http://en.rian.ru/valdai_op/20101011/160905739.html "In the Interests of Israel": Russia will not sell the S-300 Air Defense System to Iran.... http://en.rian.ru/world/20101023/161061615.html
by General Leonid Ivashov* The sanctions against Iran were the final blow to the Medvedev-Putin partnership, already on the wane for some time. The Russian President has opted for the U.S.-Israeli camp. The outright war between the two executive heads has crystallized on the possible delivery of the surface-to-air S-300 missiles to Tehran. According to General Leonid Ivashov, former Joint Chief of Staff of the Russian Armed Forces, the Kremlin has turned its back on the country’s strategic interests, throwing himself into the arms of the enemy.
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28 September 2010
| |  - According to Leonid Ivashov, his successor as Joint Chief of Staff of the Russian Armed Forces, Nicolai Makarov, was wrong to bend to President Medvedev’s decision against delivering the S-300 to Iran....
Russian army chief of staff Gen. N. Makarov broke the news on September 22 that Russia will not sell the S-300 air defense systems to Iran. Regardless of official explanations, it does not take an expert to realize that as a purely defensive system designed to shield a country from aircraft and cruise missile attacks the S-300 complexes cannot pose a threat to any country unless it attacks the one owning them. As for the standoff between Iran and Israel, Tehran is constantly confronted with threats of massive air strikes, and taking steps to prevent the aggression is a must for any country seeking to sustain peace, especially for a permanent UN Security Council member sharing the responsibility for global security. Aggression is least likely in the situation of military parity or if the potential victim is able to inflict unacceptable damage on the aggressor. Iran’s possession of the S-300 complexes could expose Israel’s air forces to the risk of unacceptable damage in case the letter chooses to attack the former. Denying Iran the right to efficient means of self-defense is tantamount to encouraging aggression against it. Isn’t Russia thus helping to unleash a disastrous war in the proximity of its own borders, a war against a country which, by the way, hosts a large colony of Russian specialists? On top of that, the refusal to supply the S-300 complexes to Iran clearly hurts Russia’s political and economic interests. What could be the motivation behind Russia’s recent decision? Obviously, it stems from several regards. Ostensibly unaware of the existence of Israel’ nuclear arsenal, Moscow has for years been playing the game of taming Iran’s alleged nuclear ambitions and voted for sanctions against the country in the UN Security Council. Actually, Tehran proposed a number of times to turn the Middle East into a nuclear-free zone. The plan was welcomed by the majority of the Arab world but seems to be a taboo for Russia’s foreign ministry. Now, why is that? Igor Yurgens, chief of the Institute of Contemporary Development, a well-connected Russian think-tank, said at the Nixon Center Russia-US round-table on July 28, 2010 that not everybody in Russia regards the collapse of the USSR as a geopolitical catastrophe (as Russia’s former president and current prime minister V. Putin described the historical development). Yurgens went on to assert that the goal of those who don’t is to integrate Russia into the Euro-Atlantic security architecture and to eventually bring the country to NATO. He praised Russian defense minister A. Serdyukov’s military reform and told that in the nearest future Russia would oddly enough - be importing at least 30% of the weapons and equipment for its army from Israel and NATO countries. Another round-table speaker from Russia - Gen. V. Dvorkin who, incidentally, paid a visit to Israel a short time ago - urged US senators to OK launching an attack against Iran as soon as possible and even presented a computer model of the conflict to US partners. Defense ministers of Russia and Israel A. Serdyukov and Ehud Barak signed a first-ever agreement on the military cooperation between the two countries on September 6, 2010. The sides went so far as to include intelligence data swaps in the package, leaving it open to interpretation whether from now on Russia is going to spy on Arab countries, Turkey, and Iran and pass sensitive information to Israel. Whereas in the past the Russian administration sought consensus with Tel Aviv to sell weapons to Middle Eastern countries, currently the impression is that it needs Israel’s explicit sanction for such deals. A similarly absurd arrangement was in effect in the days of the Gore-Chernomyrdin commission when Moscow did not even dare to supply ordinary mechanical equipment to Iran unless Washington green-lighted the deal. It is an open secret that Israel assisted in organizing and launching the August, 2008 unprovoked Georgian aggression against South Ossetia and the deadly raid against the Russian peacekeepers deployed in the republic. Israeli advisers are in part responsible for the bloodshed, but one gets an impression that these days for Moscow no sacrifices are too great a price for an entry ticket to the Judo-Atlantic civilization. Decisions like the one announced by Gen. N. Makarov undermine Russia’s prestige and erode its security, making the world less safe for every one of us. At the moment the Islamic world has reasons to believe that Moscow has switched to the camp of its foes. Given the facts that Russia is locked in a protracted conflict in the Muslim part of the Caucasus and that over a million Muslims reside in Moscow, antagonizing Muslims worldwide is the last thing the country needs. On the whole, Serdyukov’s military reform the structural overhaul, the introduction of the brigade system, the acquisitions of Israeli and NATO weapons, joint Russia-West exercises in the US and in Europe, and the tide of military college closures lead watchers to conclude that the broader plan behind it is to build what still remains of Russia’s army and navy into the US and NATO expedition corps. Shall we really be taking the riskiest roles in the military escapades of the Anglo-Saxons and of the Israeli Zionist leadership in the name of the shadowy financial oligarchy’s global dominance? Let others judge what authors of the plan deserve.
