Putin: Terror Attacks Aimed at Bush

[onedomino]

Putin: Terror Attacks Aimed at Bush

http://hosted.ap.org/dynamic/stories/R/RUSSIA_US_ELECTION?SITE=DCTMS&SECTION=HOME

DUSHANBE, Tajikistan (AP) -- Russian President Vladimir Putin said Monday that terrorists are aiming to derail U.S. President George W. Bush's chances at re-election through their attacks in Iraq.
"I consider the activities of terrorists in Iraq are not as much aimed at coalition forces but more personally against President Bush," Putin said at a news conference after a regional summit in the Tajik capital, Dushanbe.
"International terrorism has as its goal to prevent the election of President Bush to a second term," he said. "If they achieve that goal, then that will give international terrorism a new impulse and extra power."
Still, Putin didn't say which candidate he favored in the Nov. 2 U.S. presidential election.
"We unconditionally respect any choice of the American people," he said. "I don't want to spoil relations with either candidate."
Putin also noted his continuing disagreement with Bush on Washington's invasion of Iraq, which Russia strongly opposed as a permanent member of the U.N. Security Council.
"Russia was always against the military operations in Iraq," he said.
Despite their differences, Bush and Putin have cooperated closely in the international war on terror, with Russia assenting to the deployment of U.S. forces in former Soviet Central Asia for operations in neighboring Afghanistan. In exchange, Washington has mostly looked the other way on Moscow's continuing war in breakaway Chechnya, which Russia alleges is being fueled by international terror groups.
On his last visit to Central Asia in June, Putin appeared to be backing Bush's assertion that Iraq was a threat, saying at a summit in Kazakhstan that Russia had notified Washington about intelligence that Saddam Hussein's regime was preparing attacks in the United States and its interests abroad.
No further details were given, and Putin also said then that the warning didn't change Moscow's opposition to the Iraq war.

 

[Zhukov]

President Putin would do well to re-evaluate his country's relationship with Iran if he's going to talk tough about terrorism.


Interestingly, Russia is one of the few foreign countries in which the President is favored over Senator Kerry.

 

[Mainframe]

cool avatar

 

[onedomino]

From the BBC and the Moscow Times, two additional views on this topic:

Putin's Iraq Comments Back Bush
By Jonathan Marcus
BBC diplomatic correspondent

http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/europe/3753382.stm

Russian President Vladimir Putin has said that attacks on US forces in Iraq are intended to cause maximum damage to President George W Bush.
He said groups of "international terrorists" in Iraq were aiming to prevent Mr Bush's re-election.
If they succeeded they would celebrate victory over the US, he went on. Mr Putin said Russia would respect the choice of the US people, but his remarks will be interpreted as a signal that he would prefer a Bush victory.
Mr Putin and Mr Bush tend to see the so-called war on terror in similarly stark terms.
The Bush administration's criticism of the Russian military's behavior in Chechnya, for example, has been more restrained since Russia became a key partner in the coalition against terror.
'Worst instincts'
But the Russian president has also probably been angered by criticism of Russia that has come from influential figures close to Mr Bush's rival, Democratic Senator John Kerry.
Last month, a group of more than 100 US and European foreign policy experts signed a letter to Western leaders that accused President Putin of undermining democracy in Russia and turning the country back towards authoritarian rule.
Senator Joseph Biden - one of the Democrats' principal foreign policy experts - was among those who signed.
And earlier this month, Richard Holbrooke, widely tipped as a possible Secretary of State if Mr Kerry wins the presidential race, wrote in the Financial Times newspaper of Mr Bush's "tepid reaction to the disturbing trends under Mr Putin's leadership" which, he said, "had reinforced the Russian president's worst instincts".
But if elected, how different would a Kerry administration's policy really be towards Moscow? It is hard to say. But Mr Putin, for one, does not appear eager to find out.
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Putin Calls a Bush Loss a Victory for Terrorists
By Simon Saradzhyan
Staff Writer

