[A-List] Fw: War On Iraq: Russian Warnings, Actions

["Christopher Black" <bar@xxxxxxxxxxx>]

----- Original Message -----
From: "Rick Rozoff" <r_rozoff@xxxxxxxxx>
To: <r_rozoff@xxxxxxxxx>
Sent: Thursday, April 10, 2003 7:04 AM
Subject: War On Iraq: Russian Warnings, Actions


> 1) Russian Parliament Speaker: War Is Not Over, US Is
> Aggressor In War For Oil
> 2) Commentary: US's And Britain's Heaviest Fighting,
> Casualties May Still Lie Ahead
> 3) Foreign Ministry: Case Of US Attack On Russian
> Diplomatic Convoy 'Not Closed'
> 4) Russian Defense Minister: US's 'Colonial
> Administration' In Iraq Will Not Last Long
> 5) Defense Minister: Aggravated Tensions In Korean
> Peninsula Directly Related to War On Iraq
> 6) Russian Ships Take Off For Combat Mission In Indian
> Ocean/Arabian Sea
>
>
>
> -According to Russian military officials, this "walk
> across Iraq Desert" has already cost coalition forces
> 300 casualties, and that is without actual street
> fighting. So, the coalition's heavy casualties might
> still lie ahead.
> Many Americans say that when the number of casualties
> passes over 1,000, if it does, the Bush-friendly
> American public might turn on their President. It
> happened during the Vietnam War.
>
>
>
http://en.rian.ru/rian/index.cfm?prd_id=160&msg_id=3163916&startrow=1&date=2
003-04-10&do_alert=0
>
> Russian Information Agency (Novosti)
> April 10, 2003
>
> SPEAKER SELEZNYOV: RECENT EVENTS IN BAGHDAD DO NOT
> MEAN THE WAR IS OVER
>
> -"[T]he oil issue was the main reason for the war.
> Iraq did not pose a danger to the USA, since there had
> been found neither nuclear nor bacteriological
> weapons."
> -"The USA will have difficulties in returning its
> political face, because the aggressor will be the
> aggressor."
>
>
> MOSCOW, April 10, 2003. /From RIA Novosti
> correspondent Viktoria Prikhodko/ -- Despite the
> recent events in Iraq the war is not over yet, Russian
> State Duma Speaker Gennady Seleznyov told RIA Novosti.
>
>
> According to him, Iraq "did not capitulate or set a
> white flag and the USA would encounter Iraqi soldiers
> in the other cities of the country more than once."
> The USA and its allies were fighting "not only against
> the Iraqi Army, but against peaceful citizens and
> journalists as well, and that fills me as a journalist
> with indignation," said the Russian State Duma
> Speaker.
>
> Speaking about the Iraqi oil, Seleznyov doubted, that
> "Americans will give anything away." In his opinion,
> "the oil issue was the main reason for the war." "Iraq
> did not pose a danger to the USA, since there had been
> found neither nuclear nor bacteriological weapons," he
> noted.
>
> The State Duma speaker is sure that "anyway the future
> of Iraq will be considered by the UN Security
> Council." He strongly opposes "the determination of
> Iraq's future by Americans." "The USA will have
> difficulties in returning its political face, because
> the aggressor will be the aggressor," Seleznyov
> stressed.
> -------------------------------------------------------
>
http://en.rian.ru/rian/index.cfm?prd_id=160&msg_id=3163774&startrow=1&date=2
003-04-10&do_alert=0
>
> Russian Information Agency (Novosti)
> April 10, 2003
>
> WAR IS NOT OVER FOR AMERICA WITH BAGHDAD'S TAKEOVER
>
> -According to Russian military officials, this "walk
> across Iraq Desert" has already cost coalition forces
> 300 casualties, and that is without actual street
> fighting. So, the coalition's heavy casualties might
> still lie ahead.
> Many Americans say that when the number of casualties
> passes over 1,000, if it does, the Bush-friendly
> American public might turn on their President. It
> happened during the Vietnam War.
>
>
> MOSCOW, April 10, 2003. /from RIA Novosti observer
> Oleg Osipov/. Towards the end of the week French and
> German leaders Jacques Chirac and Gerhard Schroeder
> are to arrive in St. Petersburg at an invitation of
> their Russian counterpart Vladimir Putin. The
> negotiations are to focus on the Iraqi issue and
> post-war reconstruction in the republic.
>
> Since the Iraqi issue was first addressed Russia,
> Germany and France had pronounced strongly for the
> crisis to be settled under UN resolutions. With the
> war launched, Vladimir Putin, Gerhard Schroeder and
> Jacques Chirac urged for the issue to be brought back
> to the United Nations.
