—states working as the launching pads ofrnterrorism against the West—had to bernmade real. Here, a few facts may be adduced.rnDuring the single year precedingrnPutin’s election in the spring of 2000,rnMoscow’s known sales of military hardwarernto Baghdad had already run into thernhundreds of millions of dollars; yet, in thernspring of 2001, to accelerate and directrnthese acquisitions, Iraq opened a “militaryrnintelligence bureau” in Moscow, itsrn20-strong staff headed by General MohammedrnSubhi, and another one in Belarus,rnheaded by Col. Kamil Hadidi (seernthe Sunday Telegraph, February 25).rnDefectors from Saddam Hussein’srnregime, meanwhile, brought to the Westrnthe old news that “Iraq carried out a successfulrnnuclear test before the Gulf Warrnand now has a nuclear stockpile.” Therntest, carried out in September 1989 underneathrnL.ake Rezzaza, used a Russianrnnuclear warhead and went undetectedrnbecause “the Russians supplied Iraq withrna table listing US satellite movements”rn(see the Sunday Times, February 25).rnConcurrently with the escalating militaryrnbuildup in Iraq organized from Moscow,rnPutin, in his meeting with NATOrnofficials in February 2001, “offered Furopernhis space shield” (see Corriere dellarnSera, February 21), the same mythicalrnshield he had been offering Europe sincernhis first official meeting with Kohl’s successor.rnChancellor Schroeder, in Junern2000. As at least one regional Italian paperrnsummarized his message in a headline,rn”Puhn to Furope: We Will Defendrnyou from the Muslims.”rnIf it is indeed true, as some senior retiredrnofficers of the CIA, including JamesrnWoolsey, a former director of the agency,rnhave suggested, that Iraqi intelligencernservices were behind the attack on Manhattan,rnso much the better for my argument.rn”There’s never been anything inconsistentrnabout the idea that bin Ladenrnwould be providing most of the people inrnthis, with Iraqi intelligence helping logisticallyrnand otherwise being behind it,”rnWoolsey has been quoted as saying (inrnthe Daily Telegraph, September 20).rnThe important aspect of Woolsey’s thinkingrnhere is that the Islamic “frmdamentalistrnthreat” is at least perceived as consanguinernwith, and fraternal to, thern”rogue regimes” that Russia has been financing,rnarming, and incifing against thernWest with one hand, while offering thernWest protection from these very regimesrnwith the other.rnSecular Iraq is only one example.rnWhat if the World Trade Center attacksrnin fact caine from Iran, Syria, or Lybia?rnFrom opposition groups in Saudi Arabia,rnAlgeria, or Pakistan? From the Palestinianrnrefugee camps? Or even from Afghanistan,rnwith its history of politicalrndouble-dealing and tribal backstabbing?rnNo matter. Wherever they came from isrna “rogue regime”; whichever “roguernregime” they came from, Moscow hasrnbeen supporting it; and whatever thern”rogue regime” may now say to clear itsrnname will be drowned in the twin chorusrnof Western indignahon and, more important,rnof Russian solicitude.rnIn the immediate aftermath of the attackrnon Manhattan, two events of geopoliticalrnsignificance have taken place.rnOne is that Russia openly signed a militaryrnpact with Iran, arguing that “its linksrnwith a country seen by Washington asrnone of the leading sponsors of terrorismrnwould in reality advance the strugglernagainst terrorism” (International HeraldrnTribune, October 3). The other is Putin’srnannouncement in Brussels that, as “globalrnpolitics had experienced a tectonicrnshift,” Russia was ready to join NATOrn{International Herald Tribune, Octoberrn4). “The bombings of Russian apartmentrncomplexes,” averred Putin, “bore thernWILL FUTURE GENERATIONS READ Chronicles?rnPerhaps a better question would be:rn”Will Chronicles he there for future generations to read?**rnIf you believe that the answer should be “Yes,” then help us securernthe future of Chnmicles by remembering us in your will. Whenrnyou next review your will or living trust, ask your attorney to addrna provision making a bequest to:rnThe Rockford Institute.rnYour bequest can be either a fixed dollar amount or a percentage of your estate.rnFor more information, write or call:rnChristopher CheckrnExecutive Vice PresidentrnThe Rockford Institutern928 North Main StreetrnRockford, Illinois 61103rn(815)964-5811rn52/CHRONICLESrnrnrn