Georgia blames Russia and CBS for its problems - 5 September, 2002

Americans say that Georgia was also connected with the 9/11 terrorism attacks, CBS television reported Wednesday evening. According to the TV company, in fifteen minutes after a passenger jet hit the Pentagon building in Washington, the National Security Agency which is in charge of radio-electronic reconnaissance, intercepted a telephone conversation between an al-Qaeda terrorist in Afghanistan and some man in Georgia. One of the men told the other, that he had good news to report, and that “another target was next in turn.”

The TV company also reported opinions of CIA analysts who concluded, the two men talking over the phone were well informed of the terrorist attack which resulted in death of three thousand people. Georgia denied the information at once. Head of the PR department in Georgia’s Ministry for State Security Nika Laliashvili says, suggestions of this kind are just “kind of an information war which  Russia waged against Georgia.” In his words, the Georgian Ministry for State Security contacted specialists in US special services who in their turn “did not confirm the information.” Laliashvili says, the USA suggested that some facts had been misinterpreted. A spokesperson for the Georgian Ministry for State Security said, “Georgia didn’t conceal the fact that several ethnic Arabs connected with al-Qaeda were in the Pankisi Gorge at that very period when the 9/11 terrorist attacks were committed.” It is not ruled out that those were the Arabs from the Gorge who made the telephone call in question. In the words of Laliashvili, “an anti-criminal and anti-terrorist operation in the Pankisi Gorge is designed to liquidate these terrorists.”

However, the Georgian special services are not right when they accuse Russia of waging an information war against Georgia. If Russia really planned some information war against Georgia, it would successfully use Russian media for it, not American sources. It would be a 100% success for sure. As appears from the statements by Laliashvili, the USA turns out to be Georgia’s enemy as it has published information of this kind. To tell the truth, the last statement is very much unbelievable. It is more probable that Georgia might be in concert with the USA against Russia.

By the way, the Georgian Ministry for State Security contradicts itself when it mentions some ethnic Arabs in the Pankisi Gorge who were connected with al-Qaeda. As far as we remember, until recently Georgia wouldn’t admit presence of terrorists on its territory. By the way, it was America that caught Georgia in lie, and the latter admitted presence of terrorists on its territory and its own inability to cope with them.

Dmitry Chirkin
PRAVDA.Ru