But the russian officials, who leaked the quote wanted Bandar to understand how they understood him.

Posted by: Peter Hofmann | Dec 30 2013 11:27 utc | 3

Currently the U.S. and the Romanian government are negotiating the deployment about 3 thousand representatives of the terrorist organization “Mojahedin-e Khalq” (MEK) on the territory of Romania. http://iran-interlink.org/wordpress/?p=4406
with terrorists bombing russia, US moves more into the region?

Posted by: brian | Dec 30 2013 12:07 utc | 5

Phil Greaves @PhilGreaves01 2h
The fascist “liberals” that denounce @WikiLeaksParty for showing solidarity with the Syrian people’s representative are the plebs of Empire.
Phil Greaves @PhilGreaves01 2h
Predictably, Orientalist “liberals” are berating @WikiLeaksParty for showing solidarity with the representative of millions of Syrians.
Phil Greaves @PhilGreaves01 2h
@antloewenstein & adding caveat “along with many rebels” is a cowardly attempt to sit on the fence. (3rd way opportunism). @WikiLeaksParty
Phil Greaves @PhilGreaves01 2h
@antloewenstein “Sad” to see so-called “leftists” tow the demonisation line like the last 20 years of western agitprop passed them by.
Phil Greaves ‏@PhilGreaves01 2h
@antloewenstein So the majority of Syrians that support their govt should follow your advice? Why do you know better? WikiLeaksParty
(limits of Loewenstein)
Phil Greaves ‏@PhilGreaves01 4h
Wikileaks Party delegation with President Assad: & reasons why they chose to show solidarity: http://www.wikileaksparty.org.au/notes-from-damascus/ … pic.twitter.com/D9NGxLnKdZ

Posted by: brian | Dec 30 2013 13:04 utc | 7

must read on Volgograd
http://voiceofrussia.com/2013_12_30/Two-deadly-blasts-hit-Russias-Volgograd-this-time-explosion-in-trolleybus-LIVE-UPDATES-2516/

Posted by: brian | Dec 30 2013 13:27 utc | 9

A couple of things strike me about the way Bernhard has expressed himself in the post. First, there is an increased willingness to hold Bandar (ie the KSA) directly responsible for what all the various Chechen etc Mujahidin get up to (and by the way, I think it’s worth trying to keep track of the proportion of suicide vs non-suicide attacks, because recruiting suicides is a whole nightmare dimension in itself); the other thing is, the dimension within which Russian retaliation could take place. By ‘dimension’ in each case I mean mode of operation: military, paramilitary, financial, diplomatic, all sorts of possible mixes. Bernhard sensibly doesn’t speculate on this. My first response is to try to put this within its global context. There are two levels of deniability superimposed in whatever Bandar’s irregulars do: first, the internal deniability of the KSA vis-a-vis these irregulars, and second, the deniability of the US (and in particular the CIA) vis-a-vis whatever KSA does. KSA on at least one occasion (though it was 17 years ago) used AQ to attack a US target within KSA itself, then blame Iran for it: I’m talking about the 1996 Khobar Towers bombing. I can remember when this was a dog-whistle for US Islamophobes comparable to the 1983 Beirut barracks bombing and certainly bigger than the 2012 Benghazi attack. By ‘dog whistle’ I mean that these events are played up to enormous symbolic and mass-psychological proportions by US media, and act as pivots for subsequent US foreign policy swerves.
My reading of the global situation is that AQ is now being managed by Bandar in Saudi on the basis of a somewhat unstable compromise, according to which the US increasingly openly but never quite formally or officially holds Saudi responsible for 9/11, while Saudi for its part never quite retorts that whatever it did in support of the 9/11 attack was in any case done under CIA instructions. This unstable compromise is the best the US, in the last days of its supposed global hegemony, can come up with, and its clients have to support it as best they can, even when as now they are asked to accept responsibility for 9/11 so as to save the US from its own truth. So in sum, we have these two levels of deniability, within which a great deal of mayhem can occur and Russia’s ultimate recourse would be to blow the whistle on the entire foundational fraud of 9/11, but I don’t think they will ever do that, because Putin in particular (and doubtless he is representative of the Russian grand bourgeoisie in general) has a notion of the necessary solidarity of ‘great powers’ which is quite delusory but which he (or they) could never abandon without becoming revolutionary anti-capitalists, which obviously cannot happen; the bourgeoisie as such will never transform itself into its own antithesis. And that’s the weakness Bandar & Co can exploit: the delusory solidarity of ‘great powers’ on which Putin & Co are hooked.

Posted by: Rowan Berkeley | Dec 30 2013 13:36 utc | 11

Anglo-Saudi axis of terror behind Volgograd bombings. Message to Russia regarding Syria, Iran etc. Londoninstan long harbored Islamic terror networks over official Russian protests. Brit media pumped Chechen terrorists over official Russian protests. Saudis #1 terror state in the world. Wahhabi ideology brainwashes desperate youth turning them into zombies.

