Russia: Still brokering terrorism. (Insider Report).

In January, Israeli commandos seized the Palestinian cargo vessel Karine A carrying 50 tons of Iranian arms bound for PLO terrorists (see "PLO: Protected Lethal Organization" in our February 11th issue). At the time of the seizure, a State Department official commented: "There's plenty of evidence to show that it [the Iranian shipment] wasn't a rogue operation." Another piece of the puzzle was disclosed on March 23rd, when American and Israeli intelligence officials declared that the intercepted shipment was the outgrowth of a "new alliance that involves Iranian shipments of heavy weapons and millions of dollars to Palestinian groups that are waging guerrilla war against Israel," observed the New York Times.

In typical fashion, the Times gave slight attention to the truly newsworthy element of this March 24th story - the role Moscow played in brokering the Iranian-Palestinian terrorist alliance. The story quotes the intelligence officials as saying that this terrorist "partnership ... was arranged in a clandestine meeting in Moscow last May between two top aides to Mr. Arafat and Iranian government officials. The meeting took place while Mr. Arafat was visiting President Vladimir V. Putin of Russia...."

It should be remembered that Mr. Putin is a career KGB veteran, and that he has surrounded himself with veterans of that notorious secret police organ. Obviously, it defies comprehension that such a meeting, which reportedly took place between representatives of Arafat and the Iranians, would evade the Putin government's notice.

The case of Viktor But, a former Soviet military officer-turned-terrorist gunrunner, offers another example of Russia's puzzling indifference toward terrorists in its midst. The London Guardian reported on March 2nd that But, "suspected of being the main gunrunner to al-Qaeda and the Taliban, said yesterday he was living freely in Russia despite statements from the Russian authorities that they were seeking him on an Interpol warrant."