Russia: Other Points of View

PUFF THE MAGIC FEMALE SUICIDE BOMBERS

COMMENTARY

by Gordon Hahn

The New York Times (NYT) and other U.S. mainstream media outlets continue to ignore the Caucasus Emirate (CE) jihadists’ reign of terrorism in Russia’s North Caucasus. They report repeatedly and in minute detail the authorities’ crimes, which are incomparably fewer than those committed by the mujahedin. But they rarely mention and have never detailed the CE’s crimes and even more horrendous violation of human rights. After nearly three years of the CE’s existence and more than one thousand killed and another one thousand plus injured (thousands more were killed and injured by the CE’s predecessor organization in 2002-2007), the NYT has mentioned the organization perhaps twice and has never done an article focusing on the CE or its leaders, totalitarian salafi-jihadi ideology, bestial violence, and ties to the global jihadi revolutionary movement and Al Qa`ida. Instead, the NYT and other mainstream media continue to feed readers a steady stream of literally hundreds of reports on the relatively fewer number of Russian crimes in the Caucasus.

CAN RUSSIAN THAW PUSH THE WASHINGTON POST TOWARD JOURNALISM?

COMMENTARY

by Gordon Hahn 

Fred Hiatt has written an at times inadvertently humorous article and even deceptive one for the Washington Post (Fred Hiatt, “Can reset push Russia toward democracy?,” Washington Post, July 19, 2010.) What else is new? The article begins with Hiatt asking a Russian human rights activist for her views - not necessarily the most objective source for information on Russia. He then proceeds to his own dreamy ruminations about what the activist “seemed to be thinking.” In this netherworld of the U.S. mainstream media, research using the internet, newspapers, radio Ekho Moskvy and other sources (if the author has the appropriate Russian language skills) are always trumped by the editorial line. What passes for concrete journalism nowadays is the reading of minds of what human rights activist ‘seem to be thinking.’

SPY SWAP

REPRINTS

This report is republished with express permission of STRATFOR http://www.stratfor.com

The U.S. media Thursday swirled with stories about the accused Russian spies captured 10 days ago. Ten of the suspects pleaded guilty to the charge of being unregistered Russian agents and it was confirmed there will be a spy swap between Russia and the United States. The United States will expel the Russian spies, while Russia will release four individuals held for allegedly spying for Western intelligence agencies.

MEDVEDEV’S THAW AND THE EMERGING REGIME SPLIT AND CIVIL REAWAKENING

COMMENTARY

by Gordon Hahn

A regime split is a cardinal characteristic of regime transformation, whether of the revolutionary or transitional kind; Russian President Dmitrii Medvedev’s thaw appears to be sparking just such a split. There have been numerous signs of this over the last year, but the recent dispute over the ‘Article 31’ demonstrations and the Khodorkovskii trial have highlighted new contours of the split.

ISLAM, ISLAMISM AND POLITICS IN EURASIA REPORT No. 18, July 6, 2010

by Gordon Hahn

Monterey Institute for International Studies

CONTENTS:

 

• CAUCASUS EMIRATE (CE) LEFT OFF, BUT AMIR UMAROV INCLUDED ON U.S. STATE DEPARTMENT’S OFFICIAL LIST OF TERRORISTS AND TERRORIST ORGANIZATIONS
• CE WEBSITES CONTINUE TO JUSTIFY USE OF WMD AGAINST ‘UNBELIEVERS’
• EIGHTH SUCCESSFUL SUICIDE BOMBING OF 2010, FIRST IN OVER TWO MONTHS OCCURS IN GROZNY
• CE’S ANNUAL SPRING SHURA STILL NOT CONVENED
• OVKBK AMIR DZHAPPUEV’S VIDEO BLITZ
• 700 MUJAHEDIN AND FACILITATORS IN THE KBR
• RUSSIAN SECURITY REPORTEDLY INFILTRATING DAGESTAN MUJAHEDIN
• RUSSIAN SECURITY WARN OF UPSURGE IN TERRORIST ACTIVITY DRIVEN BY MIGRANTS AND INTERNATIONAL TERRORISTS
• TERRORIST ATTACK AGAINST MUSLIMS IN ST. PETERSBURG
• CAUCASUS EMIRATE’S ORGANIZATIONAL STRUCTURE AND LEADERSHIP, AS OF MAY 2010: PART 4 – UNITED VILAIYAT OF KABARDIA, BALKARIA AND KARACHAI, AND OTHER STRUCTURES
• ANNOUNCEMENT: NEW NON-PROLIFERATION/TERRORISM STUDIES MASTER OF ARTS DEGREE AND TERRORISM STUDIES CERTIFICATE PROGRAMS

To access the full report, click Download KAVKAZJIHAD_MonTREP_IIPER_18_July10_2010

 

 

RUSSIAN FEDERATION WEEKLY SITREP

by Patrick Armstrong

Spies or something. We’ve all heard that on Monday the FBI said it had broken up a Russian sleeper ring in the USA. I don’t doubt that it could be true as reported – of course Russia “spies” on the USA and vice versa. But questions remain: the spy craft described – brush off passes, dead letter drops, invisible ink – is ludicrously fustian: is this the SVR’s idea of how to pass information these days? And sleepers who knew each other? And, as so far reported, none of the information they were after seems to have required such clandestine efforts. No doubt we will learn more but I remain sceptical that this was a serious effort by Moscow. There are many plausible (or implausible) theories about the matter and here’s my offering: Gordievskiy tells us that it was not unknown in the old days for KGB officers to invent whole agent networks in order to supplement their incomes; perhaps some enterprising officer strung together a bogus network, this time with actual people in it. Therefore, it is quite possibly true as reported but some questions need answers. Thus far the two capitals are keeping calm.

THE 'SPY' SCANDAL: A DOG THAT COULDN'T BARK

by Gordon Hahn

The present ‘spy’ scandal is a tempest in a teapot that will have no effect on the thaw in U.S.-Russian relations, the balance of power within Russia’s ruling tandem of President Dmitry Medvedev and Premier Vladimir Putin, or the Barack Obama administration’s credibility.