Posted by: revenire | Dec 30 2013 14:05 utc | 13

The reason the US is on the side of evil (KSA) is Israel. The absolute co-opting of our foreign policy as subservient to Israel’s is the real issue here.

Posted by: evm | Dec 30 2013 14:54 utc | 15

Khodorkovsky crowd seeks political capital out of Volgograd bombing #shameful
Khodorkovsky Center ‏@mbk_center 12m
Putin’s response to back-to-back #Volgograd bombings has been indifferent, but a slow fuse is burning. – @Bershidsky http://ow.ly/s98Sw

Posted by: brian | Dec 30 2013 15:05 utc | 17

Thanks to RB @ 11 for an interesting speculation. The two very recent “terrorist attacks” in Russia certainly invite such speculation, but, of course, it is highly unlikely that we will be lucky enough to obtain solid evidence regarding the hidden hands behind those attacks. Even in the case of Graham Fuller and the Tsarnaevs it’s not clear (to me) whether there was an unexpected initiative by Fuller’s wards in Boston, or if they were merely manipulated and framed by other more mature and cynical operatives.
I suppose that the principle danger sites like MOA present to the powerful is the slim possibility that the speculation, reasoning, and evidence they present might enter into mainstream thought and reporting.
Here is a useful link which might serve in the effort to redeem this somewhat fulsome post, especially if someone takes the time and trouble to give some background on the site linked to. To me it is useful, but somewhat “fishy” in that the curator writes in such a way as to seem to be “on both sides”.
That, however, may only be my take on his postings.

Posted by: Hannah K. O’Luthon | Dec 30 2013 15:28 utc | 19

Hannah, I’m quite sure they were framed. They were, as the jargon has it, ‘patsies’. There are a welter of reasons for believing this, and I’m not thinking of trick photography, montage, video interpretation, video interpolation, or whatever they call it now, because I’m well aware that video evidence is the ultimate wilderness of mirrors. The welter of evidence I’m thinking of is uniformly negative, obviously: positive evidence would be a smoking gun, to return again to the jargon, and that is the one thing that the professional covert agencies are fully competent at not providing. But negative evidence can be conclusive, compelling, and really obvious to those not blinded by conditioned refusal to see, in the sense in which we say “I see” when in fact what we mean is we understand. This sort of seeing is actually more reliable than seeing visually, because the visual sense is utterly uncritical, a fact which TV exploits systematically, as when we say so idiotically that seeing is believing or even worse that the camera never lies. In fact, visual evidence is the easiest sort to fake.
Anyway the negative evidence that is cumulatively strong enough to be conclusive and compelling can be grouped as follows: (1) self-contradictory testimonies all simultaneously adopted by the govt case, comparable to saying, your kettle already had a hole in it when I borrowed it, but actually it didn’t have a hole when I returned it, and anyway, I never borrowed it from you in the first place. (b) liquidation of both suspects and witnesses without independently plausible reason. (c) implausible confessions, direct or indirect, by suspects now dead, attempting to give body to supposed motives that are themselves nonsensical. (d) closed govt court to try or to hear crucial evidence regarding surviving suspects, attempting to minimise damage caused by the fact that damn suspects did not die when required by plot to do so. (e) drill paralleling supposed plot, causes large numbers of professionals to be on the spot and fully briefed up, not to mention equipped with ‘dummy’ charges for training exercise, diversion, substitution of real explosive charge, you get the picture.

Posted by: Rowan Berkeley | Dec 30 2013 16:09 utc | 21

11) Well, who paid for the attacks? No secret service can control what people are doing, but they can pay for certain acts. Any secret service can pay certain actors who depend on money for their cause. Or just for themselves.
The use of widows for suicide attacks culturally is on a par with burning them.
Quite likely spoiling the Sotchi olympics is a political act intended to make Russians lose their preference for empire and not a devilish Saudi plan. Umarov is in it for independence. Sure other actors can threaten to support him – or not, trying to get leverage over Russia. The support might not even be politically motivated – just sentimental (Islamic solidarity) As I remember Irish people in the US had a tendency to fund the IRA – that was not official US policy.

Posted by: somebody | Dec 30 2013 17:53 utc | 23

24) We do not really know what Bandar and Putin talked about. We just have rumour and spin.
This here is a different spin – just as if not even more likely

