government are not going to act to prevent Islamic Terrorism from being exported from this tiny Island then these 'Nations' have a right to do whatever they deem is necessary to prevent that Islamic Terrorism from being exported from here and landing upon their distant foreign shores and threatening their innocent civilian populations.

There's much more. Read it all.

How the KGB Created Arafat and PLO

All the bodies are buried and Mihai Pacepa, former acting chief of Communist Romania’s espionage , knows where they are. He is spilling the bills and what he reveals is devastating. More from the Front page interview. hat tip Mara

FP: Tell us about the PLO and its connection to the Soviet regime. 

Pacepa: The PLO was dreamt up by the KGB, which had a penchant for “liberation” organizations. There was the National Liberation Army of Bolivia, created by the KGB in 1964 with help from Ernesto “Che” Guevara. Then there was the National Liberation Army of Colombia, created by the KGB in 1965 with help from Fidel Castro, which was soon deeply involved in kidnappings, hijackings, bombings and guerrilla warfare. In later years the KGB also created the Democratic Front for the Liberation of Palestine, which carried out numerous bombing attacks on the “Palestinian territories” occupied by Israel, and the “Secret Army for Liberation of Armenia,” created by the KGB in 1975, which organized numerous bombing attacks against US airline offices in Western Europe.

In 1964 the first PLO Council, consisting of 422 Palestinian representatives handpicked by the KGB, approved the Palestinian National Charter—a document that had been drafted in Moscow. The Palestinian National Covenant and the Palestinian Constitution were also born in Moscow, with the help of Ahmed Shuqairy, a KGB influence agent who became the first PLO chairman. (During the Six-Day War he escaped from Jerusalem disguised as a woman, thereafter becoming such a symbol within the bloc intelligence community that one of its later influence operations—aimed at making the West consider Arafat a moderate—was given the codename “Shuqairy.”) This new PLO was headed by a Soviet-style Executive Committee made up of 15 members who, like their comrades in Moscow, also headed departments. As in Moscow—and Bucharest—the chairman of the Executive Committee became the general commander of the armed forces as well. The new PLO also had a General Assembly, which was the Soviet-inspired name given to all East European parliaments after World War II.

Based on another “socialist division of labor,” the Romanian espionage service (DIE) was responsible for providing the PLO with logistical support. Except for the arms, which were supplied by the KGB and the East German Stasi, everything else came from Bucharest. Even the PLO uniforms and the PLO stationery were manufactured in Romania free of charge, as a “comradely help.” During those years, two Romanian cargo planes filled with goodies for the PLO landed in Beirut every week, and were unloaded by Arafat’s men.

FP: You have discussed your personal knowledge of how Arafat was created and cultivated by the KGB and how the Soviets actually designed him to be the future leader of the PLO. Illuminate this picture for us please.

Pacepa: “Tovarishch Mohammed Abd al-Rahman Abd al-Raouf Arafat al-Qudwa al-Husseini, nom de guerre Abu Ammar,” was built into a Palestinian leader by the KGB in the aftermath of the 1967 Six-Day Arab-Israeli War. In that war Israel humiliated two of the Soviet Union’s most important allies in the Arab world of that time, Egypt and Syria, and the Kremlin thought that Arafat could help repair the Soviet prestige. Arafat had begun his political career as leader of the Palestinian terrorist organization al-Fatah, whose fedayeen were being secretly trained in the Soviet Union. In 1969, the KGB managed to catapult him up as chairman of the PLO executive committee. Egyptian ruler Gamal Abdel Nasser, who was also a Soviet puppet, publicly proposed the appointment.

Soon after that, the KGB tasked Arafat to declare war on American “imperial-Zionism” during the first summit of the Black International, an organization that was also financed by the KGB. Arafat claimed to have coined the word “imperial-Zionism,” but in fact Moscow had invented this battle cry many years earlier, combining the traditionally Russian anti-Semitism with the new Marxist anti-Americanism.

FP: Why has the American and Israeli leadership been deceived so long about Arafat’s criminal and terrorist activities?

