By Michael Collins

The Russian newspaper Izvestia (4/24) reported that during his 2012 trip to Russia, Tamerlan Tsarnaev attended a conference sponsored by the Fund of Caucasus, "which cooperates with the U.S. organization Jamestown" [Jamestown Foundation], a nonpartisan DC based research organization. The paper reported that the July 2012 conferences and others like it are used to recruit intelligence assets to gain information and influence in the Caucasus region. The United States and regional ally Georgia compete with Russia to win the favor of peoples and regional powers for energy transport and exploitation. (Image)

Izvestia reported that this information came from the Republic of Georgia Ministry of Internal Affairs Counterintelligence Department. The Fund of Caucasus denied any connection to Tamerlan and the other allegations from in the Izvestia article.

Tamerlan made two trips to Russia, one in 2011 and another between January and the summer of 2012. Tamerlan was in the TIDE database of potential terrorists. There are currently 700,000 names in the TIDE system.

The Russian intelligence apparatus alerted U.S. intelligence with a warning about Tamerlan but U.S. officials gave the warning with a less than urgent status.

The politics behind the story are of real interest. The Jamestown Foundation is the type of organization that the Putin government simply can't stand. While not formally a nongovernment organization (NGO), it is easy to see how the Russians would see it similar to the NGO's expelled from Russia recently. President Vladimir Putin claimed these groups were undermining the Russian government in behalf of the U.S. and European governments.

The Russian government sees the Fund of Caucasus an agent of the Republic of Georgia, an enemy. Georgia and Russia were involved in an ill-fated and very brief military confrontation two years ago. A military incident in 2008 resulted in a major attack by Georgian forces against Russian peace keepers in South Ossetia. The Russians responded predictably. Land and naval forces were deployed routing the Georgian troops and humiliating the Georgian government.

The U.S. government end of the story has multiple layers. The administration and intelligence apparatus wants to avoid blame for any real or perceived mistakes leading up to the mass assault on citizens in Boston. As a result, their narrative will be less than transparent, a process that will be conveniently attributed to "national security" concerns.

The Tamerlan trip recalls the Russian sojourn of another high profile accused, Lee Harvey Oswald. He spent nearly 18 months in Russia stating that he preferred that system. He finally asked to repatriate to the United States. Unlike the warnings the Russians gave regarding Tamerlan, the government of the Soviet Union was simply glad to see Oswald leave.

Who knows what all this means at this point. But we deserve to know through a full instigation of any of the links claimed in the Izvestia article or other ties to any government or organization. Unlike the cloak of secrecy draped of the JFK assassination investigation, we don't need decades of unanswered questions.

END

Note: The Jamestown Foundation published a story on April 22, two days before the Izvestia piece discussed in this article. The foundation article asked if Russian authorities could be involved "in any way" with the Boston attacks. Russian antipathy toward Jamestown goes back to December 7, 2007 when Reuters ran an article in which Russian authorities accused the foundation of "deliberately spreading slander" about the situation in Russian republics in the North Caucasus. Special thanks to Agonist user dk for calling attention to these articles.

This article may be reposted with attribution of authorship and a link to this article.

+++++++++++++++++++++++

Article from Izvestia - Google translate

http://izvestia.ru/news/549252 # ixzz2RRyR6I5t

Izvestia, Russia April 24, 2013, 00:01 | Politics | Anastasia Kashevarova, Julia Choi

Tamerlane Tsarnaeva recruited via the Georgian Foundation
39 comments

N.B. The paragraph in italics from the article needs a better translation than Google can offer. It is a devastating charge if it means what it seems to say.

One of the organizers of the terrorist attack in Boston, studied at the workshop held in conjunction with the Georgian special services

At the disposal of "Izvestia" has documents Counterintelligence Department Ministry of Internal Affairs of Georgia, confirming that the Georgian organization "Fund of Caucasus", which cooperates with the U.S. non-profit organization "Jamestown" (the board of directors of NGOs previously entered one of the ideologists of U.S. foreign policy, Zbigniew Brzezinski), was engaged in recruiting residents North Caucasus to work in the interests of the United States and Georgia.

According to the reports of Colonel Chief Directorate Counterintelligence Department Ministry of Internal Affairs of Georgia Gregory Chanturia to the Minister of Internal Affairs Irakli Garibashvili, "Caucasian fund" in cooperation with the Foundation "Jamestown" in the summer of 2012 conducted workshops and seminars for young people of the Caucasus, including its Russian part. Some of them attended, Tsarnaev Tamerlane, who was in Russia from January to July 2012.

"Caucasian fund" writes Tchanturia was established November 7, 2008, just after the Georgian-Ossetian conflict, "to control the processes taking place in the North Caucasus region." Accordingly, the Department of the Interior Ministry counterintelligence case was brought intelligence operations called "DTV". Main purpose is to recruit young people and intellectuals of the North Caucasus to enhance instability and extremism in the southern regions of Russia.

"In order to finance the organization was determined monthly amount of $ 33 million lari (660 thousand). Since the establishment of the organization before 1 January 2013 the amount allocated in the end amounted to 4.058 million GEL (81.1 million), "- wrote in a report Tchanturia.

The documents referred to, and the work of the "Caucasian fund" in the three border areas of Azerbaijan and Dagestan - Balacan, Zakatalsky and Kakh.

In addition, Colonel counterintelligence Tbilisi reports that security forces in Chechnya through Georgia "Caucasian fund" and fund "Jamestown" are sympathetic to the Georgian people, who are invited to various events in the republic under the innocent pretexts. In these seminars, the Russians are recruiting and preparing acts of terrorism.

Deputy head of the NGO "Agency of the socio-political initiatives" Tatiev Iles, who oversees the North Caucasus Federal District, said that the activities of the "Caucasian fund" raises too many questions.

- Where in Georgia, which exists on the loans, the extra money for some funds? - Ask the expert. - I do not exclude that this fund is affiliated with the Department of State in the North Caucasus.

The head of the New York office of the Institute for Democracy and Cooperation Andranik Migranyan, who learned about the "Caucasian fund" from the "News", believes that the activities of the organization, as it is depicted in the documents that fits into the policy of the Georgian authorities.

- Saakashvili administration is conducting an overt anti-Russian line - says the analyst.

Director General of the National Strategy Council Valery Hamsters argues that exaggerated the force of external enemy in Georgia may be beneficial to the management of the North Caucasian republics.

- I think the danger is exaggerated Georgian factor - the expert believes. - Personally, I have no doubt that Georgia only deals with the introduction of its spies and recruit Russian citizens.

A member of the security committee Anatoly Elected even promised according to their ability to connect to the investigation of the "Caucasian fund."

- Documents of which you speak, like the truth. Real friendly moves by Georgia and the U.S., we do not see, their goal is to make Russian state, which can be controlled, - the Elected.

Jamestown Foundation has repeatedly demonstrated its interest in Georgia and the state of affairs in Russia's North Caucasus. In 2007, the Foundation held a seminar "The Future of Ingushetia," which was attended by former fighters of Aslan Maskhadov.

In March 2010, the Jamestown Foundation asked the IOC to not hold the Olympic Games in Sochi, citing the tragic events of the Caucasian War of XIX century.

In 2011, political scientists Fund predicted that Georgia in the coming year will take a leading role in the Caucasus and Russia will be serious competition as a "regional leader".

The Russian Foreign Ministry has repeatedly responded to the ongoing policy of the fund, handing over a protest note to U.S. in Moscow.
Write a comment