The Rise of the Russian Empire: Russo-Armenian Relations

[skhara]

Re: The Rise of the Russian Empire: Russo-Armenian Relations

Putin aides attack Miliband's family in a bid to undermine him over Litvinenko saga



The grandfather of Foreign Secretary David Miliband has been dragged into the diplomatic stand-off between Britain and Russia - more than 40 years after his death.

Last week - as the two countries continued to trade insults over Moscow's refusal to hand over the man suspected of Alexander Litvinenko's murder - Mr Miliband was accused of inheriting a "hatred" of Russia from his Polish-born xxxish grandfather Samuel.

The accusation was made by Gleb Pavlovsky, one of President Vladimir Putin's closest advisers, who said Samuel fought under the command of Trotsky in the Twenties, eliminating White Russians opposed to communism.

Pavlovsky, 52, is an influential figure in Moscow.

He is director of a powerful political think-tank and described by observers of Kremlin power struggles as a "genius of black PR".

He has had a hand in most of the country's recent political upheavals and is thought to have helped to ease Mr Putin into power in 1999.

But an investigation by The Mail on Sunday has established that Samuel was never involved in the killing of Russians.

We have also discovered that far from being "Russian-haters", one of the Miliband family actually fought with the Red Army.

And we have been told that Mr Pavlovsky's comments - in a Russian newspaper - were simply an attempt to undermine Britain's Foreign Secretary by highlighting his xxxish roots in a country where anti- Semitism is rife.

Samuel Miliband was born in the xxxish quarter of Warsaw in 1895 and had 12 brothers and sisters.

Eleven of them left Poland after the First World War, but one brother is thought to have joined the Red Army, fighting the Western powers in the Russian civil war.

After training as a leather worker in Poland, Samuel emigrated to Belgium in 1920.

He married Renia in 1923 and they had a son, Ralph - David Miliband's father.

After the Second World War the family settled in London - but more than 40 members of the wider family were sent to their deaths and at least one relative is known to have perished at Auschwitz.

Samuel died from cancer in 1966, by which time Ralph had established an international reputation as a Marxist academic and Left-wing political theorist.

Ralph, who died in 1994 aged 70, also comes under attack in Pavlovsky's newspaper article, accused of having led an "ideological war" against the Soviet Union.

Ralph was the subject of a biography in 2002 by Professor Michael Newman of London Metropolitan University.

Last night Professor Newman, who interviewed many members of the Miliband family while carrying out research for his book, categorically denied that Samuel had taken part in the killing of Russians or had fought in the Polish-Soviet War of 1919-1920 - another allegation made by Pavlovsky in the Russian newspaper.

Professor Newman said he was convinced by the information he had gathered that Pavlovsky's claims were untrue.

One theory is that the Kremlin wanted to demean David Miliband in Russian eyes by drawing attention to his xxxish roots.

Kremlin officials have been enraged by Mr Miliband's denunciation of their refusal to extradite the main suspect in the Litvinenko affair, Andrei Lugovoi.

Dr Jolanta Zyndul, of the xxxish Historical and Cultural Centre in Warsaw, said: "These remarks were probably intended for a Russian audience.

"In Russia, xxxs have traditionally been seen as an anti-Russian element just as they have been seen as an anti-Polish element in Poland."

[Armenian]

Re: The Rise of the Russian Empire: Russo-Armenian Relations

Can there be anymore doubt that they are indeed embarked on a cleansing operation? I say good for them. I would not be able to blame them if they decide to take more drastic actions, for God knows the Russian people have suffered immense at their hands and they continue to do so today.

Last week - as the two countries continued to trade insults over Moscow's refusal to hand over the man suspected of Alexander Litvinenko's murder - Mr Miliband was accused of inheriting a "hatred" of Russia from his Polish-born xxxish grandfather Samuel. The accusation was made by Gleb Pavlovsky, one of President Vladimir Putin's closest advisers, who said Samuel fought under the command of Trotsky in the Twenties, eliminating White Russians opposed to communism.