Pacepa: Because Arafat is a master of deceit—and I unfortunately contributed to that. In March 1978, for instance, I secretly brought Arafat to Bucharest to involve him in a long-planned Soviet/Romanian disinformation plot. Its goal was to get the United States to establish diplomatic relations with him, by having him pretend to transform the terrorist PLO into a government-in-exile that was willing to renounce terrorism. Soviet president Leonid Brezhnev believed that newly elected US president Jimmy Carter would swallow the bait.

Read it all. It will made your skin crawl. Everything falls into place

RADIO Atlas in StrataSphere

A helleva show tonight. I have A J Strata on Atlas on the Air tonight. Those of you following the strange, mysterious and sinister turns in the Litvinenko polonium poisoning know that AJ has been the leading investigating blogger on the real story. Much more frightening than a mere assassination.

He is currently working on NASA projects, more than that I can not say.

LISTEN LIVE!

CALL IN:(347) 996-3944

WTF is going on in Russia?

More skulduggery in Russia. I find I am reporting assassinations and poisonings in Russia almost everyday. This bodes most ill, most ill indeed.

Doctors Probe Women's Possible Poisoning AOL News

LOS ANGELES (March 8) - Doctors were trying to determine how two American women hospitalized for suspected thallium poisoning fell ill while vacationing in Russia.
Dr. Marina Kovalevsky, 49, and her daughter, Yana, 26, declined to talk about their ordeal after they arrived at Los Angeles International Airport Wednesday from Moscow. They were taken in wheelchairs past news media into waiting ambulances.

"I don't feel well, I'm going straight to the hospital, no comment," Yana Kovalevsky told reporters.

The two were admitted to Cedars-Sinai Medical Center and were in stable condition, said hospital spokeswoman Simi Singer.

"It is too early to determine what may have caused their illness," Singer said.

The women had been treated at a Moscow hospital after they fell sick on Feb. 24. A U.S. Embassy spokesman there said Russian officials were investigating how and when they could have come into contact with the poison.

Moscow police declined comment, but the Ekho Moskvy radio reported authorities were checking cafes and restaurants in the area of the hotel where they stayed.

UPDATE 3/09: WTF is going on in Russia? Razor sharp Dr. Jack tells us;

WHAT’S DHIMMITUDE IN RUSSIAN?

Dr. Jack WheelerAs I am writing this, a friend of mine for many years is fighting for his life in a hospital nearby, having been gunned down in his driveway for criticizing the leader of the world's most powerful mafia, Vladimir Putin.

On nationally televised "Dateline NBC" February 25, intelligence expert Paul Joyal accused Putin's secret police of poisoning former KGB agent Aleksander Litvinenko with radioactive pollonium in London last November.  Putin's message in so doing, Joyal explained, was a warning:

"To anyone who wants to speak out against the Kremlin: If you do, no matter who you are, where you are, we will find you, and we will silence you - in the most horrible way possible."

Four days later on March 1^st, Putin's thugs - right here in Washington - did just that.  They silenced Paul Joyal in the most horrible way possible.  They blew his balls off.

More here

 

2 More Russian Murders, Ma & Child

This is really frightening. WTF is going down in Russia ? What is this? Murder without law. Who iis investigating the murder free fall.

U.S. DOCTOR AND DAUGHTER MYSTERIOUSLY POISONED IN RUSSIA...  hat tip Eric

MOSCOW: An American doctor and her daughter were being treated in a Moscow hospital Tuesday after being poisoned late last month with thallium, a highly toxic metal with a history of use in both pesticides and murder, Russian officials said.

"They have positive dynamics and their condition is improving," Viktor Kaznacheyev, chief doctor at the Sklifosovsky clinic, said in a telephone interview. The two women had been treated at the clinic since falling ill Feb. 24.

Kaznacheyev said the victims, Dr. Marina Kovalevsky, 49, and her daughter, Yana, 26, were under the supervision of poison specialists. "They were in a serious condition when they were delivered here," he added.

Citing privacy concerns, he declined to discuss further details, beyond saying that their symptoms were consistent with thallium poisoning.

