#3 - JRL 6408
Nezavisimaya Gazeta
August 27, 2002
FAREWELL TO THE CAUCASUS
The United States mounts an operation to drive Russia out
Author: Tatiana Rubleva
[from WPS Monitoring Agency, www.wps.ru/e_index.html]
RECENT EVENTS INDICATE THAT WASHINGTON HAS LAUNCHED A PROPAGANDA CAMPAIGN TO DISCREDIT THE RUSSIAN MILITARY AND PROVIDE A PRETEXT FOR SENDING INTERNATIONAL CONTINGENTS TO THE CAUCASUS. JUDGING BY ARTICLES IN THE WESTERN MEDIA, RUSSIA WILL SOON SEE SOME MAJOR CHANGES IN THIS REGION.
American control over Georgia and Azerbaijan - and Chechnya?
Russia is watching the United States prepare a major operation. The matter concerns an American move into the Caucasus. Washington is once again trying some complex maneuvers. It cites the need to protect human rights, while simultaneously fighting illegal terrorist formations. This operation will result in American control over Georgia and Azerbaijan (that much is clear already) and over Chechnya.
According to The Financial Times, "if Russia thinks it possible to consider deployment of its troops in Georgia, it will be only fair to consider participation of foreign troops in Chechnya. This participation may begin with mediatorship and end with a peacekeeping contingent accompanied by structures for restoration of civilian infrastructure and a package of relief aid. Mr. Putin will resist but a substantial financial assistance will persuade him." Details of the operation are already clear.
Eagerness to support "friend Shevardnadze" cannot be viewed as the major reason behind the use of the "Caucasus card" by Washington. It is just that Washington views the moment as the best for the long- planned advance on Russian positions in the Caucasus.
Western media articles are a precise indicator of the moods prevailing in the American political establishment. When three newspapers (The Washington Post, The Times, and The Financial Times) publish articles using similarly insulting terms, it isn't hard to see that we are dealing with a major propaganda campaign aimed at discrediting the Russia military and providing a pretext for sending international peacekeepers (a.k.a. the US special forces) into the region.
The tone of articles in the Western media makes it plain that a new operation is being prepared. The Pankisi Gorge looks rather small compared to the scope of the operation. When Russia was deciding in the wake of the September events whether or not it should support fortification of American positions in Central Asia, the matter concerned rearrangement of the spheres of influence and it did not end in Russia's favor. It is the turn of the Caucasus now. This is what The Financial Times says on the subject: "Russia's support was essential during the first days of the military campaign in Afghanistan because it paved America's way to Central Asia... These days, the United States and the European Union should make use of the opportunity to get the Chechnya issue back on the agenda."
The United States settled in Central Asia with Russia's support and feels at home in the traditional zones of Russian influence now. A month after appearance of American special forces in the Pankisi Gorge, the question will be to what extent Russia will give room in the Caucasus.
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