Silicon Investor (SI) -- The First Internet Community

STOCKTALK

We've detected that you're using an ad content blocking browser plug-in or feature. Ads provide a critical source of revenue to the continued operation of Silicon Investor. We ask that you disable ad blocking while on Silicon Investor in the best interests of our community. If you are not using an ad blocker but are still receiving this message, make sure your browser's tracking protection is set to the 'standard' level.

Pastimes : Kosovo -- Ignore unavailable to you. Want to Upgrade?

To: Neocon who wrote (13967)	8/9/1999 10:47:00 AM
From: John Lacelle	Read Replies (1) \| Respond to of 17770

Neocon, I think old KFOR has its work cut out for them. I watched news footage of the battle at the bridge. The level of hate there is so great that I don't believe there will ever be peace as long as Serbs and Albanians share the same streets. Oh well. I predicted this. I might as well do my victory tour...........woo hoo! I was right. Clinton was wrong. What else is new? -John

To: Neocon who wrote (13967)	8/9/1999 10:49:00 PM
From: goldsnow	Read Replies (1) \| Respond to of 17770

Russia's fragile borders Thousands of civilians and troops died in the 1994-1996 Chechen war By BBC News Online's Kate Goldberg Russia's bloody war with Chechnya ended three years ago, but violence continues to spill over its borders, threatening an already volatile region. Author Dilip Hiro says frontier between Chechnya and Dagestan is not well-defined Last week the Russian Interior Ministry released a gruesome film apparently showing Chechen rebels torturing Russian and foreign hostages. In one scene an American missionary is seen being held down while a finger from his right hand is cut off. In another a Russian man has his head cut off with a long, sharp knife. In a country where kidnappings have become an almost daily occurrence, power appears to have fallen to warlords who are fighting for a unified Islamic state in the North Caucasus. Chechnya is nominally still part of Russia, pending final talks on its status. But in reality, lawlessness is rife, and seems to be beyond the control of either the Russian or Chechen governments. Russia hits back With its economy devastated by the war, and the region awash with military hardware and well-trained fighters, Chechens have resorted to cross-border raids. Chechnya's President Maskhadov has been the target of assassination attempts Moscow's decision to crack down on the militants now could be interpreted as a political move, designed to deflect attention from problems at home. But as attacks against Russian targets in Dagestan have increased in recent weeks, so too have calls for tough action. Russian officials accuse Chechen warlords of giving armed support to radical Islamists in a bid to overthrow Dagestan's pro-Moscow administration of Magomedali Magomedov. On Saturday, the Deputy Director of the Congress of Muslims in Dagestan and Chechnya, Movladi Udugov, warned that the situation in the region was becoming increasingly unstable and "may explode at any moment". Alexander Lebed, the former Russian general who negotiated the end of the Chechen war, urged the authorities to send troops to quell the unrest. He also warned that if matters are not resolved imminently, the Kremlin could declare a state of emergency. This could have political repercussions in Moscow, and threaten December's parliamentary elections, in which President Yeltsin is vying with his rivals for control of the country's legislature. news.bbc.co.uk

To: Neocon who wrote (13967)	8/13/1999 6:33:00 PM
From: goldsnow	Read Replies (1) \| Respond to of 17770

