News items that look towards Ezekiel 38 & 39

[nChrist]

Armorbearer Said:

This why i'm glad that the time has not yet come. Because if it did come, within the next  hour, how many people do you think would perish?

Brother, I'm sad to say that I think parents and grandparents have failed their own children in this part of the world over the last several generations. As a result, I think that we have OUR OWN huge mission field in this part of the world. In reality, we did a better job of feeding and clothing the needy in other parts of the world than we did in the raising of our own children in the ways of the LORD.

I'm not suggesting that we stop the important missionary work in other parts of the world. However, there are many of us who aren't young enough or healthy enough to go to the foreign mission fields. There is plenty of work for us to do right here. In fact, there is more work than we can ever get done, more than enough for every single Christian  - regardless of age or health. GOD can use laborers of all kinds. What Christians need to do is pray, yield, and ask GOD to use us however HE Will.

Love In Christ,
Tom

Ephesians 1:18-23 NASB I pray that the eyes of your heart may be enlightened, so that you will know what is the hope of His calling, what are the riches of the glory of His inheritance in the saints, and what is the surpassing greatness of His power toward us who believe. These are in accordance with the working of the strength of His might which He brought about in Christ, when He raised Him from the dead and seated Him at His right hand in the heavenly places, far above all rule and authority and power and dominion, and every name that is named, not only in this age but also in the one to come. And He put all things in subjection under His feet, and gave Him as head over all things to the church, which is His body, the fullness of Him who fills all in all.

[Shammu]

Russia army vows steps if Georgia and Ukraine join NATO
Fri Apr 11, 2008 11:38am EDT

MOSCOW (Reuters) - Russia will take military and other steps along its borders if ex-Soviet Ukraine and Georgia join NATO, Russian news agencies quoted the armed forces' chief of staff as saying on Friday.

"Russia will take steps aimed at ensuring its interests along its borders," the agencies quoted General Yuri Baluyevsky as saying. "These will not only be military steps, but also steps of a different nature," he said, without giving details.

Russia is opposed to NATO plans to grant membership to ex-Soviet Ukraine and Georgia, saying such a move would pose a direct threat to its security and endanger the fragile balance of forces in Europe.

Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov said earlier this week that Moscow will do everything it can to prevent the two countries, run by pro-Western governments, from becoming NATO members.

Maka Gigauri, a spokeswoman for Georgia's foreign ministry, said Baluyevsky's words were "a demonstration of open aggression against Georgia."

"This is why we, Ukraine and Georgia, want to become NATO members. Such attempts by Russia to prevent Georgia and Ukraine from becoming NATO members will prompt an appropriate reaction from the leaders of NATO member states."

Ukrainian officials were not immediately available for comment.

President Vladimir Putin has said that if NATO military installations ever appear in Ukraine, Moscow would have to target its missiles at the country.

At a summit in Bucharest this month, NATO members turned down requests from Georgia and Ukraine to be granted a Membership Action Plan, which would have set them on the road to membership.

But under pressure from Washington, one of the strongest advocates of enlargement in the alliance, NATO gave a commitment that the two countries would be allowed to join eventually.

Asked to respond to the Russian general's comments, a NATO spokeswoman in Brussels said any European democracy could apply for membership of the alliance. "This is nothing new and no third country or party has a right to veto," she said.

"In Bucharest, NATO heads of state and government decided Georgia and Ukraine would not be granted Membership Action Plans at this stage, but membership of those two countries is not a matter of if but when."

Russian news agencies quoted Baluyevsky as telling reporters that it was premature to talk about Georgia and Ukraine joining NATO any time soon. "This is not the end of the day," he said. "We will live and see."

Russia army vows steps if Georgia and Ukraine join NATO

[Shammu]

Israel fears Iran may ship Hezbollah arms via Beirut port
By Barak Ravid, Haaretz Correspondent
13/04/2008         

Israel is concerned that Iran might start moving weapons to Hezbollah by means of ships that anchor in the Beirut port, government sources in Jerusalem said.

The sources said oversight of marine vessels by UNIFIL (the United Nations Interim Force in Lebanon) was not efficient enough to enforce an embargo on weapons shipments into Lebanon and to pinpoint such shipments.

A government source in Jerusalem said Saturday that a year ago Israel transmitted to Germany, which at that time commanded UNIFIL's marine forces, that it suspected Iran would transfer weapons to Hezbollah by sea. The source said Israel voiced its concerns over the marine forces' insufficient control over the coast, and that Germany promised to increase its supervision.

"The problem is that UNIFIL's checks are not strict enough and are simply not serious," the source said. He said that UNIFIL soldiers do not physically examine the cargo in suspicious vessels, making do with comparing the vessel's name and registration number to the registration of the ships in the Beirut port.

"We are afraid that many ships registered in the port as carrying certain cargo are in fact carrying cargo of a totally different kind," the source said.

A response from UNIFIL could not be obtained over the weekend.

Iran concedes that it provides moral support and money to Hezbollah, but denies supplying it with weapons, which would be in violation of a UN resolution.

The Israel Defense Forces said last month that Iran is sending Hezbollah weapons by means of planes and trucks, passing through Turkish territory without the knowledge of the government in Ankara, and from there to Syria and Lebanon.

In the two years since the Second Lebanon War, Hezbollah has been working to rehabilitate itself and increase its strength. The organization has considerably increased the number of rockets in its possession, and it now has tens of thousands of them.

According to the Israeli government source, Hezbollah has placed two thirds of these rockets south of the Litani River in the area under UNIFIL control, where the organization is not allowed to operate.

Over the past month, Israel has been lobbying in the UN to promote the release of a presidential statement by the Security Council regarding the ongoing smuggling of weapons to Hezbollah despite the arms embargo. However, the lack of consensus among the countries on the Security Council, along with American and French concerns over a worsening of the political crisis in Lebanon, have impeded progress on the statement.

