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Politics : Foreign Affairs Discussion Group -- Ignore unavailable to you. Want to Upgrade?

To: LindyBill who wrote (58483)	11/23/2002 11:29:39 AM
From: Win Smith	Respond to of 281500

Uh huh. If they happen to read this thread regularly, for example, or from any number of other sources somehow gotten the not terribly well hidden idea that they're next for Perle and his war-early-war-often buddies, what have the Saudis got to lose?

To: LindyBill who wrote (58483)	11/23/2002 1:16:10 PM
From: Karen Lawrence	Respond to of 281500

Putin Questions U.S. Terror Allies By ELISABETH BUMILLER and PATRICK E. TYLER www.nytimes.com ST. PETERSBURG, Russia, Nov. 22 — President Vladimir V. Putin of Russia welcomed President Bush to his hometown today, then raised pointed questions about the reliability of two important American allies in the campaign against terrorism, Pakistan and Saudi Arabia. In remarks made at Mr. Bush's side in the majestic setting of Catherine Palace outside St. Petersburg, Mr. Putin also suggested that the disappearance of Osama bin Laden, the leader of Al Qaeda, was a major piece of unfinished business as the Bush administration focused its attention on a possible war in Iraq. The Russian leader cast strong doubt on America's choice of allies in the antiterror campaign. "We should not forget about those who finance terrorism," Mr. Putin said, adding bluntly that most of the 19 terrorists who committed the Sept. 11 attacks "are citizens of Saudi Arabia, and we should not forget about that." Then, turning to Pakistan, Mr. Putin abruptly said: "Now where has Osama bin Laden taken refuge? They say he is somewhere between Afghanistan and Pakistan." Mr. Putin said that while he supported Pakistan's president, Gen. Pervez Musharraf, he asked, "What can happen with armies armed with weapons that exist in Pakistan, including weapons of mass destruction?" He added, "We should not forget about this." American diplomats say that Mr. Putin has often expressed doubts about the trustworthiness of Pakistan as an ally, and has referred to the Pakistani military leadership in private conversations as "a junta with nukes." Senior administration officials appeared reluctant tonight to characterize Mr. Putin's comments. One official said Mr. Putin "expressed those kinds of concerns" during the meeting with Mr. Bush, and suggested that Mr. Putin was "talking about a broader problem." The official did not elaborate further, except to say, "that's his view and not ours." The Russian leader's remarks did not seem to be a direct criticism of American policy, nor did they appear to be a gratuitous needling of Mr. Bush. In fact, both men emphasized the positive developments in their countries' relations since they first met in June 2001. But in the context of what both described today as a strong, personal relationship that allowed them to be extremely frank with each other, Mr. Putin seemed compelled to speak out. Mr. Bush said their frankness was a product of their closeness. "Like other good friends I have had throughout my life, we don't agree 100 percent of the time, but we always agree to discuss things in a frank way," Mr. Bush said. But Mr. Bush, instead of responding to the Russian's questions, simply brought the news conference to a close, saying: "We've got a plane to catch. Don't keep us waiting." Earlier in the news conference, Mr. Bush declared significant progress in the campaign against terrorism with the capture of Abd Al-Rahim al-Nashiri, a senior Qaeda agent described as the chief of operations in the Persian Gulf region. "America and Russia and people who love freedom are one person safer as a result of us finding this guy," Mr. Bush said. Mr. Bush flew to this snow-covered capital of imperial Russia to report to Mr. Putin on the NATO summit meeting in Prague, which concluded today. Western diplomats said it was crucial for Mr. Bush to reward Russia's acquiescence in NATO's largest and most significant expansion along Russia's frontier. In fact, White House officials said, Mr. Bush's Russian stopover came at Mr. Putin's request — an indication that Mr. Putin needed the visit to calm domestic criticism over the expansion of NATO, the alliance created to contain the Soviet Union. Mr. Bush immediately agreed. "I have just come from NATO," Mr. Bush said. "My visit with Vladimir was my first stop after Prague. The mood of the NATO countries is this: Russia is our friend. We've got a lot of interests together; we must continue our cooperation in the war on terror; and the expansion of NATO should be welcomed by the Russian people." In contrast to the rancor with which Russia greeted NATO's first expansion in 1999, when Poland, Hungary and the Czech Republic were admitted, Mr. Putin expressed only a muted skepticism today.