[Armenian]

Re: The Rise of the Russian Empire: Russo-Armenian Relations

Russia flexes military muscle, evoking cold war posturing



Russia and Georgia spar over a missile firing. The US responded in muted fashion after Russian bombers flew over Guam. The Russia of President Vladimir Putin has taken a number of provocative military steps in recent days, creating concern about how the US and Europe should engage with a country that also has a vital role to play in Middle East peacemaking and the nuclear standoff with Iran.

On Tuesday, Georgia said a Russian jet fired a missile at a radar installation in the country's disputed South Ossetia region, which its president alleged was part of an intimidation campaign by a Russia that, as the Soviet Union, once ruled many of its neighbors, reports Reuters. Georgian President Mikhail Saakashvili said the missile, which did not explode, was part of a pattern of Russian aggression against its neighbors across Europe and urged European states to condemn Moscow.

"This is not Georgia's problem. This is a problem for European security and safety," Saakashvili said in English after traveling to the village where the missile landed. Russia has responded by saying Georgia is lying about the incident, though the US is siding with Georgia, an ally that has sent troops to the war in Iraq, reports the Associated Press. On Saturday, First Deputy Prime Minister Sergei Ivanov insisted Georgia had faked the incident to prevent a planned meeting of a commission of South Ossetian and Georgian authorities to discuss the decade-long standoff over the region's status.



"The authors of this theatrical presentation achieved their main goal — they ruined the meeting," he said.

Georgia's Foreign Ministry said records from radars compatible with NATO standards showed that a Russian Su-24 jet had flown into Georgia and launched a missile. Investigators identified the weapon as a Russian-made Raduga Kh-58 missile, designed to hit radars, the ministry said. Georgia accuses Russian peacekeepers in South Ossetia of backing the separatists, and Georgian President Mikhail Saakashvili has vowed to bring the region back under central government control. In a reflection of Russia's clout, the United Nation's Security Council has refused to meet Georgia's request for an emergency meeting on the alleged attack, saying it needs more information, Reuters reports. In the absence of any information, the council members considered we should await the results of any inquiry, in particular the one by the OSCE (Organization for Security and Cooperation in Europe) ... before taking any decision," (Council President Pascal Gayama of Congo Republic) told reporters.



Ambassador Vitaly Churkin of Russia, one of five veto-holding powers on the council, said: "This thing has to be thoroughly investigated first."

"We do not see any reason for holding such a Security Council meeting right now because there is nothing on the table. We have to have facts," said another Russian official, who asked not to be identified.

In an editorial, The Washington Post argues the Russians have a strong hand when it comes to UN actions. The missile incident disturbingly resembles a March incident in which a missile was fired at a government building in Abkhazia, a Georgian territory that is home to pro-Russian rebels. Then, too, the evidence pointed to Russian aggression, but a United Nations report stopped short of blaming Russia – probably because the Russians had to sign off on the document. Meanwhile, the Russians admit they've taken a more confrontational approach in another area in a move that harks back to the cold war games of chicken played between Soviet and US pilots, the British Broadcasting Corp. reports.

Two Tu-95 turboprop [bombers] flew this week to Guam, home to a big US military base, Russian Maj Gen Pavel Androsov said.

They "exchanged smiles" with US pilots who scrambled to track them, he added.

"It has always been the tradition of our long-range aviation to fly far into the ocean, to meet [US] aircraft carriers and greet [US pilots] visually," he said at a news conference.

"Yesterday [Wednesday] we revived this tradition, and two of our young crews paid a visit to the area of the base of Guam," he said.

The US response to that incident has, so far, been muted, The Washington Post reports. U.S. defense officials in Washington said Thursday that the Russian move in the Pacific was not seen as a provocation but that it did get attention. U.S. forces -- including 22,000 troops, 30 ships and 275 aircraft -- are working alongside Japanese forces in the waters near Guam this week as part of a massive war game dubbed Exercise Valiant Shield. Nevertheless, Russia's increasing military assertiveness is leaving US policymakers in a quandary. The country, which was at one time building a nuclear plant in Iran but has since suspended construction, has been closer to US views on handling that issue lately.