The Russians were approached by the Egyptians in October 2013 to supply SS-25 ballistic missiles a range of 3,2,00 km (2,000 miles) and capable of reaching Iran.
It is, apparently, the Saudis who encouraged Egypt to bid for Russian armaments rather than from its traditional arms supplier the US.
The powerful Prince Bandar bin Sultan had previously discussed arms supplies with Russian President Vladimir Putin. Building such a new relationship would be a blow to US policy.
The Saudis in particular, and the Arabs in general, have three views when talking about Russia.
First, despite the fact that the Russians are seen protecting the Syrian regime with total support through thick and thin, this is paradoxically seen as a loyalty value which is rarely reflected in US policy.
Second, the Russians do not mind supporting authoritarian regimes which suits the Arabs.
Third, the Russian culture is seen as closer to that of the Middle East, and is consequently more understanding. Although the Arabs are close to the US, they have often whispered critically about US policy being unclear, unintelligible and failing most of the time in the Middle Eastern region.
Israel’s Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu visited Moscow on November 20 to lobby against the Iran deal. Israel has the same views as the Saudis on Egypt, Syria and Iran.
Russia would like a return to the Middle East. Today it only has one window – Syria – but it could easily open several doors.
Mr Putin is aiming to create an anti-American front to recover Russia’s international stature. We may witness several deals and agreements in the very near future between Russia and Egypt, sponsored by Saudi Arabia.
Moscow is likely to seize the opportunity to demonstrate it is the new strong player in the region.

Add to that the recent French Lebanon Saudi arms deal – and you get a pattern that makes sense. Saudi are hedging their patrons.

Posted by: somebody | Dec 30 2013 18:47 utc | 25

I don’t know whether it was the Saudis who sponsored the Volgograd attacks. If so, it was very foolish, unless well prepared.
A good proportion of the Saudi princes (the only people who count in Saudi) are scared of an active foreign policy. Their comfortable lives will be threatened. They will have to have been convinced that an existential threat exists. Even so Volgograd doesn’t sound like an existential threat. Revolts are to be expected.

Posted by: alexno | Dec 30 2013 19:57 utc | 27

recently released: whoredovsky and 2 pussies.
now the 2 bombings.
coincidence?

Posted by: pluto | Dec 30 2013 20:04 utc | 29

@somebody, #25: you do pick the strangest sources. Let’s look at the bio of the man who wrote the article you are quoting (which seems to imply right at the start that Saudi expect Egypt to fire Russian missiles at Iran!):

Dr Samir Nassif is Professor of Management and teaches leadership at the Executive and Master level. He has a special passion for geopolitics, and has taught courses on the ‘Middle East crisis’ over the last 25 years. Dr Nassif is a former Provost and Dean of the American-European University in Monaco (1993 – 2001), and President of the Centre for Research and Development in Monaco (1996 – 2000). He has directed more than 100 theses and chaired panels for 200 theses. Dr Nassif had some 20 years experience as a general manager in the field of large construction projects prior to joining academia. He has worked in the United Kingdom, France, Saudi Arabia, Lebanon, and Monaco and has benefited from exposure to a broad international culture. After completing his engineering studies at the St Joseph University – Ecole Centrale de Lyon, Dr Nassif took a Master of Science at the American University of Beirut before awarded his PhD at the University of Salford in the UK. Dr Nassif joined the International Coach Federation (ICF) in 2003 and earned a Professional Certified Coach (PCC) credential. He is a graduate of the International Coach Academy (ICA). His field of expertise is training and coaching executives and leaders. On a personal level, Dr Nassif actively participates in social organisations including the Knights of the Holy Sepulchre, a committee of bioethics, the Board of Administration of the Scouts of Monaco, the Christian Leaders and Entrepreneurs, and has been President of Radio Maria France for five years.

This is not the kind of man I’d gladly go to bed with, personally.
😉

Posted by: Rowan Berkeley | Dec 30 2013 20:31 utc | 31

We also have this guy – his threat was very public in July and we know about it.
Or if you prefer Voice of Russia – they report the same guy and his threat
In 2012 this guy – Umarov – held a conference in NATO Turkey.

May 2012 was probably thought of as an exceptional month as the North Caucasian jihadists planned an event that would illuminate the unity of the Muslims in the North Caucasus. On May 13, 2012, a seminar took place in Istanbul that changed its title several times over the past several weeks. Information about plans to hold an international conference at the University of the Fatih district in Istanbul first appeared on the Internet. The Fatih district is known to be the home to various Muslim organizations and committees that help the North Caucasians in their struggle against Russia. The event was dubbed the “Conference of Caucasian Diasporas,” but on its first day, the event was renamed the “Caucasian Congress” (http://nohchipress.info/?p=6319). Turkish organization Imkander, which positions itself as a humanitarian and human rights-oriented institution, assisted in the preparations for the conference (www.imkander.org.tr/).
In fact, the title “Conference of Caucasus Diasporas” would have been the most appropriate option since the event’s participants were made up of Caucasus Emirate supporters. There were far fewer than the stated “450 delegates” present at the conference; counting women and children who came to the conference, as the jihadi websites did, was misleading. Yet, the importance of this event did not depend on how many people attended. Even if there had been only a couple dozen participants, it would still have been noteworthy since it was the first conference of its kind to be organized by the Caucasus Emirate and held abroad. The conference was designed to show the unified support of the Caucasus diasporas for the Caucasus Emirate and recognize its leader, Doku Umarov, as the only legitimate authority in the North Caucasus. All of the speakers at the conference expressed support for the Caucasus Emirate and its leader.