About a month ago, responsibility for UNIFIL's marine forces was transferred from Germany to Italy. The marine force has been operating since October 2006, when European gun boats began patroling Lebanon's territorial waters, allowing Israel to lift the sea blockade it had enforced upon the outbreak of the war.

When the force, which consists of 11 ships and works closely alongside the Lebanese navy, locates a suspicious vessel, it sends it to be checked by the Lebanese authorities, usually at the Beirut port. The force has so far preliminarily checked 13,000 vessels, but has sent only 70 suspicious ones for comprehensive examination by the Lebanese authorities.

Israel fears Iran may ship Hezbollah arms via Beirut port

[Shammu]

Memorandum on understanding signed between Russia and Iran to cooperate in sphere of culture

25.04.2008, 00.56


   
   

TEHRAN, April 24 (Itar-Tass) - A memorandum on mutual understanding between Russia and Iran, signed after talks in Moscow between the culture ministers of the two countries, Alexander Sokolov and Mohammad Hossein Saffar-Haradi, envisages the development of diversified cooperation, a boost in exchanges between delegations of cultural activists and regular art exhibitions on the territory of the two countries.

The document consists of 12 articles and also envisages a boost in bilateral cooperation in the sphere of music, cinematography and theatre. Ahead of a trip to Russia, the Iranian minister of culture expressed hope that the sides will sign a new memorandum on cooperation between Tehran and Moscow in the cultural sphere.

He also expressed hope that “the current cultural cooperation between Iran and the Russian Federation is only a part of bilateral potential…” He believes the bulk of the potential is still to be realized.

Saffar-Harandi arrived in Moscow on April 20 to participate in the unveiling in the first in the history of the two countries week of Iranian culture in Russia. Emphasizing the significance of the festival, he noted that “such events give Russian citizens an opportunity to know more about the real image of the Islamic Republic of Iran without distortions created by unfriendly mediators – some western media outlets”.

The festival of Islamic culture, which runs till April 27, envisages performances by artists, films and art exhibitions in Moscow, Vladimir and Kazan.

Memorandum on understanding signed between Russia and Iran to cooperate in sphere of culture

[Shammu]

Zarubezhneft keen to invest in Iran
Fri, 25 Apr 2008 10:14:42

Russia's oldest company active in oil and gas industry, Zarubezneft, is interested in making investment in Iran's oil and gas industry.

The company was active in Iran during '90s cooperation with Iran in digging a 6000 meter exploration oil well in the Caspian Sea', said Stanislav A. Mikhailov, the company's deputy director for projects development and implementation, according to Fars News Agency.

Zarubezhneft is a state-run oil company which was established in 1967 to implement oil projects outside Russia.

It is the leading foreign economic enterprise in the oil and gas industry of Russia.

Zarubezhneft keen to invest in Iran

[Shammu]

India to help Iran build a crucial rail link

Project to be on BOT basis

To help develop the Chabahar port

Also assist launch of Middle East Railway

NEW DELHI: India has agreed to help Iran in constructing a crucial rail link that is also a part of the United Nations Economic and Social Commission for Asia and the Pacific (UNESCAP)’s Trans-Asian Railway (TAR) project. “We will be cooperating with the Iranian authorities in developing the 600-km long Chabahar port and Fahraj rail line that will provide India a multi-modal transport corridor to Russia via Iran,” said Railway Board Chairman K.C. Jena.

Mr. Jena, also the Chairman of the Union of International Railway (UIC), was recently in Iran where he met Iran’s Deputy Minister for Roads and Transportation and president of Iran’s national railway ‘Rah Ahan Iran’, Hassan Ziari.

“This week, a team of experts from the Indian Railways will be visiting Iran to work out the details and other modalities of the project that would be executed under the ‘build-operate-transfer’ (BOT) basis,” said Mr. Jena.

The Railway Board Chairman said the rail line was vital for the proposed North-South international corridor linking India, Iran, Azerbaijan and Russia.

The corridor envisaged a direct link to St. Petersburg from Fahraj port through Amirabad in Iran and Astrakhan in Russia.

“Since the Chabahar port is close to Gujarat, the Indian Railways can explore utilising the route for multimodal transport of goods to Iran and Russia. Similarly, transporting goods to Afghanistan via Fahraj could be another good option. It will also provide direct access to Europe,” he said.

Mr. Jena said the next UIC meeting would be held in Seoul next month and by that time the three countries were likely to sign an agreement on this project.

India was keen on this project as the direct India-Iran rail link was pending for long because of the 545 km-long missing railway line between Iran and Pakistan.

Stating that India had also decided to help Iran develop the Chabahar port and Aprin dry port, Mr. Jena said leading Indian consultancy firms including RITES Ltd. and CONCOR were likely to carry out feasibility reports for integrated planning for development of these ports and rail links. Iran had also sought help in laying track, upgrading its train operations, signalling system and electrical work. “India will also help in the launch of the Middle East Railway Academy in Iran under the aegis of the UIC,” he said.

India to help Iran build a crucial rail link

[Shammu]

Ahmadinejad Wants Russian Troops in Iran?
25/04/2008

By Amir Taheri

Why is the leadership in Tehran anxious to give Russia the right to land troops in Iran?

The question is not fanciful. The Islamic Republic is conducting a devious campaign to prepare public opinion for that eventuality.

The message is relayed through deliberately vague terms that diplomats understand immediately while the general public does not.

The device is to revive two treaties that most students of Iranian history thought were dead and buried long ago.

The first is the 1921 Treaty that the government of Sayyed Ziauddin Tabatabai, soon after coming to power in a putsch, signed with Vladimir Lenin’s Bolshevik regime.

At the time the Bolsheviks had some troops in the Iranian province of Gilan on the Caspian Sea, supporting a rebellion led by a leftist mullah known as Mirza Kuchak Khan of the Jungle. At the same time, the British were using Iranian territory to ferry troops and materiel to anti-Bolshevik nationalist forces in Transcaucasia.