But analysts say the country's help on that front also comes as it maneuvers for a freer hand in areas it considers to be in its sphere of influence, like Georgia or Kosovo, where Russia has been backing Serbia's opposition to independence, and limiting the expansion of NATO. The Washington Times reports that a booming economy is convincing Russia to assert itself. The resurgence of nationalism reflects the popular feeling that the United States and the West exploited Russia's weakness after the Soviet collapse and the fact that the Kremlin's coffers are now bulging because of energy revenue, according to Ariel Cohen, a Russia specialist at the Heritage Foundation.

"Flush with cash, Russia today is constantly looking for avenues to boost its geopolitical muscle," he said. "That has translated into some very ambitious strategic programs."

Anatole Kaletsky, a Russian-born senior columnist for The Times of London says Putin has felt backed into a corner by the moves of the US and its allies and that he's turning the tables by taking actions that may appear provocative to outsiders but are generally popular at home. Mr Putin faces a difficult transition from his present position as a wildly popular czarist-style absolute ruler to some kind of power behind the throne – a kingmaker or political puppeteer possibly modelled on Deng Xiaoping, of China, or Lee Kuan Yew, of Singapore, but with no real parallel in Russian history. In managing this unprecedented transition, nothing is more useful to Mr Putin than his image as the first national leader since Stalin who could stand up for Russia's interests against an inherently hostile world. This is why all the EU's complaints about neo-imperialist bullying of Poland and Estonia, all the lectures from President Bush about democracy and all the admonitions about human rights from Mrs Merkel are water off a duck's back to President Putin.

Why is hostility to the West so popular in Russia? … US and European behavior has consistently treated Russia more as an enemy than an ally. Russia has been told it could never join Nato or the EU and Mr Putin's invitation to G8 summits is scant consolation for the denial of WTO membership and the continuation of US trade sanctions dating back to the Cold War. On human rights and extrajudicial assassinations, Russia's record may be deplorable, but its abuses pale in comparison with those of Western friends such as Saudi Arabia and China, not to mention President Bush's "boil them in oil" ally, Uzbekistan.

Source: http://www.csmonitor.com/2007/0812/p99s01-duts.htm

[skhara]

Re: The Rise of the Russian Empire: Russo-Armenian Relations

http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/europe/6937562.stm

Russia's Cossacks rise again




The Cossacks play an increasingly important role in Russia. Their disciplined way of life, patriotism, large families and commitment to work, are seen by many politicians as a model that could help resolve many of Russia's problems. For this, they receive support from the very top.

The village of Varennikovskoye is home to some 300 Cossacks and their families.

The local leader, "Ataman" Viktor Vasilyevich, received me with open arms. He was dressed in traditional Cossack costume, which includes a full-length black coat, a sheepskin hat and a sword. He oozed authority, and it was immediately clear that he was held in deep respect by his family and the other villagers.

Cossack family life is a rigid, hierarchical system in which the eldest man's word is law. Unashamedly, the Ataman explained that Cossack families should be as large as possible. He introduced me to one of his own sons, already the father of seven children.

Orthodox beliefs

One of his grandsons was boxing in the village gym - a converted bar. He said being a good Cossack was someone who "took responsibility" for his family and their well-being. Just 11 years old, he was already used to hard physical work on the farm.

Cossack family
Cossack families are large and their values simple and rigid
Cossack family values are simple, rigid, and to a Western eye, seem to come from another era. The men build the home and provide an income; the women cook, clean and give birth to children. Traditional Russian values, culture, and Orthodoxy form the bedrock of their beliefs.

Ataman Viktor asserted that the village was welcoming to people of other faiths, including Muslims. But, he warned, they would only be accepted as long as they recognised the pre-eminence of Orthodox customs and beliefs.

The alternative, he made clear, was expulsion. Two families had already been "dealt with" in this way.

Varennikovskoye had previously been a large collective farm, part of the agricultural system that Stalin imposed on the Soviet Union in the 1930s. That disastrous policy led to millions of deaths from famine and decades of food shortages.

Agricultural success

Things are very different in Russia now. Agricultural land cannot be privately owned, but it can be leased in flexible ways that put individuals and their families or companies in charge of sometimes large areas.