Related: Another Russian Critic Murdered

Another Putin Critic Shot in USA

Another Russian Critic Murdered

The Russian death squads are out of control. I just posted Another Putin Critic Shot in USA on Saturday. This is becoming a habit.Russian reporter Ivan Safronov was investigating state plans to sell advanced weapons to Iran and Syria when he fell to his death from a window in his Moscow apartment building March 2, his newspaper Kommersant said.

Russia Probes Death of Reporter Intelligence Summit

Russian authorities are investigating the mysterious death of a prominent journalist who covered military space technology for the Kommersant daily.

Ivan Safronov, 51, fell from a fifth-floor window on Friday at the Moscow apartment block where he lived.

Prosecutors quoted by Russian media say they are investigating the possibility that he was "driven to suicide".

Yeah, right.

But friends and relatives of Safronov told Kommersant that they knew of no reason why he would commit suicide.

"I don't want to fuel speculation, but I can say for sure that I knew him well and he showed absolutely no sign of being suicidal," said Kommersant's chief editor Andrei Vasilyev.

Safronov had irked some officials with his critical reporting and had been questioned by the Federal Security Service (FSB), the Associated Press reports.

Russian Reporter Probed Arms Sales to Iran, Syria Before Death

Another Putin Critic Shot in USA

Another Putin critic has been shot .............. he lived.

Expert on Russian Intelligence Shot Outside Home hat tip Eric

ADELPHI, Md. - Police are investigating a shooting that wounded a prominent intelligence expert.

Fifty-three-year-old Paul Joyal was shot Thursday night outside his house in the 2300 block of Lackawanna Street in Adelphi.

Joyal is known for his expertise on intelligence and terrorism and his contacts in the former Soviet Union

He has also been a long-time critic of the the government of Russian President Vladimir Putin.

The shooting came four days after he told "Dateline NBC" that he believes the Russian government was involved in the fatal poisoning of former KGB agent Alexander Litvinenko in London.

Russia: Posturing or Fighting Words

Wow. Check this out. The evil empire is pissed and feeling bold. I would too if Condi was the best the US had.

Condoleezza Rice Responds To Russia's Comments
CBS 13 Sacramento
Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice on Wednesday called a Russian general's warning that Poland and the Czech Republic risk being targeted if they host U.S. missile defense bases "extremely unfortunate."

Gen. Nikolai Solovtsov, head of Russia's strategic missile forces, said Monday that Russia might train its missiles on the two countries if they accept a U.S. proposal to base 10 interceptor missiles in Poland and a radar in the Czech Republic.

Putin Us On

The man dares to use the world nourish. And mutual trust. Now that's rich

Putin: U.S. policies create arms race  AP hat tip mdd

MUNICH, Germany - Russian President        Vladimir Putin warned Saturday that the United States' increased use of military force is creating a new arms race, with smaller nations turning toward developing nuclear weapons.

Speaking at a conference of the world's top security officials, including the Iranian nuclear negotiator Ali Larijani, Putin said nations "are witnessing an almost uncontained hyper use of force in international relations."

"One state, the United States, has overstepped its national borders in every way," he told the 250 officials, including more than 40 defense and foreign ministers.

"This is nourishing an arms race with the desire of countries to get nuclear weapons," Putin said, but did not elaborate on specifics and did not mention the wars in        Iraq or        Afghanistan.

The Russian leader also voiced concern about U.S. plans to build a missile defense system in eastern Europe — likely in Poland and the Czech Republic — and the expansion of        NATO as possible challenges to Russia.

"The process of NATO expansion has nothing to do with modernization of the alliance or with ensuring security in Europe," Putin said. "On the contrary, it is a serious factor provoking reduction of mutual trust."

UPDATE February 11th: Jon Quixote has excellent post on Putin and his ally, the American left here.

More Musings From The Hate-America Left at HuffPost

There's an old saying: "Show me who your friends are, and I'll tell you who you are."

 

Soviet Spy's Death TIES to USA Hiroshima

That ex-Ruskie spy's death from Plutonium 20 gets freakier and scarier. I mean really.