Under the treaty, Lenin agreed to cancel the debts Iran had accumulated towards the Tsarist Empire. He also undertook to withdraw his troops from Gilan. The treaty revised relations in the Caspian Sea, granting Iran greater rights of fishing and navigation. That amounted to a generous gesture towards Tabatabai’s new government that, still fragile, needed all the good news it could get in relations with the major powers.

Nevertheless, as always when a weak nation makes a pact with a much larger neighbour, the treaty had a sting in its tail. It gave the Russians the right to land troops in Iran when and if troops of any other foreign power arrived in Iran. At the time it was Britain that Lenin had in mind. For his part, Tabatabai wanted to use the threat of Russian military intervention as a means of forcing the British to end their military presence in Iran.

However, in one of those twists of history, the treaty was never used for its original purpose. The British soon abandoned their anti-Bolshevik allies whom they found too weak to defeat Lenin’s new empire. Lenin, for his part, believing he could add Iran to his empire through ideological agitation rather than conquest, abandoned the Mullah of the Jungle and withdrew the Soviet troops.

In 1941, however, Soviet troops, this time under Stalin, invaded Iran.

The legal pretext was the 1921 treaty. Soviet propaganda claimed that the presence of a few German military experts and, possibly, spies, in Tehran amounted to a foreign hostile force on Iranian soil. Reza Shah, the Iranian monarch, had refused to kick the Germans out, possibly in the hope that Hitler would defeat Russia and Britain, Iran’s two principal enemies for 150 years.

Within days of the Soviet invasion, backed by a British invasion of Iranian territory from Iraq, Reza Shah was forced into exile.

The new Iranian government, under Prime Minister Muhammad-Ali Forughi, had to accept the legality of the invasion under the 1921 Treaty.

Nevertheless, both sides felt that a new treaty was needed to determine the status of Soviet troops in Iran. Negotiations were railroaded at top speed, with the British supporting the Soviets in the name of their alliance against Nazi Germany.

The Iranian side, weak and disorganised in a country under foreign occupation, protested. But, with Soviet and British guns pointed at its head, it ended up signing the 1941 Treaty.

The new treaty, recalling that of 1921, reaffirmed the right of the USSR to send troops to Iran if and when Moscow felt it was threatened by a third power’s presence in Iran.

The two treaties entered Iran’s diplomatic memory as black moments in history. Abbas-Ali Khalatbari, Iran’s Foreign Minister between 1971 and 1978, described them as “two bleeding wounds in our heart.”

In 1946, as Stalin’s troops were forced to leave, the Shah declared the two treaties “dead and buried”. But, facing a strong Soviet-backed Communist Party and its allies, he was too weak to ask the parliament to formally cancel the treaties.

In 1963, the Soviets launched a campaign to revive the treaties.

They claimed that the arrival in Iran of American military instructors, invited to help build the new Iranian air force, amounted to “a foreign hostile presence” under the terms of the treaties.

The Iranians ignored the Soviet campaign and, on a number of occasions, announced a unilateral cancellation of the treaties.

The most significant official move to cancel the treaties came after the fall of the Shah.

In 1980, Ibrahim Yazdi, a US citizen of Iranian origin serving as Khomeini’s Foreign Minister, solemnly announced that the newly created Islamic Republic did not recognise the treaties.

A diplomatic seesaw battle ensued in which the Iranian side stood by Yazdi’s declaration.

The matter rested in limbo, with most experts agreeing that the treaties were dead, until the fall of the Soviet Empire in 1991. After that neither side mentioned the treaties, presumably because both agreed that accords between two fallen regimes could not apply in radically changed circumstances.

So, one can imagine the surprise caused by President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad’s decision to suddenly start speaking of the two treaties as if they were still valid.

He and his aides, including Foreign Minister Manuchehr Motakki, have mentioned the treaties with regard to the status of the Caspian Sea and the application by the Islamic Republic to join Russia and China in the Shanghai Group, an informal framework for security cooperation.

Motakki has gone further by suggesting that Iran abandon the Persian name for the Caspian Sea, that is to say the Sea of Mazandaran, and adopt the Russian name mentioned in the treaties. To sweeten Russia further, Motakki has also hinted at abandoning Iran’s demand for a 20 per cent share in the Caspian’s resources, settling, instead, for just over 11 per cent.

Why is an administration that pretends it has a mission from the “Hidden Imam” to liberate the whole world keen to give Russia a licence to land troops in Iran?

Obviously, only Ahmadinejad and his associates know the full answer. However, one could speculate that the Khomeinist president has decided that a war with the United States is inevitable. In such a war, the Americans may well seize Iran’s oilfields, an easy target for a surprise attack and a difficult asset for defenders to protect. Once that happens Russia could land troops in northern Iran and then go to the United Nations to ask for a generalised ceasefire and the fixing of a timetable for the withdrawal of “all foreign troops from all Iranian territory.” The US would come under global pressure to cooperate with Russia in ending the conflict and paving the way for the departure of foreign troops and the restoration of Iranian sovereignty.

If that is how Ahmadinejad thinks, he has just returned to 1921 and Sayyed Ziauddin Tabatabai in an Iran as weak and as vulnerable. And that, for a man whose ambition is to lead mankind on a new path away from that fixed by “American Arrogance,” is not something to be proud of.

Ahmadinejad Wants Russian Troops in Iran?

[Shammu]

Egypt looks for lead role in Mediterranean Union
(DPA)

28 April 2008


LUXEMBOURG - Egypt wants to play a leading role in the planned Union for the Mediterranean, coordinating the states around the south of the sea, its foreign minister said on Monday at a meeting with European Union officials.

Egypt 'accepts and endorses' the idea of the union originally proposed by French President Nicolas Sarkozy, and it is 'eager to enter high-level discussions with the EU as Egypt, the coordinator of the south,' Foreign Minister Ahmed Aboul-Ghreit said.

