The Inside Straight

Did Poisoned Spy Have Poisonous Friends ?

More mud and murk than usable information seems to be bubbling up in the media's "investigation" of the death of Alexander Litvinenko : The "spy who came in from the cold " - only to perish of Polonium poisoning.

There have been conflicting reports (sometimes in the same publication !) that Litvinenko was involved in the smuggling of radioactive materials out of one of the former Soviet Union countries-or that he had been revealing the names and methods of those involved.

There are reports of radioactivity being discovered (the media claims it was Polonium 210 , but never clarifies how they know this) in several locations used/frequented by the so-called Russian dissidents. There are other reports - much less stridently voiced-of links between these "dissidents" and Chechen terrorists-and fashionably left-wing Londoners, such as Vanessa Redgrave.

There are even reports of traces of radiation being discovered on airplanes that fly regularly between London and Moscow ; and appeals have been made to previous passengers on these planes to come forward.

Not everyone is convinced this is some sort of "Putin plot" , however. I found these opinions today:

The following opinion piece -attributed to John Weaver-was published via cut and paste on another site , and, as nearly as I can tell , was originally posted on the "Atlantic Free Press" website ,then copied on a Left wing site, then copied elsewhere- so I can't even begin to comment on its veracity. (It sounds like something that MIGHT have been printed in The Guardian originally.)

I'm pretty sure "copying a copy of what may have been a copy of a copy" is not plagiarism !!!

"If I simply stood anywhere near Boris Berezovsky, I’m sure my hair would fall out and my skin would turn yellow.

Alexander Litvinenko is simply the last in a long line of stiffs associated with Boris, a line of corpses that stretches back to the mid-nineties. One died from a mysterious nerve toxin applied to the rim of his coffee cup.

If you want to know about Boris Berezovsky, ask former Forbes editor Paul Klebnikov. Except you can’t, because he was blown away in 2004, shortly after writing up Berezovsky’s bullet-ridden bio, ‘Godfather Of Crime’.

The Litvinenko case is notable for the disinformation spread by the UK’s press, where the ‘facts’ have changed daily. Who makes this stuff up? Why, story and pictures supplied by The Godfather’s PR Firm - one with the sole aim of naming the killer as the Kremlin. Or might that just be a smokescreen for a mafia hit? At the very least, it’s a case of Pottinger calling the kettle black.
The media first linked Litvinenko with the poisoning of Yushchenko. How did that come about? Well, PR just happened to contact John Henry, the toxicologist, to put the Thallium rumour about. Shamefaced John now regrets his diagnosis and admits he was misled about aspects of the case. He stood near Boris and, as the Guardian put it today, got his fingers burned.

The BBC reported radioactive metal objects lodged in Litvinov’s intestines. Source? Potttinger PR. Litvinenko’s doctor subsequently complained about the BBC’s unhelpful speculation. But, who cares about facts as long as Putin gets maligned.

Litvinenko didn’t care much for facts either. He was a loose cannon who would say anything and was paid handsomely by Boris for so doing. A good example of one of Livinenko’s rants is an interview where he blames the London 7/7 bombings on Putin. According to Litvinenko, Yassar Arafat, Saddam and al-Zawahiri are all KGB agents too. Litvinenko would give gullible journalists declassified, old 1970s documents marked ’secret’ to prove his cred. Boris bought him a half a million pound house in London. Good job.

The other political link the media has sought to forge is between Litvinenko and Politovskaya. Well, there is a link, but not the one generally publicised. Shortly before Paul Klebnikov was hit, he was investigating the embezzlement of Russian funds intended for reconstruction in Chechnya - a fatal line of enquiry the investigative Politovskaya was also following,

Litvinenko’s rants were published in the UK Chechen press. An interesting link is between Berezovsky, Litvinenko and Zakayev, the Chechen warlord, is that they were all mysteriously given asylum in the UK as ‘needy human rights cases’. Yeah, right.

