And so begins, or quickens, the legitimization of Hamas. Putin, of course, would just like to see Russia restored as a world power, a global counterweight to the United States. He can't imagine that cozying up to exponents of the global jihad could have any negative consequences for him. The Byzantine Emperor John VI Cantacuzenes, whom I discuss in my book The Politically Incorrect Guide to Islam (and the Crusades), no doubt thought the same thing.
From Reuters, with thanks to Sr. Soph:
MADRID (Reuters) - Russian President Vladimir Putin said on Thursday he would invite Hamas leaders to Moscow, opening a crack in a wall of U.S.-led opposition to dealing with the Palestinian election winner until it recognized Israel.Ismail Haniyeh, a senior Hamas official said in Gaza that leaders of the group, whose charter calls for Israel's destruction, "would be delighted" to visit Russia if Putin tendered a formal invitation.
Putin is ex-KGB
just remember that there's more to this than meets the eye.
Maybe Putin just wants to kidnap a big shot terrorist or two and hold them for ransom. 'Welcome to my web', said the spider to the fly.
Reminds me of the time Stalin cozied up to Hitler.
Will Mr. Putin assume financial support for Hamas? If so maybe USA can cut off it's assistance. I doubt this will happen.
I agree with the above posters. Putin is not naive. He has no sympathy for Islamic terrorists.
http://www.themoscowtimes.com/stories/2006/02/08/011.html
As to what his real motives are, I have no idea.
Well,
given that the EU will probably drop the Palestinians due to more mature considerations taking place at high levels as we type(and hope!), and so, the Russians are taking the negotiating over.
That is not a bad thing, because the Russians do not have the helper-complex that the EU had, and thus will be a little more robust.
Hamas is foolish to be 'delighted'.
Now, this is more like the Putin I have come to understand.
This is the same guy who spoke so recently about publicly ("bravely") displaying the Danish Mohammads. He would expect to receive kudos for coming into the new millennium for this .. but ... I am convinced that Hamas, CAIR, Ahmidinejad etc. have no problem whatsoever with these images of the Danish Mohammad ... their main interest is in the resultant fiery chaos it stirs up .. which gives them more smoke to hide behind in order to cut deals with other murdering thugs .. like Putin, for example.
Users use.
Dangerous, but predictable liaisons amongst the thugs.
Sorry.. he would expect to receive Western kudos ...
You can be a tough guy, a KGBets, and still be naive. Stalin was naive. He believed that Hitler would honor the Molotov-Ribbentrop Pact. He was so surprised, so mortified. Hitler, Mussolini, Admiral Tojo -- they all had their surprises. The best laid plans aft gang agley. That sort of thing.
Islam is as much an immiscible liquid in Russia as it is elsewhere. Perhaps Putin is buying time or thinks he is. After all, the Russians, especially the security services, over many decades, invested so much time, money, energy, training (even that language tutor, and that typist, for Abbas's Holocaust-denying doctorate, and did he have to get special help to pass the "Istorii partii" part of the Ph.D. examination, as well?).
Perhaps Putin will give a thought to the two Russian Jews who helped him so much when he was young. He remembers: the one who gave him lessos in physical training when his parents feared he was running around on the streets and might become a hooligan, and the second one, the one who came to his parent's communal apartment in Leningrad and offered to teach him German.
Or perhaps one is just attributing human emotions of gratitude and possibly even of a wider symathy (his older brother and sister both died in the siege of Leningrad) to Putin that he does not feel or does not allow himself to feel.
Hard to know.
Do not underestimate the Russian leader. He is no lover of Islamic terrorism & has never been. He wants to be on top of everything. He is very shrewd & very intelligent. We have no reason to distrust him. Hamas leaders will be in for a big surprise.
Putin is the same guy who is training young people in Russia TO FIGHT TERRORISM! Am an admirer of Vlad's intellect so unless he has had a stroke recently that we don't know about-reckon he is playing a 'double game.'Russia's economy is on the rise and think Putin wants to show the West Russia is still a big player in the 'Endgame.'With flattery rather than American bluster Putin will have Hamas Leaders eating out of his hand-no questions asked about fate of Muslim Bros in Chechnya...Besides don't think many Russians give a damn what happens to Israel when it comes to HOLOCAUST OF SLAVS MURDERED IN WORLD WAR 11,RUSSIA'S TOTAL WOULD TALLY AT LEAST
20 MILLION WHICH MAKES 6 MILLION JEWS PALE IN COMPARISON.
One thing is certain. Putin is NOT stupid.
"It [the press conference] lasted 3 hours 26 minutes, a new record for Putin.
Speaking without notes, the president showcased his command of myriad subjects, answering 64 questions."
http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2006/01/31/AR2006013100700.html?nav=rss_world
As to why he wants to engage in discussions with Hamas, and what Russia could gain for it, is beyond me. Thats the bit I can't figure out.
Thinking wildly:
1.maybe the FSB (the successor to the KGB) want to plant some new type of bug on the Hamas delegation?
2. Putin has information about a forthcoming terrorist attack - Putin wants them to call it off.
3. The Russians know of a forthcoming terrorist attack in Europe, but arent telling Europe about it. It will coincide with the Hamas arrival in Moscow. Russia can then arrest them , round them up and look like the "good guy".