Egypt will also organize meetings around the southern Mediterranean to forge a common view with Arab neighbours on issues important to the proposed union, he said at a meeting in Luxembourg.

'Whatever we put on the table (on the issue of the proposed union) is very much spoken about, talked about and prepared with Egypt,' EU foreign policy chief Javier Solana replied.

Sarkozy initially proposed the idea for a Mediterranean Union modelled on the EU in early 2007. However, EU member states without a coastline on the sea rejected the creation of a major new structure, approving instead a strengthened version of current policies.

The talks in Luxembourg were the fourth in an annual series set up und EU and Egypt, which came into force in 2004, and were marked by their 'constructive' and friendly tone, participants said.

The two sides discussed Egypt's mediating role in the Middle East Peace Process, agreeing that the immediate prerequisites for progress would be a ceasefire, the exchange of prisoners and the implementation of a 2005 agreement on crossings into the Gaza Strip.

They also discussed the global problem of world food prices, while Egypt presented EU Foreign-Affairs Commissioner Benita Ferrero- Waldner with a list of proposals for improving aspects of cooperation, Aboul-Ghreit said.

They also touched on the question of the crackdown on banned opposition group the Muslim Brotherhood ahead of April 8 municipal elections in the country.

'When you have an illegal organization acting, trying to be legal, you arrest its operators,' Aboul-Ghreit said.

'There are still a lot of questions that we would have to tackle in the future, but ... the fact that the (April) elections were held was certainly important,' Ferrero-Waldner said.

She hoped that future cooperation would allow Egypt to build on the experience of its first-ever contested presidential elections in 2005, she said.

Egypt looks for lead role in Mediterranean Union
~~~~~~~

Daniel 11:40 And at the time of the end shall the king of the south push at him: and the king of the north shall come against him like a whirlwind, with chariots, and with horsemen, and with many ships; and he shall enter into the countries, and shall overflow and pass over.

[Shammu]

Iran discusses package of nuclear proposals with Russia

By ALI AKBAR DAREINI, Associated Press Writer Mon Apr 28, 2:19 PM ET

TEHRAN, Iran - Iran and Russia on Monday discussed the outlines of "serious proposals" aimed at assuring the international community that Tehran's nuclear program is peaceful, state media reported.

Top Iranian nuclear negotiator Saeed Jalili did not provide details of the proposals but said Tehran will soon unveil them publicly.

"The Islamic Republic of Iran has serious proposals about what to do to reduce threats resulting from the nuclear issue to the minimum," Jalili was quoted as saying by Iran's official news agency IRNA.

Later Monday, Gholam Reza Aghazadeh, head of the Atomic Energy Organization of Iran, called the package "a comprehensive plan" addressed to the five permanent members of the U.N. Security Council plus Germany.

"Iran's package of proposals is not addressed to one specific country. It is a comprehensive plan with broad proposals. The spirit of the plan is that Iran is prepared to cooperate with all its capacity to resolve the remaining issues," Aghazadeh told a news conference.

Aghazadeh said the package was discussed Monday with acting Russian Security Council Secretary Valentin Sobolev during his visit to Iran, but was addressed to the United States, Britain, France, Germany, Russia and China.

Those countries have pledged to enhance a 2006 package of political, security and economic incentives in return for Iran halting uranium enrichment. Iran has said it would not trade its rights for incentives.

Russia has been a key ally to Iran in its nuclear standoff with the West, but also has voted in favor of three rounds of U.N. Security Council sanctions against Iran for its failure to halt uranium enrichment.

Iran has denied pursuing nuclear weapons, saying its program is geared toward generating electricity.

Also Monday, the deputy chief of the U.N. nuclear monitoring agency arrived in Tehran to discuss Iran's controversial nuclear program.

His second visit in two weeks comes only days after the International Atomic Energy Agency said it had reached a "milestone" agreement with Iran that aims to provide answers to allegations that Tehran has tried to develop nuclear weapons.

Iranian Foreign Ministry spokesman Mohammad Ali Hosseini said Sunday that Iran was willing to discuss any issue with the U.N. nuclear watchdog but maintained the country had already answered all outstanding questions about its nuclear program.

Iran discusses package of nuclear proposals with Russia
~~~~~~~

Talk about the Willful King of the North. The 2 least trustworthy countries on earth besides N. Korea doing a deal together.

They must REALLY think we're stupid.

[Shammu]

Russian parliament confirms Putin as prime minister of Russia

By LYNN BERRY, Associated Press Writer
Thu May 8, 2:59 PM ET

MOSCOW - When Boris Yeltsin left the Kremlin eight years ago, he gave Vladimir Putin the pen he had used to sign important documents and decrees, a gesture symbolizing the transfer of power to Russia's new president. When Putin left the Kremlin, he took the pen with him. Putin, who became prime minister Thursday, has signaled that he intends to remain Russia's principal leader, at least in the short term — and possibly much longer. He is keeping the trappings of his presidency and many of its powers as well.

It was not always meant to be this way. Putin initially said he intended to hand the full powers of the presidency to his chosen successor and step aside. But as the time drew near, he clearly changed his mind as infighting between rival Kremlin factions spilled into the open, threatening to undermine political stability.

Veterans of the secret services have come to dominate the government under Putin, a 55-year-old former KGB officer. These powerful figures, known as the "siloviki," have been given leading roles in major businesses — including oil companies and aircraft and automobile manufacturers — that Putin has brought back under state control.

They see Putin as the key to preserving their positions and continued access to financial flows. Some of them opposed Putin's choice of Dmitry Medvedev, a 42-year-old lawyer, who was inaugurated as president on Wednesday.

Putin may have decided to stay around to keep the peace and protect his protege until he consolidates his position.

Immensely popular and at the height of his powers, Putin appears to want Russians to see him as still in charge and to anticipate his return to the presidency in 2012, which he has not ruled out.

In a fervent 45-minute speech Thursday before parliament, Putin laid out huge ambitions for the economy and boasted that under his leadership Russia "had not just changed but become a different country." He was approved by a vote of 392-56, with only the Communists opposing him.