Why London needs a coterie of foreign criminals is beyond me, but they appear to have some friends in very high places. Even Zhirinovsky has asked the perfectly reasonable question ‘ why Cherie Blair works in a law firm which is servicing our Russian thugs, Berezovsky included.’

It’s bad enough having Lord Bell influence the media on behalf of the Mafia. Even more disturbing is that Scotland Yard did not investigate the case until several days after the poisoning was reported. Does Boris have friends there too? Not important. By this time Britain’s media had secured a conviction."

Another poster-who chose to remain anonymous- opined:

"Interesting angle. Fits with what little I know of Boris Abramovich Berezovskiy.

There was a popular tele-journalist in Moscow back in the late 1990s who ran afoul of mafiosi and had to pay some protection money. Supposedly he had to give the money to Berezovskiy, who was to hand it off to the gangster. Berezovskiy instead went shopping, and the journalist ended up dead.

BAB is also the Russian businessman who invented the salary-less payroll, where employees wouldn't get paid, but had to keep getting salary advances to survive month to month. If they quit, "they'd never work in Moscow again", in addition to losing their back pay. The idea got so popular among Russian businessmen in the mid-1990s that pretty much nobody was getting paid.

BAB paid off Yeltsin through frequent luxury gifts and vacations. He even hired Yeltsin's son-in-law (the husband of Tanya Dyachenko, who pretty much ran the Kremlin during Yeltsin's frequent drunks) to be on the board of the airline Berezovskiy owned at the time, Aeroflot.

His role (along with General Lebed) in ending the first Chechen war was probably the reason he can't safely venture outside. Before he fled, several tapes of BAB talking on the phone with terrorists were aired. I had a lot of transcripts posted here, but when FR went to its new format, lots of history disappeared as well.

I'm amazed that UK decided to give BAB and assorted Chechen terrorists asylum, but the world long ago moved beyond my comprehension."

Amen to that, my friend !!

Given my initial wild speculations on this case, I think I'll refrain from offering an opinion ...well: Okay. Just a teensie one:

Would the presence of all this unaccounted-for radioactive residue in so many places frequented by these (allegedly) sticky-fingered entrepreneurs suggest -ever so slightly-that someone in this charming expatriate circle was involved in the  smuggling of radioactive materials to the Chechens or, perhaps to terrorists now working up a new round of mischief in Britain ?

Book Review : The Looming Tower" by Lawrence Wright

If you read nothing else this year,please go to your library or bookstore and obtain a copy of Lawrence Wright's compelling and scrupulously researched book : The Looming Tower - Al-Qaeda and the Road to 9/11 .

Wright strips away the media-enhanced "personas" of Osama bin Laden , Ayman al Zawahiri ,Mullah Omar, Abu Hafs al Masri , the effeminate Mohammed Atta , and others to reveal what lies beneath - and it's not a pretty picture.

The "Mickey Moore Club" will probably be infuriated to learn that Osama-though possibly diabetic-was in good health, otherwise. Definitely not on dialysis, he is/was an excellent horseman. The "9/11 Truthers" should (but probably won't) be dismayed to learn he was a trained, experienced engineer, and that he calculated the effect of burning jet fuel on structural steel while planning the 9/11 attacks.

You'll learn the people who formed the "grab bag" we call al-Qaeda were not motivated by poverty or the usual excuses. They had become convinced - after Israel resisted a series of multi-national strikes - that God was no longer on the side of the Muslim people, because their religion had become "impure"; and that God wanted all Muslims to return to the pure fundamentalism of the Prophet's day.

Governments - everywhere - were to be overthrown , and replaced by Sharia counsels, administering ancient Islamic tribal law.

