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| Iraq |
| Russia To Show The Americans How It's Done in Iraq |
| 2006-06-29 |
| June 29, 2006: In Iraq, the Russians are about to show the Americans how it's done. Or at least try to. After four Russian embassy personnel were recently murdered by terrorists, many experienced counter-terrorism professionals expected the Russians to act. Russia, over some two centuries, has developed some very successful techniques for dealing with terrorists. When confronted with terrorist attacks like this, the Russians go in and play by terrorist rules. They terrorize the terrorists. Back in the 1980s, for example, Islamic terrorists in Lebanon kidnapped a Russian diplomat. The Russians (then the Soviets, a distinction without much difference in these matters) quickly found out which faction had their guy, kidnapped a relative of one of the kidnappers, and had a body part delivered to the Islamic kidnappers. The message was, release the Russian diplomat unharmed, or the KGB (Soviet secret police) would keep sending body parts, and grabbing kinfolk of the kidnappers. The Russian diplomat was released. Apparently that lesson has been forgotten, at least in some parts of Iraq. This time around, the Russians let the Americans and Iraqis deal with retrieving their four diplomatic personnel. The Russians blame the Americans for not getting their guys back alive, and now say that they will show the Americans how to proceed in these matters. That may be a little more complicated than the Lebanon operation. Back then, Lebanon was in chaos, in the middle of a civil war. These days, there is a pretty strong government in Iraq, with over 250,000 security personnel. And then there are 150,000 coalition troops. All of these people may not have been able to find the four Russian embassy staff, but they can get in the way of Russian secret police searching for the kidnappers. Not that it's impossible for the Russians to do what they want to do, but it will be under more complicated conditions. Then again, the Iraqi government and the Coalition may simply give the Russians a free hand, with the usual admonition to avoid making too much of a mess. Moreover, Russia has developed a lot of contacts in the Middle East over the years, and seems prepared to call in some favors to get the job done. Whatever the case, it's going to be an interesting example of Old School counter-terrorism. |
| Posted by:Steve |
| #15 John QC, that's because that's where their ears are. |
| Posted by: AlmostAnonymous5839 2006-06-29 23:11 |
| #14 Why is it that these guys never listen unless you put their nuts in a vice? |
| Posted by: JohnQC 2006-06-29 20:07 |
| #13 Ni puha, ni pura, druzya! Just try not to leave too much of a mess. |
| Posted by: Swamp Blondie 2006-06-29 18:20 |
| #12 gromky: The kidnapping of the Russians was in September of 1985. Here is a description of the event, with few details as to the means employed in getting their release: http://www.tkb.org/Incident.jsp?incID=4384 The Russians used "a full court press", with two different militias doing house to house searches. The rough stuff happened only after the better part of a month, and there are several variants of what that was online. The NYT covered it, but it is all under paid subscriber just about everywhere. I remember reading it in either Time or Newsweek, to include the KGB resolution. |
| Posted by: Anonymoose 2006-06-29 17:01 |
| #11 Old Spook, your ref to "Strong Horse"....reminds of a joke: An old Indian was asked what his wife's name was. "Wife Name Three Horse." That's an unusual name for your wife - Three Horse - What does it mean? It's old Indian name, means Nag - Nag - Nag |
| Posted by: Besoeker 2006-06-29 15:01 |
| #10 Don't uderestimate the effectiveness and abilities of the Old School. Were we to use more of that, we'd have an order of magnitude less trouble over there. Arabs love the Strong Horse and see a lot of our payoffs for death & damage and our emphasis on political correctness as weakness to be exploited, not mercy to the vanquished. |
| Posted by: Oldspook 2006-06-29 14:56 |
| #9 The Russians were in cahoots with Saddam and had Soviet bases throughout the Middle East, so they know who to contact. Just hope they haven't already been rounded up after Zarq's demise. They could really help mop up, but pleaz don't stop in Iraq. They also know the ropes in and around Iran and Syria. |
| Posted by: Danielle 2006-06-29 12:44 |
| #8 Chechnya is filled with conscripts, basically people who don't want to be there. The chechen terrs bribe their way through Russian checkpoints. Add to this the mountainous/forrested terrain where the terrs have free reign. Otoh, the Russians can't exactly level an Iraqi village at will to get the job done. |
| Posted by: Groger9698 2006-06-29 12:38 |
| #7 If they were really going to do it, would they have put out a press release with quotes from Pooty? Why aren't the Ruskies using their "very successful techniques for dealing with terrorists" in Chechnya? This is for domestic consumption only. |
| Posted by: Nimble Spemble 2006-06-29 12:13 |
| #6 How are they going to do this, exactly? They can't just land a cargo plane at the airport with a battalion of Spetsnaz. Do they have the permission of the Iraqi government to operate freely in Iraq? Don't get me wrong, I have no objection to the Rooskies cracking some terrorist skulls. I just don't get how they're going to do it. |
| Posted by: WhiteCollarRedneck 2006-06-29 12:10 |
| #5 The Russians have lost their edge. How do they propose to go about eliminating these rats when they can't defeat the Islamists in their midst? |
| Posted by: Lancasters Over Dresden 2006-06-29 11:28 |
| #4 Isn't that story of the Russian diplomat in the 80s an urban legend? I'd like to see a citation, some names, a place, etc. I don't think it actually happened. |
| Posted by: gromky 2006-06-29 11:16 |
| #3 I'm all for old school counter-terrorism, but I think at the moment the Russians couldn't find snow in Siberia. |
| Posted by: DarthVader 2006-06-29 10:53 |
| #2 I hope they kill the bastards, but I got one word for Russia Chenya(I hope I am spelling this right). |
| Posted by: djohn66 2006-06-29 10:47 |
| #1 Popcorn? |
| Posted by: Groger9698 2006-06-29 10:43 |