Medvedev, by contrast, was a lackluster supporting player, introducing Putin in a bland five-minute address that underlined Putin's potency.

Putin left the Kremlin on Wednesday, but just moved down the road to the building known as the White House, the government headquarters near the U.S. Embassy. In anticipation of his arrival, the prime minister's fifth-floor office overlooking the Moscow River has been renovated and its staff greatly expanded. Many of those who served him as president have made the switch, and others are expected to follow.

Putin will continue to travel to work in a motorcade from the same wooded estate in one of Moscow's most exclusive suburban neighborhoods where he lived as president and which is now his to keep.

While quietly laying the groundwork for expanding the scope of the prime minister's office, Putin has firmed up his position by becoming chairman of the Kremlin's dominant political party, which gives him control over parliament and strong leverage over regional leaders.

Members of that party still have Putin's portrait in their offices.

Putin has said he feels no need to hang the portrait of Russia's new president in his office in a traditional sign of respect. Other government officials will hang a picture of Medvedev and have to decide whether to take down Putin. Many are expected to hedge their bets by displaying both.

Aluminum magnate Oleg Deripaska, whom Forbes magazine calls Russia's richest man, said recently that it is clear Putin remains in charge. "In Russia, in our culture we need to have a leader," Deripaska said at a lunch with foreign journalists.

With Putin in control, Deripaska said there is no risk of political instability. "There is no chance for any intrigue. Don't bet on it," he said.

Putin and Medvedev, who have worked together since the early 1990s, stress their friendship and full agreement on Russia's course.

But Putin seems to be taking no chances that Medvedev will turn against him. His party has a 70 percent majority, which gives it the power to change the constitution, block legislation or impeach the president.

As prime minister, Putin will control the budget and oversee gigantic state corporations, including Gazprom, the world's largest natural gas producer. These corporations, staffed with Putin loyalists, have allowed Russia to reassert its global might.

Both men have said Medvedev will set foreign policy.

Boris Makarenko, an analyst with the Center for Political Technologies, said there will be no need to amend the constitution, which in spelling out the powers of the president and prime minister leaves room for interpretation. "The gray areas will be shared differently than they are now," he was quoted in Vremya Novostei as saying.

An early signal of the level of Putin's influence will come when Russia forms a new government. Most members of his team are expected to remain in high posts.

Another important sign will be the TV coverage of Putin and Medvedev on national channels, which are all under Kremlin control and have served as a political bellwether. Medvedev has been given lavish coverage, but Putin remains the main hero of the evening news.

Russian parliament confirms Putin as prime minister of Russia

[Shammu]

Nuclear missiles parade across Red Square
May 9 07:37 AM US/Eastern

Nuclear missiles and tanks paraded Friday across Red Square for the first time since the Soviet era but new President Dmitry Medvedev warned other nations against "irresponsible ambitions" that he said could start wars.

Marching bands and 8,000 troops goose-stepped across the square, followed by a huge display of heavy weapons including Topol-M ballistic missiles and T-90 tanks, and a fly-by of warplanes.

Reviewing his first parade as commander in chief, Medvedev warned against "irresponsible ambitions" that he said could spark war across entire continents.

In an apparent attack on US foreign policy and Western backing for Kosovo's independence, Medvedev also criticised "intentions to intrude in the affairs of other states and especially redraw borders."

Alongside the new president was his mentor and now prime minister, Vladimir Putin, standing under bright sunshine in a tribune in front of Lenin's Mausoleum, the Soviet holy of holies that was screened off by a giant hoarding inscribed with May 9, 1945.

The show of strength on the 63rd anniversary of victory against Nazi Germany symbolised Moscow's growing boldness following eight years of rule by Putin, whose hawkish policies have set Russia at loggerheads with Western capitals.

Medvedev, who was inaugurated Wednesday, is a close ally of Putin and had been his aide for much of the last two decades.

Many analysts believe that Medvedev, 42, will be a weak president reliant on the support of Putin, 55, who on Thursday became prime minister.

Other observers say the untested Medvedev will grow into the presidency, which carries huge powers in Russia -- as symbolised by the Red Square parade.

Earlier Putin said the parade was not "sabre-rattling" but "a demonstration of our growing defence capability."

The commemoration came after Washington on Thursday said Moscow had expelled two of its diplomats.

US Defense Secretary Robert Gates on Thursday dismissed the move as "just the usual tit for tat" in response to Washington's expulsion of a Russian spy.

Tensions with the United States have been particularly high over Russia's pro-Western neighbour Georgia, which has received US backing for its bid to join the NATO military alliance.

On Thursday Georgian President Mikheil Saakashvili said his country and Russia had come close to war "several days ago" after Russia ramped up support for separatists controlling Georgia's Abkhazia region.

Medvedev told veterans invited to a Kremlin reception after the parade that "we must unite the international community so as not to allow the spread of new, very frightening threats," ITAR-TASS news agency reported.

On the streets of Moscow, the atmosphere was festive for one of the country's best-loved holidays.

Amid re-runs of World War II films, television stations showed soldiers parading through cities across the country.

Veterans were shown with chests loaded down with medals, while some young soldiers were dressed in World War II uniforms, complete with old-fashioned rifles and red stars on their helmets.

The occasion reflects the trauma of World War II in which millions of Soviet citizens died before driving back the Nazis, but also a large measure of Soviet-style propaganda which airbrushed dark aspects of the story -- not least Stalin's massive wartime repressions.

The reappearance of massive weapons in the capital after a break of 18 years required extraordinary preparations.

Ahead of the parade, the cobbles of Red Square were specially reinforced to cope with tanks and other heavy weaponry, while the Kommersant newspaper said nearby subway tunnels had been reinforced to prevent them collapsing.

Twelve air force planes were to ensure clear skies over Moscow with the use of cloud-seeding technology.

