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Posted to YouTube by France 24 English, Sept. 14, 2016.

Anything is possible — for that, catch up with what lends itself to scrutiny on Snopes — but what is probable: Could there be a Russian connection to al-Qaeda today?

“It is not fashionable to accuse the Russians of having any ties to Middle East terrorism today. Indeed, some conservatives seem to think the U.S. and Russia can work together to defeat radical Islam.

“The analyst and author Jeff Nyquist asks, “When we learn that a leading commander in ISIL was born in the Soviet Union and trained in Russia, we ought to wonder what is really going on?” Omar al-Shishani, the Russian commander in ISIL (also known as ISIS or the Islamic State), has been reported to be the group’s overall military chief.”  — Cliff Kincaid, Accuracy in Media, September 30, 2014.

Why would post-Soviet Russia continue its involvement with terrorist organizations?

To promote “political absolutism” — AKA “dictatorship” — worldwide; To weaken European Union and NATO cohesion and resolve.

How might Russia today use “the terrorists”?

By creating a problem only the “strong man” might resolve.

This time around, it may not be the cause of the terrorist that Moscow supports but rather the reaction to the same.  In essence, every “Allahu Akbar Attack” promotes a patriotic and nationalist response in the receiving state.  Every injured body politics swells with the insult to its security — and then it may take stronger measures to forestall the next.  There may be an opposite heightened response as well from the feely-touchy sort that gamely adopt the sympathetic position and become a part of the heightened Far Left.  The division created by “what to do?” then serves Moscow in its renewed existence as a medieval enterprise.

Applicable reference on this blog: “Syndicate Red Brown Green“; “FTAC – America’s Division Leans Toward Moscow“.

How many years of accumulated experience has Russia in these methods?

From the Soviet Era and NKVD forward: about 80 years experience using violence as a part of producing a Political Theater of the Real, which might be better thought of as medieval spectacle and tableaux.

Basis for this view?

Mikhail Bogdanov’s November 2014 meeting with PFLP in Moscow shortly before a PFLP attack on a Jerusalem synagogue.

Moscow’s refusal to designate either Hamas or Hezbollah as terrorist organizations plus evidence of direct Russian military support for Hezbollah operations in Syria.

Soviet Era Moscow’s exploitation of violence and terror in its own political expansion and long history as a state sponsor of terrorism.

Taras Kuzio’s analysis in “Is Russia a State Sponsor of Terrorism?” (New Eastern Europe, January 22, 2015) may bring readers up to speed on how it is that Iran is today a U. S. State Department designated state sponsor of terrorism and Russia is not.

Realpolitik – Work With Moscow or Confront and Resist?

That’s a tough question for BackChannels.

The democratic open societies of the west may be obligated to confront aggressive dictatorships but by using the broad suite of business, diplomatic, political, and social tools that might deflect all parties from open conflict and its amplification and expansion.  Perhaps the Obama Administration has been doing as much all along.  However, as this post-Cold War and now “Cold Struggle” aspect of western relations with Moscow comes into focus, western constituencies and representatives may have to ask about the development of state compromises and dependencies associated with Moscow’s feudal revanche.

The wealthy of the world — the one-half of the one percent, the world’s global business, financial, and political elite — may ask themselves (depending on how busy some may be with defense contracts) how the promotion of fear through state-driven displays of violence and terror suit the greater commercial viability of expanding non-defense business and consumer markets.

Fast Links

http://www.theatlantic.com/international/archive/2011/12/how-the-soviet-union-transformed-terrorism/250433/ – 12/23/2011.

http://www.aim.org/aim-column/the-russian-roots-of-terrorism/ – 9/30/2014.

http://www.jrnyquist.com/the-dark-side-of-the-moon.html – 2/9/2015.

https://themoscowtimes.com/news/russia-says-hezbollah-hamas-arent-terrorist-groups-50783 – 11/16/2015.

http://dailycaller.com/2016/01/27/report-russia-actively-supporting-a-designated-terrorist-group-in-syria/ – 1/27/2016.

Fast Links – BackChannels

https://conflict-backchannels.com/2015/10/02/syria-assad-vs-the-terrorists-how-isis-defends-assad/ – 10/2/2015.

https://conflict-backchannels.com/2016/08/29/ftac-americas-division-leans-toward-moscow/ – 8/29/2016

Fast Links – Wikipedia

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Terrorism_and_the_Soviet_Union

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Red_Terror

On Russia and Terrorism – Two Excerpts

“It is now interesting to see in what way history repeats itself. And why should history not repeat? – Especially when successful strategies may be used again and again, with nobody the wiser. We were manipulated in 1939-45, and we have been manipulated in the period 2001-2014. Of course, it is not that Hitler and bin Laden were nice guys. It is merely that we allowed ourselves to become so absorbed in fighting a lesser enemy that we completely lost sight of the greater enemy. Worse, this greater enemy manipulated us in ways that are shameful to have permitted. Once again, we turned a blind eye to Russia’s preparations to take over Europe; that is to say, preparations to take full advantage of our distraction.”  — From J. R. Nyquist, “The Dark Side of the Moon,” February 9, 2015.

“In the 1960s and 70s, the Soviet Union sponsored waves of political violence against the West. The Red Brigades in Italy and the German Red Army Faction both terrorized Europe through bank robberies, kidnapping, and acts of sabotage. The Soviets wanted to use these left-wing terror groups to destabilize Italy and Germany to break up NATO. State-sponsored terrorism was a deeply Soviet phenomenon, but its practice did not stop when the Soviet Union ended. While state sponsorship continues, terrorism has mutated into something even harder for us to understand and respond to. But some of the roots of today’s terrorism go back to the Soviet Union.” — Nick Lockwood, “How the Soviet Union Transformed Terrorism,” The Atlantic, December 23, 2011.

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