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Israel as the Promised Land

(Chechen Times/Moscow Times)Pavel Felgenhauer - During the Cold War, when Russian officers were directly engaged in combat with the Israelis as jet fighter pilots and military advisers to the Egyptian and Syrian military and antiaircraft missile battery crews, they sometimes got killed or wounded in action. Then the respect our [Russian] men had for the Israeli foe was always high. After the collapse of the Soviet Union, the fascination with the Israelis increased within the Moscow military and intelligence community. In the last decade, Russia, like Israel, has faced Islamist-connected opponents and experienced a serious terrorist threat. A perceived common enemy is a good basis to build friendship. The Israeli military is modern, has all the latest high-tech gadgets, and is all conscript. Boys serve three years, girls eighteen months. Reservists regularly serve one month per year. There are virtually no draft dodgers, the population truly supports its military. General Vladimir Vasilyev, chief of the Duma Security Committee, visited Israel with a Russian security delegation after the Beslan school attack and publicly heaped praise on Israel for having what we do not: "A sober society with a clear national idea." The idea of using Israeli know-how inanti-terrorist operations ismore popular today in Moscow than ever before. The possibility of purchasing Israeli-made unmanned surveillance drones and other equipment to use against the Chechen rebels has been discussed.
2004-11-12 00:00:00
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