United States Military Operating Inside Of Russian Federation

This is an incredibly interesting article from the Atlantic:
Here

The fourth paragraph is the biggest bit of news though, that the United States admits to operations in Georgia, Turkey, Azerbaijan, Uzbekistan and in the Dagestan region of the North Caucuses, which is within the Russian Federation.

So there it is, there are/were American troops, on the ground, in Russia with President Obama's knowledge and approval. Thoughts? Comments?

We have ongoing operations all over the world. We do not know why these operatives were in the region, but I bet you we have a good reason for it.

reply to post by projectvxn


Dagestan is the region of Russia where there was a suicide bombing possibly involving the Black Widow group earlier this month. This is the same group that bombed the Moscow Subway and another attack earlier this year as well.

The most interesting thing and what we've been trying to get a comment on all day here is what the operation was and who requested it? Did PM Putin request American military aid in counter-insurgency within Russia or did the United States request to be involved in a Russian domestic matter?

Either way the fact that it even happened is incredible and shows a very interesting new direction in both the so-called "War On Terror" and Russo-American relations.

This is really big stuff.

Well, Dagestan is not that nice of a place, atleast from what I hear. They have problems with low-level gurellia activity, but I dont understand why the US would be there, unless the Russian Federation said it was okay.

In my opinion, I would think Russia has enough resources to deal with the Dagestan problem themselves. If the US indeed went in there without the okay from Russia, then we have a problem. I dont think Russia would be okay with us just letting our troops run around in their space.

Dagestan Conflict WIki

Last summer, the White House authorized a massive expansion of clandestine military and intelligence operations worldwide, sanctioning activities in more than a dozen countries and giving the military's combatant commanders significant new authority to conduct unconventional warfare.

My first thought is: "Ok, no wonder anti-US Russia has all of a sudden seen an incredible rise in 'terrorist activities'... Or at least media coverage of them"


No wonder Georgia is so anti-Russian...

Is Taiwan the same? Just a U.S. funded rogue state?

It is unusual for a combatant commander to be given the ability to ask civilians to collect intelligence in countries like Iran. It is not clear under what legal authority he can do so. The CIA's National Resources Division regularly keeps touch with academics and business people who travel to hostile countries, and occasionally requests from them specific tasks. The Department of Defense, at Petreaus's request, set up a parallel organization called the Civillian Expeditionary Workforce that hires non-soldiers and non-contractors for temporary military-type tasks using detainee interrogations.

Hmmm....


Very interesting article. S&F.

At this point the US and Russia are both ciphers (and I live in the US). You can obsess over geopolitics, domestic politics, military strategy, etc, but the propaganda veil is just too strong.

Putin plays his cards close to the chest. Re: Iran, speculating on the sale of the S-300 one day, embracing sanctions the next, offering to build a peaceful fission reactor another day, etc.

Then Obama feigns weakness via obsequiousness on the international stage. To many in the US it is fait accompli that he will project weakness and alienate our historical allies. Its almost overdone, in the sense that it may be a ruse to get Iran/NK/Russia/etc off guard and lulled into false security. My observations over the last two years indicate a decidedly subtle uptrend towards all things military. The prevalence of 'Call of Duty' type media and the government policies fostering greater unemployment are nudging (Sunstein-esque) the next, slightly younger, slice of the generation that fought in Iraq and continuing in the Stan towards military service. [Ed: Think if you were to launch a massive land war in Asia with Russia/China/NK/Iran as prime adversaries, you have unlimited fuel in Iraq, and maybe the most important strategic chip in A-stan w/clear routes to all aforementioned countries - The Great Game, ZBig, etc]

Many will peg this decidedly alternate interpretation of Obama as tinfoil hattery, but consider Democratic presidents throughout history:

FDR - WWII after a depression (recall the continuing media theme of FDR = Obama).

Truman - Korea.

JFK/LBJ - Vietnam

Carter - Iran becomes the state it is today on his watch.

Clinton - Yugoslavia, Iraqi Skirmishes.

So, special ops in Russia? Destabilizing the Islamic population along Russia's south border? Assisting/Prepping with the Russians for a strike on Iran? Not enough info to tell.

