Nothing But Politics

[Amaunet]

Russia strengthens its military shield

The buck always stops in Russia for every ‘would be’ world dictator whether it be Bush, Napoleon or Hitler and so far they have always won. Since the Neocons took office the Russians have been under no illusions about their expansionist intentions and are taking precautionary measures. President Bush and his regime must conquer the Slavic people as Emperor Napoleon and Reich Furor Hitler attempted to do. Without control of Russia the New World Order is only the New Half a World Order. In 2002 Russia let it be known that they are capable of fielding an army of 38,906,796 men, age 15-49. When we meet a revitalized Russia on a future field of battle they will probably have China and Europe with them. Advantage Russia.


Russia strengthens its military shield

By Sergei Blagov

MOSCOW - Former Soviet defense ministers have tentatively agreed on new measures to limit the proliferation of Soviet-made portable air defense missiles. However, they face a formidable task due to the huge number of missile launchers already manufactured, and the reluctance of some countries to ink an agreement.

Defense ministers of the Commonwealth of Independent States (CIS) met in Schuchinsk, Kazakhstan, on Monday, and most of them backed measures to control the export and import of portable missiles such as the Strela (Arrow) and the Igla (Needle). From now on, CIS states will be obliged to inform one another about any export and import deals involving these missiles, which can be used by terrorists to shoot down civilian planes.

No other details of new control measures have been revealed. Moreover, defense ministers of Georgia, Azerbaijan, Uzbekistan, and Ukraine declined to sign the deal, while the Turkmen representative failed to show up at the meeting. This left Armenia, Belarus, Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan, Moldova, Russia and Tajikistan as signatories. Clearly then, loopholes in terms of portable missile proliferation remain.

Strela has been in production for some time. The SA-7 GRAIL (Strela-2) was the first generation of the Soviet man-portable, shoulder-fired, low-altitude surface-to-air (SAM) system, with a high-explosive warhead and passive infra-red homing guidance. Development of Strela-2 started in 1959 and its basic version was introduced after 1966. The SA-7a (9K32 Strela-2) was introduced for service in 1968, but was soon replaced by the SA-7b (9K32M Strela-2M), which became the most common production model.

The SA-7a had a slant range of 3.6 kilometers and a kill zone of between 15 and 1,500 meters in altitude. The SA-7b has a slant range of about 4.2km and a ceiling of about 2,300m. To date, Strela-2 has been considered a reasonably efficient weapon to destroy air targets because of its simplicity of construction and easy deployment.

The SA-14 GREMLIN (Strela-3) man-portable SAM is the successor to the SA-7/SA-7b. The SA-14 has a maximum range of 4.5km and a maximum altitude of three kilometers.

The SA-16 GIMLET (Igla-1) man-portable SAM system, a further development from the SA-7 and SA-14 series, is an improved version of the SA-18 GROUSE, which was introduced in 1983, three years before the SA-16. The SA-16 has a maximum range of 5,000m and a maximum altitude of 3.5km.

The Strela has been in service with many armies throughout the world. For instance, the Indian army procured hundreds of 100 Igla missiles from Russia and in 2002 there were reports that the Indonesian armed forces planned to procure Igla missiles. The total number of Igla missiles manufactured worldwide is estimated at some 50,000 pieces.

Some of these portable missiles have ended up in the wrong hands. For instance, the Russian military has alleged that after the Soviet collapse in 1991, some 150 Igla launchers remained in Georgia. Russian experts have claimed that serial numbers on missiles that Russian troops captured in Chechnya showed that the weapons came from Georgian stockpiles.

Russian Defense Minister Sergei Ivanov is in Kazakhstan on a four-day visit that ends on Wednesday not just to take care of portable missiles. He warned of the threat of drugs coming out of Afghanistan, yet he ruled out even a "theoretical" possibility of Russia sending troops to Afghanistan.

Separately, Ivanov and his Kazkah counterpart Mukhtar Altynbayev clinched a deal on joint military planning. Ivanov also announced that some 800 Kazakh officers were currently studying at military academies and colleges in Russia.

On Monday, Ivanov announced that an alliance of former Soviet republics, known as the Collective Security Treaty Organization (CSTO), was due to hold anti-terrorist war games in Central Asia, tentatively called "Commonwealth Southern Shield".

Ivanov also stated that from next January 1 CSTO states will be able to procure Russian-made weapons at Russia's domestic price, a significant discount. He did not mention whether this policy would also involve missile technology.

In April, Russia and five other CIS countries formalized a security alliance that potentially could help boost Moscow's strategic presence in Central Asia. At an April 28 summit, Russia, Armenia, Belarus, Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan and Tajikistan formally created CSTO, which will attempt to provide a more efficient response to strategic problems confronting member states, specifically terrorism and narcotics trafficking.

The CSTO is an outgrowth of the 1992 Collective Security Treaty, which sought to promote greater strategic cooperation among the signatories. The bulk of the organization's attention and resources will be concentrated in Central Asia, with a rapid deployment force to be stationed at a Russian military facility at Kant, Kyrgyzstan.

Since the September 11, 2001, terrorist attacks, the United States has established a strategic presence in the region, with bases in Kyrgyzstan and Uzbekistan. Some Russian policymakers believe that CSTO has the potential to help Moscow reestablish its high strategic profile in what traditionally has been its sphere of influence.

In April, Russian President Vladimir Putin played down the notion that Russia seeks to utilize CSTO to reduce US influence in the region, saying that the organization will strive to contain the flow of drugs coming out of Afghanistan, and counter the threat posed by radical Islamic organizations in Central Asia.