Nuclear missiles parade across Red Square

[Shammu]

Russia Parades Its Military in an Echo of Soviet Days
By C. J. CHIVERS
May 10, 2008

MOSCOW — Nuclear missile launchers and columns of tanks rolled through Red Square on Friday in a display of martial hardware not seen since the Soviet Union’s waning days.

The parade, much smaller than similar commemorations in the Soviet period but laden with significance and mixed messages, marked the 63rd anniversary of the victory over Nazi Germany, which is observed in Russia as Victory Day, a solemn state holiday.

It was intended both as a tribute to the dwindling ranks of surviving veterans and as a display of Russia’s efforts to revive armed forces made moribund by the Soviet Union’s collapse.

It was also widely described as a sign that the Kremlin wanted to show the world that it had recovered from the embarrassments of the 1990s and that its foreign policy had not softened in a transfer of presidential power this week.

But the goose-stepping footfalls, echoing in front of shop windows bearing products from Louis Vuitton and Christian Dior, captured as well the contrasts institutionalized during eight years of rule by Vladimir V. Putin, the former spymaster and president who left office on Wednesday and returned to power as prime minister the following day.

Confident and flush with wealth, Mr. Putin’s Russia is led by men who embrace Soviet symbols and rituals while promising tax breaks and legislation to encourage a growing Russian investor class.

The passing columns were reviewed by the new president, Dmitri A. Medvedev, a lawyer who has spoken of nurturing civil liberties and a climate more conducive to small business, but who ascended to office in an election stage-managed by the Kremlin.

Many of the soldiers were in period dress, wearing uniforms reminiscent of those worn in celebrations that Mr. Putin led in the same place three years ago on the 60th anniversary of the end of World War II.

This time there was a new president. Mr. Putin, his mentor, stood behind Mr. Medvedev as he addressed the crowd. When the troops began to march by while saluting the dignitaries, the former president stepped forward to receive the salutes at his protégé’s side.

In a sign that suggested that the Kremlin had not yet settled how to interpret the seven decades of Soviet history, Lenin’s mausoleum was temporarily blocked from view by a huge mural of Russia’s tri-colored national flag.

The mausoleum, where Lenin’s embalmed body lies in state, is normally a centerpiece of the square and perhaps the most potent Soviet symbol in the capital. The president and prime minister stood on a reviewing stand erected for the event, their backs to Lenin’s remains as they presided over a ritual created by Stalin.

Mr. Medvedev thanked the aging veterans in the reviewing stands — white-haired men and women in their 80s and 90s, many wearing blazers heavy with medals. Then he spoke of readiness and restraint.

“The history of world wars warns that armed conflicts do not erupt on their own,” he said. “They are fueled by those whose irresponsible ambitions overpower the interests of countries and whole continents, the interests of millions of people.”

He added, “We need to remember the lessons of that war and work every day so that such tragedies never happen again.”

The parade was the first display of armor and nuclear missile launchers on Red Square since 1990, and was followed by a flyover of 32 military planes, including strategic bombers.

The Kremlin’s decision to parade its military hardware has been a subject of competing interpretations, viewed variously as symbolic confirmation of Russia’s pride, or aggressiveness, as a marketing show of Russian arms, and as a nationalistic festival ordered by Mr. Putin, for Mr. Putin.

Mr. Putin insisted earlier in the week that the parade should not be viewed as “saber rattling.” “It is not a warlike gesture,” he said. “Russia is not threatening anyone.”

But it followed a year during which the Kremlin asserted its case against what it regarded as reckless American foreign policies. Mr. Putin has strongly protested an American-led plan to install a missile-defense system in Poland and the Czech Republic. As tensions rose, Russia’s aging strategic bombers conducted international patrols, entered British airspace and approached American carrier groups on the high seas.

Russian state-controlled television stations have featured extensive coverage of small-scale exercises of Russia’s navy, and of supposedly new weapons systems. Mr. Putin, who firmly opposed the American-led invasion of Iraq five years ago, also endorsed a doctrine of pre-emptive strikes against threats to Russian soil.

As a tribute to veterans and to the irrefutable role and sacrifices of the Soviet Union’s people in defeating Hitler, the events on the square were high spectacle. But the parade, broadcast on television here as a national triumph, also offered sights of the mixed condition of the once vaunted armed forces under Kremlin command.

Several of the infantry units, including marine and airborne units, were staffed with lean and fit young men who marched with bearing and precision. Others included troops who appeared to be in only fair condition, and several of the officers leading formations past the two Russian leaders were visibly overweight.

The United States expressed no alarm over the parade. Russia has become a leading global arms exporter again, but its wares are almost all items designed decades ago. A Pentagon spokesman, echoing a view common among military analysts, had characterized the planned military review as a hollow show of dated gear bearing fresh coats of paint.

“If they wish to take out their old equipment and take it for a spin and check it out,” said the spokesman, Geoff Morrell, “they’re more than welcome to do so.”

Russia Parades Its Military in an Echo of Soviet Days

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RUSSIA “BOOSTS” MILITARY PRESENCE IN CENTRAL ASIA

By Roger McDermott

Wednesday, June 11, 2008

Russia’s plans to “reinforce” its airbase at Kant in the Kyrgyz Republic and further strengthen its 201st Motor Rifle Division (MRD) in Dushanbe, combined with other elements of boosting its defense cooperation with the Central Asian states, indicate evolving trends in the region’s security dynamics. The timing of such moves to raise Russia’s military profile in Central Asia, albeit through the use of minimal quantities of hardware, suggests that Moscow could be playing on concerns within these regimes about the outcome of the U.S. presidential elections, the future nature of American defense, and security cooperation on Russia’s southern periphery.