In time,these fundamentalists drifted into the heresy (in Muslim terms) of Takfir - which gets around the prohibition against Muslims killing fellow Muslims by declaring anyone who opposes them to be "apostates" : whether the opposition be governments, or innocent men, women, and children. Takfir permits those who enjoy killing to do so with the "religious blessing" of equally psychopathic council members (and would seem to be very much in operation in Iraq today !)   

In addition to detailing the backgrounds of some of the more notable conspirators, the author brings to light some of the more egregious errors on the part of the CIA - which repeatedly and obstinately witheld information some of the 9/11 hijackers were on American soil (apparently because it didn't want to lose control of its poorly-handled investigation to the FBI ) ; and the FBI - which repeatedly declined to investigate alarming information , and which - after getting belated information dangerous people were in the country , detailed one agent-just out of the academy-to find them !

Those looking for "ammunition" to use against the Clinton or the Bush administration-or to advance a political crusade- are probably going to come up short : a circumstance I was grateful for. (I've read far too many slanted accounts by political opinion-makers from both sides of the aisle, thank you !)

If, on the other hand, you are genuinely interested in learning what the United States (and much of the Western world) is up against - and is likely to be up against no matter who is elected - take the time to read this book !

Lake Ice May Serve as "Reservoir" for Influenza Viruses !

Startling information in ProMed (Society of Infectious Diseases) this morning : a multi-national study has found evidence Type A Influenza virus may be  "stored" in lake ice that forms in northern climates-then released into the water as the ice melts.

As explained, the virus (especially "Bird Flu") is excreted into the water by migratory fowl ; and, as the weather cools, frozen there. As the weather warms, the ice melts: releasing the virus into the lakes-from which it enters the waterways.

Once in these "pristine" waterways, the virus is carried to other creatures : flocks of chickens and other domestic fowl,pigs,and-sometimes-humans. 

If this information is true, there seems to be little we can do to prevent Influenza outbreaks - some of which can be more dangerous than the most infamous biowarfare attack diseased minds can imagine - although vaccinations (if correctly made) can reduce the overall effects.

Mother Nature is, perhaps , the greatest Terrorist of all !

Poisoned "Spy" , Murdered Journalist : Related Events ?

I almost never read the (UK) Guardian : which I view for the most part as "the respectable version" of The Daily Worker : same general slant, but better cricket and football scores. It's the sort of paper the "inwardly rebellious" junior bureaucrat can bring to work without attracting undue attention.

Given their decidely left-wing outlook, I was a bit shocked to see an article counselling Britons to be cautious about blaming the Russian Security Service (FSB) for the death of former FSB officer Alexander V. Litvinenko !

"Don't Rush to Judgment !" says the Guardian's Moscow Bureau Correspondent , Tom Parfitt.

If you have read my previous entries, I had said much the same thing - but had speculated ( a bit wildly) that Litvinenko might have deliberately consumed something he thought would make him a bit sick for a day or so - but had been "double-crossed" by someone in his rather dubious circle , who was perfectly willing to commit a murder or two-just for drill.

Bu the next day, I realized the idea was probably stupid- and said so. ( It would be easy to pretend infallibility by deleting previous posts -as some undoubtedly do-but I prefer to keep them in front of me as a humiliating reminder to gather more information before posting .)

Nonetheless, I'll stick with yesterday's opinion : The "deathbed statement" allegedly dictated by Litvinenko to his "friends" sounds more like something composed by his companions , because: (a)The dying are usually much too involved in the intensely personal business of departure to make speeches; (b) News accounts I read today spoke of the victim as being on a ventilator .(Being kept alive by a machine generally has an adverse effect on one's ability to dictate deathbed declarations.)

Looking at today's crop of breathless news stories, I see five locations were contaminated to one degree or another with radioactive Polonium - the poison used in this murder: The sushi bar where he had his last-known meal, his home,the offices of his financial patron Boris Berezovsky,and the hotel lounge, where the victim often met his "circle".

Does this suggest the complicity of someone in that circle - or - the devious minions of Vlad Putin ? The media has, by and large, subscribed to the latter theory , because...well, just because !