| General Leonid Ivashov
General Leonid Ivashov is the vice-president of the Academy on geopolitical affairs. He was the chief of the department for General affairs in the Soviet Union’s ministry of Defense, secretary of the Council of defense ministers of the Community of independent states (CIS), chief of the Military cooperation department at the Russian federation’s Ministry of defense and Joint chief of staff of the Russian armies. He is member of the Axis for Peace conference. | | |
A major and truly unprecedented crisis is taking place in Russia. It opposes the Union (of the personnel) of the Airborne Forces to the Russian Defense Minister Anatolyi Serdiukov. Today, a 3 star General read an appeal of the Airborne Forces Union to the Nation, the President, The Federal Assembly and to the Patriarch of Russia. Here is the video of this appeal:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=WCMrZI6idMs&feature=player_embedded
This is a machine translation of this appeal:
Appeal paratroopers to the people,
President, the Federal Assembly of Russia,
Patriarch of Moscow and All Russia.
Egregious case of hazing and rudeness Defense Minister A. Serdyukov, in relation to our comrade Hero of Russia one. Colonel Andrei Krasov (head of the Ryazan branch of the Combined Arms Academy of the Armed Forces) has occurred, the 09/30/2010
Visiting Training Center "Selce" near Ryazan, Anatoly Serdyukov in rough form, swearing insulting the Hero of Russia, Colonel Andrei Krasov, humiliated him in from of his subordinates in his professional and personal dignity. He also offended the religious feelings of the Airbone Troops, who with their voluntary donations built in "Selce" The Church of Elijah the Prophet - the spiritual patron of the troops. And this is the fourth church that Anatoly Serdyukov ordered demolished.
Such actions and tyranny were already committed by him in the past. This man has no credibility with the troops, the veterans or the population. He has shown the inability to lead troops in the conflict to force Georgia to peace in August 2008. We remember the news when the President "told Defense Minister on the progress of military operations and development operations, and not vice versa.
Today, the Airborne forces are being deliberately subjected to sophisticated persecutions by the Defense Minister, including:
- The Airborne Academy was separated from the Airborne Force and were subordinated to an outsider to permanently eradicate the "spirit of the victory" of the officers who protect Russia from disintegration and humiliation and brought glory to the Motherland in Afghanistan, Chechnya, Yugoslavia, Georgia;
-The Headquarters of the Airborne Forces were moved 300 km away Moscow. Now the orders of the Supreme Command might be delayed by 8-10 hours, there is no guarantee of their secrecy;
- Critical elements of the Airborne Forces were disbanded which in the past allowed them to act independently in remote and isolated areas. Now there is nobody to defend Russia's interests;
-For the troops halted pre-conscription training of military specialties (except drivers). Parents now have to pay the Aero Clubs for the parachute training of their children who wish to serve in the Airborne Forces;
The status of the 242nd training center and of the airborne assault brigades has been intentionally diminished in comparison with similar units in other branches of the military;
A unique museum 80-year history of the army, which gave hundreds of Homeland Heroes, of which more than half were decorated posthumously has been destroyed. It is in all countries this would be called vandalism.
The International Union of paratroopers and commandos Union of Russia (135 organizations, 35,000 members and hundreds of thousands of sympathizers, carrying out patriotic education and training of youth for military service in 64 regions of Russia) appeal to the President of Russia to investigate these facts and take appropriate action.