Above sympathetic reporting by the Jamestown foundation. Turkey is the logical place – most of the Caucasian Diaspora live there. US interest in anything that could destabilize Russia is logical also. Saudi Arabia has no reason to be there except giving the US a helping hand.

Posted by: somebody | Dec 30 2013 20:41 utc | 33

Was http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/TWA_Flight_800
A pre-olympic attack?

Posted by: cloned_poster | Dec 30 2013 21:04 utc | 35

36) That is true in theory. In practice, history – ok colonial history – has mixed people. So any ethnic fight means driving neighbours out of their homes (best case), killing them if they do not want to leave (worst case), or splitting families as people have mixed everywhere. There is no going back in history without new injustice. The only possible fight is for equal rights for everyone and for the preservation of cultural identity – though the last one is a difficult one, as obviously cultures keep naturally adapting and changing.
In practice, also, Xingjang would not be economically viable on its own. So there would be no real advantage for their citizens. I don’t know anyone who profited from the split up of Yougoslavia except the politicians who suddenly had a lot more job chances to be president.
Same applies to Caucasus. To fight for ethnic independence in a completely mixed region is the recipe for desaster for everyone.

Posted by: somebody | Dec 30 2013 21:45 utc | 37

@ Alexno
I support every anti-colonialist movement there is in the world, but the Uighur’s attempt to create an independent “East Turkistan” is not one of them.
Firstly the province of Xingjang has been ruled by China going back 2,000 years to the Han Dynasty, sometimes it was broken off from China (like when China split into 10 Kingdoms around the year 900-960) Or when the Mongol Empire seized the area for a few hundred years, but apart from that it has pretty much always been part of China these last 2,000 years. The only time in the regions history when “East Turkistan” existed as a state was in the 1820’s and then it only lasted a 2 or 3 years.
Secondly the Uighur’s are only 45% of the population of Xingjang and many of those Uighur’s don’t support this independence movement. This says nothing for the 40% of the population that’s Han Chinese or the remaining 15% thats Mongol or Kazakh.
The claim of colonialism in the province is just something used to weaken China. China has gone to great effort to give the Uighur population rights that other Chinese don’t even have (the one child policy for instance didn’t apply to Uighur’s), economic development in Xingjang outpaced most other provinces due to investment, and practicing Islam is open, while Christianity in most of China is basically underground.
Xingjangs main problem is that it has a massive border that can’t be monitored. With a close proximity to Afghanistan and several other of the ‘Stans, all with a heavy jihadist trend making it vulnerable to penetration.

Posted by: Colm O’ Toole | Dec 30 2013 23:13 utc | 39

@ Headache
That was the best piece on the bombings I’ve read yet. Definately a necessary read. However cause of the blogspot system they might need to get onto the page via a google search for The Vineyard Saker rather than the link which changes country to country.

Posted by: Colm O’ Toole | Dec 30 2013 23:50 utc | 41

@40
Yes, that’s the best response on the net so far. Highly recommended for others.
http://vineyardsaker.blogspot.com/2013/12/double-bombing-in-volgograd-first.html

Posted by: bingerlot | Dec 31 2013 0:17 utc | 43

making headlines:
ABC will cover this story tonight
http://m.theaustralian.com.au/national-affairs/policy/wikileaks-party-team-meets-bashar-alassad/story-fn59nm2j-1226792223568

Posted by: brian | Dec 31 2013 0:31 utc | 45

There is a simple and effective solution.
A) Tell them (in Dagestan) that each time a terror attack happens, the complete family of the terrorists will be beaten to death, incl. women, children (12+. Younger children will be put in state custody).
Also tell the zaudis that after each terror attack 3 of their princes will be captured and beaten to death and one state/kingdom building exploded.
B) To make them understand how serious you are, go ahead and kill the families of 5 former (and now dead) terrorists and 15 zaudi princes.
C) Dry their environment and particularly their support. Make it known that everyone giving information on the terrorists will get a nice sum of money – and – that everyone supporting them, no matter how, and be it just selling them bread, will have both arms broken; those providing more profound help like offering rooms/houses, arranging for weapons or transportation, will get both arm and both legs broken and his business or house burnt down.
Why? Because laws, order and the civilized state are considered as weakness by them. Because they think and act in terms of force and brutality. They may not care about their lives but they will care about their brothers, sisters, parents, children.
D) Be prepared for an initial period of anger and uprising and be ready to put it down with utmost severity.
Within 3 months there will be no more terror attacks. Within 1 year you will have get hold of all yet uncaptured tarrorists and know details and have evidence against them. Publicly beat them to death painfully, with utmost brutality and shockingly, and have the videos shown in Dagestan TV.
E) Invest heavily so as to provide a solid base for a civilized state, education, jobs, etc.

Posted by: Mr. Pragma | Dec 31 2013 1:03 utc | 47

Mr P, with ideas like that, you should be working for the USA.

