Basayev tendered his resignation from all posts in Maskadov's rebel organization but continued to be involved in the reconnaissance and sabotage battalion, Wikipedia said.
Basayey is still working with Maskadov who is still working with Akhmadov who has been granted asylum by the United States.
Given this relationship and the favorable timing of the Chechen attacks Bush is seemingly behind the terrorist incidents in Russia the last of which killed many Russian schoolchildren. #msg-3953878 #msg-3959917 #msg-3984134
The United States, who has a history of aiding Islamic opposition groups, has granted asylum to Ilyas Akhmadov, the foreign minister of Maskhadov's opposition government, leaving him free to pursue diplomacy aimed at winning international support for Maskhadov's Republic of Ichkeria. The Putin regime has complained of an American "double standard" in the "war on terror," but has been powerless to stop the American support of the opposition.
Note: In an interview videotaped for Chechen Television, a transcript of which was distributed on the Kavkaz Center website, Maskhadov, Akhmadov’s benefactor, vowed there would be "massive operations" in Ingushetia and "an expansion of the theater of operations." Video footage has been displayed of Maskhadov standing next to Basayev, who had taken responsibility for terrorist attacks on civilians in Russia, including the 2002 seizure of the Dubrovka Theater in Moscow that ended in the deaths of dozens of hostage-takers and captives. #msg-3984134
-Am
Basayev: Russia's most wanted man
Wednesday, September 8, 2004 Posted: 1428 GMT (2228 HKT)
Basayev is believed to have led many of the major Chechen attacks on Russian targets in the past 10 years.
MOSCOW, Russia -- Shamil Basayev, the rebel warlord who prosecutors say masterminded the deadly school hostage siege in Beslan, is a household name in Russia after a decade of conflict in the mainly Muslim province of Chechnya.
The U.N. Security Council put Basayev on its official terrorist list last year after Washington classified him as a threat to the United States.
Russia's FSB security service has stepped up the pressure on the country's most wanted man by announcing a $10 million reward for information leading to the "neutralization" of him and separatist former Chechen president Aslan Maskhadov.
Basayev, who was born in Chechyna in 1965, came to prominence in 1995 during the first Chechen war when as a field commander he led a hostage-taking raid at Budennovsk, Russia.
In the presidential election of January 1997 Maskhadov won a landslide over the more radical Basayev, swearing "to reinforce the independence of the Chechen state."
Basayev was appointed Chechen prime minister but he resigned after serving one six-month term.
Maskhadov later signed an agreement with Russian president Boris Yeltsin promising an end to 400 years of conflict between Moscow and the region.
Russia said it wanted to rebuild relations with Chechnya but still refused to recognize Chechnya's claim of independence.
Maskhadov worked with Basayev until 1998, when Basayev established a network of military officers which soon devolved into rival warlords.
Chechen rebel forces crossed into Dagestan in 1999 and Moscow held Chechens responsible for a wave of bomb attacks across Russia.
Russia sent troops back into the republic, described Maskhadov's government as unlawful, and tried to build support for a parliament made up of Chechens in exile.
During fierce fighting, Maskhadov's government was removed from power and a pro-Moscow administration was set up.
During the rebel pullout from Grozny in January 2000 Basayev lost a foot after stepping on a landmine, according to the Wikipedia Web site, but he and other rebel fighters eluded Russian capture by hiding in forests and mountains.
He was helped by Islamic groups including the Taliban in Afghanistan and was accused by Russia of organizing suicide bombings of Russian apartment blocks in September 1999.
Basayev said on a rebel Web site that he was responsible for the Moscow theater siege of October 2002 in which 50 Chechen rebels held about 800 people hostage. Russian forces later stormed the building using gas, killing most of the rebels and more than 100 hostages. (Full story)
He defended the operation but asked Maskhadov, whose senior envoy condemned the siege, for forgiveness for not informing him of it.
Basayev tendered his resignation from all posts in Maskadov's rebel organization but continued to be involved in the reconnaissance and sabotage battalion, Wikipedia said.
In May of this year Basayev said he was behind the killing of Chechnya's pro-Moscow leader and threatened to kill more officials, including the Russian prime minister, Akhmad Kadyrov. (Full story)
That explosion killed six people and wounded nearly 60, including the top Russian military commander in Chechnya, who lost his leg.
Moderate rebels distanced themselves from the attack. But Basayev said he had ordered the killing after a ruling by an Islamic court.
He called it a "small but important victory" and said that other such operations against Russia's "collaborators" in Chechnya were in the making.
"Through the kindness of Allah, the Chechen people on May 9 celebrated a double holiday -- that of the victory over fascism and a small but very important victory over Russia," he said in a statement on rebel Web site www.kavkazcenter.com.