The lives of our comrades, and their long-term service to the people of Russia allow us to claim this moral satisfaction. To insult the Hero of Russia Andrei Krasov - is to insult to all the defenders of our homeland. We appeal to the parties, public and religious organizations; to veterans and youth, which are only preparing themselves to serve in the army and to the country's citizens - support our demand!
We reserve the right take initiatives to defend the honor and dignity of our soldiers!
Chairman of the Union of Russian paratroopers "
full Chevalier Order of Service to the Motherland in the USSR Armed Forces "
Colonel General Vladislav Achalov
Chairman of the International Union of paratroopers
Hero of the Soviet Union,
Lieutenant General Albert Slyusar
This appears to be a very serious situation and it is not a coincidence that the photo of the current Commander of the Airborne Forces, General Shamanov, was displayed (next to the large image of the founder of the VDV General Margelov) during the recordng of this appeal - he must have tacitly approved of it. In fact the conflict between Defense Minister Serdiukov and General Shamanov has been brewing for a long while already.
It is important to mention here that Serdiukov's idea of "reform" is the gradual dismantlement of the two most combat capable branches of the Russian armed forces: the Special Designation ("Spetsnaz") Brigades and the Airborne Forces. As a result of Serdiukov's attempts to basically castrate the Main Intelligence Directorate (GRU) and the Spetsnaz Forces it controls, the head of the GRU, General Valentin Korabelnikov, resigned in protest. In contrast, General Shamanov stayed and successfully prevented Serdiukov from eliminating one of the most famous and prestigious of all the Airborne Division of Russia (the 106th). Considering that the Airborne and Special Designation Forces are by far the most capable and vitally needed forces of the entire Russian military (as they have proven over and over again), these systematic attempts to weaken them can only be considered gross incompetence at best, outright sabotage at worst.
The very fact of having a civilian Minister of Defense is already a very bad decision. But at least a semi-competent one with some understanding of military matters would have been better than what Russia has today: a former furniture salesman and, later, Deputy Minister of the Russian tax service.
To fully understand how amazing these events are one has to fully appreciate how utterly unbelievable it is to have an entire branch of the Russian armed forces openly rebelling this way; what this appeal really is is a demand that Serdiukov be fired. If Medvedev has any common sense left at all he will have to agree to replace Serdiukov. No, not because the VDV will stage a coup, but because such an open and vehement condemnation of Serdiukov by the most elite and most admired part of the armed forces is a political death sentence for this man. He can stay, of course, but he will be openly reviled and hated. Furthermore, at this point its either Serdiukov or Shamanov and considering how popular Shamanov is, the regime would deeply alienate a large part of the Russian public opinion if it sided with the incompetent and hated Minister of Defense.
Finally, it is worth remembering here that Serdiukov was not appointed by Medvedev, but by Putin. Nor does Putin appear to be in any way opposed to Medvedev and his policies. Any way you put it, it appears that something very rotten is happening in Russia and Russia's betrayal of Iran at the UN is just the latest example of a new orientation of Russian policies which begin to remind me of the Yeltsin years....
I really hope that the Airborne Forces, whose motto is "nobody but us", will be able to win this confrontation with a regime which is increasingly acting against the national interests of the Russian nation.
If Serdiukov stays and Shamanov is dismissed, then we will know that Medvedev's regime is serving foreign interests of CIA/MOSSAD/MI6.... What will happen then is anyone's guess....Russian Professional Navy Officers demand the dismissal of Defense Minister Serdiukov....4 Times...According to
information published in the Russian press, it has now appeared that the union of Professional Navy Officers has written to President Medvedev no less than 4 (four!) times to demand the dismissal of Defense Minister Serdiukov.
"It would be wrong to say that we supported the paratroopers. Even before the incident with the Airborne Forces, 14 September, we sent a fourth letter to Russian President Dmitry Medvedev, to draw his attention to the distressing situation of retired military personnel and the situation in the army in general ", - said Navy Captain A. Krasik. He noted that the sailors are not interested in conflict Serdyukov with Colonel Krasov. "This is a mundane issue, it is of no interest to us, we are more interested in what Serdyukov has turned the armed forces into his joint-stock company", - said chairman of the Union of Professional Navy Officers. "We do not demand the resignation of a Serdyukov, the people are demanding this, and we are simply supporting their demands. People like Serdyukov come and go, but for the fact that he had disarmed state and destroyed the military infrastructure, Serdyukov should be subjected to criminal prosecution ", - concluded A. Krasik.