Posted by: Rowan Berkeley | Dec 31 2013 3:20 utc | 49

Dagestan Palestine egypt and syria meet in this radical conservative religious movement
Goals, methods, and organization
Hizb ut-Tahrir states its aim as unification of all Muslim nations over time in a unitary Islamic state or caliphate, headed by an elected caliph.[1] This, it holds, is a religious duty, “an obligation that Allah has decreed for the Muslims and commanded them to fulfill. He warned of the punishment awaiting those who neglect this duty.”[8] One analyst, however,[9] quotes the work of Hizb ut-Tahrir founder Taqiuddin al-Nabhani[10] to suggest that once Hizb ut-Tahrir has succeeded in creating a unified, transnational Islamic state it should press on to expand the state into non-Muslim areas. According to al-Nabhani’s work The Islamic State, Muslims abroad `should work towards turning their land where Islam is not implemented, and which [is thus] considered as Dar al-Kufr, into Dar al-Islam”.[11] Hizb ut-Tahrir is opposed to individual liberty and freedom, rather it promotes the overthrow, both democratically or militarily, of democracies and dictatorships alike, arguing they are un-Islamic.[
Non-Muslims
In Hizb ut-Tahrir’s draft constitution for its unified Islamic state, any non-Muslims living in the state may not serve in any of the ruling offices, such as the position of caliph, nor vote for these officials, as these positions require those who fulfil them to believe in the system. Muslims also have “the right to participate in the election of the Khaleefah [head of state] and in giving him the pledge (ba’iah). Non-Muslims have no right in this regard.” However non-Muslims may voice “complaints in respect to unjust acts performed by the rulers or the misapplication of Islam upon them.”
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Hizb_ut-Tahrir
this group has as its ultimate goal a world wide caliphate….why think small?

Posted by: brian | Dec 31 2013 4:12 utc | 51

Hizb ut-Tahrir (Party of Liberation) with its smarmy ways sees itself as establishing the universal caliphate, whether the rest of us like it or not…#verydangerous
eg
‘What comes after the Syrian regime then? The leadership of Hizb ut-Tahrir seems certain that the regime will fall and an Islamic Caliphate state will emerge. Baba believes that the regime has lost its power. “Its extreme violence and the use of military power are nothing but an announcement of the end.” The party was not surprised by the degree of violence, “but by the high spirits of the people and the mujahedeen.”
Hizb ut-Tahrir “is not a religious party but a political party and the caliphate system is a political system,” Baba adds. “This system has restrictions that can not be violated whereas the democratic system has no restrictions.” Here, there is “hala and haram,” what is religiously permitted and what is religiously banned and that’s it.
Baba believes that the solution to the sectarian and confessional conflicts in Syria is the caliphate system, where there is no difference between Muslims – Sunni and Shias.’
http://english.al-akhbar.com/node/6922
read carefully, it can be seen that the fall of Assad would open syria to a lot of conflicting religious (or as he says ‘political’) opportunists! Chaos would ensue

Posted by: brian | Dec 31 2013 5:51 utc | 53

was it a suicide bomber? alleged Volgograd station security cam video of the explosion:
mike rivero at whatreallyhappened.com comments:
‘Note that the explosion is coming down from the ceiling, contradicting the official story of a suicide bomber at the security gate!’
http://www.liveleak.com/view?i=222_1388411226

Posted by: brian | Dec 31 2013 6:52 utc | 55

re 39

Firstly the province of Xingjang has been ruled by China going back 2,000 years to the Han Dynasty,

You’ve been reading too much the Chinese version of history. Virtually everything you say in that post is distorted.

Posted by: alexno | Dec 31 2013 9:03 utc | 57

the death of socialism: once again proving wrong men may take the right way, and the right way becomes the wrong way
irish socialist workers party : clueless or malign? attack president Putin with tweets
SWP Ireland @IrelandSWP 13m
Putins reign of terror produces suicide attacks. #chechnya #volgograd..
=====================
this is a level of nastiness even Netanyahu didnt stoop to
now who do SWP want to be president of Russia? Khodokovsky?

Posted by: brian | Dec 31 2013 9:12 utc | 59

57) You would not mean the Uighur empire and state from the 8th to the 9th century by any chance? If that is your point of reference for historical claims I will use my Germanic heritage to claim property in Italy :-))

Posted by: somebody | Dec 31 2013 9:20 utc | 61

60) That is what the whole of the Ottoman empire did – strategically settling ethnicities and religions.
What is your argument here? You suggest people should be forced to tick an ethnic box and be moved accordingly where that ethnicity settled in – which century?

Well, things can change, as they did in Kazakhstan.

Yep, like in Germany. Yes, I know that sentence has an ominous ring to it.