New Evidence Ties Former Soviet Spy's Death to American Hiroshima

TerrorismDr. Paul Williams, PhD & Jeffrey Epstein

New evidence has come to light that Alexander Litvinenko may have been involved with Islamic terrorists in the preparation of tactical nuclear weapons for use in the jihad against the United States and its NATO allies.

Litvinenko, a former KGB agent, died in London on November 23 after ingesting a microscopic amount of polonium-210.

Investigators have now uncovered the following:

▪ Litvinenko was a Muslim convert with reported ties to radical Islam.

▪ The former Soviet spy masterminded was responsible for the smuggling of radioactive material to Zurich in 2000. This finding was corroborated by Mario Scaramella, one of Litvinenko's business associates.

▪ Litvinenko became closely allied with Boris Berezovsky, a Russian billionaire who established close ties with the Chechen leaders, and Chechen leader Ahmed Zakayev. Both men served as pallbearers at the funeral. Several years ago, Berezovsky boasted to the press that the Chechen separatists had acquired a portable nuclear weapon that lacked one "minor" component. That component, Scotland Yard officials now believe, was polonium-210.

In a deathbed statement, Litvinenko blamed Russian President Vladimir Putin for the poisoning -- an accusation which the Kremlin has vehemently denied.

The denial was supported by the fact that polonium-210 is a rare radiological substance that is man-made by bombarding Bismuth-209 with neutrons within a nuclear reactor. It is expensive to produce and difficult to handle. Polonium-210 is also rare -- fewer than four ounces are produced annually. All of the reported production comes from Russian reactors. This amount is purchased annually by the United States, simply to keep the substance from leaking into the black market. Several rogue nations have been suspected of clandestinely producing polonium-210 for nefarious purposes. A quantity was detected in Iran by IAEA inspectors and in North Korea by U. S. airborne samplings.

[...]

According to nuclear expert David Morgan, killing a spy or political dissident with a grain or two of polonium-210 is as ludicrous as shooting a rat with a howitzer. Indeed, if Litvinenko was a victim of radiological assassination, his murder would represent the costliest hit in human history with a price tag of $30 million.

Litvinenko, who was born an orthodox Christian, was a convert to Islam with close ties to the Chechen rebels. His last words consisted of his desire to be buried "according to Muslim tradition."

This wish was not fulfilled.

Asking AJ: The Down Low on POLONIUM

The blogger best covering the polonium 210 story is AJ Strata over at Strata Sphere, bar none (click here). The media couldn't give a human life about WMD, they abdicated their role as public servant long ago to become Soro's organ grinders monkey.  Anyway I asked "WTF does it all mean goddammit?"And AJ said;

It probably means Litvinenko was part of a smuggling effort to move Po-210 through london.  Lugovoi was part of it as well, but apparently entered into a plea agreement when he got ill.  The Po-21 is so deadly that a dust grain can kill tens if not a hundred people through ingestion.  There were three documented rounds of Po-210 traversing London in Oct.  These were seen in three hotels with multiple rooms contaminated by Po-210. Each coincide with meeting between Lugovoi and Litvinenko.  You don't need three trips to get grain of dust sized amount of Po-210 into Litvinenko's tea.

The rooms tell a story.  Either the material was brought into London by multiple 'mules' and combined to go somewhere else, or vise versa.  The question is where is all this Po-210 now?  If each mule ended up with a gram (a sugar packet) then that is enough to kill hundreds of thousands if not millions.

It means the smuggling scenario is much, much scarier than an assassination of one dissident.

UPDATE: CUANAS has been all over this as well, click here and makes this point;

Polonium is the outer trigger ring around the core of uranium in a nuclear bomb.

It is also the fastest degrading part of the nuclear bomb with a half-life of only 138 days.

this means that if a terrorist got their hands on a nuclear weapon, they would almost for sure need polonium to make it workable.

It is highly possible there is a currently a working nuclear weapon floating around in Britain.

