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| Terror Networks |
| Russers say al-Qaeda setting up shop in Georgia |
| 2002-02-25 |
He noted Georgia is being used as the main training and trans-shipping center. "Territories are being seized and Wahhabite (Chechen warlord) enclaves are being created in Georgia. The same was observed in 1997-1999 in the Kadar zone of Dagestan," he said. Citing words of Saikhan Khamzatov, a captured aide of Chechen rebel leader Khattab, the official said that "a Chechen autonomous district," with its center in the village of Dunisi in the Pankisi Gorge, where Chechen rebels and foreign mercenaries are based, may be proclaimed. The demand to establish a Chechen autonomous district in Georgia is being voiced at rallies of Chechen refugees organized by rebels in the Pankisi Gorge, while the Muslim Brotherhood are financing the rallies. This would make a great deal of strategic sense, given the level of support - ranging from lukewarm to negative - the US gives the Russians on the subject of Chechnya. Chances of the Russians and the US coordinating joint operations in the area if probably pretty low. If bin Laden and al-Zawahri really are "masterminds," they'll light on this fault line to allow them to do some serious regrouping while the US and Russia alternate between scratching their heads and giving each other the hairy eyeball. |
| Posted by:Fred Pruitt |