Wow! And the totally useless press in the so-called "West" is totally missing these amazing events...
Let's sum things up so far:
1) The military inteligence (GRU) hates Serdiukov
2) The Spetsnaz hate Serdiukov
3) The Airborne Forces hate Serdiukov
4) The Navy hates Serdiukov
Well, something tells the rest of the armed forces are not exactly in love with that overweight swine either.
I can tell you who is quite happy with Serdiukov: the Ministry of Internal Affairs (MVD) forces since they get all the money which is taken away from the Military. (The MVDshniki have been spent on lavishly since Putin and Medvedev came to power). Them, and the FSB (ex-KGB) of course, the alma mater of Putin.
Amusingly, the street cops are also pissed too since they are increasingly put under pressure by the regime for their corruption, abuses of power, drunken accidents, abuse of suspects, etc. The MVD+FSB duo has been cracking down on them pretty strongly in the recent months.
Anyway, I wonder who in the armed forces will be next to openly speak up against Serdiuko?
Make no mistake - the Kremlin has enough resources and power in the MVD+FSB structures not to have to fear a real open rebellion military. If they want, they can crack down on it and organize a grandiose purge in 24 hours. But Russia is not the Soviet Union any more, and there is a real risk of political backlash. The public opinion cannot be simply ignored as it was in the Soviet era and, just like in the USA, the military represents a (potentially) formidable *political* force which can make things very bad for the current regime. This is why I believe that Serdiukov's days as Minister of Defense are numbered. He will be probably "promoted" to some cozy (and well paid) position away from the military....
According to
reports in the Russian media, Prime Minister Putin has demanded in a very harsh manner that the Minister Of Defense Serdiukov present him with a detailed report about the scandal at the training center at Ryazan Airbone School. According to rumors, the current Chief of General Staff, General, Nikolai Makarov, is likely to replace Serdiukov.
If true, Makarov would be a strange choice since it appears that he was the author of the idea to subordinate the Airborne Forces to the High Command of the Ground Forces.
Other sources report that the plans to create a separate branch of Special Operations Forces,
a la USSOCOM, have been abandoned. If true, that would mean that the GRU would keep the control of the Spetsnaz Brigades and the Airborne Forces would keep the Independent 45th Regiment of the Airborne Forces.
These fully of (still unconfirmed) rumors appear to indicate that a very serious bureaucratic battle is taking place behind the scenes and that the recent leaks in the Russian media are part of a PR strategy used by some (Shamanov? Putin?) to score political points at the expense of their political opponents (Medvedev? Serdiukov?)-------
* 7th Airborne Division (Novorossiysk, Krasnodar Krai, North Caucasus MD)
o 108th Airborne Regiment
o 247th Airborne Regiment (Stavropol)
o 1141st Artillery Regiment (Anapa, Krasnodar Krai)
o 3rd Air Defense Regiment
o 162nd Reconnaissance Company
o 309th Engineering Company (Temryuk, Krasnodar Krai)
o 743rd Communications Battalion
o 6th Maintenance Battalion
o 1681st Logistics Battalion
* 76th Airborne Division (Pskov, Leningrad Military District)
o 23rd Airborne Regiment
o 104th Airborne Regiment
o 234th Airborne Regiment
o 1140th Artillery Regiment
o 4th Air Defense Regiment
o 656th Engineering Battalion
o 728th Communications Battalion
o 7th Maintenance Battalion
o 1682nd Logistics Battalion
* 98th Airborne Division (Ivanovo, Moscow Military District)
o 217th Airborne Regiment
o 331st Airborne Regiment (Kostroma)
o 1065th Artillery Regiment (Kostroma)
o 5th Air Defense Battalion
o 661st Engineering Battalion
o 674th Communications Battalion
o 15th Maintenance Battalion
o 1683rd Logistics Battalion
* 106th Airborne Division (Tula, Moscow Military District)
o 51st Airborne Regiment
o 137th Airborne Regiment (Ryazan)
o 1182nd Artillery Regiment (Naro-Fominsk, Moscow Oblast)
o 107th Air Defense Regiment (Naro-Fominsk, Moscow Oblast)
o 173rd Reconnaissance Company
o 388th Engineering Battalion (Plavsk, Tula Oblast)
o 731st Communications Battalion
o 1060th Logistics Battalion
o 43rd Repair Battalion, (Plavsk, Tula Oblast)
* 31st Airborne Brigade (Ulyanovsk, Volga-Urals Military District)
* 45th Special Forces Reconnaissance Regiment (Kubinka, Moscow Oblast)
* 38th Communications Regiment (Moscow Oblast)
In addition to these, according to various open sources, Russia currently has the following seven Spetsnaz Brigades:
* 2nd Independent Special Operations Brigade - Promezhitsy, Pskov Oblast;
* 3rd Guards Independent Special Operations Brigade - Roshinskiy, Samara Oblast;
* 10th (Mountain) Independent Special Operations Brigade - Molkino, Krasnodar Krai; activated July 1, 2003
* 14th Independent Special Operations Brigade - Ussuriysk, Primorsky Krai;
* 16th Detached Special Operations Brigade - formerly Teplyi Stan, suburb of Moscow, now Chuchkovo.