Litvinenko was said  (by this same circle of confidants) to have been "investigating the murder of Russian journalist, Anna Politkovskaya , who was shot to death while in her elevator,by two assailants.The two pistols used in the attack were left at the scene : a rather professional touch, and so far, nobody but the media has a clue as to who did it and why.

The media assures us it was done by hired assassains - in the pay of Putin, or someone in FSB.

They know this has to be true, because the late journalist was a vocal critic of Putin, and the FSB, and the way the poor (murderous,al-Qaeda trained) "Chechen separatists" were treated.What other explanation could there be ?

At the risk of grossing folks out , accounts I've read suggest Politkovskaya's face was practically shot off. What is not generally mentioned is that this comes close to being a "Chechen signature" to the crime. Those who have had AQ training quite often "sign" their kills this way : as a means of showing how much they disapproved of the victim-( some would definitely disapprove of a liberated woman poking into Islamic-related affairs !) -  and sometimes, as a means of delaying identification of the victim, so escape may be facilitated.

As remarked earlier, I am not infallible .Putin and his Merry Monsters MAY have been responsible  for these two murders ... but at the moment , I seriously doubt it !

"Poisoned Spy" Case Heating Up

More and more information is emerging about the death of Alexander V. Litvinenko: the so-called "Poisoned Russian Spy" : enough to make me discard my original "death by misadventure" speculation-AND enough to reinforce my doubts that Vladimir Putin and/or the Russian Government and/or any agency of that government had anything to do with what clearly appears to have been murder.

The Russian Government has released a statement (source MOSNEWS) which I will quote briefly:

"Poisoned former spy Alexander Litvinenko’s deathbed message may have accused Russian President Vladimir Putin, but pro-Kremlin lawmakers and state-controlled television networks pointed the finger at a prominent Putin enemy in Britain — tycoon Boris Berezovsky, the Associated Press reports.

Legislators seconded a top Putin aide’s suggestion that Litvinenko’s death in a London hospital Thursday was part of a plot against Russia and claimed that Berezovsky, a major critic whose asylum in Britain has enraged the Kremlin, was involved in the killing."

Russian legislators point -quite reasonably - the death of Litvinenko "means nothing" to the government or to the security services.

The presence of Putin's "enemies" at Litvinenko's side may very well explain the long,florid, and somewhat poetic deathbed statement allegedly dictated by the victim.

Truth be told, the text of this statement should set off "BS meters" in the minds of anyone who has been around the gravely ill or dying. Let me phrase it politely: It is quite uncharacteristic - as those in this situation tend to be extraordinarily self-involved,and not especially coherent.(There are exceptions, of course ; but the very fact they are remarked upon underlines how rare such events actually are.)

"... as I lie here, I can distinctly hear the beating of wings of the angel of death. I may be able to give him the slip but I have to say my legs do not run as fast as I would like. I think, therefore, that this may be the time to say one or two things to the person responsible for my present condition."

If one keeps in mind this message is being repeated by an alleged swindler , who has succeeded in fighting extradition back to the Russia he is charged with defrauding, the credibility of this "final declaration" dwindles - to say the least !

I'm not a big Putin fan , but I doubt he had anything to do with this death.

Additional Info on "Poisoned Spy" Case

The news being revealed in the Alexander Litvinenko case is a bit startling:

http://www.thisislondon.co.uk/news/article-23375897-details/Exclusive:%20Sushi%20bar%20man%20is%20nuclear%20waste%20expert/article.do

It seems, if the article is to be believed, the last person to see Litvinenko -and who almost had to be present at the time the poison was ingested-is described as "an expert in nuclear waste materials".

If he is as close an associate as the article suggests, he may very well have been in the victim's home-and his hotel and was admittedly present with him in the sushi bar - which - if reports are true-has tested positive for radioactive material.

