Tuesday, April 28, 2009 Updated at 28 April 2009 0:38 Moscow Time.
Averting the Caucasus Jihad
27 April 2009By Gordon M. Hahn
Nuclear disarmament has emerged as the first issue to reset U.S.-Russian relations in 2009. Both sides have expressed a willingness to negotiate a new strategic arms reduction treaty to replace the START I treaty that is set to expire in December. Although this is one of the most urgent items on the agenda, it is not the most important.
For the foreseeable future, a nuclear attack by a rogue state or Islamic terrorist group will be the gravest threat to the United States, its allies and partners like Russia. Thus, nonproliferation and the war against the global jihad movement should be a top priority on the U.S.-Russia security agenda.
Russia is the only country besides Pakistan (and perhaps India) that has both a viable jihad movement and stockpiles of chemical, biological and nuclear materials and weapons. Russia's jihad movement is something the West should not ignore.
In November 2007, the "jihadization" of the Chechen and allied separatists in other regions of the Caucasus reached its climax. Doku Umarov, Chechnya's self-proclaimed "Emir of the Caucasus," declared a "Caucasus Emirate" stretching from the Caspian Sea to the Black Sea. Umarov's main goal is to liberate all Muslim lands on Russian territory. He has also pledged to fight a jihad against the United States, Britain and Israel.
Several thousand jihad terrorists concentrated in the North Caucasus have cooperated with global jihad movements like al-Qaida. Since the 2004 Beslan school massacre, the Caucasus jihadists have concentrated on killing members of the military, security and police as well as civilians in the North Caucasus, averaging several hundred attacks per year. Their operations in Ingushetia have intensifed over the past years, while operatives, affiliates and independent Islamist and jihadist franchises have also appeared in Tatarstan and Bashkortostan.
Caucasus-based jihadists have also been found fighting U.S. forces in Iraq and Afghanistan. In the future, they could target U.S. and allied interests in the Caucasus and Russia, including embassies, the Baku-Tbilisi-Ceyhan oil pipeline, NATO and U.S. supply routes to Afghanistan running from Latvia through Russia. It is therefore imperative that U.S.-Russian cooperation be strengthened against the proliferation of weapons of mass destruction and in the war against jihadism.
On the supply side, joint nonproliferation efforts in Russia must be strengthened to exclude even the possibility that jihadists in the Caucasus could obtain weapons of mass destruction. Increased funding for guaranteeing the safety and security of nuclear transport and for processing highly enriched uranium in Russia is also crucial.
In addition, the United States and Russia should team up to promote the establishment of an international nuclear fuel bank. This bank would keep nuclear power secure and help halt proliferation by preventing states from developing their own enrichment facilities.
On the demand side, the United States and Russia should step up cooperation in the war against jihadism on all fronts. A good first step from the U.S. side would be to include Umarov and his so-called Caucasus Emirate on the U.S. State Department's official list of terrorist organizations. This could help push Moscow to support the idea of returning U.S. air bases to former Soviet republics in Central Asia as part of the larger battle against the Taliban in Afghanistan.
Joint efforts in -intelligence gathering, police and anti-narcotics training, military maneuvers and eventually joint military operations should be pursued on the Central Asia-Afghanistan-Pakistan front and along the Iraq-Azerbaijan-North Caucasus corridor where both sides have an interest in eliminating the jihadi threat. A joint NATO-Collective Security Treaty Organization center for the study of jihadism, terrorism and counterinsurgency operations could also be useful.
The development of a robust U.S.-Russian security agenda is an imperative for international security and the security of both countries and their allies. With the arrival of new leaders in Washington and Moscow, it is time to strengthen and broaden this agenda.
Gordon M. Hahn is visiting assistant professor at the Graduate School of International Policy Studies, Monterey Institute of International Studies.
Acknowledgement: All available information and documents in "Justice For North Caucasus Group" is provided for the "fair use". There should be no intention for ill-usage of any sort of any published item for commercial purposes and in any way or form. JFNC is a nonprofit group and has no intentions for the distribution of information for commercial or advantageous gain. At the same time consideration is ascertained that all different visions, beliefs, presentations and opinions will be presented to visitors and readers of all message boards of this site. Providing, furnishing, posting and publishing the information of all sources is considered a right to freedom of opinion, speech, expression, and information while at the same time does not necessarily reflect, represent, constitute, or comprise the stand or the opinion of this group. If you have any concerns contact us directly at:
eagle@JusticeForNorthCaucasus.com
