http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/europe/3636818.stm BBC News site - Russia plans to launch pre-emptive strikes on bases used for training militants, a senior general said earlier. "We will carry out all measures to liquidate terrorist bases in any region of the world," Gen Yuri Baluevsky was quoted as saying by Russian news agencies. "However, this does not mean that we will launch nuclear strikes." Heh I like that quote at the end, just in case anybody thought they were nuts.

Makes you wander why they mentioned nukes, but not chemical or biological agents. Nothing like the smell of a good blood agent in the morning.

I'd say Russia is still angry at Qatar for giving safe haven to Chechen terrorist leaders. Georgia might also become involved since Chechen rebels have been known to cross the border into the country.

Russian terror strike talk seen worrying Georgia BERLIN, Sept 8 (Reuters) - Comments from a top general that Russia will pre-emptively strike "terrorist bases" anywhere in the world will send a shiver of alarm through former Soviet republics, especially Georgia. Western analysts said Wednesday's remarks from Chief of Staff Yuri Baluevsky carried echoes of the U.S. doctrine in the "war on terror" of countering threats by launching first strikes, instead of waiting to be attacked. But they said Russia's sharply limited global reach meant the general's warning -- days after a bloody hostage siege by militants demanding Chechen independence -- would apply in practice to former Soviet republics in the Caucasus and Central Asia which Moscow still regards as its sphere of influence. Beyond that zone, the nuclear-armed former superpower could not launch conventional full-scale military action, although it might attempt hits on individual militants via operations like February's assassination of a prominent Chechen separatist in Qatar. "In practice this doctrine can only apply to the countries adjacent to Russia which are not part of a global alliance," said Jonathan Eyal, Russia analyst at the Royal United Services Institute in London. GEORGIA IN FRONT LINE Georgia would be in the front line, he said, but neighbouring Armenia, Azerbaijan and the five Central Asian states could also be seen by Moscow as legitimate theatres for military action. Tensions between Georgia and Russia are already high over Tbilisi's efforts to reassert control of its breakaway region of South Ossetia, where it recently accused Russian forces of being involved in attacks on Georgians. Russia, which maintains two military bases in Georgia, has periodically accused Tbilisi of allowing Chechen rebels to operate from the Pankisi Gorge, which borders Chechnya. Analysts said Moscow might revive such charges in the climate of heightened tension since last week's bloodbath in which at least 326 people -- around half of them children -- were killed after a three-day siege at a school in Beslan in Russia's North Caucasus. "To some extent the military here are looking to see what advantage they can take from the mood following the attack down in Beslan," said Roy Allison of Chatham House, a London-based think-tank. He said Baluevsky's comments were "very provocative" and seemed out of line with the views of President Vladimir Putin. It was not clear whether Baluevsky was speaking with Putin's backing but such a senior general would rarely express such views without at least the tacit approval of the president. ISRAELI BACKING But they met with understanding in Israel, which has its own long history of pre-emptive and reprisal strikes against militants both inside its borders and abroad. "There is no other choice when dealing with terrorism. This is an international threat that has to be tackled everywhere and anywhere," a senior official said. Asked if Israel would help, he said: "Israel and Russia have strategic agreements, which include intelligence-sharing, and I am sure this issue will come up in our next bilateral meeting." According to Israeli intelligence, some Chechen separatists have trained at camps in Lebanon and have ties with the militant Hizbollah group there. There are significant Chechen emigre communities in Jordan and Turkey, and Russian officials say they have frequently intercepted and killed Turkish fighters in Chechnya. Eyal said not even the "most mad general in Moscow" would contemplate a military strike in NATO-member Turkey. But he said Russia might well attempt further operations abroad like the assassination of former Chechen leader Zelimkhan Yandarbiyev in Qatar in February. A Qatari court convicted two Russian spies of the murder, in which Moscow denied involvement.

"I'd say Russia is still angry at Qatar for giving safe haven to Chechen terrorist leaders. Georgia might also become involved since Chechen rebels have been known to cross the border into the country." Qatar and Georgia are two close US allies. Which, of course, is nothing more than a coincidence.