This is how the Ataman and his sons had come to work thousands of hectares of land. They have made a big success of it, with the family owning several large houses and appearing materially comfortable. Communism, they say, was an alien belief forced on Russia by foreigners. He was referring to Karl Marx.

Buying and selling, and taking responsibility for one's own welfare, they added, were an intrinsic part of their way of life.

Before we sat down to a table laden with food, Ataman Viktor recited the Lord's Prayer in Old Church Slavonic. There was no alcohol on the table, something unusual in Russia, town or country.

As I was told, a Cossack found drinking in this village would face a whipping. This was the village's exemplary way of dealing with the rampant alcoholism that blights life in much of the Russian countryside.

In another Cossack village, Zelenaya Roshcha, the local leader was overseeing the construction of an Orthodox church, financed by donations. The village also had an amateur Cossack choir, which was always delighted to perform for visitors.

In the blistering heat, they came out into the street in traditional regalia, to entertain us with Russian folk songs. They sang wonderfully.

Cossack values are deeply conservative, a mix of self-reliance, fervent patriotism and belief in discipline and authority. As I prepared to leave, Ataman Viktor told me he would like to see the Tsar return to Russia.

When I asked him if he could suggest any candidates, he told me there was "only one". President Vladimir Putin, he said, had proved himself as a potential Tsar, by bringing order and the start of Russia's long-awaited national revival.

[Armenian]

Re: The Rise of the Russian Empire: Russo-Armenian Relations

When I asked him if he could suggest any candidates, he told me there was "only one". President Vladimir Putin, he said, had proved himself as a potential Tsar, by bringing order and the start of Russia's long-awaited national revival.

I wholeheartedly agree.

Hail Putin!

[Lucin]

Re: The Rise of the Russian Empire: Russo-Armenian Relations

Putin is an attractive man (in my opinion). There is a kind of strong magnetism emanating from his personality… He's got character, strength and a kind of tenacity that makes me like him more …

[Armenian]

Re: The Rise of the Russian Empire: Russo-Armenian Relations

Ever since Putin stepped on their "Arctic" toe, Canadians have begun to act stupid. Does Canada actually think that setting up two bases in the region is going to deter the Russian Federation? Nonetheless, perhaps the article below is accurate in stating that Putin is preparing for a Third World War. What is also clear, however, is the fact that the initiators of the impending global war is not the Russian Federation.

Armenian

Canadian Perspective: Putin Preparing for World War III



Russia's President and former KGB agent, Vladimir "Mr. Polonium" Putin has been on a roll lately. In the past several months, he has been accused of masterminding the death of a former KGB agent, he's told the Queen of England to stick her complaints up her royal behind and he has completed the trifecta by conquering Antarctica. The Antarctica is rich in resources and the world simply can not allow this communist to declare it Russian territory. Worst of all, the Russians have even planted their ugly flag at the North Pole! I think I speak for all Canadians when I say, "Back off Rusky!"

We don't mind when we hear the old communist poke fun at England and their ridiculous "Queen." We don't mind when they take care of internal matters by assassinating their own people. But when they take aim at Santa's abode and the rich resources of Antarctica, Canada should begin to plan countermeasures. First of all, purely from a psychological warfare perspective, we can not allow these communists (yes, they are still commies!) to blatantly attack our children's sense of joy. Planting a flag at the North Pole signals their intent on spreading malicious propaganda aimed at Canadian children by claiming that Santa Claus is a Russian commie who spreads joy by "sharing" toys with children around the world. This will destroy the spirit of Christmas and also harm the commercialization of this great holiday.

The evil Russians are also attempting to scoop up all the rich resources which can be found in Antarctica. This is unacceptable. Canada should send out a strong warning message to Russia by classifying them as a rogue state. And we must support neighbouring countries and demonize Russia for the evil commies that they are and for their attack on our children and future resources.

