KOREA ALERT
J. Adams
March 12th, 1998
What do you know... Just as the U.S. is positioned to bomb
Iraq and just as NATO is considering intervention against the
Serbs in Kosovo, the third piece of the global war puzzle
suddenly falls in place.
As I have long been warning in my Global War Alerts and
Articles, there is reason to believe that Russia is setting-up
the West in order to successfully wage a nuclear third world war
and thereby dominate the world.
http://www.ucc.uconn.edu/~jpa94001/content.html
http://www.ucc.uconn.edu/~jpa94001/j24.html
Russia's strategy appears to involve creating a false security in
the West by feigning weakness (when 25,000 nuclear weapons are
still ready to be unleashed) while puppet states are used to
provoke the West into an all-out fight. In particularly, I've
emphasized how the rogue dictatorial states of Iraq, Serbia and
North Korea are, in fact, operating on behalf of Moscow in
implementing a global strategy geared to bring about the West's
defeat and the worldwide victory of totalitarianism.
In recent weeks, the U.S. and Western powers have been
brought to the brink of conflicts with Serbia and Iraq, countries
positioned to ignite the Balkan and Middle East flashpoints. The
one flashpoint left that I watch is Korea, where nothing much
seemed to be happening....until now that is.
At the beginning of the month North Korea reported that the
country only had two weeks of food left. This was a rather
strange admission for the Communist dictatorship, where internal
problems are usually hidden from the outside world. What was
even stranger, though, was that relief agencies in North Korea
are projecting that the food supply there won't run out until
May. Why would Pyongyang publicly *overestimate* North Korea's
food shortage?
Late last week, just a few days after Pyongyang's odd
admission, some alarming reports surfaced of a possible military
coup (see below). Although the major media failed to cover the
story, there were reports of some sort of military conflict in
the capital city of Pyongyang and martial law was subsequently
imposed in the country.
Tonight, some more alarming news has come out concerning
North Korea. The country just announced a "wartime mobilization"
across the country. Why? No one seems to know at this point.
What is notable is that these recent developments come just
as four-way peace talks, involving the U.S., China and North and
South Korea, are going to resume next week. Given the
approaching peace talks, North Korea's warning of a food crisis
and the new wartime mobilization might be dismissed by the U.S.
and South Korea as posturing by the North to get as much leverage
as possible in negotiations using an implicit threat of war.
This unresponsiveness may be a grave miscalculation on the part
of the West.
As I've been warning, igniting the Korean Peninsula may be a
strategic diversion planned by Moscow. By having North Korea
attack South Korea early-on in, or maybe at the beginning of,
world war three, Russia can divert a sizeable proportion of U.S.
military forces into the Far East. In this way, the Balkans and,
more importantly, the Middle East are left under-defended and
vulnerable to Russia's "Last Dash to the South" (the title of
Vladimir Zhirinovsky's supposed autobiography).
Thus, given how Iraq is ready to ignite the Middle East and
Serbia is ready to ignite the Balkans, it makes sense that North
Korea is going to ignite the Korean Peninsula. Indeed, a second
Korean War could be the opening act of world war three and
conflicts will follow in the Balkans and Middle East. Regardless
of the timing, however, when Korea goes, U.S. military resources
will be drawn away from Europe and the Middle East and into the
Far East.
If a new Korean war is about to erupt, then this would
explain the recent, strange reports concerning North Korea.
Pyongyang announced an imminent food crisis in order to set the
stage for political instability. Rumors of unrest in Pyongyang
raise the prospect that a military coup has occurred. Now, a
wartime mobilization is announced the week prior to the
resumption of Korean peace talks. While the U.S. and South Korea
dismiss new developments as posturing for peace by Pyongyang, the
reality is that the North is posturing for war. The cover story
for war may be that a military coup took place in Pyongyang
because of a dire food crisis and, in order to retain control and
consolidate power, military leaders order an invasion of South
Korea.
Regardless of what exactly is happening concerning North
Korea right now, given the recent provocations by Iraq and
Serbia, one should keep an eye on Pyongyang. The odds are these
evil powers are working together based upon Moscow's
coordination.