* 22nd Guards Independent Special Operations Brigade - Kovalevka, Rostov Oblast
* 24th Independent Special Operations Brigade - Kyakhta.
Actually, there are more Spetsnaz units ranging from battalion size and smaller, but these are mostly specialized "officer only" units about which very little is known....
Russian TV has shown a statement of Foreign Minister Lavrov who declared that Russia opposes any type of military intervention in the Libyan conflict. The Eltsin years are over and I don't think that Russia will back down from this. So no UNSC resolution authorizing any US/NATO military intervention will be passed.
Sadly, it turns out that I was wrong, very wrong.... Yesterday evening the Russian representative at the UNSC, Vitalii Churkin made some
excellent comments about the proposed resolution only to then proceed to abstain thereby letting the resolution pass!
It is absolutely mind boggling that Russia would revert to exactly the kind of spineless surrenders which used to characterize its foreign policy in the Eltsin years. Does the Kremlin really want another Bosnia only this time in the Maghreb?
The first worrying sign was Russia's betrayal of Iran at the UNSC followed by a reneging on the commitment to deliver S-300 air defense systems to Iran. The betrayal of Libya is arguably even worse, both in moral terms and in the severity of the consequences resulting from it:
a) The US and NATO have now a de-facto free reign to do whatever the hell they want not only over Libya, but also
in Libya.
The UNSC resolution speaks of "all necessary measures" to protect civilians. We know what that means - anything the Pentagon wants it to mean.
b) Given that the US and NATO have now an open-ended and unrestricted authority to do whatever they want, it is clear that whatever regime replaces Gaddafi will be vetted and approved by the USraelian Empire.
c) Just as in Bosnia, the Empire is now supporting the party which is loosing the conflict. No, not out of a deep sense of compassion, but because it is easy to make this party into a proxy for the Empire. In other words, what this resolution does is make the anti-Gaddafi forces fully dependent on the Empire.
d) This resolution will make very little difference on the ground, at least in its no-fly zone aspect. If the Empire is serious about regime change in Libya - and it is - it will have to wave the "all necessary measures" part to intervene militarily. Russia will then condemn and complain.
It is hard to imagine a more hypocritical stance than Russia's. It would have been more honest to openly support the resolution. Needless to say, Russia's credibility as an ally will suffer even further from this cowardly abstention.
You might ask 'well, what about China?" To this I will answer that at least China does not lecture the US Empire like Russia does, neither does China pretend to be in any way an 'alternative global power'. China's stance has always been the same: oppose intervention on principle, keep a low profile on international issues, and deal with economic issues. That is, I think, far more honest and dignified than Russia's disgraceful grandstanding.
The resolution itself is phenomenally hypocritical. The Kaddafi regime is blamed for using military force against its own people while Bahrain has been invaded by a an international gang of Wahabi stormtroopers who immediately proceeded to engage in an orgy of atrocities against the Bahraini people. But, of course, Bahrain is an Imperial colony so a bloodbath there does not matter to the UN. I won't even mention the slow-motion genocide of the Palestinian people by the "Jewish state of Israel". Only Libyan victims matter to the UNSC.
What is particularly appalling is that in the bad old days, the USSR and Libya had very close ties. Yes, the Soviet regime was in many ways loathsome, and so was Kaddafi's Jamahiriya - but in spite of that many Russians and Libyans forged close ties and real friendships. Now that the Soviet regime is gone and Kaddafi is on his way out, I would have hoped that Russia would do the right thing and care for the Libyan people. Instead - Russia simply handed them over the Empire....instead of fully helping/arming the rebels....
To say that I am utterly disgusted would be an understatement.
http://en.rian.ru/valdai_op/20101011/160905739.html
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