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Sochi Olympics, Bandar bin Sultan and International Terrorism

Viktor Mikhin, February 02, 2014

55The closer the date of the grand opening of the Sochi Winter Olympics, the more headache face the countries that are participating in this truly global event. The hosts are examining the newly constructed facilities, coordinate the rules of the Winter Games with the International Olympic Committee, and analyze the accommodation needs of the future participants and guests of the Games. The safety matters are, of course,  a top priority.

The symbol of the Olympic Games , as you know – five interlocking rings, that symbolize the union of the five parts of the world that join together in the Olympic Movement of friendship and goodwill, there is no political or military implications to be found anywhere. However, the current situation around the Olympics is very different from all previous, this time the front stage is occupied by terrorists and those who support them in their strive to sabotage Sochi 2014. And the mastermind behind all these “preparations” is a Saudi Prince, Bandar bin Sultan .

In this connection it is appropriate to recall that the Prince has become President of General Intelligence in July 19 2012, while retaining at the same time his former position of Secretary General of the National Security Council with the rank of Minister. In other words, this Saudi has some influence in his country.

Last year, he suddenly paid two urgent visits to Moscow where he met Russia’s President Vladimir Putin. These meetings didn’t see much attention from the Russian officials in the media. But there was a number of peculiar details to the Moscow talks that were revealed by the Lebanese television station Al Mayadeen and Reuters. They were assisted by a number of Iranian news agencies that learned curious details of the meetings.

According to them at the meeting the Saudi literally said : “I can give you a guarantee to protect the Winter Olympics in the city of Sochi on the Black Sea next year. The Chechen groups that threaten the security of the games are controlled by us, and they will not move in the Syrian territory’s direction without coordinating with us.»(Al Mayadeen).

In his polite but tough manner Putin thanked Prince Bandar bin Sultan for his frankness, but told him rather firmly: ““We know that you have supported the Chechen terrorist groups for a decade. And that support, which you have frankly talked about just now, is completely incompatible with the common objectives of fighting global terrorism that you mentioned. We are interested in developing friendly relations according to clear and strong principles.»(Al Mayadeen).

Putin is well informed of all the nuances of the Eastern rhetoric so he knew that if Russia refused to change its position, the Prince would use his “influence” to spoil the Sochi Olympics by Islamist attacks … Nevertheless, threatening Putin can hardly be called a reasonable negotiation strategy so the conversation ended rather badly .

After this incident the Western media sources all of a sudden decided to examine the security issues of the Sochi Olympics. The degree to which these media are influenced by the Saudi puppet masters has suddenly become apparent to everybody. A streamline of paid articles that predicted “the possible terrorist attacks” during the Sochi Olympics followed shortly. The Chechen “activists” that were dwelling quietly in the city of London have miraculously become interested in the Olympic Games.

Recently, a Canadian media source The National Post has reported, citing unknown sources in the Canadian intelligence that Umarov was preparing attacks in Sochi. The Caucasian militants have sent Putin a message about the forthcoming attacks, so the threat of terrorism in Sochi is nothing to laugh at. 

Much is being done by the Russian side to ensure a peaceful course of the Games, that should be as safe for its participants as for its guests. In an attempt to ensure maximum security Russia has also intensified its cooperation with special agencies around the world, especially with the U.S. and European ones. So any attempts taken by certain media sources to scare the guests off, or to “report” cases of corruption that occurred during the course of construction of the Olympic facilities, or to unveil  the nonexistent problem with sexual minorities in Russia — can only manifest the amount of investments made in them by Russia’s foes.

As for Prince Bandar bin Sultan himself, there’s little surprise to his actions, as he continues an old course taken by Saudi Arabia before 1990s (due to its cooperation with the United States ), this course was aimed at countering the Soviet Union in the Middle Eastern region. Prince, as noted by the Western press , bankrolled mercenaries recruited by Saudi and Pakistani intelligence services during the Cold War to fight Soviet soldiers in Afghanistan. ” The most famous member of Bandar’s gang is bin Laden – the anti-Communist billionaire , who later became a jihadist ” – wrote about this The Guradian.

While employed as the Saudi Ambassor to the United States Prince Bandar bin Sultan had shown that he loathed everything that was remotely connected to Russia. He was behind all the anti-Soviet actions associated with the presence of a limited contingent of Soviet troops in Afghanistan. While still in his former capacity, paying no heed to his official business, Bandar shuttled all across the United States, spreading hatred and anger against Russia’s foreign policy. He achieved the creation of the so-called “anti-Soviet funds” that were flooded with the Saudi and Gulf petrodollars. These money were used to purchase the most advanced weapons in the U.S. ( while violating the U.S. laws) and organize its delivery to Pakistan. With these weapons in their arms the so-called Afghan mujahideens sacrificed their lives in the name of the fake “freedom” proclaimed by Bandar in Afghanistan. When the U.S. and its NATO allies infiltrated Afghanistan, for some odd reason not a word in defense of this notorious “freedom” was spoken by the Saudi lips.

Saudi actively fought against the Shiite Iran , trying to isolate Tehran by creating a Sunni “cordon sanitaire” in the Muslim republics of Central Asia and the Caucasus, that gained independence and became a platform for separatist movements . The political, financial and logistical support of the Sunni Islamist movements in the Caucasus (Chechnya, Ingushetia,Dagestan,etc.) that was provided by Saudi Arabia — is a documented fact.

The terrorist attack threats to the Sochi Olympics are seen very seriously by the Russian side, taking into account the current tensions in the Caucasus . All the possible measures that could have been taken to prevent terrorists from spoiling this marvelous event have been already implemented. Russia’s President Vladimir Putin has thanked the European partners for the assistance they’ve provided in securing the Olympic Games in Sochi. Recently he has addressed the European Commission President Jose Manuel Barosso and European Council President Herman Van Rompuy at the Russia-EU summit in Brussels with the following words : ” I want to take this opportunity to thank our European partners – it is, first and foremost, our bilateral cooperation with certain European countries to ensure the safety of the Olympic Games in Sochi”.

Victor Mikhin, correspondent member of RANS, exclusively for the online magazine “New Eastern Outlook”.