Posted by: somebody | Dec 31 2013 10:35 utc | 63

CONNECT the dots, folks. The Saudi’s desire to get America to bomb the Syrian regime is so that they can challenge the Russian’s natural gas monopoly in Europe, but only if they can get their pipes up to Europe through pesky Assad’s Syria. So the bombings are an attempt to weaken Putin, and by association, Syria. This ain’t about Islam, except to the poor rubes who blow themselves up. It’s about something far more nefarious than religion. It’s about money and power.
Just connect the dots, and truth will emerge.

Posted by: Cynthia | Dec 31 2013 12:49 utc | 65

strange noone has come forward to claim responsibilty for the Volgograd bombings
http://www.cbsnews.com/news/russian-police-round-up-dozens-after-suicide-bombings-in-volgograd/

Posted by: brian | Dec 31 2013 13:49 utc | 67

the center for evil is in the human heart

Posted by: brian | Dec 31 2013 14:05 utc | 69

Those who accepts evolution are, must be, a communists!? 🙂

Posted by: neretva’43 | Dec 31 2013 14:16 utc | 71

46: “guess who has refused extradition requests???….give up?
UK! in weak of Volgograd attacks, worth a revisit!”
Presently far greater powers than perfidious Albion refuse his
extradition: the man was murdered a while ago.

Posted by: sasha | Dec 31 2013 14:50 utc | 73

Late on the heels of this specious analysis, let me add a “Happy New Year” to my favourite conspiracy theorist website. MoA is Prison Planet for the reading class.
The key statement (paraphrased) is “leaked to the Russian Press and eventually published also in Hezbulloh press.”
The ability of people to believe the benders they enjoy and then to disbelieve the ones with which they disagree is truly sinful. Its a lobotomisation of whatever useful viewpoint this site might otherwise add to the international discussion, for whatever that discussion is worth.
From my perspective, the nature of the Bandar-Putin meeting wrt “doing business” is the actual significance the reading class should obtain. The rather strained effort to tie Saudi Arabia into the bombings (thus absolving Putin’s pragmatic neo-conservate realpolitik, as usual) is so goofy it doesn’t even matter whether it is true or not. And of course, there is no truth that will satisfy the reading class except the one which they have already pre-determined anyway.
The fact is, blowback is a mutual game from which neither the goose nor the gander can escape having its pretty feathers ruffled.

Posted by: donkeytale | Dec 31 2013 15:16 utc | 75

Colm O’ Toole@24,
The Saudis are arrogant. Besides, there are no bears in the desert, so they won’t know that poking one only works for a little while, especially in the winter.

Posted by: Cynthia | Dec 31 2013 16:15 utc | 77

The posters here overlooked one important fact — the fact that Russia and its predecessor, the USSR, forcibly occupied countries from Estonia, to the Ukraine, to Georgia to Uzbekistan, and more. The are still occupying Chechnya, Dagestan, Ingushetia. None of these countries have forgotten the tender ministrations of that occupation. Caucasus suffered more than most. The Russian occupation there is perfectly described by our resident Russian poster in post no. 47. Read Anna Politkovskaya, for starters. This is exactly what she describes the Russians doing.. Since Russia does not allow journalists into the Caucasus, it is hard to gauge Russia’s actions there today. If Bandar Bush offers the Chechens et al money to attack Russia, they will happily take it. They would have done it free.
I live in the Baltics. The fact that the Baltics prefers NATO is not because we love America. It is because we remember the atrocities of the USSR Russians just do not seem to realize how much they were, and in some quarters still are, hated. Because their actions were indeed close enough to pat no 47.

Posted by: kassandra | Dec 31 2013 16:32 utc | 79

Holy Sickening Stench of Hasbara Deflection and Narrative Building in some of the posts here, Batman!!!
Why, it now looks downright “coincidental” once again that right on the heels of KSA making the rounds again in regards 9/11 in the American press, we – after b’s informative OP – are treated not with a close examination of the KSA-apartheid Israel axis of evil and how BOTH of these powers were neck-deep in Syria and every other bit of criminality in the ME over the last number of decades but now we have – according to some posters who’ve become very active again – the KSA telegraphing its evil punches for the world to see even though no one has claimed responsibility for the attacks. Yup, they just are soooo stupid that they can’t control their own evil, right?
Remind me: which country recently took advantage of a bus bombing in another country that went unclaimed but which was used to create a narrative?
Remind me: in which Zionist occupied country did a blatantly false-flag “terrorist attack” occur at a major sporting event that created the narrative that the Chechens were on the warpath once again?
Remind me: which country’s foreign policy profile – especially concerning Syria etc – has just slipped off the radar nearly completely in the Zionist US press and even on most astute blogs?
The answer to all of these questions my friends can be found when looking at the apartheid, genocidal state of Israel and which shouldn’t come as a surprise to anyone but when I read comments on a blog calling the KSA the center of evil on the planet and other such nonsense I get the feeling that a hasbara campaign is afoot.
Again, the Israel-KSA axis of evil is very alive and well and has been since at least 9/11 if not before so let’s not forget about the Zionist scum, apartheid monsters and all around disgusting pieces of filth: the Israelis who – with the help of their bought off whores in the US government – continue to wage their own – often Western press-censored – end of this campaigns to turn the ME into a chaotic bloodbath over which they can better rule.
If there’s evil taking place/roiling the Middle East, you can bet your @ss fascist apartheid Israel is neckdeep in it because in reading the annals of history it appears that Israel is ALWAYS involved especially when they are questions and shadings that aren’t quite clear.