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North Korea announces 'wartime mobilization'
BEIJING (March 12, 1998 11:01 p.m. EST) - North Korea has
announced a state of "wartime mobilization" across the country,
an international relief official in Pyongyang told Reuters by
telephone on Friday.
"The whole nation goes into a wartime mobilization state," said
the relief worker, reading from a government statement
distributed to diplomats and foreigners in North Korea.
The order, which went into effect at midnight on Thursday, was
accompanied by a gas attack exercise in Pyongyang, said the
official, who declined to be identified.
"The wartime system and order applies not only to the regular
armed forces, but also to the national economy and overall social
life," said the statement.
Last week, North Korea's official Korean Central News Agency
issued its grimmest warning yet about food shortages, saying the
country would run out of grain by mid-March, despite cutting
daily rations from 300 grams in January to just 100 grams in
March.
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The Washington Post
March 08, 1998, Sunday, Final Edition
"Reported N. Korean Clash Keeps Officials Busy"
By Kevin Sullivan, Washington Post Foreign Service
U.S. and South Korean officials spent Friday night scrambling
to investigate reports of an unusual clash Thursday among North
Korean troops in the capital, Pyongyang.
Officials say there is too little evidence from the secretive
nation to determine what caused the clash or whether it may have
been part of a coup attempt against Stalinist leader Kim Jong Il.
Officials in Seoul said the fighting, among an undetermined
number of troops, could have been part of military training
exercises or some other routine event.
But reports that apparently originated with foreign residents
of Pyongyang were disturbing enough that Stephen Bosworth, U.S.
ambassador to South Korea, was called back to the embassy after-
hours, and U.S. and South Korean intelligence officials worked
through the night to determine what had happened.
"There was something, but whatever it was seems to be over and
there are no signs that indicate any change in leadership," said
one official in Seoul. "A lot of people put a lot of time into
trying to figure out what this was, but everyone's pretty calm
now."
Rumors of an attempted coup reached Hong Kong today, where
traders on the financial markets were busy trying to gain more
information.
Unsubstantiated coup rumors have periodically surfaced for
years in North Korea, a closed and isolated nation run for nearly
a half-century by dictator Kim Il Sung until his death in 1994,
and since then by his son, Kim Jong Il.
North Korea has one of the world's largest military forces,
and the power of its military leaders is believed to be
considerable. Although most observers say Kim Jong Il has worked
hard to stay in control of the military, few would be shocked by
a coup attempt originating within the military ranks.
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BBC Summary of World Broadcasts
March 9, 1998, Monday
"South Korean paper reports gunfire, curfew in Pyongyang"
Source: 'Tong-a Ilbo', Seoul, in Korean 7 Mar 98 p3
Text of report by Beijing-based correspondent Hwang Ui-pong
published by the South Korean newspaper 'Tong-a Ilbo' on 7th
March
It was learned that there was an exchange of gunfire in
Pyongyang, North Korea, on 3rd March, and that the military has
posted guard on major public buildings. Thus, all areas in
Pyongyang have been put on emergency guard status.
On 6th March, a diplomatic source in Beijing said that "on the
night of 3rd March, members of the Ministry of Public Security in
North Korea attacked the Ministry of People's Armed Forces, and
as a result, gunfire was exchanged between the two sides, and a
night curfew has been imposed, effective at 0000
local time that day".
However, details of the incident, such as the background
behind the gunfire and the number of casualties, have not been
revealed.
The source added: "I understand that nothing has happened so
far regarding the personal safety of Kim Chong-il. However, North
Korea has imposed a state of emergency guard posture for the
state."
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Agence France Presse
March 12, 1998 23:17 GMT
"US to pitch Korean confidence-building measures March 16-20"
By Sarah Jackson-Han
WASHINGTON, March 11 (AFP) - The United States will propose a
series of confidence-building measures at talks next week with
North and South Korea as a step toward a lasting Korean peace
treaty, a senior US official said Wednesday.