Chronology Of Russian Involvement In North Caucasus Russia is facing the most serious challenge to its authority in the North Caucasus region since its ill-fated 1994-96 bid to crush rebel guerrillas in Chechnya. Moscow has sent troops to Dagestan, which borders Chechnya, to combat an armed Islamic revolt it says is being supported by Chechen warlords. Here is a brief history of Russia's involvement in the North Caucasus region, which borders the oil-rich Caspian Sea and the former Soviet republics of Azerbaijan and Georgia. 1722 - Peter the Great annexes Caspian Sea regions of Dagestan at the start of a 150-year military campaign to absorb the largely Moslem North Caucasus region into the Russian Empire. Russia starts settling armed Cossack volunteers there. Mid-19th century - The legendary Shamil uses Islam to weld mountain tribes of Dagestan and Chechnya into a formidable fighting force. His ambition is to create a theocratic, Islamic state, but he is eventually defeated by Russia's superior numbers and technology. He lives out his days as the honored guest of his former foes in the imperial capital St Petersburg and other Russian cities. 1917 - Russian revolution brings Communists to power and ensuing civil war cements their hold over vast, multi-ethnic nation now known as the Soviet Union. Islam and a traditional clan system remain strong among peoples of the North Caucasus despite persecution from the atheistic regime in Moscow. 1943 - With Nazi German troops camped near regional capital Grozny, Chechen separatists rebel against Soviet rule. 1944 - Soviet dictator Josef Stalin takes his revenge by deporting the entire Chechen people and their ethnic cousins and neighbors, the Ingushi, to Central Asia. Tens of thousands die. 1957 - Soviet leader Nikita Khrushchev allows the Chechens back to the Caucasus, setting up the Checheno-Ingush republic. Oct 1991 - Following the overthrow of local communist ruler Doku Zavgayev, Soviet air force general Dzhokhar Dudayev wins a disputed local poll and declares Chechnya independent. Russia rejects any talk of independence but takes no action against Dudayev and allows him to run Chechnya. Dec 1994 - President Boris Yeltsin sends troops to Chechnya to crush the independence movement, but they meet strong resistance from guerrilla fighters and suffer heavy casualties. Feb 1995 - Separatists abandon capital Grozny, reduced to ruins by artillery and rocket attacks over a month of fighting. June 1995 - Rebels seize hundreds of hostages in the Russian town Budennovsk. Over 100 people die. Peace talks open, Russia orders a halt to military operations, but the conflict goes on. Jan 1996 - Fighters seize hostages in neighboring Dagestan, then move to the village of Pervomaiskoye just outside Chechnya. Most rebels escape, but many are killed. Feb 1996 - Yeltsin says the Chechnya campaign was "maybe one of our mistakes" but rules out withdrawal of Russian forces. April 1996 - Dudayev is killed in a rocket attack and replaced by vice-president Zelimkhan Yandarbiyev. May 1996 - Yeltsin and Yandarbiyev agree a truce at talks in Moscow. It holds until the presidential poll which Yeltsin wins some six weeks later. Yeltsin visits Russian troops in Grozny. Aug 1996 - Rebels seize Grozny. Yeltsin gives national security adviser Alexander Lebed powers to resolve the crisis. Lebed signs a truce on August 31 providing for a Russian pullout and deferring the issue of Chechen sovereignty for five years. Sept 1996 - Russia starts withdrawing its soldiers. Oct 1996 - Aslan Maskhadov, former rebel chief-of-staff, is named prime minister of an interim government. His platform includes independence and some elements of Islamic sharia law. Dec 1996 - Six foreign Red Cross workers are murdered in Chechnya, casting a shadow over the election campaign. Jan 1997 - Last Russian troops leave. Thirteen candidates run for president on January 27 and Maskhadov is elected with almost 65 percent of the vote. Jan 1997 - Unidentified kidnappers seize two Russian journalists in Chechnya, first in a long series of abductions for ransom money which fuel tensions with Moscow and effectively block the reconstruction of the shattered economy. March 1997 - Russia's Parliament approves amnesty for most Chechen rebel fighters. May 12 1997 - Yeltsin and Maskhadov sign peace accord but Chechnya's final status still unresolved. Moscow says Chechnya must stay part of Russian Federation, albeit with wide autonomy. May 1998 - Gunmen briefly seize main government building in Dagestani capital Makhachkala, underlining political tensions in wider North Caucasus region beyond Chechnya. August 1998 - Dagestan's top Moslem cleric, his brother and a driver killed in bomb attack. September 1998 - Chechen warlords demand the resignation of President Maskhadov, saying he is too conciliatory towards Moscow. Maskhadov also under pressure from Russia, which says he is failing to combat organized criminal gangs, whose frequent kidnappings have turned Chechnya into no-go zone for outsiders. March 1999 - Maskhadov narrowly escapes assassination attempt. In unrelated incident, more than 50 die in a bomb blast in Vladikavkaz, capital of North Ossetia which borders Chechnya. July 1999 - Russian troops clash with Chechen fighters near Chechnya's border with Dagestan. Aug 7 1999 - Russian helicopters pound positions held by Islamic militants in Dagestan said to have come from Chechnya. Moscow vows firm action to dislodge intruders but says it does not seek resumption of full-scale war with breakaway Chechnya. Aug 8 1999 - Prime Minister Sergei Stepashin, a longstanding hawk on Chechnya, travels to Dagestan to supervise Russian counter-offensive. Aug 9 1999 – Yeltsin sacks Stepashin and replaces him with Vladimir Putin, a strong personality who vows action on the Dagestani front. Aug 10 1999 – Islamic militants declare Dagestan's independence from the Russian Federation. ((c) 1999 Reuters)