Source: http://www.harrynads.com/Putin-Prepa...-World-War-III

[Armenian]

Re: The Rise of the Russian Empire: Russo-Armenian Relations

President/Dictator of Pakistan Pervez Musharraf finally admits what has been common knowledge since the mid 90s, namely that Pakistanis have supported the Taliban in Afghanistan. What he did not admit, however, is also a well known fact that the Pakistani intelligence apparatus the ISI, along with the CIA, set up and financed the Taliban movement in Afghanistan during the mid 90s.

Was it done to fight the Soviets? Obviously no, for the Soviets were comprehensively defeated and withdrew several years prior, and by the mid 90s the Soviet Union did not even exists anymore. Nevertheless, upon expelling the Soviets in the late 80s Afghanistan had a chance to build a nation once again. This chance was destroyed when Pakistan, along with several intelligence agencies, decided to set-up Al-Qaeda type institutions within Afghanistan's political vacuum. The Pashtuns of Afghanistan that had cultural/tribal ties with Pakistan were used towards that purpose. Today, the average Afghan, especially the Tadjiks of Afghanistan's north, hate and fear Pakistan with a passion.

The legendary Tadjik leader the late Ahmad Masood, a staunch Afghan nationalist known as the lion of Panshir, knew of the depth and severity of Pakistan's involvement in the Taliban movement and in the so-called "AL-Qaeda" organization. The Masood lead Tadjiks of the Northern Alliance were the only opposition the Taliban/Al-Qaeda had in Afghanistan. What's more, during the early part of the year 2001 Masood traveled to Western Europe and the United States to express his deep concerns about the Taliban and Al-Qaeda and Pakistan's involvement within the two, he attempted to warn officials of an impending disaster. However, he was ignored by the main-stream media and politicians alike. It is interesting to note here that Masood was assassinated in northern Afghanistan just two days prior to the September 11, 2001 attacks in the US. It is also interesting to note that Masood was at the time moving closer to the Russian Federation, whom he had asked for direct support in fighting the Taliban.

Nevertheless, Afghan Tadjiks to this day claim that the assassination of the great nationalist leader was an operation conducted by Pakistani intelligence. It is also claimed that Massood was taken out so that he would not pose a challenge to what was to come, the invasion several months later of Afghanistan by the "Forces of Freedom."

Armenian

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Taliban backed in Pakistan



General Pervez Musharraf, Pakistan’s president, made a rare admission that Taliban fighters in Afghanistan were benefiting from support inside his country as Afghanistan and Pakistan on Sunday vowed to work harder to tackle extremism. The pledges came at the end of a four-day, US-backed meeting of Pashtun leaders from both countries. Dubbed the “Peace Jirga” after the name given to traditional meetings by the Pashtun tribes who live on both sides of the border, the meeting was conceived and pushed for by Washington as a way to secure better co-operation between Kabul and Islamabad. Gen Musharraf struck a blow to the meeting last week when at the last minute he abandoned plans to attend opening ceremonies. He and Hamid Karzai, the Afghan president, have also had testy exchanges in the past about what some see as Taliban safe havens in Pakistan’s frontier provinces.

But Gen Musharraf – under increasing political pressure from Islamists at home – said yesterday the countries needed to do more to fight terrorism. “There is no other option for both countries other than peace and unity, trust and co-operation,” he told the closing session of the jirga. Pakistan has in the past denied Taliban fighters were finding safe haven in its tribal areas. But Gen Musharraf said yesterday: “There is no doubt Afghan militants are supported from Pakistan soil. The problem that you have in your region is because support is provided from our side.”

The two governments have made similar pledges to work together in the past. However, supporters of the jirga said the difference this time lay in the involvement of elected and civil society representatives including tribal leaders and community elders. The governments’ promise to refuse to allow sanctuaries to terrorists was also endorsed by jirga representatives who recommended tribal communities in the affected areas become responsible for ensuring this. A joint declaration adopted by the jirga earlier recognised terrorism as a common threat, emphasised the need for a war on terror and pledged: “[The] government and people of Afghanistan and Pakistan will not allow sanctuaries/training centres for terrorists in their respective countries.” The declaration emphasised mutual respect, non-interference and peaceful co-existence and called for a war against drug trafficking as well as for economic development of the affected areas.

