Central Asia/Russia


	September 13, 2001	atimes.com

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Osama bin Laden: Myths and reality
Washington has long wanted to get its hands on Osama bin Laden, whom they wanted on international terrorism charges even before Tuesday's attack on the United States. The Taliban government in Afghanistan, under whose wing bin Laden shelters, has refused to cooperate. Syed Saleem Shahzad writes that it will continue to do so, even in the face of a military attack by the US. (Sep 13)
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THE ROVING EYE
All no longer quiet on the Afghan front
It was quiet on the Taliban-Northern Alliance frontline when Pepe Escobar visited recently. Not any more. The forces of Ahmad Shah Masoud attacked Kabul this week in retaliation for the suicide assassination attempt on Masoud by radical Arab "Afghans". Ironically, writes Escobar, these Muslim extremists - Osama bin Laden among them - were encouraged by the US itself to go to Afghanistan to fight the Soviets. (Sep 13)
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Moscow fears Chechen link to bin Laden
Security around Chechnya has been beefed up in precaution against terrorism following Tuesday's attacks in the United States. Chechnya became the focus of the Kremlin's anti-terrorist furore when the government launched a massive military assault after the 1999 apartment-block bombings in Moscow. Chechen separatists were said to be behind those attacks, backed by the United States' most wanted man, Osama bin Laden. (Sep 13)
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NEWSLINE: Central Asia and Transcaucasia
Regional leaders react to US disaster; Kazakhstan to suspend fuel oil exports; Putin calls for US retaliation to attacks; Moscow urged to 'close' Kurils dispute ... (Sep 13)
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US courts Muslim backlash
United States retaliation against Osama bin Laden, the man widely believed to have masterminded the attacks on the United States, could have the reverse effect of stirring presently peaceful Muslims around the world to militancy, writes Syed Saleem Shahzad. (Sep 12)
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THE ROVING EYE
Masoud: From warrior to statesman
The fate of 48-year-old Ahmad Shah Masoud, leader of forces fighting the Taliban in Afghanistan, is unclear following a suicide bomb attack on him by two Arabs posing as journalists. Earlier, in an exclusive interview with Pepe Escobar in his Panjshir Valley base, Masoud recounted that according to astrologers he will live for another 40 years, in which time he will be able to stop Pakistan meddling in Afghanistan's affairs and rid it of the fundamentalist Taliban, at the same time uniting it into a tolerant Islamic state. (Sep 11)
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Moscow and Beijing cement their alliance
Military sales between Russia and China have developed steadily over the past years, with normal trade lagging far behind. The two countries are making concerted efforts to redress the situation, writes Sergei Blagov, to the extent that relations now border on a kind of informal alliance. (Sep 11)
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Comrade, can you spare a ruble?
The disparity between the rich and the poor is growing in Russia, and poverty is becoming a virtual epidemic. Adding to the mix are the "new poor" - workers who eke out a living on exceptionally low salaries - and migrating ethnic Russians, many of whom are preferred by employers because they have no papers, and thus no way to complain to authorities. To ease the situation, a new bill is being proposed to increase the minimum wage. (Sep 10)
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THE ROVING EYE
The Panjshir Valley summer show
Fresh from hunting for the giant reclining Buddha in Dushanbe, the capital of Tajikistan, wandering correspondent Pepe Escobar drops into the Panjshir Valley, heart of that part of Afghanistan not controlled by the Taliban and home to heartthrob leader Ahmad Shah Masoud. What he finds is a region of irresistible attraction to international lovers of war zones, a motley crew indeed. (Sep 7)
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Raising of Kursk causes contention
Many Russians are torn on the issue of whether the Kursk submarine should be raised. While maritime tradition holds that a dead sailor should be left to the sea, and the raising puts the lives of divers at risk, it would offer solace to some. For the victims who are not recovered, a funeral will still be held, but in the place of the body will be a capsule made from the metal of the submarine and filled with seawater. (Sep 5)
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Missionary Impossible: Azerbaijan tackles religion
A new committee has been set up to keep a close watch on religious organizations engaging in missionary activity in Azerbaijan. A crusade by Iran to export its own particular brand of Islam to Azerbaijan is seen as posing a threat to national statehood, as is the extent of Christian missionary activity. With the new body's power to ask a court of law to suspend the activities of any religious group it sees fit, the state's power over religion is growing. (Aug 27)
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THE ROVING EYE
Get Osama! Now! Or else ...
Roving correspondent Pepe Escobar, last heard from more than a month ago when he was stranded in Afghanistan, has resurfaced after travelling to the end of the world and back. In this first part of a series, we pick up his trail in Peshawar, where Osama bin Laden T-shirts are hot items among the locals, but which are unlikely to find many takers among the US commandos said to be out to get the "World hero of jihad". In coming installments, Escobar locates the Buddha of Dushanbe, interviews Ahmadshah Masoud, leader of Afghanistan's anti-Taliban alliance, and visits the frontline near Kabul, among other adventures. (Aug 29)
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No-go situation for NGO racism forum
Non-governmental organizations have failed to produce a concrete final declaration against racism after five days of talks in Durban, South Africa. Representatives for Azerbaijan, Russia and Tibet, among others, felt that their concerns were not addressed. The event was marred by contradictions, changes, delays and inefficiency. (Sep 3)
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Russian scientists see flying saucers
Russia's media is hailing the discovery by a group of Russian scientists of a source of virtually free electric energy found in previously unknown types of materials made from silicon. The technology could lead to the creation of engineless flying machines evocative of flying saucers. If the technology really exists, that is. With thousands of scientists leaving for the private sector, the media is desperately clinging to signs that Russia's great science has not been lost. (Aug 28)
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