http://www.themoscowtimes.com/stories/2004/10/19/002.html

President Vladimir Putin on Monday made his strongest endorsement yet for his friend U.S. President George W. Bush, saying "international terrorism" will claim victory over the international antiterrorism coalition if Bush loses. "I believe that the activities of terrorists in Iraq are not as much aimed at the coalition as at President Bush personally," Putin said. "The goal of international terrorism is to prevent the election of President Bush to a second term."
"If they achieve that goal, then they will of course celebrate it as a victory ... over America and, to a certain extent, over the forces of the international antiterrorism coalition," Putin told reporters in the Tajik capital, Dushanbe, after a regional cooperation conference.
Putin, however, was quick to point out that his views on the U.S.-led war on Iraq continues to differ from those of Bush and that he will "respect any choice of the American people" for president.
Asked by a reporter whether Democratic challenger John Kerry's criticism of Bush over Iraq might be inspiring international terrorist networks, as Bush contends, Putin said only that the Kremlin is ready to work with whoever wins the Nov. 2 election.
Putin openly criticized the Democrats when he first voiced support for Bush's re-election on June 10. Speaking on the sidelines of a G8 summit in Sea Island, Georgia, Putin accused the Democrats of hypocrisy for criticizing the Bush administration's actions in Iraq by pointing out that it had been Bill Clinton's administration that authorized the 1999 bombing of Yugoslavia by U.S. and NATO forces.
Eight days later, Putin offered Bush more support by announcing that before the Iraq war started, Russian intelligence had passed over information indicating that Saddam Hussein was planning attacks on U.S. targets. Those comments left Bush administration officials scratching their heads, and some said they had never heard before about Russia sharing the information.
Political analysts expressed bewilderment over Putin's latest comments, saying his motives were unclear since his words would have little impact on U.S. voters. Voters started casting absentee ballots Monday.
"It is sort of bizarre [and] makes one wonder how well Putin and those around him understand U.S. politics," said Andrew Kuchins, director of the Carnegie Moscow Center.
Kuchins and Ivan Safranchuk, head of the Moscow office of the Washington-based Center for Defense Information, said Putin's words are highly unlikely to have any effect on the U.S. presidential campaign. Coverage of the remarks by state television also have no impact on U.S. voters and, if anything, only increase support for Bush among the Russian public, the two analysts said. More than half of all Russians hope that Bush wins re-election, according to a Sept. 3-10 survey commissioned by Moskovskiye Novosti. Safranchuk said Putin might realize how little sway he has over U.S. voters but is still expressing his support for Bush because he would rather deal with a White House that continues to keep concerns about the Kremlin's record on democracy and Chechnya on the back burner of the official U.S.-Russian agenda. Bush has warm relations with Putin and has kept U.S.-Russian relations focused on the global struggle against terror.
Kerry, however, might return to an agenda pursued by the Clinton administration that engaged Russia on issues of strategic arms reduction, nonproliferation and democracy, Safranchuk said.
Kuchins agreed. "The conventional wisdom is that a Democratic administration will be more critical of internal affairs, trends in democracy and the war in Chechnya," he said.
Kerry was much more vocal than Bush in his criticism of Russia during the presidential debate earlier this month.
Kerry said Putin's decision to scrap popular elections for governors and individual State Duma races as part of Russia's struggle against terrorism "goes beyond just the response to terror."
"Mr. Putin now controls all the television stations. His political opposition is being put in jail," Kerry said.
Despite any concerns Putin might have about a Bush loss, he should not have framed the outcome of the election as a possible "victory of the terrorist evil over good," Safranchuk said.
While Kerry would certainly not hold a grudge against Putin if he wins, key figures in his team might, he said. "They have filed away what Putin said and may remind [the Kremlin] about it," he said.
Still, a Kerry administration might actually do a lot of good for both Putin and Russia by helping Moscow play a more central role on the world stage, he said. Among other things, Kerry has said he intends to engage the international community when embarking on foreign policy initiatives and has criticized Bush for ignoring the UN and antagonizing Washington's traditional allies.

 

[theim]

Would anyone else find it hilarious if a day after Kerry is elected, a tape shows up on Al-Jazeera with Zarqawi cheering victory? Then Kerry would say something like: "I'm gonna show these guys they are going to fear me more than Bush. We are gonna bring out the big guns! <Dials Telephone number> Jaques Chirac? Let's (DUM DUM DUMMMMM) hold a summit!"

 

[onedomino]

President Putin would do well to re-evaluate his country's relationship with Iran if he's going to talk tough about terrorism.


Interestingly, Russia is one of the few foreign countries in which the President is favored over Senator Kerry.

Zhukov, if Kerry is elected, Putin will not have to worry about the Russian nuclear-financial relationship with the Islamic Terror Regime in Iran because the Euro-appeasers will be running the show.

 

[Zhukov]

Zhukov, if Kerry is elected, Putin will not have to worry about the Russian nuclear-financial relationship with the Islamic Terror Regime in Iran because the Euro-appeasers will be running the show.

Ain't that the scary truth.

My point is though, it's difficult for me to be impressed with Pres. Putin's post-Beslan pumped up rhetoric when we find out his country is constructing a nuclear reactor for the biggest pro-terrorist country in the world.

 

[NATO AIR]

Ain't that the scary truth.

My point is though, it's difficult for me to be impressed with Pres. Putin's post-Beslan pumped up rhetoric when we find out his country is constructing a nuclear reactor for the biggest pro-terrorist country in the world.

AMEN!

i find this all hilarious irony... remember kerry's "foreign leaders want me as prez?" comment? now we've got russia's putin, india's ruling party, japan's kozumi and britain's blair all but throwing their hat in the ring for bush.

i'm not sure whether to be pissed at their seeming interference in our politics or pleased they recognize the value the prez is to them..

 

[MJDuncan1982]

AMEN!

i find this all hilarious irony... remember kerry's "foreign leaders want me as prez?" comment? now we've got russia's putin, india's ruling party, japan's kozumi and britain's blair all but throwing their hat in the ring for bush.

i'm not sure whether to be pissed at their seeming interference in our politics or pleased they recognize the value the prez is to them..

Putin does not have much respect from me. He is slowly usurping the democratic powers in his country. Any "advice" he has on our election process can just stay in the Kremlin.