From: MSN NicknameEagle_wng (Original Message) Sent: 1/31/2007 11:39 AM
Off Target
Publication time: 30 January 2007, 18:11
Russia's prickly assertiveness could prove counter-productive.
Even for bodies as clumsy and vindictive as Russia's various intelligence organisations, the use of the photograph of a dissident exile, murdered a week earlier, to train special forces in target practice seems extraordinary. Yet, as a Russian newspaper has just revealed, when the head of the upper house of parliament was shown round a military training camp on November 7, the target face that appeared on the shooting range was that of Alexander Litvinenko. Six days earlier he had been given a lethal dose in London of polonium-210. So much for Russia's indignant denials that the defecting former spy was a "nobody", of no consequence inside Russia. To those training to become killers, he was someone - he was a target.
The inquiry into the murder of this British citizen has hit a brick wall. British police have been careful to say little publicly about the obstacles and obfuscation that have sabotaged their attempts to pursue leads in Moscow. But their frustration is all too evident. So too is the conclusion that the killer failed to anticipate that a radioactive poison would leave a trail so precise that police have been able to pinpoint how and when the various attempts to murder Litvinenko were carried out. Since there is no extradition treaty between Britain and Russia, however, and since the Kremlin has seized on the inquiry to turn the tables on the British in its unrelenting quest for the extradition of Boris Berezovsky and other exiles wanted in Moscow, there now seems little chance of bringing a legal case. That leaves the main suspect, the businessman and former KGB agent Andrei Lugovoy, free to denounce press speculation over his "radioactive fingerprints" as "lies, provocation and government propaganda".
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The Litvinenko affair, however, has proved disastrous for the Kremlin. Not only has it made headlines across Europe, and deeply embarrassed President Putin. It has also added to the image of Russia as a "gangster state" at the very time when Western politicians have become seriously alarmed at its authoritarian Government, its new assertiveness abroad and the West's dependence on this prickly partner for vital energy needs. The issues were much discussed in Davos last week, and Aleksandr Medvedev, deputy head of the state-owned Gazprom, was challenged to explain the hold this energy giant had over Russian state policy - and vice versa. Defensively, all he could say was that his company had "nothing to hide".
Too much should not be made of Russia's new strategic weapon, however. Russia still needs Western cash and expertise to develop its huge reserves. And every time Russia quarrels with its neighbours and causes a hiccup in gas supplies to Western Europe, the Europeans - and other neighbours, such as Japan - are jolted into more serious action to diversify energy supplies. Nor should Russia think that oil and gas will remain overpriced for ever. The higher the cost of crude oil, the more attractive become alternative energy sources and the greater the sums invested in research. Russia's assertiveness is a reaction to the loss of empire and perceived humiliation. Mr Putin embodies the new mood - and may well return to office in the future. Europe has to learn how best to live with its awkward neighbour, and the awkward neighbour should refrain from trashing the neighbourhood.
Source: TimesOnline
http://www.kavkazcenter.com/eng/content/2007/01/30/7320.shtml