"There is a nearly universally accepted method of tension
reduction," said the official, who asked not to be named. "That
is through the adoption of confidence-building measures,
ordinarily on an ascending track, from simple, easy ones onwards
to more difficult ones."
"That is essentially the approach we will offer in Geneva,"
where the four Korean War combatants -- North and South Korea,
China, and the United States --are to hold a second plenary
session of peace talks next week, he said.
North Korean authorities "might be willing to begin to discuss
with us what we mean by confidence-building measures," the
official said, without specifying what Washington had in mind.
Pyongyang is also expected to raise its need for international
food aid and urge Washington to lift a 48-year-old ban on
bilateral economic ties, imposed at the beginning of the 1950-53
Korean War.
The United States is unlikely to ease that embargo, however,
until North and South Korea agree upon and begin implementing
confidence-building measures, the official said.
He also voiced optimism about prospects for a new
rapprochement between North and South Korea following the
February inauguration of a new president in Seoul, former
dissident Kim Dae-Jung.
"I'm rather optimistic. I think over the next six months there
will be a number of opportunities for dialogue," he said.
US and North Korean officials will meet first in a bilateral
session Friday in Berlin on issues including Pyongyang's missile
program and efforts to account for US servicemen missing since
the Korean War.
US deputy assistant Secretary of State Charles Kartman and
North Korean deputy foreign affairs minister Kim Kye-Gwan will
lead their respective sides in Berlin.
Preparatory meetings will follow in Geneva over the weekend,
followed by the formal opening Monday of plenary talks scheduled
to last through Friday.
Leading the teams are assistant secretary of state Stanley
Roth of the United States, deputy foreign minister Kim Kye-Gwan
of North Korea, deputy foreign minister Song Young-Shik of South
Korea, and assistant foreign minister Chen Jian of China.
The stated aim of the four-party talks is replacing the UN
armistice that ended the Korean War with a permanent peace
mechanism, and US officials are expecting to hold four plenary
sessions in all.
But Washington and Seoul also hope to keep Pyongyang --
heavily armed and profoundly isolated -- interested in talking
with other countries, while Pyongyang hopes to win an easing of
US sanctions and more international aid.
United Nations forces, mostly from the United States, fought
against North Korea after it invaded the South in 1950. China
later joined the battle on the side of Pyongyang.
The United States and South Korea first proposed peace talks
among the four Korean war combatants in April 1996.
Two rounds of preliminary talks in August and September failed
to make headway. The North Koreans finally agreed to sit down at
formal peace talks in November, and an opening session followed
in December.
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BBC Summary of World Broadcasts
March 13, 1998, Friday
"Kim Chong-il inspects naval unit"
Source: Central Broadcasting Station, Pyongyang,
in Korean 2200 gmt 11 Mar 98
Kim Chong-il and military leaders have visited a naval unit
located in "a distant coastal area" . After an enthusiastic
welcome by the sailors, Kim praised the accomplishments of the
unit and gave " programmatic tasks" to serve as guidelines in the
unit's future development. He noted with satisfaction the
ideological indoctrination of the sailors and paid particular
attention to their living conditions and recreation facilities.
The following is the text of a report by North Korean radio on
11th March:
Comrade Kim Chong-il, supreme commander of the Korean People's
Army KPA, inspected Naval Unit 406 of the KPA.
Comrade Kim Chong-il, the great leader of our party and our
people, who is general secretary of the KWP Korean Workers'
Party, chairman of the DPRK Democratic People's Republic of
Koreaâ National Defence Commission, and KPA supreme commander,
inspected Naval Unit 406 of the KPA.
Accompanying him were KPA Vice-Marshal Comrade Cho Myong-nok,
director of the KPA General Political Department; KPA Vice-
Marshal Comrade Kim Yong-chun, chief of the KPA General Staff;
KPA generals comrades Hyon Chol-hae and Pak Chae-kyong; Col-Gen
Comrade Kim Yun-sim; Lt-Gen Comrade Sim Sang-tae, and operations
commanders of the KPA Supreme Command.