Interesting final note however, bps spread on Gazprom increased recently, meaning Western Banks are attacking Russian energy giant.

What we have confirmed so far here in London is that the Russians were aware of the the American operations according to a Russian military officer. Other than that, it's been brick wall after brick wall, even for our Moscow office and their contacts.

Looks like I am going to be getting some more bonus miles this weekend, I'm heading to Moscow on Friday to check into it a bit more and see if we can build a story out of this.

From what i can tell, is this a secret military operation just so america can take over Russia, Moscow? while establishing an base outside of the Russian Federation?


I think the Russian Federation should be prepared for a possible war against her, i doubt this about terrorism.



This is a classic tactical movement, make a small base outside of your enemy's country or location, while the troops wait for further directions.

This isnt good.



[edit on 25-5-2010 by Agent_USA_Supporter]

Originally posted by Agent_USA_Supporter
From what i can tell, is this a secret military operation just so america can take over Russia, Moscow? while establishing an base outside of the Russian Federation?

I wouldn't think so, at least I really hope not as I'd rather not get killed over this haha.

The that is prevailing here is that Russia lacks some sort of capacity to fight the insurgency within their own country and requested military help from the United States without wishing to appear weak or impotent in the given category. So this is why Russia is snowballing us when we ask questions and why the United States is differing us to the Russians.

Edit: We're also trying to get an idea what the United States is doing in Uzbekistan as we've got some great contacts there, but they haven't gotten back to us all day and we're not about to just send someone with a camera and notepad into a country like that to start asking questions. The odds are good they wouldn't come back in one piece.

[edit on 25-5-2010 by ProjectJimmy]

Originally posted by ProjectJimmy

Originally posted by Agent_USA_Supporter
From what i can tell, is this a secret military operation just so america can take over Russia, Moscow? while establishing an base outside of the Russian Federation?

I wouldn't think so, at least I really hope not as I'd rather not get killed over this haha.

The that is prevailing here is that Russia lacks some sort of capacity to fight the insurgency within their own country and requested military help from the United States without wishing to appear weak or impotent in the given category. So this is why Russia is snowballing us when we ask questions and why the United States is differing us to the Russians.

your forgetting one point, its russia they have enough resources to deal the insurgency on there own, without anyone's help or assistance.

like buni11687 said, above.

Besides they have an huge military army sized force to deal with any problem.




[edit on 25-5-2010 by Agent_USA_Supporter]

"Besides they have an huge military army sized force to deal with any problem."

Simultaneously true...and not.

The Russian army now is not the CCCP beast it once was. Yes, they still have the numbers, but the organization, funds, equipment have degraded over the last 20 years. This could be something as simple as an combat experienced US spec-ops taskforce from Iraq/Stan being invited by Putin/FSB to deal with domestic Islamists. Of course intelligence gathering on both sides would be a given.

[edit on 25-5-2010 by tetrahedron]

Originally posted by tetrahedron
"Besides they have an huge military army sized force to deal with any problem."

Simultaneously true...and not.

The Russian army now is not the CCCP beast it once was. Yes, they still have the numbers, but the organization, funds, equipment have degraded over the last 20 years. This could be something as simple as an combat experienced US spec-ops taskforce from Iraq/Stan being invited by Putin/FSB to deal with domestic Islamists. Of course intelligence gathering on both sides would be a given.

[edit on 25-5-2010 by tetrahedron]

I agree completely, the reports that came out of Georgia of the Russian military effectiveness were not the most encouraging for them. Their military is still massive and their special forces are incredibly good but remember that their counter-terrorism operations have not always turned out well. The Moscow Theater Attack ended with the accidental deaths of many of the hostages because of the chemical weapons the Russians used.

In fact their reliance on Kolokol-1, the opiate incapacitating agent in anti-terrorism operations has been widely critiqued by most of the world. The French went so far as to question the abilities of the Russians as a result of it.

The Great Bear's claws are not nearly as sharp as they once were, so it would make sense for combat-proven Americans to give aid and probably training to their Russian counterparts.

either way hopefully ProjectJimmy will hunt down for more information on what its happening.