4. The Russians want to use Hamas to put pressure on the Chechen Islamists to call off their war? In return, Russia will deal with Hamas?
5. The Russians have traced the Beslan massacre to funding from Hamas and want to arrest the delegation?
i cant really figure this one out. anyone else got other ideas?
The islamists are not stupid, either. They know Putin is no dhimmi, yet they play along.
I guess we'll find out what's going on soon enough.
Do you think the russians will have ham_as for dinner?
Do you think the russians will have ham_ass for dinner?
Archduke - Putin hopes to buy some rope from Hamas.
Putin wants to open up a Russian embassy on the Gaza strip, packed full of KGB "diplomats"?
Does anyone know what the russian people think about Putin's cozying with the islamists?
Moz_art
Your wit is appreciated by even the most surly JWatcher. Thank you for making us smile...
Thank you!
I registered on this site today! I hope want be thrown out to soon!
But it makes a lot of sense.
Russia's economy depends on oil revenue. Hamas will further destabilize oil supplies to the West. Oil prices will go up and Rusia will earn a bundle.
Think $$. After all, Putin was (pretended to be?) a Marxist. Isn't it?
I agree that Russias economy benefits from rising oil prices, but inviting Hamas to Moscow seems more like a step in order to try to make them more respectable. Something which will be very difficult in all events but even more so if coordinated with terror attacks in order to destabilize oil supplies. If russia would want such attacks they would'nt openly associate themselves with Hamas.
Sure, Putin can sell weapons to Hamas -- that's what Russia does for their "friends" like Iran and others...
Ezekiel 38
A Prophecy Against Gog
1 The word of the LORD came to me: 2 "Son of man, set your face against Gog, of the land of Magog, the chief prince of [a] Meshech and Tubal; prophesy against him 3 and say: 'This is what the Sovereign LORD says: I am against you, O Gog, chief prince of [b] Meshech and Tubal. 4 I will turn you around, put hooks in your jaws and bring you out with your whole army—
Read it all....
Has Putin converted to Islam secretly?
moz_art:
Don't you think Vladimir Putin is well, rather Put-rid?
Putin may well be susceptible to naiveté ... although I associate that quality with grandiosity, and don't particularly think of Putin as grandiose. It is hard to tell .. the only thing I'm sure of is that I don't trust him.
I'll keep watching.
Pythagoras!
I dont think putrid ham ass will last for long!
Let's not forget that being former KGB, Putin is well versed in Totalitarianism and using terror to get what he wants, as are the Muslims.
Perhaps they are simply getting together to drink tea and share their feelings.
If it comes down to either hamas or the russians getting screwed over...... my money is on hamas "assuming" the position. Considering the way they pray it'll be a very natural position for them to be in. So, yeah, I'm thinking that is going to be a soap opera worth watching.
Who knows what Putin is really up to with Hamas. They want, by violent means, what the Muslims on Russia's southern borders want, independent Islamic states. The Russian/Hamas joint hatred of Jews will be one component of the relationship. Oil and weapons will be another factor. But, what of the very strong resentments by Russians whose loved ones have been killed by Muslims, brutally in Afghanistan and Chetnya, school massacres, and bombings in Moscow? Stay tuned for the next installment in this story.
seems this Putin likes to put on a great show.. l think when he gets Hammas in a room, he will prol instruct them to lay off Russia.. well if there is another Beslan, l hope Russian people hang him!
Why don't he invite the leaders of the so-called Chechen Republic of Ichkeria, too?
To date, the vibes from Volodaya haven't been good. At one point, he was backing Iraq, then thinking of nuclear supplies to Syria, now providing Iran with nukes. I doubt that he has connected the dots between the Chechens and the global Jihad.
Why do most people here seem to trust him? Name one thing he has done that has seriously hampered the Jihad, other than allowing Uzbeg and Kyrghiz regimes to allow the US to use them as bases against Afghanistan. The 12th century Mongols had more sense than him, when they invited the Hashashin leader Ruqn-ud-din to Karakorum, and had him executed there.
Don't expect that to happen to Mashal.
I think that he's just trying to snuggle up to the arabs/iranians to cement commercial ties (e.g. the opportunity to sell them arms and nuclear reactors).
Putin's motives in this are probably more transparent than suggested above. By courting Hamas, he is winning "brownie points" to cash in by way of diminished support for the Chechens or any other anti-Russian Muslim movements in former Soviet republics.
Following strange pro-HAMAS statement of the Russian President we've made a special full coverage page on the Russia - Hamas relations, to show that Putin's behavior is not unpremeditated.
http://www.axisglobe.com/article.asp?article=659
Allister
I am withholding judgement on Putin till I see what he's up to. There is extreme popular concern in Russia over the fate of the Christian holy places (as well as people) that will be under Hamas' control.
It is very possible that Putin will lay down the law to these Islamists that Russia has re-assumed its historical role as the protector of Christians in the former Ottoman Empire. Let's pray that this is the case here.
After Beslan, no Russian leader can really get away with cozying up to Sunni Salafist Militants. On the other hand, Iran is a different story. The Chechen terrorists are Saudi financed and supported, while Shi'a Iran has supported Christian Armenia against their fellow Shi'a Azerbaijanis. This is pure geo-politics. The fear a strong Azerbaijan will forment Azeri separatism in Iran's northwest.
moz_art:
ol' ham ass has been around way too long as it is!!