Very high revolutionary enthusiasm and militant spirit filled
the unit where the flag of the KPA supreme commander and that of
the republic were flying vigorously and where slogans describing
the People's Army soldiers'loyal resolve, such as "Long live
Comrade Kim Chong-il, the respected and beloved supreme
commander!" , "Let us fight for Comrade Kim Chong-il, the
respected and beloved supreme commander, with our lives" , and
"Let us defend the nerve centre of the revolution headed by the
great Comrade Kim Chong-il!" , were placed.
KPA supreme commander Comrade Kim Chong-il arrived at the
unit, located in a distant coastal area. Stormy hurrahs burst
forth from warships moored at the military port and from seaman
lined up at the unit, shaking heaven and earth. Moreover, shouts
of slogans such as " Bullets and shells!" and "Death-defying
defence" echoed over the dark blue sea.
Comrade Kim Chong-il, the respected and beloved supreme
commander, was received at the unit by KPA general-grade
officers, officers and commanders of the unit.
While passing the sailors who were enthusiastically welcoming
him, Comrade Kim Chong-il returned their warm greetings. He also
inspected the monument to the great leader Comrade Kim Il-sung's
on-the-spot guidance and the historical revolutionary site where
lie the immortal historic relics of the homeland operations of
Comrade Kim Chong-suk, the great communist revolutionary fighter.
Comrade Kim Chong-il stated that the unit had become an ever-
victorious rank with invincible might in the almost 30 years
since the great leader gave on-the-spot guidance, and warmly said
that the leader's great accomplishments in building the navy
would be immortal along with the fatherland.
Comrade Kim Chong-il noted with great satisfaction that, with
ardent loyalty to the party and the leader, the sailors of the
unit had turned the military port into an impregnable fortress
that can defeat and crush any surprise attack by the enemy in a
timely manner and they were prepared as warriors of the sea who
cherish their unchanging belief in the spirit of resolutely
defending the leader, the spirit of becoming bullets and shells,
and the spirit of suicidal attack. He gave programmatic tasks
that would serve as guidelines in further strengthening our naval
forces.
Comrade Kim Chong-il visited the education room of the unit
and learned in detail about the seamen's ideological
indoctrination and their cultural lives. Comrade Kim Chong-il
noted with great satisfaction that the unit was substantially
carrying out the sailors' indoctrination by studying, using
publications, publishing bulletins and brief battle news, and
various other methods, and he guaranteed them sufficient cultural
life. He stressed the need to further strengthen political and
ideological indoctrination in the KPA because the KPA is a school
of courage that raises soldiers with strong belief and will and
is a university of human perfection that raises genuine patriotic
soldiers who devote themselves to the fatherland and people.
While inspecting the bedrooms, dining facilities,
(?washrooms), and other welfare facilities of the unit, Comrade
Kim Chong-il took good care of the lives of the seamen with
paternal love. Comrade Kim Chong-il closely examined the
determinate quantity of rations for the sailors Korean:
kunindurui yangsik konggup chongnyangâ. He also examined the
structures of the bedrooms and toiletries to see whether they
were were suitable to the characteristics of a seaman, and said:
Because seamen spend so much time in high turbulent seas, special
attention must be paid to sleeping and eating conditions.
Comrade Kim Chong-il personally watched a joyful basketball
game of sailors that was held during recess after training. After
watching the basketball game, in which the officers and men
joyfully played together, Comrade Kim Chong-il expressed his
great joy over the fact that all sailors of the unit were living
joyfully and gallantly with a belief in and optimism about the
future, and said that our army's spirit of revolutionary struggle
and life was truly admirable.
That day, Comrade Kim Chong-il personally met with Sgt-Maj
Comrade Choe Kyu-chik, who served as an engineer when the seamen
received the great leader Comrade Kim Il-sung on a warship during
his visit to the unit 28 years ago, highly assessed his loyalty
for serving on a warship for a long time with the single desire
to repay the leader's benevolence, and extended boundless love
and care to him.
Comrade Kim Chong-il expressed his expectation and belief that
the sailors of the unit would fulfil their honourable duty as
soldiers of the leader, as soldiers of the party, and as soldiers
of the people, and gave them a pair of binoculars and an
automatic rifle as souvenirs.