UPDATE: Jeremaya writes me with this related item (generally.) The debate rages on but my money is on Pastorius and AJ, hands down;

Yesterday's Frontpage symposium (click here) with 8 (count 'em - 8) Russia experts (9, counting Jamie G.) concur that Russia is a mafia-police state:

With more money quotes than a miked-up Howard Dean:

Satter: I also am convinced that Litvinenko was murdered by the Russian intelligence service. No one else had both the motive and the means. Litvinenko was not only murdered. He was tortured to death. This is a message to his colleagues in the FSB about the cost of defecting....

[Glazov:] Is it because communism actually never even fell? After all, there was never a de-communization process in the same sense that there was a de-Nazification process in Germany after the Second World War. There were no Nuremberg-style trials in the former Soviet Union. In many ways, the same ideology and the same criminals remain in power, but just under another name....

[Yarim-Agaev: ] We have here a classic case of terrorism, the same terrorism that Bush and Blair are crusading against.   Combine it with the previous murders and the laws quoted by Vladimir Bukovsky, and according to Bush's definition, Russia is a country that "harbors terrorism." --

Russia Nuking Up Islamic Iran

By their acts we shall know them, and so we know them.  This takes the (yellow) cake.  Russia has made it abundantly clear they are not an ally. Not.

Russia defies West and goes ahead with nuclear fuel sale to Iran Times Online

RUSSIA is to begin supplying Iran with nuclear fuel early next year despite mounting concern in the West that this could accelerate Tehran’s plans to build a nuclear bomb.

Sergei Shmatko, head of Atomstroyexport, Russia’s state nuclear fuel exporter, said last week that preparations to send fuel to Iran would start next month and the first consignment was expected to reach the Islamic republic in early spring.

The announcement, at a time when Russia is asserting itself as an energy power, has caused anxiety in western countries which are trying to convince the Kremlin to end its nuclear co-operation with Tehran.

The concerns were strengthened yesterday when President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad was reported to have told a Kuwaiti envoy that Iran was ready to transfer its nuclear technology to neighbouring countries.

Freakin Frightening

While the kumbaya crowd asks, why can't we all just get along,  the forces of evil plot, plan, kill. There's more on the  latest developments in the WMD death of Russian spy and Islamic convert Litvinenko . AJ writes; 

There is reporting out which adds more doubt to the assassination theory as it has been leaked from the Litvinenko autopsy that the dosage he took would have cost well over $30 million dollars.  It is clear there were not better, faster and less risky alternatives for a weapon.  But infinitely cheaper ones.

And further AJ reports here;

Breaking news: The Arsenal stadium has become an new contamination site:

Traces of polonium-210, the radioactive isotope that killed Alexander Litvinenko, have been found at Arsenal’s new stadium.

Scotland Yard has been searching for clues since the former Russian spy was poisoned and the stadium in Highbury, north London, was checked before the Premiership match against Spurs on Saturday but the game was given the go-ahead.

However, the Health Protection Agency (HPA) have confirmed Polonium has been detected at the ground.

HPA spokeswoman Katherine Lewis said: “Minute quantities were found at barely detectable levels at localised areas. There is no risk to public health.”

Localised areas! Note the plural. There were rumors that Lugovoi had asked Berezovsky for seats at his box and was denied. It will be very interesting to learn where this contamination was.

Litvinenko, Convert to Islam, Murder? Assassination? Suicide?

That nuclear WMD murder/assassination/suicide (?) is getting seriously diabolical (not that it wasn't) with each new development. Litvinenko was an outspoken critic of Russia's supression of the Islamic rebellion in Chechnya and may have had close ties to the Islamists in that region. John over at I, Infidel, reports here;

Litvinenko: SUICIDE TO BE A MARTYR

In an article dated November 26, The Independent reported that Alexander Litvinenko may have committed suicide in an attempt to discredit Russian President Putin. Police are currently investigating this possibility due to large concentrations of the radioactive poison Polonium 210 in Mr. Litvinenko's home. Additionally, I believe that Mr. Litvinenko, a convert to Islam and a critic of Russia's supression of the Islamic rebellion in Chechnya, may have wanted to be a martyr for the cause of jihad. LGF made mention of this here.

More infomation on the connection between Chechen Islamic rebels and Mr. Litvinenko and his conversion to Islam may be found at the UK Daily Pundit.