Alexander Litvinenko's Death: Murder or "Misadventure" ?

The highly-publicized death of former FSB (Russian Security Agency) Colonel Alexander V. Litvinenko from what appears to have been Polonium poisoning has stirred accusations he was murdered on the orders of Russian President Vladimir Putin.

Litvinenko is said to have dictated a final statement to certain friends as he lay dying -a part of which is quoted here:

"... as I lie here, I can distinctly hear the beating of wings of the angel of death. I may be able to give him the slip but I have to say my legs do not run as fast as I would like. I think, therefore, that this may be the time to say one or two things to the person responsible for my present condition.

You may succeed in silencing me but that silence comes at a price. You have shown yourself to be as barbaric and ruthless as your most hostile critics have claimed.

You have shown yourself to have no respect for life, liberty or any civilized value.

You have shown yourself to be unworthy of your office, to be unworthy of the trust of civilized men and women.

You may succeed in silencing one man but the howl of protest from around the world will reverberate, Mr. Putin, in your ears for the rest of your life. May God forgive you for what you have done, not only to me but to beloved Russia and its people."

This statement would seem to make it a "given" that Putin had Litvinenko murdered - but the actual circumstances suggest another less-attractive explanation: death by misadventure !

To begin with, let's consider the parties involved.

The Russian President Vladimir Putin needs no introduction. A former KGB apparatchik -who has surrounded himself with people drawn from FSB (successor agency to the infamous KGB),he has a reputation for being brutal and ruthless : qualities we can hardly admire ,but which the Russian people needed at a time when Russia was being bled dry by "The Friends of George Soros" (credited with stealing 100 Billion Dollars in foreign aid , and handing off Russia's most valuable assets to a close-knit circle of criminal Oligarchs) ; and being attacked almost continuously by al-Qaeda trained Chechen "separatists" - eager to seize control of the vital oil and natural gas fields.

Alexander V. Litvinenko , the "martyred victim" in this case , was himself a KGB man,and later joined the FSB: achieving the rank of Colonel.

In 1998, he accused his superiors of ordering him to murder one of the Oligarchs :Boris Berezovsky -described by some as one of the architects of the massive Yukos Oil swindle. Berezovsky fled to England , and was given sanctuary : much to the chagrin of Russian prosecutors.

Litvinenko was charged with abuse of office,and was jailed for 9 months in 1999, awaiting trial-but was acquitted-and promptly fled with his family to England, where he was given sanctuary,and eventually received citizenship.

What Litvinenko was doing for a living in England has not been mentioned . He did write a book,claiming the Russians had bombed their own citizens and had laid the blame on the Chechens. It seems unlikely he earned much from this enterprise , but seems to have lived rather well in a nation that is notoriously "high rent". 

Now, let's look at the circumstances.

Litvinenko met a friend at a sushi bar on the probable date he was poisoned.The meeting was arranged by e-mail : making a bit unlikely the dreaded minions of Vlad Putin could have known about it in advance. Litvinenko ate sushi during the meeting. His friend settled for a glass of water.

British media reports (and the NY Times-which is, as we know,never wrong) indicate police have found traces of Polonium - the poison allegedly used - at the sushi bar , at a hotel used by the victim, and ...in the victim's own home !

Now we all know (from James Bond movies) those Russian agents are deucedly clever - but this seems to go quite a bit beyond clever . It strains the limits of credibility, in my honest opinion, to suggest that someone-other than the victim-was able to transport this material to all three locations.

Much has been made in the media of the poison used : understandably so, since Polonium is a radioactive element . It is also a "heavy metal" poison - much like its inert neighbor on the Periodic Chart of Elements - Lead ; and may be treated in much the same way Lead poisoning is treated: via administration of chelating agents, which cause the metal to be excreted in the urine and/or solid wastes of the body. The key , of course, is prompt diagnosis and treatment.

