Word: chechens
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...starters, the governments of Russia and Georgia have very different ideas on who the bad guys are. Moscow has long demanded the right to attack all Chechen fighters based inside Georgian territory, in particular a group of Chechen rebels sheltering in the Pankisi Gorge. Georgia, eager to break free of two centuries of Russian influence, has labeled the rebels "Chechen freedom fighters" - and has refused Russia permission to launch operations in the Pankisi...
...they've invited the U.S. to come into Pankisi instead, to train Georgian forces for an ongoing anti-terrorism mission. The U.S. and Georgia say their target will be about a dozen Arab extremists based in the area, believed to be long-time volunteers with a militant Chechen faction (rather than stragglers from Afghanistan). But they won't be launching an all-out campaign against Chechen fighters in the Pankisi...
...Russia sees the entire Chechen separatist guerrilla movement as indistinguishable from al-Qaida, and won't appreciate the distinction being drawn by the Georgians between the small al-Qaida element they intend to pursue and the bulk of the Chechen fighters who will, presumably, be left unmolested unless they challenge Georgian authorities. But Moscow's chagrin is ultimately fueled by the profound strategic consequences of the arrival of U.S. forces in what has traditionally been Russia's backyard...
...substantial U.S. deployment over Moscow's objections would end the illusion that Russian cooperation against the Taliban will buy Western endorsement of Moscow's often brutal military campaign in Chechnya. The U.S. military has made clear it has no intention of cooperating with Russian forces against Chechen fighters in the Pankisi. The objective of any mission, officials say, would be to help the Georgian government regain control of an area that had become a haven of criminality and a sanctuary for a small number of al-Qaida operatives...
...Chechen conflict was costly for the Russians, Khrushchev reminded his audience...