Airbornelawyer
10-18-2005, 09:25
From Various Sources:
Two stories, both based on the same UN report, with slightly different spins: ETHIOPIA-ERITREA: UN mission to continue work despite flight restrictions (http://www.irinnews.org/report.asp?ReportID=49625&SelectRegion=Horn_of_Africa&SelectCountry=ETHIOPIA-ERITREA) and Annan Warns Eritrea U.N. May Pull Troops (http://news.yahoo.com/s/ap/20051018/ap_on_re_af/un_eritrea_ethiopia_dispute_1&printer=1)
Russian Police Search for Militants in Nalchik (http://www.voanews.com/english/2005-10-18-voa4.cfm): " Security forces have launched raids against suspected Islamic militants in the southern Russian city, Nalchik, where militants attacked government buildings and police station last week. More than 100 people were killed in clashes between troops and militants last week. …
Rumsfeld Questions China's Military Intentions (http://www.voanews.com/english/2005-10-18-voa7.cfm): " U.S. Secretary of Defense Donald Rumsfeld says he wants to hear from Chinese leaders in Beijing what they plan to do with their fast growing military capability. On his plane en route to China for his first visit as defense secretary, Mr. Rumsfeld also said he hopes China moves toward becoming a more open society as it develops politically, economically and militarily. …"
Tribes Hired to Guard the Border (http://www.strategypage.com/qnd/iraq/articles/20051018.aspx). " October 18, 2005: In Anbar Province, the large desert region in the western part of the country that borders Syria, Jordan, and Saudi Arabia, the government has apparently reached an agreement with several of the Sunni tribes to form a “Desert Protection Force.” The DPF will be recruited from tribal militias, who have an intimate knowledge of the desert, and the traditional – as in thousands of years – smuggling routes into the adjacent regions. Although it can be viewed as a bribe to the tribal leaders to keep their people in line, the initiative may yield important benefits in the future, since it links local tribal fortunes to the success of the new government. …"
In a new report, the UN chronicles a decline in wars and congratulates itself for being responsible. Some analysis here: Pax UN (http://fallbackbelmont.blogspot.com/2005/10/pax-un.html)
South Asia Terrorism Update (http://www.satp.org/satporgtp/detailed_news.asp?date1=10/18/2005)
From the RFE/RL Newsline (http://www.rferl.org/newsline/):
Russia
DEFENSE, FOREIGN MINISTERS DENY TRANSFERRING MISSILE TECHNOLOGY TO IRAN. Speaking in New Delhi on 17 October, Russian Defense Minister Sergei Ivanov denounced the publication in the 16 October "Sunday Telegraph" of an article alleging that former members of the Russian military covertly helped Iran obtain technology to build missiles capable of reaching European capitals, RIA-Novosti and other Russian media reported. According to the newspaper, Russian officers worked as middlemen in transferring the missile technology from North Korea to Iran. Ivanov called this report "nonsense and ravings," and added that "nobody has ever registered attempts by Russia to violate her international obligations," RIA-Novosti reported. Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov said in Moscow the same day that he is "bewildered" by the report, RIA-Novosti reported. Such reports actually appeared about 10 years ago and the Russian government probes after each allegation found no such violations, Lavrov said.
RUSSIA TO HOST JOINT NATO AND INDIAN MILITARY GAMES. Talking about the results of his visit to India, Ivanov announced at a press conference that Indian military and political leaders have agreed to hold joint antiterrorism games in Russia next year, RIA-Novosti reported. Ivanov added that special forces from the United States, Great Britain, and France are also invited to take part in these games. He also said that the joint Russian military exercises Indra-2005, which he watched in Rajasthan during his visit, were successful, but that he cut short his four-day visit to India because the naval portion of the exercises in the Bay of Bengal was canceled due to bad weather.
