Our Allies (?), The Russians
Bad enough that Putin has turned into little better than a tyrant, and is blocking efforts to take a hard line with Iran (and we won’t even mention Belarus). But what kind of ally actively aids the enemy?
Russian officials collected intelligence on U.S. troop movements and attack plans from inside the American military command leading the 2003 invasion of Iraq and passed that information to Iraqi leader Saddam Hussein, according to a U.S. military study released yesterday.
The intelligence reports, which the study said were provided to Hussein through the Russian ambassador in Baghdad at the height of the U.S. assault, warned accurately that American formations intended to bypass Iraqi cities on their thrust toward Baghdad. The reports provided some specific numbers on U.S. troops, units and locations, according to Iraqi documents dated March and April 2003 and later captured by the United States.
…Michael E. O’Hanlon, a defense expert at the Brookings Institution, said the passing of information on U.S. troop movements during combat, if true, constituted “a stark betrayal.” He added: “I think we should be demanding a fairly clear explanation from Moscow.”
But Celeste A. Wallander, director of the Russia and Eurasia program at the Center for Strategic and International Studies, said that although Russia probably had intelligence on U.S. war plans, she is skeptical that the Kremlin would have ordered that it be passed to Hussein’s government.
It is more likely that a “freelancing” Russian official such as the ambassador in Baghdad personally shuttled the information, she said.
“If it were the case that the Kremlin had approved passing along what the Russian military knew about American war planning, that would be extraordinary,” Wallander said.
“If it were ordered, it would be a direct action that would in effect help another country to use more effectively their military forces against U.S. forces.”
At the very minimum, Russia owes us an apology – and we should seriously consider an official withdrawing of the U.S. Ambassador in protest. This is not a small matter…
Dangerous Liaisons
I remember so vividly the many reports surfacing shortly after 911, citing how Russian President Putin and others had warned the CIA and US officials of imminent terrorist attacks against key targets on American soil.