AJ over at Stratasphere asks;

The Chechen allies of Al Qaeda have come out hailing Alexander Litvenenko, who they claim converted to Islam.  I find it disturbing the blogosphere is not questioning the nexus of:

(1) a corrupt and vengeful Russian oligarch with ties to Chechen terrorists,

(2) the defection of a KGB/FSB officer to the side of same corrupt oligarch and who also has sided with the Chechen terrorists, (3) the fact the Chechen terrorists are allied with Al Qaeda and have attacked Russia much more severely than the US has been attacked by terrorists, and (4) the presence of a deadly material used in early nuclear bombs (Polonium-210)

These dots connect not to build a picture of a clumsy assassination effort by Putin but point to nuclear weapons material being in the UK in the hands of Chechen sympathizers.  Am I the only one who thinks this is a really bad combination?  Have we forgotten the Chechen attacks on the Beslan School, the Moscow Theatre, the destruction of apartment buildings, the downing of two commercial airliners?  When did people who support terrorists like the Chechen rebels get credibility in the West as innocent victims?  Am I the only one in touch with my inner Jack Bauer?

But I am leaning toward the The New York Sun editorial. Occams Razor .......

OLD HABITS NY Sun Editorial

Alexander Litvinenko, who died last week of what may well have been polonium poisoning, was, like President Putin, a former KGB spy. But unlike Mr. Putin, Mr. Litvinenko saw the error of his ways, defecting to Britain in 2000 after leaving the FSB, the KGB's successor agency, in a row with his superiors. Before his apparent poisoning, Litvinenko had been most famous in Russia for accusing FSB agents of participating in a 1999 apartment-building bombing plot that killed 300.

It's not escaping notice that he appears to have been poisoned while pursuing an investigation of the recent assassination of Anna Politkovskaya, a reporter shot in her apartment building after years spent criticizing Mr. Putin's government for its handling of the Chechen war. At least one of Litvinenko's friends is claiming that the Russian government slipped the dangerous dose into the erstwhile spy's food. The Kremlin denies any such allegation, but, as fantastical as it sounds, such behavior would certainly be in line with Moscow's tendencies.

A police investigation is underway, but given the high profile of the victim, the bizarre circumstances, and the unlikelihood that such a plot would trace to anywhere other than the Kremlin, it's worth considering forming an international commission to conduct its own investigation, such as the panel that has been probing the assassination of a Lebanese prime minister, Rafik Hariri.

Just as in the Lebanese case, in which Syrians have been suspected of orchestrating a murder in Beirut, the Litvinenko affair points up the potential for a heavy-handed dictatorship in one country to spill into another. Britain has a far more robust counterterrorism and criminal investigation program than does Lebanon, but if London is to take on Moscow, it may well need allies. NATO would be a better venue for this than the United Nations.

UPDATE: More polonium-210 has been found in here;

Traces of radiation have been found at two more addresses following the death of Alexander Litvinenko, police say.

The traces of polonium-210 were found at a building in Grosvenor Street, Mayfair, and an office block in Down Street, west London, they said.

Three people who have either been to the venues or had contact with him are to undergo radiological tests.

UPDATE: The plot thickens. From AJ over at Strata;

As I predicted earlier today, the fact there is a trail of Polonium would mean the poison was not just in Litvinenko but on him - which makes poisoning a bit of a stretch.  Now that trail of leaked Polonium has led to Berezovsky's office - not to Putin as suspected.

 

Now we just need to know the order of events to see where the Polonium started to contaminate Litvinenko as he travelled.  It is not beyond the realm of possibility that a container lost its sealed and Litvinenko never knew he was contaminated by a package he was carrying. A simply licking his fingers would have doomed him.

Russian regime is a ‘mortal danger’ to the rest of the world

In our continuing discourse, Eric asks me,

" Since you are aware that all countries have given up on the war of terror although terrorists are still using baby weapons, what do you think will happen when terrorists start using weapons that can HAVE babies?  As early as today, and likely within five years, terrorists will start using weapons that can make copies of themselves.  That means a terrorist could unleash a weapon, say in the middle of Africa, and just sit back and wait for the whole world to be effected.  What do you think will happen then?