Source: http://www.ft.com/cms/s/2b8a8cd6-48e...0779fd2ac.html

Additional news relating to Pakistan:

Russia blocks deliveries of Chinese fighters to Pakistan


JF-17 is a Chinese built multi-role all weather fighter recently acquired by the Pakistani Air Force

Russia is not allowing China to re-export its RD-93 engines for Chinese-made fighters to Pakistan, an Indian newspaper said Monday on its website. Beijing concluded a contract with Moscow in 1992 for supplies of a 100 RD-93 engines with options for another 400 to equip its JF-17 Thunder fighters, jointly developed with Pakistan. Pakistan has announced that it could procure 150-300 aircraft to meet the tactical and strategic needs of its Air Force, but India, concerned over Islamabad's growing military potential, has asked Russia, its close ally, to "freeze" the deal, the Indian Express daily said. Russia, whose military cooperation with India has been bogged down by a number of sensitive issues, such as a delay in the overhaul of the Gorshkov aircraft carrier and a price escalation with the Su-30 MKI contract, informed China last year that re-exporting RD-93 engines was not allowed without Moscow's permission. However, Beijing went ahead and delivered two RD-93 equipped JF-17 fighters to Pakistan in March 2007 prompting India to protest the deal as a violation of the end-user agreement between Russia and China. The Indian Express said the two fighters had since been returned to China following Russian pressure, and Moscow would officially inform India of its decision to prohibit Beijing from re-exporting RD-93 engines during high-level defense talks in late August, when India's National Security Advisor M K Narayanan arrives in Russia for a visit. Pakistan is supposed to start its own serial production of JF-17 fighters in 2008.

Source: http://en.rian.ru/world/20070813/71188324.html

[skhara]

Re: The Rise of the Russian Empire: Russo-Armenian Relations

It is also interesting to note that Masood was at the time moving closer to the Russian Federation, whom he had asked for direct support in fighting the Taliban

.

I don't think a lot of people know that Iran and Russia have been keeping the Northern alliance alive for years before the US invasion.

[Armenian]

Re: The Rise of the Russian Empire: Russo-Armenian Relations

I don't think a lot of people know that Iran and Russia have been keeping the Northern alliance alive for years before the US invasion.

How Neo-Cons Sabotaged Iran's Help on al Qaeda



After the Sep. 11 attacks, U.S. officials responsible for preparing for war in Afghanistan needed Iran's help to unseat the Taliban and establish a stable government in Kabul. Iran had organised resistance by the "Northern Alliance" and had provided arms and funding, at a time when the United States had been unwilling to do so. "The Iranians had real contacts with important players in Afghanistan and were prepared to use their influence in constructive ways in coordination with the United States," recalls Flynt Leverett, then senior director for Middle East affairs in the National Security Council (NSC), in an interview with IPS.

In October 2001, as the United States was just beginning its military operations in Afghanistan, State Department and NSC officials began meeting secretly with Iranian diplomats in Paris and Geneva, under the sponsorship of Lakhdar Brahimi, head of the United Nations Assistance Mission in Afghanistan. Leverett says these discussions focused on "how to effectively unseat the Taliban and once the Taliban was gone, how to stand up an Afghan government". It was thanks to the Northern Alliance Afghan troops, which were supported primarily by the Iranians, that the Taliban was driven out of Kabul in mid-November. Two weeks later, the Afghan opposition groups were convened in Bonn under United Nations auspices to agree on a successor regime.

At that meeting, the Northern Alliance was demanding 60 percent of the portfolios in an interim government, which was blocking agreement by other opposition groups. According to U.S. special envoy to Afghanistan James Dobbins, Iran played a "decisive role" in persuading the Northern Alliance delegate to compromise. Dobbins also recalls how the Iranians insisted on including language in the Bonn agreement on the war on terrorism. The bureaucracy recognised that there was an opportunity to work with Iran not only on stabilising Afghanistan but on al Qaeda as well. As reported by the Washington Post on Oct. 22, 2004, the State Department's policy planning staff had written a paper in late November 2001 suggesting that the United States should propose more formal arrangements for cooperation with Iran on fighting al Qaeda.

