September 4, 2012:
Despite all the publicity about increased defense spending, there is much less talk on how to solve the growing problem with Islamic terrorism. This is a war going on inside Russia and it has been getting worse in the last decade. There are over eight million Moslems in Russia, most of them outside the Caucasus (where most of the Islamic terrorist activity is taking place). But Islamic conservatism and radicalism is becoming more popular with Russian Moslems, and this is the usual precursor for the formation of Islamic terror groups. There are also a growing number of Moslem migrants from Central Asian countries that were part of the old Soviet Union but are now independent and less well off than Russia. These illegal economic migrants are not welcome and have become fertile recruiting grounds for Islamic terror groups. Russians tend to be hostile to Islam, mainly because of centuries of conflict between Christian Russia and various Moslem states. This has created a culture of resentment among Russian Moslems, which is made worse by the pervasive corruption.
August 29, 2012: In the Caucasus (Dagestan) a female suicide bomber killed Sheikh Said Afandi, a prominent Moslem leader who opposed Islamic terrorism. Six others died in the explosion.
August 28, 2012: In the Caucasus (Ingushetia) several police raids left three Islamic terrorist dead, several more arrested, and large quantities of weapons and ammunition seized.
Also in the Caucasus, a group of Islamic terrorists crossed the border from Dagestan into Georgia and kidnapped ten villagers. Georgian police responded and in a gun battle killed 11 of the invaders, with the loss of three policemen. The captives were freed. It's unclear why the Islamic terrorists crossed the border and sought to kidnap people from a foreign country. For many years Georgia tolerated Chechen rebels hiding out in northern Georgia, just across the border from Chechnya. But a decade ago the U.S. and Russia persuaded the Georgians to expel the Islamic terrorists and other foreign gunmen. For the last nine years the foreigners have been absent, or very covert if they were there. Now there is this incident, which has so far been unexplained.
August 27, 2012: A Russian shipyard launched the first of six Kilo class submarines Vietnam ordered three years ago.
August 26, 2012: In a rural part of southern Siberia several people were infected with Anthrax, and one of them died. Anthrax is found naturally in this area and several infected animals (who pick up the disease while grazing in areas where the Anthrax spores are active) were destroyed. Anthrax is also found in some parts of the United States and other parts of the world where climate and geographic conditions are right for it. In rural areas of the United States where Anthrax is found, people liable to be exposed are usually vaccinated against the deadly disease. Animals are also vaccinated, as it is the cattle and sheep that usually spread Anthrax to humans. Vaccination is much less common in Russia but over a hundred people and all animals in the area were vaccinated in order to contain this outbreak.
August 22, 2012: In the United States there was an unsubstantiated news story about a Russian Akula class nuclear submarine cruising through the Gulf of Mexico undetected for several weeks in July. The United States does not monitor submerged submarine activity in that area and the American Department of Defense responded that it had no record of any Akulas in the area. The Russian Navy refused to comment.
August 21, 2012: In the Caucasus (Kabardino-Balkaria) an Islamic terrorist died in a gun battle with police. In nearby Dagestan, two policemen were killed by Islamic terrorists.