Copyright 2004 CNN. All rights reserved.This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed. Associated Press contributed to this report.
Good Analysis: Preemption Becomes a Reality in Russia By Dale Herspring Published on September 11, 2004
UT – ( MOSCOW) Moscow’s recent announcement that it is prepared to act “preemptively” marks a much more important change in policy than has been recognized by most in the media.
. It is true that the idea has been floated in the past, but in the aftermath of the slaughter in Beslan, there is an increasing possibility that Russia will do exactly that. Furthermore, the changes that recently occurred in the upper ranks of the Russian military will make implementing such a strategy considerably easier. First, the question of preemption. Just what do the Russians mean when they use that term. To begin with, Colonel General Yuri Baluyevsky, the new Chief of the General Staff, explained as follows. “Our position on preemptive strikes has been stated before, but I will repeat it. We will take steps to liquidate terror bases in any region.” Baluyevsky made it clear that while Russia would use all means possible to deal with terrorism, the use of nuclear weapons is ruled out. Nevertheless, it is clear that the Russians are ready to ignore national boundaries if the fight against terrorism demands it. At present, there is concern that the Russian military will move into Georgia to destroy what some in the Kremlin claim is a sanctuary for Chechen guerillas. My own impression, however, is that this is a fundamental change and will have major implications for the military reform process in Russia. Why do I say that?
Several weeks ago, Russian President Vladimir Putin did what many had hoped he would do years ago. He fired General Anatoliy Kvashnin, who had been Chief of the General Staff. Kvashnin did everything possible to undermine both Putin and Defense Secretary Sergi Ivanovs’ efforts to reform the armed forces. Putin had repeatedly called for the military (and Ministry of Interior Forces) to pay greater attention it to the fight against terrorism. Kvashnin, however, was more interested in trying to resurrect the old Russian/Soviet mass Army ready to defend the Motherland against an attack – even though Moscow claims that it does not see an internatinal threat beyond that presented by terrorism.
In getting rid of Kvashnin, Putin also turned the relationship between the General Staff and the Defense Ministry up-side down. Instead of having the Chief of the General Staff report to the President (and thereby ignore orders from the Defense Minister he did not like), Putin’s reform made it clear that the Chief of the General Staff works for the Defense Minister – period. In addition, it was also made clear that the General Staff will become what Marshal Yevgeniy Shaposhnikov once called the “brain of the army.” It is out of the business of directing operations. It is now restricted to conceptualizing the problems facing Russia and coming up with answers on how to deal with them. In this sense, the Baluyevkiy is the perfect person to head the General Staff. While I was only in one meeting with him, he impressed me as a very bright, congenial, officer. He clearly understood the problems facing the Russian Army and came across as far less polemical and ideological than some of his colleagues. I have no doubt that in contrast to Kvashnin, he will not attempt to get involved in operational matters.
Then why was Baluyevskiy used as the “point person” for warning that Russia was ready to use preemptive force. First, it is important to keep in mind that the Defense Minister said the same thing. Second, it made it clear to everyone in the Russian military, that the General Staff is now working on measures to implement this new strategy.
The Russian military mind is different from the American or British mind. To begin with, one often gets the impression that the comments made by German officers during World War II to the effect that American strategy is “the ability to work in chaos” has some validity. The US has some general plans, but does not have the highly structured theoretical framework that the Russians rely on. What this means is that once Baluyevskiy and his colleagues have worked out a new approach for preemption, the defense ministry will implement it.
So what is coming? Sitting in the middle of Kansas it is difficult to predict what the Russians will do, but I think we have some hints. First, I would expect to see much greater emphasis on units such as Spetznatz (Russia’s Special Forces), the small, but very effective Naval Infantry, and airborne units. Russia does not have the kind of money to transform its million member military over night. So the money will probably go primarily to those fighting this kind of war – the war that Putin is determined to win.
Assuming he is serious about fighting terrorism at home and abroad, it is critical that Putin crack down on the corruption that is prevalent in the Ministry of Interior. He has fired several individuals, but the question is just how serious is he about cleaning house.
Finally, better organizational ties need to be established, especially between the military and the internal security forces. Moscow has begun to reorganize its forces in the area around Beslan. But more needs to be done.
Will we wake up tomorrow or the next day to learn that the Russians have hit a terrorist target outside of their borders? I have no doubt that the Russians are very serious about their willingness to act preemptively. I spent too much time around Russian military officers not to take them seriously on something this important to Russian security. When it comes to things of this nature, they generally mean what they say.
(Dale R. Herspring, a professor of political science at KSU, and a member of the Council on Foreign Relations, is a retired diplomat and naval officer).
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