Proposed Russian bill paves the way for continued aggression against neighbors Commentary
Proposed Russian bill paves the way for continued aggression against neighbors
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David Satter [Senior Fellow, Hudson Institute]: "The proposed law allowing Russian troops to intervene beyond Russia's borders is meant merely to provide legal cover for possible future Russian aggression. The law, which presumably will be adopted, declares as "legal" what was already done in the case of the Russian invasion of Georgia last August.

The principal point of the new law is that under its terms, Russia can intervene to protect "Russian citizens" abroad. Since, as the South Ossetian and Abkhazian experience shows, Russia is prepared to hand out passports to foreign citizens and, in the process, make them "its" citizens, the law does not limit the authorities' war making prerogatives in any way. If it has significance, it is in assuring the Russian military, in the case of any new adventures, that they can count on political support.

In June, 2005, the State Duma passed a law allowing the president to authorize attacks by the FSB on "terrorists" in foreign countries. This may have emboldened them to carry out the murder of Alexander Litvinenko in London six months later. The Russian intelligence services did not need a law to attack persons they regarded as terrorists abroad. On February 13, 2004, the former Chechen president, Zelimkhan Yandarbiyev was killed and his 12 year old son seriously injured when a bomb attached by Russian agents ripped apart their SUV. The new law, however, gave a seal of legitimacy to such operations and guaranteed that those who carried them out would not be disowned or forgotten in the event of failure. The proposed law on foreign intervention is likely to work in a similar manner."

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