If Litvinenko had taken this improbable poison in an attempt to draw attention and sympathy to his cause ,and to pump up interest in his "investigation" into the murder of Russian journalist Anna Polrikovskaya , his survival would have depended on telling the doctors exactly what was in his system : assuming he knew what it was.

I'm going to hypothesize here, and suggest someone he trusted -someone connected with the Oligarchs (or with their connections !) -may have furnished Litvinenko with a little bottle of nasty stuff: suggesting he take it in order to have a much-publicized, very serious illness, that would bring massive discredit upon the Putin government (reminiscent of Viktor Yushenko's Dioxin poisoning during the Ukraine's now-faltering "Orange Revolution"). I'm going to make another "wild guess" and suggest the "helpful" poison supplier didn't bother to tell his "good friend" what was in the stuff - because Litvinenko was, in the final analysis quite...expendable.

Why such a devious,cold-hearted scheme ?

It doesn't get much play in the Western Media, but Russia has become a "golden goose" again.Between sensible exploitation of her natural resources,and her policy of selling heavy-duty arms to anyone with two ruble to rub together, Russia has been able to pay off much of her foreign debt,and has excellent cash flow. She is, in a word, ripe for plucking.

If you think the Oligarchs and the assorted FOGS ( "Friends of George Soros") have given up on the idea of tumbling Russia in the dust again, I have some nice submerged real estate you might want to invest in ! There's more than enough gold in "them-thar hills" to warrant a few strategically timed murders - or the occasional "death by misadventure" !

George Soros Plays Pied Piper to the EU: His Song ? Forget a Constitution and Follow Me !

George Soros has surfaced again : this time in Europe, where he advises the members (and would-be members) of the European Union to stop wrangling over the terms of a constitution-and adopt his world wide "Open Society" instead.

The EU Observer notes of Soros : "The Hungarian-born US citizen, who became famous as a financial speculator in the 1980s and 1990s, currently heads the Open Society Institute which promotes liberal democracy worldwide and which has been particularly active in the former Soviet bloc. "

What the Observer does NOT say is that the experience of Russia with Soros' "Open Society" was not especially beneficial : the highly visible result was an inflation rate of 2500% ,the formation of a corrupt cabal of Russian and American businessmen (sometimes referred to as oligarchs),and the looting of $100 BILLION dollars in IMF loans, USAID loans,and other foreign assistance : all under the thoughtful guidance of Soros beneficiary Jeffrey Sachs and the merry crew at the Harvard Institute for International Development - referred to sardonically by the Russians as "The Garvardniki" -(The Harvard Boys).

Sachs resigned on 5/25/99, and Harvard shut down its operations in January,2000 -after settling a lawsuit brought by USAID for a modest $26 million.

The whole business soured US and Russian relations , and may still be a factor in ongoing tensions between the two nations.

 

Soros is also credited with engineering the "Orange Revolution" in the Ukraine : a revolution that,two years later, is considered to have faltered and lost its way - with substantial assets again disappearing amidst the FOGS (Friends of George Soros).

For all that , people still dance happily along behind this cryptic "pied piper" like the fabled children of Hamlin : eager to scoop up the occasional small coins he strews in their path ; ignorant of the fact it is their money he is spending so lavishly; and chillingly ready to follow him to the Land of No Return.

It is even more chilling that a growing number of Democrats (and not a few Republicans) in this country have begun to listen to -and dance to the Piper's tune.

If this be "tinfoil hattery" - then make the most of it !

Lebanese Assassinations : Part of Ongoing Coup ?

The murder of a Christian politician-and the attempted murder of a second are seen by some in Lebanon as evidence of an ongoing coup d'etat - which , if successful, would create vacancies in the already-unstable Lebanese Parliament that could be filled by Pro-Syrian/Pro-Iranian Hezbollah members -according to an opinion article in Ya Libnan : a Lebanese freedom publication.