RUSSIAN GENERALS/LAWMAKERS ARGUE OVER NALCHIK RAID. Colonel General Vladimir Vasiliev (Unified Russia), the chairman of the Duma Security Committee, said on 16 October on the NTV show "Voskresnyi vecher" that during the recent attacks by insurgents in Nalchik the federal troops reacted better than they had in previous attacks. Army General Nikolai Kovalev, the chairman of the Duma Veterans Committee (Unified Russia), said that it is difficult to fight underground urban guerilla warfare. "During the day these people are normal citizens, but at night they change clothes, take up hidden arms, form small mobile groups, hit their targets, and then transform into civilians," he said. Major General Aleksei Sigutkin (Unified Russia), the first deputy chairman of the Duma Defense Committee, said Russia has a history of failing to stop urban terrorist tactics. He said that "in the 19th century the Tsarist secret police failed for a long time to suppress the revolutionary organization People's Will" and, in the 20th century, the Tsarist police lost the fight to the Bolsheviks, which used the same tactics.
CHECHEN LEADER EXPRESSES REGRET AT CIVILIAN CASUALTIES IN NALCHIK. Abdul-Khalim Sadullaev, the successor to slain Chechen President and resistance leader Aslan Maskhadov, has released a statement, which was posted on 18 October on chechenpress.org, expressing "great regret" that some civilians died during the 13 October attack on Nalchik by fighters of the Kabadino-Balkar sector of the Caucasus Front. At the same time, Sadullaev stressed that the Chechen militants directed their fire exclusively at military facilities, and that the "absolute majority" of the civilian casualties died as a result of indiscriminate return fire by Russian and local police and security personnel. Sadullaev affirmed that the fighters who participated in the Nalchik raid "fulfilled all the tasks" set by their commander. He concluded: "May Almighty Allah help us liberate and unite the entire Caucasus!"
Southwestern Asia And The Middle East
FRANCE TO DOWNSIZE MILITARY PRESENCE IN TAJIKISTAN. Frederic Peroni, the military attache at the French Embassy in Tajikistan, said on 17 October that France will reduce its military presence in Tajikistan, AFP reported. Peroni said that six Mirage jets and 250 military personnel will leave Tajikistan in early November, reducing the number of French military personnel in Dushanbe to 150. Peroni commented that the departing aircraft "fulfilled their task by carrying out daily missions in Afghanistan."
SOUTHERN DISTRICT INTELLIGENCE CHIEF KILLED. Brigadier General Mohammad Daud, chief of the intelligence chief of Helmand Province's Sangin district, was killed on 17 October along with one of his bodyguards, AIP reported, quoting provincial security commander Abdul Rahman. The assailants have not been identified.
Two stories, both based on the same UN report, with slightly different spins: ETHIOPIA-ERITREA: UN mission to continue work despite flight restrictions (http://www.irinnews.org/report.asp?ReportID=49625&SelectRegion=Horn_of_Africa&SelectCountry=ETHIOPIA-ERITREA) and Annan Warns Eritrea U.N. May Pull Troops (http://news.yahoo.com/s/ap/20051018/ap_on_re_af/un_eritrea_ethiopia_dispute_1&printer=1)
Russian Police Search for Militants in Nalchik (http://www.voanews.com/english/2005-10-18-voa4.cfm): " Security forces have launched raids against suspected Islamic militants in the southern Russian city, Nalchik, where militants attacked government buildings and police station last week. More than 100 people were killed in clashes between troops and militants last week. …
Rumsfeld Questions China's Military Intentions (http://www.voanews.com/english/2005-10-18-voa7.cfm): " U.S. Secretary of Defense Donald Rumsfeld says he wants to hear from Chinese leaders in Beijing what they plan to do with their fast growing military capability. On his plane en route to China for his first visit as defense secretary, Mr. Rumsfeld also said he hopes China moves toward becoming a more open society as it develops politically, economically and militarily. …"
Tribes Hired to Guard the Border (http://www.strategypage.com/qnd/iraq/articles/20051018.aspx). " October 18, 2005: In Anbar Province, the large desert region in the western part of the country that borders Syria, Jordan, and Saudi Arabia, the government has apparently reached an agreement with several of the Sunni tribes to form a “Desert Protection Force.” The DPF will be recruited from tribal militias, who have an intimate knowledge of the desert, and the traditional – as in thousands of years – smuggling routes into the adjacent regions. Although it can be viewed as a bribe to the tribal leaders to keep their people in line, the initiative may yield important benefits in the future, since it links local tribal fortunes to the success of the new government. …"
In a new report, the UN chronicles a decline in wars and congratulates itself for being responsible. Some analysis here: Pax UN (http://fallbackbelmont.blogspot.com/2005/10/pax-un.html)
South Asia Terrorism Update (http://www.satp.org/satporgtp/detailed_news.asp?date1=10/18/2005)
From the RFE/RL Newsline (http://www.rferl.org/newsline/):
Russia
DEFENSE, FOREIGN MINISTERS DENY TRANSFERRING MISSILE TECHNOLOGY TO IRAN. Speaking in New Delhi on 17 October, Russian Defense Minister Sergei Ivanov denounced the publication in the 16 October "Sunday Telegraph" of an article alleging that former members of the Russian military covertly helped Iran obtain technology to build missiles capable of reaching European capitals, RIA-Novosti and other Russian media reported. According to the newspaper, Russian officers worked as middlemen in transferring the missile technology from North Korea to Iran. Ivanov called this report "nonsense and ravings," and added that "nobody has ever registered attempts by Russia to violate her international obligations," RIA-Novosti reported. Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov said in Moscow the same day that he is "bewildered" by the report, RIA-Novosti reported. Such reports actually appeared about 10 years ago and the Russian government probes after each allegation found no such violations, Lavrov said.