>
> With the war drawing to a close, Iraq's political and
> economic future is on the agenda. Will Russia, France
> and Germany have their share in the republic's
> post-war reconstruction?
>
> The United States have already unveiled their vision
> of Iraq's future. An Interim Iraqi Administration
> (IIA) will be set up, made up mostly of former US
> ambassadors to Arab countries. British representatives
> and members of the Iraqi opposition will be invited to
> join in. As the White House sees it, the new
> administration will tackle post-war reconstruction in
> the republic.
>
> Great Britain, the US staunchest ally, demands UN
> involvement in the settlement.
>
> The United States might as well agree to that.
> However, the United Nations is highly unlikely to
> receive contracts to restore and exploit oil fields,
> processing industry and major infrastructure
> facilities. The international organisation is more
> likely to focus on humanitarian issues, such as the
> return of refugees, rebuilding health care and the
> rest of the vital infrastructure.
>
> However, the reconstruction is at the surface. Many
> specialists speak of new challenges, some of which
> might prove unexpected to those who launched the
> campaign. For instance, a number of questioned RIA
> Novosti experts believe that the Iraqi war will
> trigger proliferation of weapons of mass destruction.
> The US-proclaimed "axis of evil" members are very
> unlikely to wait for their turn to come.
>
> There are other challenges as well, the most probable
> is the radicalisation of the Arab regimes, which might
> lead to an outbreak of terrorism in the region.
>
> With anti-American feeling spreading, US traditional
> Middle East partners, such as Jordan, Saudi Arabia and
> Pakistan might soon lose interest in the White House.
> Terrorist organisations have already called the Iraqi
> war an assault on the Muslim civilisation. Experts say
> the worst outcome is not terrorist attacks in
> themselves, but increased funding for terrorism and
> greater number of young recruits.
>
> According to Russian military officials, this "walk
> across Iraq Desert" has already cost coalition forces
> 300 casualties, and that is without actual street
> fighting. So, the coalition's heavy casualties might
> still lie ahead.
>
> Many Americans say that when the number of casualties
> passes over 1,000, if it does, the Bush-friendly
> American public might turn on their President. It
> happened during the Vietnam War.
>
> It is all gloom and doom for British Prime Minister
> Tony Blair, as well. A split in the Labour Government
> was obvious before the war. So if now the US decides
> to leave Britain without its piece of pie in post-war
> Iraq, Blair and his party might be in for trouble.
>
> The Iraqi war has put to test not only Baghdad's
> architecture, US tanks and soldiers, but the entire
> system of international relations, including
> Russian-American ties. The recent visit to Moscow by
> Bush's National Security Adviser Condoleezza Rice
> revealed Washington's concern over cooling bilateral
> relations with Russia. Both Moscow and Washington
> realise how important these relations are and intend
> to do their best to maintain their development, the
> Kremlin told RIA Novosti.
>
> Russia's stand on Iraq has been clear-cut and
> unswerving from the start. Moscow did not try to
> protect Saddam Hussein, but rather to keep Britain and
> the United States from making unnecessary mistakes.
>
> Of course, joint Russian-US efforts can prove more
> effective in preventing weapons proliferation and
> combating global terrorism. If the Iraqi issue is
> brought back to the United Nations as soon as
> possible, coalition forces might be spared unnecessary
> casualties and will share the responsibility for the
> region with the rest of the international community.
> Meanwhile Bush and Blair may save the political
> careers.
>
> -------------------------------------------------------
> http://www.itar-tass.com/english/worldeng/266156.html
>
> ITAR-TASS
> April 9, 2003
>
> Incident with attack on RF diplomats in Iraq "not
> closed" -FM
> By Yelena Pankratyeva
>
>
> MOSCOW, April 9 (Itar-Tass) -- The incident with the
> attack on the Russian diplomatic convoy outside
> Baghdad last Sunday "is not closed, of course",
> Foreign Ministry spokesman Alexander Yakovenko said on
> Wednesday.
>
> "We expect to get an exhaustive answer based on the
> results of the investigation that is being conducted
> by the coalition command", he said.
>
> The spokesman warned, "The Russian side reserves the
> right to undertake appropriate actions to seek
> compensation for the moral and material damage".
> -------------------------------------------------------
>
http://en.rian.ru/rian/index.cfm?prd_id=160&msg_id=3163270&startrow=21&date=
2003-04-10&do_alert=0
>
> Russian Information Agency (Novosti)
> April 10, 2003
>
> COLONIAL ADMINISTRATION WILL NOT LAST LONG IN POST-WAR
> IRAQ - DEFENCE MINISTER IVANOV
>
> SEOUL, April 10, 2003. (from RIA Novosti correspondent
> Olga Semenova). Russia's Defence Minister Sergei
> Ivanov is convinced that the "colonial administration"
> will not last long in post-war Iraq. He said this to
> journalists during his three-day visit to South Korea.
