Putin Growing Stronger?

As I had posted some time ago, Prime Minister Putin is just waiting for the chance to run his
country as President once again.

He continues to flex his muscles, and show the Russian people he really is still in charge even
after more than a year and half out of office.

Putin recently toured the areas of the big forest fires. He was seen recently in a town destroyed
by the fires. He promised that all the houses will be rebuilt and that each family will receive more
than $6,000 in compensation.

Experts on Russia claim that Putin is using the problems and hardships to position himself to
become the next leader. One of them, Lila Shevtsova says "He needs to unequivocally indicate to the country that he is in control, and not Medvedev, whom Putin never counted for much anyway."

Putin has for some time been overshadowing President Medvedev, who more or less has always
been seen as just a puppet following Putin's orders.

The world had better take notice of just what is going on behind the scenes, and be very wary.
Putin has also been the driving force to increase and upgrade Russian military.

Can we believe that when he becomes president again that all will be warm and fuzzy and cozy?
I am quite view it quite sceptically.

What about the Russian ties to North Korea? How will he think about China?

This bears very close watching and monitoring.

Jerald Terwilliger
National Chairman
American Cold War Veterans
"We Remember"

----------------"And so the greatest of American triumphs... became a peculiarly joyless victory. We had won the Cold War, but there would be no parades."-- Robert M. Gates, 1996

Prime Minister Putin and deported spies

Vladimir Putin met with the deported Russian spies and sang old KGB songs with them. They
sang "What Motherland Begins With" and other songs of that type. The song was from a 1968
television show about Russian spies in Germany. It was also know as the unofficial song of
the KGB.

He praised them for taking risks without possible diplomatic immunity. "They had to learn a
new language, speak it and think it".

Putin promised that Russia would take care of them "They will work, and I am sure they will have decent jobs," he said. "And I am sure they will have an interesting and bright life."

The spies were not charged in the U.S., and it is not sure if any information of value was passed
to Russia. Some Russians claim the venture was a failure, and proved that Russian agents
are ineffectual and not worth the time and money expended.

Putin also attended a motorcycle convention of about 5,000 bikers from Europe and beyond.
He was seen riding a Harley Davidson motorcycle with the Russian flag flying behind him.

And it appears that the fact that the spies who were caught in the U.S. has not had any effect
on President Obama's attempt to improve relations with Russia.

There was actually very little said about and/or reported by the mainstream media about the fact
that these spies had been in the country for over ten years. Can it be that we do not care?
Have we as a nation grown that blase and used to the fact that spies still exist? Certainly if
there were 10, there are more that have not yet been discovered. It reminds me of the old
Mad Comics Spy vs Spy.


So will this have any bearing on the proposed Cold War Service Medal that is in Congress?
Will this mean that once again the Cold War Veterans will be dismissed and ignored?

We hope not. Please contact your elected officials tell them that a Cold War Service Medal is
justified, and it is past time to honor our veterans. Let us finally remember them and their
sacrifices.

Jerald Terwilliger
National Chairman
American Cold War Veterans
"We Remember"

----------------"And so the greatest of American triumphs... became a peculiarly joyless victory. We had won the Cold War, but there would be no parades."-- Robert M. Gates, 1996

Russian Prime Minister Putin Pledges money and military aid to Abkhazia

y RUSLAN KHASHIG

Associated Press Writer

SUKHUMI, Georgia -- Russia's Prime Minister Vladimir Putin visited the separatist Georgian region of Abkhazia on Wednesday, promising to provide nearly $500 million in military aid and shrugging off Georgian protests.

Putin's visit came on the anniversary of the cease-fire in last year's war with Georgia, during which Russian troops and separatist forces ousted Georgian forces from the territory of Abkhazia and another breakaway Georgian province, South Ossetia.

The Georgian Foreign Ministry strongly protested Putin's trip as "yet another attempt to destabilize the situation and escalate the tension in the Caucasus region."

After the war, Russia recognized both regions as independent, a move either denounced or ignored by all other countries except Nicaragua. Putin said Wednesday that Russia wouldn't change its mind.

"The situation has changed radically, and there will be no return to the past," he said.

Putin urged Russian businesses to invest in Abkhazia, adding that other nations "who are still waiting will come later and will simply pay more."

"Frankly speaking, Abkhazia doesn't need to be recognized by anyone but Russia," he said after the talks with Abkhazia's separatist leaders.

In an interview with the Abkhazian media published Wednesday, Putin accused Washington of forcing its allies to toe its line against Russia after the war.

"There are many who support us in the West," Putin said. "They all feel a certain pressure from the most powerful NATO member - the United States. After the end of the Cold War, some people in the United States got an illusion they don't have to follow any rules and do what they want."

He added on a less defiant note that now "all have come to realize that ... no country in the world can play the role of a global policeman."

The war in Georgia drove the Russian-U.S. ties to their lowest point since the Cold War times, and the issue remains an irritant in relations between Moscow and Washington despite President Barack Obama's efforts to improve ties with the Kremlin.

The Georgian Foreign Ministry said the visit to Abkhazia by Putin, whom it described as "the main initiator and ideologist of the war" against Georgia, demonstrated that "Russia continues to defy the internationally recognized norms and principles of international law, its own international commitments and reputation as well as the norms of civilized conduct."

Shortly after Putin left Abkhazia, a small explosive device blew up in a garbage container on Sukhumi's sea promenade, city police said. No one was hurt. Police would not speculate on who was responsible.

In recent weeks, both Russia and Georgia have trumpeted their competing versions of which side started the war.

Russia says it was responding to a Georgian assault on South Ossetia, whose residents mostly have Russian passports. Georgia says it was acting to repel invading Russian troops and accuses Russia of scheming to take over all of Georgia.

Putin dismissed suggestions that Russia's presence in Abkhazia and South Ossetia reflected imperial ambitions.

"These are small republics, small countries, but there are many such examples in the world. There is nothing exclusive in this," he said in an interview with the Abkhazian media.

Putin compared the Georgian breakaways to San Marino and Monaco. "All of them, these small European countries, have special relations with their neighbors," he said. San Marino and Monaco are microstates with strong relationships with Italy and France, respectively.

"Russia is providing and will provide economic, political and, if necessary, military assistance to Abkhazia," he said, adding that Russia will spend 15 billion to 16 billion rubles ($465 million to $495 million) next year for Abkhazian military bases and border-control projects.

Russia offered no details on its military base plans. Russian news reports have said the Russian Navy could relocate part of its Black Sea Fleet to the Abkhazian port of Ochamchira when its lease at Ukraine's Sevastopol expires in 2017.

Besides military spending, Putin said that Russia would provide 10.9 billion rubles ($330 million) in economic and social assistance to Abkhazia in 2010-2011. Abkhazia's isolation since its mid-1990s break from Georgia has devastated its tourism and its wider economy.

Jerald Terwilliger

National Vice Chairman, American Cold War Veterans, Inc.