RUSSIA TO HOST JOINT NATO AND INDIAN MILITARY GAMES. Talking about the results of his visit to India, Ivanov announced at a press conference that Indian military and political leaders have agreed to hold joint antiterrorism games in Russia next year, RIA-Novosti reported. Ivanov added that special forces from the United States, Great Britain, and France are also invited to take part in these games. He also said that the joint Russian military exercises Indra-2005, which he watched in Rajasthan during his visit, were successful, but that he cut short his four-day visit to India because the naval portion of the exercises in the Bay of Bengal was canceled due to bad weather.
RUSSIAN GENERALS/LAWMAKERS ARGUE OVER NALCHIK RAID. Colonel General Vladimir Vasiliev (Unified Russia), the chairman of the Duma Security Committee, said on 16 October on the NTV show "Voskresnyi vecher" that during the recent attacks by insurgents in Nalchik the federal troops reacted better than they had in previous attacks. Army General Nikolai Kovalev, the chairman of the Duma Veterans Committee (Unified Russia), said that it is difficult to fight underground urban guerilla warfare. "During the day these people are normal citizens, but at night they change clothes, take up hidden arms, form small mobile groups, hit their targets, and then transform into civilians," he said. Major General Aleksei Sigutkin (Unified Russia), the first deputy chairman of the Duma Defense Committee, said Russia has a history of failing to stop urban terrorist tactics. He said that "in the 19th century the Tsarist secret police failed for a long time to suppress the revolutionary organization People's Will" and, in the 20th century, the Tsarist police lost the fight to the Bolsheviks, which used the same tactics.
CHECHEN LEADER EXPRESSES REGRET AT CIVILIAN CASUALTIES IN NALCHIK. Abdul-Khalim Sadullaev, the successor to slain Chechen President and resistance leader Aslan Maskhadov, has released a statement, which was posted on 18 October on chechenpress.org, expressing "great regret" that some civilians died during the 13 October attack on Nalchik by fighters of the Kabadino-Balkar sector of the Caucasus Front. At the same time, Sadullaev stressed that the Chechen militants directed their fire exclusively at military facilities, and that the "absolute majority" of the civilian casualties died as a result of indiscriminate return fire by Russian and local police and security personnel. Sadullaev affirmed that the fighters who participated in the Nalchik raid "fulfilled all the tasks" set by their commander. He concluded: "May Almighty Allah help us liberate and unite the entire Caucasus!"
Southwestern Asia And The Middle East
FRANCE TO DOWNSIZE MILITARY PRESENCE IN TAJIKISTAN. Frederic Peroni, the military attache at the French Embassy in Tajikistan, said on 17 October that France will reduce its military presence in Tajikistan, AFP reported. Peroni said that six Mirage jets and 250 military personnel will leave Tajikistan in early November, reducing the number of French military personnel in Dushanbe to 150. Peroni commented that the departing aircraft "fulfilled their task by carrying out daily missions in Afghanistan."
SOUTHERN DISTRICT INTELLIGENCE CHIEF KILLED. Brigadier General Mohammad Daud, chief of the intelligence chief of Helmand Province's Sangin district, was killed on 17 October along with one of his bodyguards, AIP reported, quoting provincial security commander Abdul Rahman. The assailants have not been identified.