KPA supreme commander Comrade Kim Chong-il had a commemorative
picture taken with the seamen of the unit.
All the sailors of the unit were filled with boundless thanks
for the fact that Comrade Kim Chong-il, the respected and beloved
supreme commander, who was truly working hard without taking a
rest to defend the safety and happiness of the fatherland and
people with invincible military strength, had visited the unit,
giving the sailors wisdom and courage for their invincibility,
and embraced them in his great bosom of love. They were also
filled with the fierce resolve to defend the seas of the
socialist fatherland with their lives.
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BBC Summary of World Broadcasts
March 9, 1998, Monday
South Korea notes reduction of North's "loudspeaker broadcasts"
Source: 'Choson Ilbo', Seoul, in Korean 5 Mar 98
Text of report from the South Korean newspaper 'Chungang Ilbo'
web site on 5th March
It has been learned that since February, North Korea has
drastically reduced its loudspeaker broadcasts towards South
Korea along the Armistice Line due to a shortage of electricity
and the like.
According to the ROK Republic of Koreaâ Joint Chiefs of Staff
JCSâ on 5th March, North Korea's loudspeaker broadcasts which
were transmitted for about seven hours and 30 minutes each day
from 50 different spots during the month of February, were three
hours less than that of January. In the case of six divisions in
the western district, the broadcasts were even suspended
frequently.
Nevertheless, for three days from 15th February, the
propaganda broadcasts for the idolization of Kim Chong-il on the
occasion of his birthday were heard throughout 100 districts.
A relevant JCS official said that " North Korea carried a
broadcast that indirectly slandered the new president on two
occasions on 6th January and 25th February, claiming that
'nothing can be expected from the new president'. However, North
Korea has refrained from directly slandering him."
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Jane's Defence Weekly
March 4, 1998
"Gulf operation is stretching US resources"
The US military build-up in the Gulf has set off alarms among top
military leaders who contend the costs and strains on equipment
and personnel are threatening readiness.
The Department of Defense (DoD) estimates the Gulf operation so
far has cost more than $600 million above ordinary operating
costs. Deputy Defense Secretary John Hamre warned that without
emergency supplementary funding soon, "we'll have very serious
readiness problems". However, underlying readiness was still
good, he said.
Hamre was joined by a team of senior military officers on Capitol
Hill last week to voice their concerns about the effects the Gulf
operation is having on their forces. Hamre said that a
supplementary funding request, which will cover the Gulf and at
least $500 million for the NATO peacekeeping operation in Bosnia,
will be forwarded to Congress by 6 March.
Meanwhile, the Gulf deployment is already exacerbating readiness
problems that have surfaced in recent months, particularly
shortages in spare and repair parts for navy and air force
aircraft, Hamre said. The open-ended build-up also poses problems
for pilot retention, which has plagued the DoD in recent years
due to the upswing in commercial airline hiring.
The Gulf operation is also straining the ability of the US armed
forces to meet other commitments, particularly in the Pacific.
For example, the theatre has been without an aircraft carrier
since the USS Independence arrived in the Gulf from Japan a few
weeks ago.
Given the unlikely event that North Korea would take advantage of
the decreased US presence, the Pentagon has bulked up forces in
the Pacific, sending a squadron of F-15Es, two AC-130 gunships,
and additional B-52 bombers and EA-6B electronic jammers to
various bases in the region.
The DoD has also told the USS Abraham Lincoln carrier battle
group to be ready on short notice to deploy to the western
Pacific if needed.
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Financial Times (London)
March 3, 1998, Tuesday
"Analysts wary of N Korean claims of grain shortages"
By John Burton in Seoul and Laura Silber at the UN in New York
North Korea, beset by a severe famine, yesterday warned it
would run out of grain stocks within two weeks, but analysts
expressed caution about the claim.
The North's official news agency said that grain shortages,
which it blamed on a series of natural disasters over the past
three years, would occur despite cuts in rations for January and
February.