That would have involved exchanging intelligence information with Tehran as well as coordinating border sweeps to capture al Qaeda fighters and leaders who were already beginning to move across the border into Pakistan and Iran. The CIA agreed with the proposal, according to the Post's sources, as did the head of the White House Office for Combating Terrorism, Ret. Gen. Wayne A. Downing. But the cooperation against al Qaeda was not the priority for the anti-Iranian interests in the White House and the Pentagon. Investigative journalist Bob Woodward's book "Plan of Attack" recounts that Deputy National Security Advisor Stephen J. Hadley, who chaired an inter-agency committee on Iran policy dealing with issues surrounding Afghanistan, learned that the White House intended to include Iran as a member of the "Axis of Evil" in Bush's State of the Union message in January.

Hadley expressed reservations about that plan at one point, but was told by Bush directly that Iran had to stay in. By the end of December, Hadley had decided, against the recommendations of the State Department, CIA and White House counter-terrorism office, that the United States would not share any information with Iran on al Qaeda, even though it would press the Iranians for such intelligence, as well as to turn over any al Qaeda members it captured to the appropriate home country. Soon after that decision, hardliners presented Iranian policy to Bush and the public as hostile to U.S. aims in Afghanistan and refusing to cooperate with the war on terror -- the opposite of what officials directly involved had witnessed.

On Jan. 11, 2002, the New York Times quoted Pentagon and intelligence officials as saying that Iran had given "safe haven" to fleeing al Qaeda fighters in order to use them against the United States in post-Taliban Afghanistan. That same day, Bush declared "Iran must be a contributor in the war against terror." "Our nation, in our fight against terrorism, will uphold the doctrine of 'either you're with us or against us'," he said. Officials who were familiar with the intelligence at that point agree that the "safe haven for al Qaeda" charge was not based on any genuine analysis by the intelligence community.

"I wasn't aware of any intelligence support that charge," recalls Dobbins, who was still the primary point of contact with Iranian officials about cooperation on Afghanistan. "I certainly would have seen it had there been any such intelligence. Nobody told me they were harbouring al Qaeda."

Iran had already increased its troop strength on the Afghan border in response to U.S. requests. As the Washington Post reported in 2004, Iranian Deputy Foreign Minister Javad Zarif brought a dossier to U.N Secretary-General Kofi Annan in early February with the photos of 290 men believed to be al Qaeda members who already been detained fleeing from Afghanistan. Later hundreds of al Qaeda and Taliban detainees were repatriated to Saudi Arabia, Afghanistan and other Arab and European countries, according to news reports. The hardliners would complain that the Iranians did not turn over any top al Qaeda leaders. But the United States had just rejected any exchange of information with the very officials with whom it needed to discuss the question of al Qaeda -- the Iranian intelligence and security ministry.

The same administration officials told the Times that Iran was seeking to exert its influence in border regions in western Afghanistan by shipping arms to its Afghan allies in the war against the Taliban and that this could undermine the interim government and Washington's long-term interests in Afghanistan. But in March 2002, Iranian official met with Dobbins in Geneva during a U.N. conference on Afghanistan's security needs. Dobbins recalls that the Iranian delegation brought with it the general who had been responsible for military assistance to the Northern Alliance during the long fight against the Taliban.

The general offered to provide training, uniforms, equipment and barracks for as many as 20,000 new recruits for the nascent Afghan military. All this was to be done under U.S. leadership, Dobbins recalls, not as part of a separate programme under exclusive Iranian control. "The Iranians later confirmed that they did this as a gesture to the United States," says Dobbins. Dobbins returned to Washington to inform key administration officials of what he regarded as an opportunity for a new level of cooperation in Afghanistan. He briefed then Secretary of State Colin Powell, National Adviser Condoleezza Rice and Rumsfeld personally. "To my knowledge, there was never a response," he says.

*Gareth Porter is an historian and national security policy analyst. His latest book, "Perils of Dominance: Imbalance of Power and the Road to War in Vietnam", was published in June 2005.

Source: http://www.commondreams.org/headlines06/0222-07.htm