>
>
> "We knew in advance that the administration the
> Americans would create in Iraq would be colonial in
> essence," said the minister. But the occupation regime
> and colonial administration cannot last forever and
> the Americans know this, Ivanov thinks. "So, the
> sooner the issue of the post-war organisation of Iraq
> is turned over to the UN the better will be for
> everyone. We are using all legitimate methods to
> monitor the situation in Iraq," said Ivanov, "but this
> is not our war." The Russian minister believes that it
> is better to study the experience of armed conflicts
> "on others' actions and not on one's own."
> -------------------------------------------------------
>
http://en.rian.ru/rian/index.cfm?prd_id=160&msg_id=3163239&startrow=21&date=
2003-04-10&do_alert=0
>
> Russian Information Agency (Novosti)
> April 10, 2003
>
> AGGRAVATED KOREAN PROBLEM DIRECTLY LINKED WITH IRAQI
> WAR, SERGEI IVANOV SAYS
>
> SEOUL, APRIL 10, 2003, /FROM RIA NOVOSTI SPECIAL
> CORRESPONDENT OLGA SEMENOVA/ -- Russia's Defence
> Minister Sergei Ivanov believes that the aggravation
> of the situation on the Korean Peninsula is directly
> linked with the war in Iraq. This was disclosed to
> reporters here today by Ivanov himself. The Russian
> Defence Minister arrived on a three-day visit in the
> South Korean capital on April 10.
>
> Ivanov reminded his audience that he had warned his US
> colleagues during his September 2002 US visit that
> incipient military operations in Iraq could entail
> unpredictable consequences in other regions of the
> world. Last but not the least, this also concerns the
> Korean Peninsula, Ivanov stressed. This was one of our
> arguments against the war in Iraq, Ivanov added.
> Meanwhile we don't perceive North Korea as an
> Iraq-type country because Russia borders on North
> Korea, Ivanov added.
>
> According to Ivanov, the war in Iraq whips up the arms
> race in North Korea and all over the world. It is
> crystal clear that more and more countries are trying
> to obtain their own mass-destruction weapons, as well
> as simply destructive weapons, Ivanov went on to say.
>
> In Ivanov's opinion, South Korea, which is North
> Korea's nearest neighbour, would like to settle the
> situation on the Korean Peninsula as soon as possible.
> That's why we and South Korea's leadership should
> elaborate a common position as regards the settlement
> of this situation, while discussing the Korean
> problem, Ivanov noted. Our two countries are playing
> on this field, Ivanov stressed.
>
> Both Moscow and Seoul will advocate bilateral
> consultations between the United States and North
> Korea, or will suggest holding multilateral
> behind-the-scenes consultations making it possible to
> deblock this crisis, Ivanov stressed. This
> trouble-shooting option implies that Pyongyang would
> once again abide by all international
> non-proliferation regimes, also placing its facilities
> under IAEA (International Atomic Energy Agency)
> control. In return, the North Korean side would obtain
> security and non-aggression guarantees. The concerned
> parties would also guarantee North Korea's sovereignty
> and territorial integrity.
> -------------------------------------------------------
> http://www.gazeta.ru/intnews.shtml?247508#247508
>
> Gazeta.ru
> Interfax
> April 10, 2003
>
> Russian Navy ships set off for combat mission in
> Indian Ocean
>
>
> Several Black Sea fleet ships headed from Sevastopol
> for the Indian Ocean on Thursday.
>
> "The fleet unit that embarked on a long cruise today
> includes the Black Sea Fleet's flagship Moskva, the
> escort ships Pytlivy and Smetlivy, and also the large
> landing ship Tsezar Kunikov," a high- ranking
> representative of the Black Sea Fleet said on
> Thursday.
>
> The squadron is headed by Vice-Admiral Yevgeny Orlov,
> deputy commander of the Black Sea Fleet. The auxiliary
> ship Ivan Bubnov and the Shakhter, a rescue tug, left
> the main base of the Black Sea Fleet on April 6. They
> have now passed the Bosphorus and Dardanelles straits.
> The entire fleet unit will have passed the straits by
> April 12.
>
> The Pacific Fleet unit, made up of the cruisers
> Marshal Shaposhnikov and Admiral Panteleyev and the
> tanker Vladimir Kolechinsky, left Vladivostok on April
> 6. The two squadrons will meet near the island of
> Sokotra in the Indian Ocean. The Russian naval ships
> will conduct joint military training exercises with
> the Indian Navy in May. //Interfax
> -------------------------------------------------------
>
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