It estimated grain stocks stood at 167,000 tonnes at the
beginning of 1998 to feed 22m people, with daily rations having
fallen from 300 grammes in January to 100 grammes this month.
South Korea's unification ministry said that North Korea was
exaggerating the situation to encourage contributions to an
appeal by the World Food Programme (WFP) for $ 378m in food aid.
Analysts said that Pyongyang might be testing the response of
Kim Dae-jung, the new South Korean president, who last week said
that Seoul would "not be parsimonious in extending food aid to
North Korea from the government and private organisations through
reasonable means."
The WFP indicated it was puzzled by the North Korean statement
and said Pyongyang might be referring to its own autumn harvest
rather than food stocks provided by international relief
agencies. It earlier estimated that total food supplies would be
exhausted by April or May. However, in New York, Francis Mwamza,
a WFP spokesman, said the appeal reflects the "seriousness of the
crisis in the country".
The International Red Cross and Red Crescent Societies also
recently estimated that North Korea would run out of grain by
April, which would then make the nation totally reliant on
foreign food aid until the next harvest in June.
The UN Food and Agriculture Organisation estimated that 1m
tonnes of food aid would be needed this year because of a
disappointing harvest and North Korea's limited ability to buy
food.
Despite its growing food shortages, North Korea has been
lukewarm in its response to proposals by South Korea's new
president to ease tensions through a summit meeting and increased
economic and cultural contacts.
"It has disappointed the nation that he failed to clearly show
a willingness to pursue a policy quite different from his
predecessor's for the reunification of the country," said the
North Korean communist newspaper, Rodong Shinmun.
* South Korea's parliament yesterday failed to approve a prime
minister nominated by Kim Dae-jung, the new president, after a
day of proceedings that erupted in shoving and shouting matches.
The debate over the appointment of Kim Jong-pil, the president's
right-wing coalition partner, amounted to a test of wills between
the new government and the centre-right opposition Grand National
party (GNP), which governed until its defeat in a presidential
election last December. The new president, who was inaugurated
last week, has been unable to appoint a cabinet until Mr Kim is
approved. Analysts warned that the bitter political fight could
undermine Korea's credibility.
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"Moscow Builds Bunkers Against Nuclear Attack"
By Bill Gertz
April 1st, 1997
THE WASHINGTON TIMES
Russia is continuing a Cold War-era program to build deep
underground bunkers, subways and command posts to help Moscow's
leaders flee the capital and survive a nuclear attack, The
Washington Times has learned.
Among the ambitious projects: a secret subway being built
directly to the residence of Russian President Boris Yeltsin
outside Moscow.
"The underground construction appears larger than previously
assessed," a CIA report labeled "top secret" reported two weeks
ago.
"Three decrees last year on an emergency planning authority
under Yeltsin with oversight of underground facility construction
suggest that the purpose of the Moscow-area projects is to
maintain continuity of leadership during nuclear war."
A copy of the report was obtained by The Washington Times
from defense sources. A CIA spokesman declined to comment.
Disclosure of the secret multibillion-dollar construction
program comes less than two weeks after President Clinton and Mr.
Yeltsin agreed in Helsinki to extend the deadline for nuclear
arms cuts under the START II treaty because of Russian concerns
over "dismantlement costs."
U.S. officials said the Russian spending on strategic
defenses, coupled with ongoing procurement of new strategic
missiles and submarines, raises questions about Moscow's claims
not to have funds needed to carry out START II reductions.
The outlays also raise new worries among some U.S. officials
about whether U.S. aid to Russia is allowing Moscow to spend its
money on building new strategic forces and facilities.
"How can the United States be so gullible to accept Russian
claims that it doesn't have the money to comply with START II
when it's made the decision to modernize its forces and build
these underground facilities?" asked one U.S. government defense
official.
According to the CIA report, construction work is continuing
on a "nuclear-survivable, strategic command post at Kosvinsky
Mountain," located deep in the Ural Mountains about 850 miles
west of Moscow. Satellite photographs of Yamantau Mountain, also
located about 850 miles west of Moscow in the Urals near the town
of Beloretsk, show continued digging at the "deep underground
complex" and new construction at each of the site's above-ground
support areas, the CIA stated. Yamantau Mountain means "Evil
Mountain" in the local Bashkir langauge.