The founders of Ya Libnan  envision a country that will be built on the following:

Liberty and individual rights: The right to liberty should as a minimum include personal freedom, political freedom, free flow of information and economic freedom. It is the purpose of the government to protect these rights, and it may not place unfair or unreasonable restraints on their exercise.

Justice: People should be treated fairly in the distribution of the benefits and burdens of society, the correction of wrongs and injuries, and in the gathering of information and making of decisions.

Diversity: Variety in culture and ethnic background, race, lifestyle, and belief is not only permissible but desirable and beneficial in a our pluralist society.

Truth: Citizens can legitimately demand that truth-telling as refraining from lying and full disclosure by government be the rule, since trust in the veracity of government constitutes an essential element of the bond between governors and governed.

Popular Sovereignty: The citizenry is collectively the sovereign of the state and holds ultimate authority over public officials and their policies.

Rule of Law: Both government and the governed should be subject to the same law.

Separation of Powers: Legislative, executive, and judicial powers should be exercised by different institutions in order to maintain the limitations placed upon them.

Checks and Balances: The powers given to the different branches of government should be balanced, that is roughly equal, so that no branch can completely dominate the others. Branches of government are also given powers to check the power of other branches.

Freedom of Religion: There shall be full freedom of conscience for people of all faiths or none. Religious liberty is considered to be a natural inalienable right that must always be beyond the power of the state to confer or remove. Religious liberty includes the right to freely practice any religion without governmental coercion or control.

Separation of Religion and State: In order for Lebanese citizens to elect the most suitable representatives, religious considerations should be completely abolished. Let the best candidates win and create a better Lebanon for all its citizens.

It goes without saying, the opposition has entirely different plans in mind,is more than capable of politically-motivated murder, and is unlikely to rest until it is able to achieve its goals.

The Russian Bear Flexes its Military Muscles

Once upon a time, Russia was our mortal enemy - then - out of the blue - they became our "new friends" : partners in the War on Terror...at least that's what People In The Know said.

In 1992, Congress passed legislation designed to help Russia dismantle its WMD programs , and , from 1993 to 1997, we pledged (and paid out) millions to help the Russians with this staggering task: aid that was greatly appreciated and wisely (?) used by our new friends to rebuild and improve upon their biological warfare program !

"The GAO reported in May 2000 that poor oversight of the CTR program and lax attitudes toward security allowed Moscow to divert aid directly to Russia's ongoing germ-warfare program - a program that is illegal under the 1972 Biological Weapons Convention. The Clinton/Gore administration spent $20 million on biological-research projects in Russia between fiscal 1994 and 1999 and planned to expand it elevenfold to $220 million between fiscal 2000 and 2004."

Fot the last three years , Russia has been complaining about the US Strategic Missile Defense program - apparently because , it it can be deployed sucessfully,it would eliminate the threat posed by...Russian Missiles !

Speaking of Russian missiles, an article in RIA Novosti - one of Russia's leading publications - quotes Defense Minister Sergei Ivanov , who reports Russia plans to buy 17 new ICBMs from its internal suppliers.( Russia has a "mixed" economy in which private capital participates in vital industries under government control.)

Russia now has - according to the Global Security website- approximately 20 nuclear Intercontinental Ballistic Missile facilities ,and it is presumed the new ICBMs now on order will replace older, less reliable missile stocks.

As you can see, the Russians are increasingly "loaded for bear" , and are our friends only when it suits them (translation: when they need our help).

I might add, there's nothing wrong with this attitude - as long as we understand it up front - and make the proper allowances for it .

Going a step further, there is -from what I read in the Russian papers-absolutely no reason we should be sending these folks financial assistance , as they seem quite solvent these days : thanks to sales of natural gas to Eastern Europe...and arms sales to just about anyone who has money.

The Russians are flexing their military muscles , but don't appear to be a threat to us at the moment. Should that situation ever change, the New "Russian Bear" could prove a very dangerous adversary !