The earliest indication that the base at Kant might receive additional Russian reinforcements came from the head of the Russian Air Force (VVS) and was followed by wider political comment on its importance from within the CSTO. On June 4 Commander-in-Chief of the Russian Air Force Colonel-General Alexandr Zelin, announced plans to reinforce the base with more aircraft but was short on details. His statement centered on sending An-26 transport aircraft and three more Su-27 fighters to the base from the Krasnodar aviation school in Russia. On June 5 Secretary General of the CSTO Nikolai Bordyuzha suggested that the additional deployment of elements of the Russian Air Force to Kant could further establish Russia’s seriousness about strengthening the combat potential of the contingent based there, as well as give it greater importance. Kant, which opened in September 2003, has approximately 500 personnel. It is equipped with Russian Su-25, Su-27, An-24 and Il-76 aircraft, along with Mi-8 helicopters, and is supported by Czech-built L-39 training aircraft and helicopters, which Bishkek contributed for use in search and rescue operations (Kabar, June 4; ITAR-TASS, June 5).

Clearly, the additional deployment is not an attempt to build up forces or substantially alter the current structure of the base or achieve any meaningful increase in the combat capabilities of the CSTO airbase. It is, in fact, almost a token effort to increase the political significance Moscow attaches to the base. In order to define the nature of the trends in Russian security thinking on Central Asia, this must be evaluated in the context of Moscow’s wider efforts to “boost” its presence in neighboring Tajikistan, where there are signs of a similar pattern but with a little more flag waving. Bordyuzha himself made the linkage between these issues, commenting that “Russia deployed its 201st base in Tajikistan and the airbase at Kyrgyzstan’s Kant precisely for the purpose of giving greater security to the CSTO member countries in Central Asia.” Again, the “rearmament” of the base in Dushanbe, which had housed the 201st MRD prior to 9/11, serves largely as a way of providing emergency support for border forces on the Tajik-Afghan border and reveals a light-touch approach by the Russian military. It is equally noticeable, at a time of controversy and misunderstanding about the use of Russian armed forces in Abkhazia, that within Central Asia the style is less controversial and, in fact, is “low-key.” In the effort to strengthen the 201st base in Dushanbe, the delivery of Russian military hardware has been slowed down by delays caused in transiting the equipment through neighboring Uzbekistan. Bordyuzha believes these technical and logistical issues will soon be resolved, allowing the successful completion by the set deadline (ITAR-TASS, June 5).

Noteworthy was the recent visit to the region of Deputy U.S. Secretary of State on Eurasia David Merkel. He emphasized the continued importance of Central Asia to the United States, noting that when President George W. Bush announced the new national security strategy in 2006, Central Asia was designated as an area of permanent foreign policy interest for Washington. However, in an interview with Gazeta publishing house, Merkel explained, “We have many issues on the desk concerning Central Asia; they include diversification of global energy sources, combating terrorism, preserving security, ensuring sustainable development and promoting justice and democracy.” Democracy has slipped down the agenda, reflecting longer-term trends in the region and in Russia that the U.S. can do little to change (Gundogar, June 4).

Changes in how the West formulates policy toward Central Asia seem inevitable. On June 2 Uzbek President Islom Karimov welcomed U.S. Assistant Secretary of State for South and Central Asian Affairs Richard Boucher in Tashkent. Both sides are intensifying their efforts to heal the bilateral relationship, both countries’ agendas for bilateral cooperation are moving closer together. Karimov told Boucher, “Your visit to Uzbekistan will produce good results and will give a new impetus to strengthening relations between Uzbekistan and the United States. Indeed, your visit to Uzbekistan is a wonderful opportunity to discuss the current state of affairs in our relations and the level of our relations and to consider the issues that require discussing in terms of the interests of Uzbekistan and the U.S.” (Uzbek Television Second Channel, June 2).

When Russia “boosts” its military presence or offers additional security support in Central Asia, it does so after careful planning, consultation and through multilateral mechanisms, such as the CSTO, which supply an added sense of legitimacy for all parties. In reality, inside the planning staffs of the defense and security structures in Central Asian CSTO member states, there is little appetite for questioning Russia’s motives or attempting to misconstrue such actions. The relationship is reasonably stable and works in practical terms. Moscow does not need to set in motion any grand schemes in order to convince its Central Asian allies that it takes issues relating to their security and the security of Russia itself seriously. The slow, steady approach has essentially paid off, serving to build trust and dispel

RUSSIA “BOOSTS” MILITARY PRESENCE IN CENTRAL ASIA

[Shammu]

Lebanon forms unity government with Hezbollah
Fri Jul 11, 2008 12:03pm EDT

By Laila Bassam

BEIRUT (Reuters) - Lebanon ended weeks of wrangling on Friday and formed a unity government in which Hezbollah and its allies hold effective veto power, as agreed under a deal that ended a paralyzing political conflict in the country.

The decisive say granted to the former opposition led by Hezbollah, an ally of Damascus, shows that Syria has succeeded in wrenching back some political leverage in Lebanon, where it was the main power broker until its troops left in 2005.

The birth of the government, the first under newly elected President Michel Suleiman, should close a long political crisis that had threatened to plunge Lebanon into a new civil war.

But it also marks the start of a challenging new era in which leaders must contain rising sectarian tensions, prepare for a parliamentary election next year and start talks on the fate of Iranian- and Syrian-backed Hezbollah's military wing.

A presidential decree announced the cabinet after Suleiman, a Maronite Christian, met Prime Minister Fouad Siniora, a Sunni Muslim, and Parliament Speaker Nabih Berri, a Shi'ite Muslim.

"This government has two main tasks: regaining confidence in the Lebanese political system... and securing the holding of a transparent parliamentary election," Siniora told reporters.

The new team has one Hezbollah minister in addition to 10 ministers from its Shi'ite, Druze and Christian allies.

The opposition was guaranteed 11 of the cabinet's 30 seats under a May deal to defuse a conflict that had sparked some of the worst fighting since the 1975-90 civil war. All major decisions require a two-thirds majority or 20 cabinet votes.

The Qatari-brokered May 21 agreement opened the way for Suleiman's election four days later, but factional squabbling over portfolios had held up the formation of a government.

