Was Russia train bombing a false flag op designed to garner Russian support for U.S. Afghanistan surge - Wayne Madsen Report

December 3, 2009 -- Was Russia train bombing a false flag op designed to garner Russian support for U.S. Afghanistan surge?
publication date: Dec 2, 2009
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December 3, 2009 -- Was Russia train bombing a false flag op designed to garner Russian support for U.S. Afghanistan surge?

Questions have arisen in the U.S. intelligence community about the terrorist claims being made by a heretofore unknown Islamic group in southern Russia that has claimed credit for the bombing of a passenger train, the Nevsky Express, en route from Moscow to St. Petersburg. The bombing, which killed 26 people, was claimed to have been carried out by guerrillas said to be loyal to Chechen Muslim leader Doku Umarov.

Killed in the attacks were Boris Yevstratikov, head of the Russian State Reserves Agency, and Sergei Tarasov, a former deputy governor of St. Petersburg. A second bombing at the location of the first injured investigators who were probing the first attack.

However, U.S. intelligence experts who monitor the situation inside Russia point out that Umarov is a Sufi Muslim. Sufis are not the breeding ground for Wahhabi extremists normally found in the ranks of Chechen Islamist ranks and, in fact, are reviled by the Wahhabis and extremist Shi'a Muslims alike. Umarov claimed to fight in Chechnya for independence not religion. In addition, prior to the claim of Chechen involvement in the attacks, only right-wing Russian nationalist groups had claimed responsibility. Moreover, the precision of the attack on a high-speed train have suggested to Russian law enforcement that the attacks were more likely the work of highly-trained and seasoned professionals with intelligence backgrounds in sabotage.

Responsibility for the train bombing was claimed by the "Caucasian Mujahideen." U.S. intelligence experts doubt that the Caucasian Mujahideen actually exists. The unknown group claims that the train bombing is the first in a series of planned attacks on Russian strategic targets, including electrical, gas, and oil lines. The August 17 disaster at the Sayano-Shushenskaya dam, Russia's largest hydro-electric dam in Siberia was also claimed to have been a terrorist attack by people claiming to represent Umarov but Russian authorities said it was caused by an accident. Chechen President Ramzan Kadyrov, a former Chechen guerrilla leader, said he doubted that Umarov was behind the attack but did note that Chechen guerrillas receive support from "foreign special services." Kadyrov diod not elaborate on what foreign services were backing the guerrillas.

After the November 2008 terrorist attacks in Mumbai, another unknown group, the "Deccan Mujahideen," claimed responsibility. It was later determined by Indian intelligence that the Deccan Mujahideen was a bogus organization.

U.S. intelligence sources report that previous terrorist attacks, including the 2004 massacre at a school in Beslan, bore the hallmarks of false flag operations designed to whip up Russian anger against Muslims. Exiled Russian tycoon Boris Berezovsky is one individual with the track record and the means to order false flag operations inside Russia. Berezovsky, who reportedly carries an Israeli passport and lives mostly in London, is known to have aided Chechen guerrillas with logistical and financial support.

The timing of the bombing is noteworthy due to the fact that an agreement made between President Obama and the Russian government during the July summit in Moscow permitting as many as 4500 U.S. transport flights over Russian airspace to Afghanistan has not yet been ratified because of disagreements over over details. The bombing of the Russian train came just days before Obama announced a U.S. troop surge of 30,000 into Afghanistan. NATO is expected to boost its troop levels by 5000. The opening of Russian airspace to American and NATO flights to and from Afghanistan at this juncture would be highly advantageous to Pentagon war planners.

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