Moreover, Russia is now confronting Islamic radicals from Central Asia inside its capital. On Monday law-enforcement agencies in Moscow announced that they had detained 121 alleged Muslim militants, including 55 members of the Hizb-ut-Tahrir radical group. The suspects were reportedly headed by Kyrgyz citizen Alisher Musayev and Tajik citizen Akram Jalolov. In February, the Hizb-ut-Tahrir group, which mainly operates in Central Asia, was officially banned in Russia.

Meanwhile, Moscow has confirmed it is determined to launch a major air base in mountainous Central Asia, not far from the Chinese and Afghan borders. Ivanov told journalists in Schuchinsk that the Kant air base in Kyrgyzstan would be fully operational by the end of this year

Last December, Russia and Kyrgyzstan signed the Bishkek Declaration, pledging closer security and economic ties. The military airfield in Kant, about 20km east of Bishkek, is supposed to host a force that will ultimately include more than 20 Russian aircraft and more than 700 troops, eventually to become the most significant outside Russia's borders since the Soviet collapse in 1991.

In all, Russia plans to deploy five Su-25 attack jets, five Su-27 fighters, two An-26 transports, two Il-76 transports, five L-39 training jets and two Mi-8 helicopters at Kant. The Russian aircraft will form the core of the air unit based at Kant at a rumored cost of up to US$300 million a year.

In December, Putin traveled to Bishkek and announced that Russian air force deployment was very important. Kyrgyz President Askar Akayev has urged Russia to become a "main strategic cornerstone of Central Asia".

The Russian task force is to provide the air power for a contingent of ground forces. Known as a rapid-reaction force, this group could total more than 5,000 troops from Russia, as well as from Kyrgyzstan, Kazakhstan and Tajikistan, members of CSTO.

In the meantime, Russian experts warn of potential conflicts among Central Asian nations themselves. The military and political situation in Central Asia could deteriorate for a variety of reasons, notably disputes over water resources, warns Andrei Kokoshin, head of the CIS committee of the state Duma, the lower house of the Russian parliament. CSTO should keep an eye on this problem, Kokoshin was quoted by the Russian Information Agency (RIA) as saying.

(Copyright 2003 Asia Times Online Co, Ltd. All rights reserved. Please contact [e-mail] for information on our sales and syndication policies.)

Jun 11, 2003

Reference:
Putin has been seeking closer economic and political integration with Europe, and sided with France and Germany in opposing the US-led war in Iraq.
http://www.investorshub.com/boards/read_msg.asp?message_id=984486

Deutsche in Russia joint venture talks
http://news.ft.com/servlet/ContentServer?pagename=FT.com/StoryFT/FullStory&c=StoryFT&cid=105...

The ongoing strengthening of the Shanghai Cooperation Organization -- a grouping of China, Russia, Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan, Tajikistan, and Uzbekistan.
http://www.investorshub.com/boards/read_msg.asp?message_id=1085573

The buck always stops in Russia for every ‘would be’ world dictator. President Bush and his regime must conquer the Slavic people as Emperor Napoleon and Reich Furor Hitler attempted to do. Without control of Russia the New World Order is only the New Half a World Order. Russia, which has been labeled by the American media as a ‘collapsed country’, possesses the largest concentration of wealth and natural resources on the planet: 13% of the world's oil reserves, 32% of the world's natural gas, the largest coal reserves at 30%, and the world's largest iron ore output at 101,400Mt per year. Russia is the world's leader in aluminum production and the leader in tin, titanium, tantalum, niobium, and Rare Earths mining. Russia possesses one third of the worlds gold reserves, 10.2% of the world's platinum, and 50% of the world's diamond reserves. Russia builds and exports all forms of machines, from rolling mills to high-performance aircraft and space vehicles; ships, trains, automobiles, communications equipment; agricultural machinery, tractors, construction equipment; electric power generating equipment; medical and scientific instruments; consumer durables, textiles, and foodstuffs. At 17,075,400 sq km Russia is twice the landmass of all fifty United States and is the largest country on earth. Russia has 20% of the world's supply of unfrozen unpolluted fresh water In lake Baikal alone, and The Siberian region contains the largest forested area on earth, an estimated 750 million hectares. Russia maintains 1,520,000 total active duty military personnel with 78.2% army, 13.2% navy and 8.6% air force. In 2002 Russia let it be known that they are capable of fielding an army of 38,906,796 men, age 15-49. In addition to their ability to fight a massive tactical war Russia also has 6,000 strategic nuclear warheads, most of which are deployed on MIRVed land-based missiles aimed at the U.S. and China. Since the Neocons took office the Russians have been under no illusions about their expansionist intentions. Moscow has moved tactical nuclear weapons into Kaliningrad in a continuing campaign to derail NATO’s assimilation of the Baltic States. On April 29th, 2003 British Prime Minister, Tony Blair personally delivered a warning to President Putin at his dacha outside Moscow. He spoke of a New World Order with two different poles of power acting as rivals to one another. “The world faced the choice of a partnership with the US or a continued "diplomatic stand off", Blair said. Putin has responded to the coercive rhetoric with plans of launching the largest military exercises Russia has carried out since the cold war. Russian strategic bombers and submarine missile-carriers will simulate nuclear attacks against several military targets in the United States and Great Britain. They will also work on locating and liquidating US aircraft carriers. Russia is making a point; they will not come willingly under the control of America and the New World Order. As President Putin told Blair on April the 29th, “We are not with you and we don't believe you.”
http://www.investorshub.com/boards/read_msg.asp?message_id=1097793












--------------------------------------------------------------------------------