The majority coalition chose 16 ministers. Suleiman picked the remaining three, including Interior Minister Ziad Baroud.

Siniora's close adviser Mohammad Chatah takes the finance portfolio. Hezbollah's Mohammad Fneish becomes labor minister and Fawzi Salloukh, of the Shi'ite Amal group, foreign minister.

The cabinet's main task will be to ease sectarian and political tensions to avert further violence, adopt an election law agreed in the Qatar talks and supervise next year's poll.

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"Finally!" a 21-year-old Beirut man, who gave his name only as Ahmed, said of the new cabinet. "Hopefully it will be a real national unity government and they won't waste time fighting at the table and will sort out the problems of the Lebanese."

European Union foreign policy chief Javier Solana welcomed the formation of the new government which he said marked a "key achievement".

"Important decisions need to be taken in the coming weeks and there is a lot of work to be done," Solana said in a statement, reiterating the EU's support to Siniora.

Suleiman is due in Paris for Sunday's launch of French President Nicolas Sarkozy's Mediterranean Union project, his first foreign trip as president. He is expected to hold talks there with his Syrian counterpart Bashar al-Assad.

Assad's presence at the summit, which Israeli Prime Minister Ehud Olmert will also attend, marks French recognition of Syria's role in facilitating a compromise in Lebanon.

Damascus had given its blessing to the Doha deal, which effectively translated into political gains the military victory Hezbollah and its allies had won against their Western-backed foes in street fighting in Beirut and elsewhere earlier in May.

With the government in place, Suleiman is expected to call rival leaders for round-table talks on divisive issues, with the fate of Hezbollah's weapons foremost among them.

Hezbollah maintains a formidable guerrilla army that fought off Israeli forces in a 34-day war in 2006.

Its domestic detractors say Hezbollah has had no reason to keep its weapons since Israel pulled out of Lebanon in 2000. Hezbollah and its allies argue that it needs its arsenal to deter and defend Lebanon against possible Israeli attack.

Lebanon forms unity government with Hezbollah

[Shammu]

Lebanon announces unity cabinet to end political crisis

July 12, 2008 - 3:03AM

Lebanon announced a 30-member national unity government on Friday tasked with resolving the country's worst political crisis since a 1975-1990 civil war.

The lineup was announced in a decree signed by President Michel Sleiman and Prime Minister Fuad Siniora, seven weeks after an accord which saved Lebanon from the brink of renewed civil war.

The accord between Lebanon's political rivals sealed in Doha on May 21 allocated 16 cabinet seats to the Western-backed parliamentary majority and 11 to the opposition led by Hezbollah, giving it veto powers.

"The government of national unity is the government of all the Lebanese," Siniora told reporters at the presidential palace.

The opposition took the coveted posts of foreign minister, telecommunications minister and deputy premier in the new cabinet, while the ruling bloc kept the finance ministry.

The president, who himself only took office four days after the Doha accord, filling a post left vacant since November, made three appointments, including Elias Murr, who kept the defence portfolio despite opposition reservations.

He also appointed lawyer and electoral law expert Ziad Baroud to head the interior ministry which is responsible for organising legislative elections next year.

Finance Minister Mohammed Shatah, who was appointed by the ruling bloc, served as Siniora's senior advisor in the previous cabinet.

The government announced more than a year-and-a-half into Lebanon's political crisis includes one woman, Bahia Hariri, sister of slain former prime minister Rafiq Hariri. She is to head the education ministry.

Christian opposition leader Michel Aoun, whose party was not represented in the previous cabinet, took four cabinet posts plus the deputy premiership.

The Iranian- and Syrian-backed Shiite militant group Hezbollah was allocated three seats in the cabinet, with Mohammed Fneish of Hezbollah to serve as labour minister alongside two allies.

Siniora, who was appointed by Sleiman, said the new government would have two key tasks: "To restore confidence in political institutions and the Lebanese political system ... and to promote moderation."

"Our differences will not be resolved overnight, but we have decided to resolve them through institutions and dialogue rather than in the streets," said the prime minister, who first came to office in July 2005.

The cabinet's inaugural meeting is to take place on Wednesday.

The European Union's French presidency welcomed the breakthrough.

"The formation of a unity government marks an important step in the implementation of the Doha agreement" between the Lebanese parties in May, French Foreign Minister Bernard Kouchner said.

Iranian Foreign Minister Manouchehr Mottaki also welcomed the development, saying in Tehran he hoped it would result in the strengthening of national unity among Lebanese and bring internal stability to their country.

The breakthrough in forming a government which includes the Syrian-backed opposition came as Syria's President Bashar al-Assad prepared to join a Paris summit of European and Mediterranean leaders this weekend.

It follows a political crisis which broke out when Hezbollah, which Washington brands a terrorist group, and its allies stepped down from government in November 2006, shortly after a devastating Hezbollah-Israel war.

Parliamentary majority leader, Saad Hariri, said earlier on Friday that the breakthrough in weeks of efforts to form a new cabinet followed a concession to Hezbollah.

"I have asked Prime Minister Fuad Siniora to accept the nomination of Ali Qanso" in the lineup, he said, referring to a figure previously opposed by Hariri's camp. "We are making sacrifices in the interests of the country."

Siniora has struggled since the end of May to form a new government of national unity, under the Doha accord between rival factions following deadly sectarian clashes.

But the rivals were since locked in political bickering over the distribution of key portfolios.

The Doha deal was struck after 65 people were killed in May in sectarian clashes that saw Hezbollah stage a dramatic takeover of mainly Sunni areas of west Beirut, raising fears of a return to Lebanon's 15-year civil war.

The opposition had since its walkout from the government insisted on veto power and dismissed Siniora's last cabinet as illegitimate.

Siniora headed a caretaker administration after the Doha accord which in effect dismantled his last administration in the wake of Hezbollah's military show of force that was unopposed by the Lebanese army.

Lebanon announces unity cabinet to end political crisis