Posted by: JSorrentine | Dec 31 2013 17:01 utc | 81

Oh, and lest we forget, the Chatah murder last week. Oops, just another assassination that will roil things even more.
Gee, which country left fingerprints all over the Hariri assassination? Yeah, it’s probably the Saudis.
See if you can find the word “Israel” in this UK Independent piece or any other major coverage of the event. Hint: you won’t.
Nope, it’s just those dirty Ah-rabs being dirty Ah-rabs I guess.
whistling…..
And which country is currently trying to get a bill passed in Congress with the aid of its traitorous PAC that would tie the hands of the POTUS if said country went to war with Iran?
whistling…..

Posted by: JSorrentine | Dec 31 2013 17:25 utc | 83

Seems to me that the Saudis are untouchable. No matter what they do, nothing seems to come back to them. The same seems to apply to Qatar. I agree there should be a Russian response. Bandar threatened them and this looks like the fulfillment of this threat. This could be just the beginning. There maybe more bombings on the way.
What about targeting the Saudi Oil Fields ? They look vulnerable to me. Perhaps go through a surrogate such as Iran to do it.
If there is no Russian response at all, they that will only embolden them further.

Posted by: James Sneller | Dec 31 2013 19:06 utc | 85

Kassandra: geopolitical analysis should not be confused with popularity polling.

Posted by: Rowan Berkeley | Dec 31 2013 19:14 utc | 87

3 points.
– ad 47/terrorism
Russia *has* understood that basic rights, international cooperation, etc. are the way to go – and they prove it by acting accordingly. And I agree wholeheartedly. To kill someone and even more so to kill someone presumably innocent for the large part like a relative of a terrorist is an extremely serious action that must not even be considered but in the most extreme of conditions.
However, just putting a cross in the “done” box because the (suicide) terrorist is dead basically comes down to an open invitation, to public weakness, to being an ideal candidate for blackmailing, and last but not least to bid a warm welcome to zio, zaudi and zusa scum.
And it directly translates to dozends of dead civilians who had every right to be protected by their state.
Therefore any and every means, preferably the most humane one available, of cause, is justified.
Any and everyone of you knowing a more humane – yet equally effective! – means to stop the “caucasian” terrorism can be sureI will listen closely to him.
– ad Russia occupying regions
Quite possibly, yes. And quite probably Russia would let e.g. dagestan go their own ways and maybe even handing them out some kind of start package – if only it was possible. It is not, however.
It is not possible because zio-nato BROKE every damn agreement, it is not possible because zio-nato amply proved that each and every region set free by Russia is immedetaly turned against them, weaponized, nato-ized, etc.
I don’t know so well for China but I suppose that China would principly be open to more favourable solutions concerning e.g. the Uigurs, too – IF and when zusa and israel are broken.
Now, maybe the polish aren’t the nicest example because they traditionally bend over eagerly for whoever happens to be the authority of the week. But just have a look. Now -against written and signed treaties!- the polish are fervant supporters of zato, zusa, zeu, and they are happily hosting zusa missiles against Russia, and they are behaving Herrenmenschen-like in Ukraine.
So, for the time being, dagestan et al. can live as well as possible but, absolutely no discussion about that, within Russia. Period. One sak-ass-wily, one georgia was enough.
– 3, general
It’s nice to sit in a comfy chair and be an intellectual with golden and heroic ideals. In the real world out there, however, millions and millions had to die for zusa scum, and hundreds of millions are subdued and brutally punished for disobedience.
Russia, in particular, Russia with Putin is the one power to stop zusa, zato, izrael and their minions and dogs. China quite probably will support that; they do right now.
If it’s necessary to kill some dozen or even hundred civilians (terrorist family members and supporters) in dagestan, so be it;that’s a *very* modest price and less than what zusa asks every month. If it’s necessary to kill some zaudi princes than gladly so; killing zaudi princes is no different from killing rattle snakes in ones garden.
Happy new year to every non everyone non zamerican, non izrael, and non zionist.
Ceterum censeo israel americamque delenda sunt.

Posted by: Mr. Pragma | Dec 31 2013 19:37 utc | 89

re 63

That is what the whole of the Ottoman empire did – strategically settling ethnicities and religions.

I never heard the Ottomans did much of that. It’s an old tradition – exile of the Jews in Babylon, for example.

What is your argument here? You suggest people should be forced to tick an ethnic box and be moved accordingly where that ethnicity settled in – which century?