What indeed? First wake the damn people up I say. The Washington Times reports (11/21/06) that Russia is well on its way to becoming an Islamic country.  Within eight years (by 2015) over half the soldiers in the Russian Army will be Moslem.  By 2020, over 20% of Russia's entire population will be Moslem. More here

How many more were poisoned?  Daily Mail

As the deadliest poison known to man was revealed to have killed Russian exile Alexander Litvinenko, the question last night was: How many more lives could it claim?

The 43-year-old former KGB officer was the victim of polonium 210, a radioactive element used as a trigger in nuclear weapons.

See also: • Gallery: The poisoning of Alexander Litvinenko
• The grieving father's warning
• The ex-spy's final defiant message
• 250billion times deadlier than cyanide
• The darker side of new Russians' wealth now coursing through our capital city

It is so powerful that a lethal dose can be passed on through the body in sweat or saliva.

So his widow Marina, 44, and ten-year-old son Anatole could have been contaminated just by kissing him as he fought for life in hospital. They are said to be at greatest risk.

But up to 100 other contacts will be tested among hospital staff, family members and restaurant workers who came into contact with him.

Chillingly, traces of polonium 210 have been detected at Itsu, the London sushi bar where Mr Litvinenko ate with a contact on November 1, at the four-star Millennium Hotel in Mayfair, where he met another associate that day, and at the family home in North London.

A large quantity of radiation from polonium 210 was detected in Mr Litvinenko’s urine, apparently a few hours before his death. But last night a post-mortem had yet to be carried out because of fears that the body presented too much of a danger.

Detectives and scientists expressed open astonishment that such an elaborate and evil Cold War-style hit could happen Britain, describing the murder as ‘unprecedented’ and ‘mind-boggling’.

On a day of extraordinary developments in the murder investigation: • Mr Litvinenko condemned President Putin from beyond the grave as ‘barbaric and ruthless’ in a statement dictated before his death. • His grieving father said he had been killed by a ‘little tiny nuclear bomb’ and warned that the Russian regime was a ‘mortal danger’ to the rest of the world. • The Government’s Cobra special emergencies committee met every few hours to discuss the crisis. • The Foreign Office ordered the Russian Ambassador to pass on a demand for information. Alexander ‘Sasha’ Litvinenko died in intensive care at London’s University College Hospital on Thursday night after suffering heart failure. Here

UPDATE: AJ over at Strasphere has more here on the WMD technology

Ex-KGB Murder Linked to Nuclear Thefts

Three top items on Drudgereport: hat tip Eric
RUSSIA DELIVERS ROCKETS TO IRAN...
Sends air defense system...
Russian nuclear chief to visit Tehran...

Perhaps our newly elected pacifist Congress and new chair of the Armed Services committee, Carl Levin (dry heave)  will reconsider issuing  subpoenas to members of the Bush administration and put their collective mind to addressing the real threats Americans are facing.

Ex-spy's deathbed charge: It was Putin
In a chilling accusation dictated and signed just hours before he lapsed into a coma and died, a former KGB agent fingered Russian President Vladimir Putin as the man ultimately responsible for his death after a suspected poisoning shrouded in mystery.

Spy death linked to nuclear thefts The Guardian
An investigation was under way last night into Russia's black market trade in radioactive materials amid concern that significant quantities of polonium 210, the substance that killed former spy Alexander Litvinenko, are being stolen from poorly protected Russian nuclear sites.

As British police drew up a list of witnesses for questioning over the death, experts warned that thefts from nuclear facilities in the former Soviet Union were a major problem.

A senior source at the United Nations nuclear inspectorate, the International Atomic Energy Agency, told The Observer he had no doubt that the killing of Litvinenko was an 'organised operation' which bore all the hallmarks of a foreign intelligence agency. The expert in radioactive materials said the ability to obtain polonium 210 and the knowledge needed to use it to kill Litvinenko meant that the attack could not have been carried out by a 'lone assassin'.

Go over to the Strategy Page to read, "The Return of the KGB."