Word: russian
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...should have been over by now. this time last year, Russian generals talked confidently of the final stage of their operations in Chechnya-mopping up the scattered bands of guerrillas who had fled to the hills to escape the Russian military onslaught. Vladimir Putin, in his most famous sound bite ever, promised in gangster language to "rub out" the separatist commanders, even if they were on "the john." But something has gone badly wrong. The guerrillas are back in the cities and towns. The Kremlin has turned against the civilian it put in charge of Chechnya, Akhmad Kadyrov, and replaced...
...Even this prediction seems over-optimistic. Moscow depicts the Chechnya operation as painful but steady progress. In fact it is at best treading water. Military casualties are up, control is slipping. The Russians are losing allies through their own brutality and heavy-handedness and also the guerrillas' ruthless campaign of assassinating anyone who cooperates with the Moscow-backed administration. Guerrillas in Grozny have stepped up daylight attacks on Russian troops. And now they claim they will launch an offensive this summer, perhaps even before Vladimir Putin and George Bush meet later this month-seizing a large population center like Grozny...
...leave recently. Moscow increased the confusion by naming first one replacement, then another. To add to Moscow's woes, German Ugryumov, deputy director of the FSD (Federal Security Service) and the man in overall charge of the pacification of Chechnya, died of an apparent heart attack at the main Russian base just outside Grozny. With the coming of spring, and the return of forest cover, Russian commanders predicted an upsurge of ambushes in the countryside. Instead, the ambushes have occurred in the cities-three paramilitary police were killed in Grozny last week after they called home from a phone office...
...situation is no better on the political front. When Akhmad Kadyrov, once a close ally of separatist President Aslan Maskhadov, was appointed head of the Russian-backed administration last year, Kremlin officials predicted he would split the enemy, enticing top commanders to surrender or rally to the Russians. He has made no headway with the separatists, but has alienated the old guard of pro-Russian Chechens. The one area where Kadyrov has shown any zeal is private business, the Kremlin-backed website strana.ru noted in a biting attack on him. Last week, in a further sign of Moscow's unhappiness...
...Europeans say: Russia's concerns should slow the pace of expanding NATO, particularly into the territories along the Russian frontier. On Balkan peacekeeping, the Europeans want Washington to maintain its commitments. And the Europeans want to expand their own military capability to be less dependent on Washington's leadership in responding to crises such as those in the Balkans...