No, just a factual correction.
For those who believe Xinjiang has been Chinese territory for 2000 years, I recommend the map of the Great Wall of China in Wiki. One can presume that it represents the territory that the Chinese thought they could control securely at the time of construction. Even at its greatest extent, it only curls round eastern Xinjiang. Most was out of their control most of the time.
Western Xinjiang was thoroughly Islamicised. That is the reason for the Uyghur jihadis. Kashgar was a typical Central Asian Islamic city until the Chinese started demolishing it. And started importing Han Chinese population. Much like Tibet.

Posted by: alexno | Dec 31 2013 19:51 utc | 91

weve seen it done to serbs and weve seen it done to libyans…the jihadi Dr Mengeles dont just have a taste for human flesh, they also need fresh organs for their crew of zombies
Organ theft from Syrian, operation conducted in Turkey: See this news report from ANNA (Abkhazian news agency) at 4.33 min video provides new information that terrorists have captured and sent people as prisoners to Turkey, where against their will various internal organs are surgically removed. A young man back in Syria shows his scares, a kidney has been removed. He said that usually, after such operations, people were killed, especially those who were in poor health, but for some reason he was not killed. His postoperative condition was normal. He managed to escape! English subtitles available with the video just click on the “captions box” in the bottom right of the video. http://youtu.be/4hClkc_20b4

Posted by: brian | Dec 31 2013 22:43 utc | 93

the brits have the govt they deserve?
‘In his first interview on the Syrian crisis since losing his ministerial post in the autumn reshuffle, Alistair Burt said the failure of MPs in August to back the principle of military action against the Assad regime for the use of chemical weapons had left the mainstream opposition forces “absolutely devastated”.
Burt, who was the minister overseeing Syria policy for three years, said the rules on the power of parliament to sanction British military action were evolving and required clarity. He revealed that ministers were unclear after the Syria vote whether the British government was even permitted to provide intelligence or logistic back-up to a US strike designed to deter President Bashar al-Assad from using chemical weapons.’
Phil Greaves @PhilGreaves01 11h
The inherent psychopathy of the UK establishment on full show as @AlistairBurtMP lauds the brutal murder of Gaddafi: http://gu.com/p/3yg5f/tw
Phil Greaves @PhilGreaves01 11h
Psychopath elitist @AlistairBurtMP alludes to Gaddafi’s murder & joint NATO/Al Qaeda destruction of Libya as good FP: http://gu.com/p/3yg5f/tw
Phil Greaves @PhilGreaves01 11h
When UK Parliament actually abide by public opinion & not The Corporate War Machine it makes @AlistairBurtMP “Angry”. http://gu.com/p/3yg5f/tw
Phil Greaves @PhilGreaves01 11h
UK MP Alistair Burt (@AlistairBurtMP) shows his complete contempt for the British public he is supposed to SERVE: http://gu.com/p/3yg5f/tw

Posted by: brian | Dec 31 2013 23:06 utc | 95

96 lysias
How smart – and wrong.
Censere invokes ACI, where the ‘A’ stands for “Accusative”. As I (as I did sometimes declare) do not attribute the country genus to izrael (and zamerica) but rather treat them as things (neutrum), “delenda esse” is applicable and correct.
Felix potuit causas rerum cognoscere.

Posted by: Mr. Pragma | Jan 1 2014 0:22 utc | 97

The Volgograd train station bomb that killed at least 17 people on Sunday was set off by a Russian man from the nearby region of Mary El who had converted to Islam and joined Dagestani militants, officials said.
The suspect, identified as Pavel Pechyonkin, worked as a paramedic with an ambulance service but left home in 2011 and joined Dagestani militants after converting to Islam and changing his name to Ansar Ar-rusi.
In response to his parents’ video appeals for him to come home, Pechyonkin posted his own video online this spring, saying he was following God’s will and would not turn back.
“I have come here only to make Allah pleased with me, to earn heaven,” he said in the video.
In a plea by his parents recorded in March, his father, Nikolai, admonished his son to “drop those weapons” before he would become a “terrorist.”
“Do all Muslims go around with weapons?” the father said in the video. “You are the only one so stubborn. What harm have people done you? […] You are going to kill children.”
His mother, Fanaziya, said that she was also a Muslim, and pleaded with her son that he should abstain from using violence.
“What kind of the Koran…” she said, apparently too pained to finish the sentence, before finding the strength to continue: “I don’t believe that Allah has ever said that one must kill people.”
“Pasha, I’m appealing to you — please come back,” she said. “Imagine, what is happening to me now, how I am feeling. …I’m not living, I’m in hell.”
“Imagine that somebody were to kill your parents, how would that make you feel? Why are you turning children into orphans?” she said.
For the video recorded message from Pavel’s parents, http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=0obx7jP2P98
http://www.themoscowtimes.com/news/article/parents-of-volgograd-train-station-bomber-pleaded-for-his-return-video/492336.html

Posted by: brian | Jan 1 2014 1:32 utc | 99