"The command post at Kosvinsky appears to provide the
Russians with the means to retaliate against a nuclear attack,"
the CIA report said. "The rationale for the Yamantau complex is
unclear."
According to the CIA report, the Russians are building or
renovating four complexes within Moscow that would be used to
house senior Russian government leaders during a nuclear strike.
A map published in the report showed new subway construction
under way from Victory Park Station in Moscow to Mr. Yeltsin's
dacha, some 13 miles west of the Kremlin and about four miles
from the Moscow Ring Road.
Additionally, the CIA report stated that a bunker for Russian
leaders at Voronovo, about 46 miles south of Moscow, is nearly
complete. A second bunker located at Sharapovo, some 34 miles
from Moscow, has a special underground subway running directly to
it.
The subway system for Russian leaders allows for "rapid
evacuation of leaders during wartime from Moscow," the CIA said.
Presumably, the leadership would then be flown to the Yamantau or
Kosvinsky complexes. According to the report, Mr. Yeltsin and
Prime Minister Viktor Chernomyrdin endorsed the construction of
the bunkers, subways and command posts, and funding for the
Yamantau facility was listed for the first time this year in the
Russian federal budget.
Peter Pry, a former CIA analyst and author of a new book on
Russian nuclear operations, said the continued construction of
the Russian strategic defense sites is ominous and cannot be
dismissed by U.S. officials as "inertia" from Cold War-era
strategic policies.
"It shows they take the threat of nuclear war so seriously
that they're willing to spend scarce resources on it," Mr. Pry
said, adding that he was not familiar with the CIA report. "These
things are tying down billions of dollars in rubles that could go
into other enterprises the Russians need -- for example,
providing housing for Russian military officers."
Mr. Pry said Russian press reports say the underground
facility at Yamantau Mountain covers an area as large as the
Capital Beltway. The Clinton administration has been providing
hundreds of millions of dollars in U.S. aid to Russia to help
Moscow dismantle its nuclear arsenal.
Despite the aid, the CIA report shows that the Russians are
building both defensive and offensive strategic facilities and
weapons, including a new type of long-range strategic missile and
a new strategic missile submarine.
Russian Defense Minister Igor Rodionov said in February that
both the reliability and control of Russian nuclear weapons were
in question because of the deterioration of the armed forces, but
Pentagon officials have dismissed the statements as posturing by
Mr. Rodionov in a bid to boost his budget.
Mr. Pry said the Russian construction program also shows that
Russian leaders do not see a diminished threat of nuclear
conflict. "This is a manifestation of the Russians' continued
war-fighting attitudes," Mr. Pry said. "They believe in the idea
that you can survive and prevail in a nuclear conflict. These
kinds of facilities are designed to survive for weeks and
months."
By contrast, U.S. nuclear protective facilities have been
largely shut down. The complex underneath the Greenbriar resort
in Virginia was abandoned, along with another facility in
Virginia known as Mount Weather, U.S. officials have said.
The main nuclear command facility now in existence is located
inside Cheyenne Mountain, Colo., but it was only designed to
withstand small nuclear blasts and would easily be knocked out in
a large Russian missile attack.
By contrast, there are no nuclear weapons currently in the
U.S. arsenal capable of damaging the new Russian strategic
defense facilities.
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"War to the hilt between communism and capitalism is
inevitable. Today, of course, we are not strong enough to
attack. Our time will come in thirty or forty years. To win,
we shall need the element of surprise. The Western world will
need to be put to sleep. So we shall begin by launching the
most spectacular peace movement on record. There shall be
electrifying overtures and unheard of concessions. The
capitalist countries, stupid and decadent, will rejoice to
cooperate to their own destruction. They will leap at another
chance to be friends. As soon as their guard is down, we shall
smash them with our clenched fist."
(Dmitrii Z. Manuilskii)
(Lenin School of Political Warfare, Moscow, 1931)
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