#13
strana.ru
September 18, 2001
Russia's participation in anti-terrorist operation in
Afghanistan may be
substantial but not military
Russian experts believe that active participation of Russian secret
services in operation may ensure its success
By Yury Alexeyev
Russian President Vladimir Putin has already started consultations with the
leaders of the main NATO members and the CIS on the question of Russia's
possible participation in the anti-terrorist operation in Afghanistan.
Once again this indicates that in spite of the gravity of the current
situation in Chechnya, Moscow by no means intends to dissociate itself from
fulfilling the most important task facing the civilized world today - that
of suppressing the sharp upsurge of activity on the part of world terrorism.
The Islamic Jihad that the Taliban have declared does not frighten Russia.
The Russian people have already experienced in full measure the meanness
and foulness of this phenomenon.
It is obvious that for the Russian side, it is a question only what kind of
forms this participation in the operation will be so that it brings real
benefit. And more likely than not, this will not be military participation.
One has to agree with Alexei Arbatov when he says that the Russian military
today cannot handle two fronts - the Chechen and Afghan fronts.
But at the same time the Russian secret services, and in particular, the
military and political intelligence arms could make a weighty contribution
to the operation.
Russian experts believe that Washington does not have exhaustive and
trustworthy information about either the peculiarities of the current
situation in Afghanistan or, all the more so, about the situation around
Osama bin Laden.
It is also obvious that the list of failures in the work of U.S.
intelligence services to prevent the terrorist attacks may be extended by
one more - to carry out an operation in Afghanistan without serious
intelligence support.
Washington's behavior suggests that in the fit of anger they fail to take
into account the importance of the factor of serious intelligence work and
other staff preparations.
The long years of experience of Russia's intelligence services and its war
machine in Afghanistan and then in Chechnya indicate that without
painstaking intelligence preparations it is difficult to ensure success of
military actions in the mountains even if there is a substantial supremacy
in manpower and materiel.
For the Russian intelligence arms, the Afghanistan direction has always
been one of the most important. It can probably be said for sure that the
Russian intelligence service has large amounts of information on questions
uppermost in the minds of the world community today.
Active participation of Russian intelligence services in the forthcoming
operation, well-planned coordination of their work with their counterparts
not only in western but in eastern countries as well, that are Russia's
traditional partners - this is what could really ensure normal preparations
for and efficient carrying out of the future operation for snuffing out one
of the hives of terrorism.
