From Poland with love: Warsaw missiles end up in militants' hands (Chechnya)

[Sirveri]

Source: Russia Today

Anti-aircraft missiles, which Poland sold to Georgia, have ended up in the hands of Chechen militants, according to Russian newspaper Isvestia. The article has caused a controversy which is far from being resolved any time soon.

The GROM missile, developed in Poland, is user-friendly, relatively cheap, and has a range of five kilometres. Its usual targets are low flying aircraft, such as helicopters, and because the missiles can be fired off the shoulder, they are easy to carry.

...

The Russian newspaper Isvestia claims to have found GROM Missiles, originally from Poland, in a deserted mountain village in Chechnya, and insists they got there via Georgia.

The Polish Foreign Ministry strongly denies sending weapons to Chechen fighters, which, it says, would breach international law, but it freely admits to selling one hundred GROM missiles to Georgia in an arms deal, which it says was entirely lawful and open.

Read more: http://www.russiatoday.com/news/news/34223

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More Saber rattling from the old bear, I hope Obama is paying attention. President Medvedev and Prime Minister Putin both have guarded optimism about the new admin (if they're being truthful in interview).

[AtheistCrusader]

1. Sort of a legitimate gripe, I would think.

Hillary is going to be one busy person next month, with friends like these.

[Sirveri]

5. Russia is PISSED at us over Georgia AND the Missle Shield.

Poland is a potential base for the missle shield along with the Czech republic. Then there was that wonderous push we gave to Georgia to go into Ossetia and cleanse some towns.

Now we've got Putin saying he wants to hang the leader of Georgia by the balls to Zsarkosy of France.

Shit is spiraling out of control rapidly over there and needs immediate attention from the next administration to prevent a serious freeze in relations. Especially in the current economic climate, we can't afford to alienate potential friends.

[FarCenter]

2. No doubt delivered via the Pankisi Gorge

The Pankisi Gorge in Northeastern Georgia connects into Chechnya, and it was a refuge and transit route for Salafist terrorists entering Chechnya.

So it is pretty logical that if Poland delivered the missiles to Georgia, they would get put on mules and sent through the Pankisi Gorge.

This is just a continuation of the Afghanistan strategy to use shoulder-fired missiles against the Russians.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Pankisi_Gorge

[mitchtv]

3. No help for the Polish facists if they

end up getting spanked

[iamthebandfanman]

6. fascist compared to whom?

atleast they get free nationwide health care

[mitchtv]

8. Europe

who they wish to emulate

[Trogus]

4. Chechnya

Out of interest, how much do people here know about Chechnya and its situation? Disturbing news if weapons like this were getting into the wrong hands; perhaps some sort of control on who or where can buy this sort of thing. Mind you, that particularly screwed up part of the world lost its last viable hope for true peace for a long time when Aslan Maskhadov was killed.

[mitchtv]

7. I don't know that much about Chechnya

I know it is a mainly muslim secessionist republic(soviet term) that has had a history of back and forth atrocities with Russia, I don't recognize the person you reference, tho. I sense that Poland has a great big chip upon her shoulder, with ample reason one might say, and it wouldn't be a suprise to find out that there is a link,with the intent to cause mischief from behind NATO's skirts.

[onager]

9. A long, bitter history.

Though I am certainly not, not, repeat NOT an expert. Just a History Geek without portfolio. I recently read Richard Overy's The Dictators: Hitler's Germany, Stalin's Russia, which had a lot of historical background on the various Russian "autonomous zones" like Chechnya.

These areas suffered brutal treatment after WWII, when an increasingly paranoid Stalin decided they were getting a little TOO autonomous. In the case of Chechnya, thousands of families were suddenly uprooted and exiled to other parts of Russia (or Siberia) after the war. This included many Chechnyan veterans of the Red Army, though Stalin claimed the Chechnyans collaborated with the invading German army.

The CBC has a good brief history of the Chechen situation:

http://www.cbc.ca/news/background/chechnya/

[Trogus]

10. A long, bitter history

very much so. The CBC thing is not too bad, as far as it goes, The major figure (is that right? I'm dyslexic, so my spelling can get a bit ropey) to be concerned about now is one Ramzan Akhmadovich Kadyrov, an extremely nasty piece of work, who is the current president of Chechnya, and is the son of the former pro moscow president Akhmad Kadyrov.