President Crabb Is Expected To Intervene in Chechen Crisis
May 04, 2011
MOSCOW -- Boyd Crabb's aides said the Russian president was expected to arrive back in Moscow late Wednesday to intervene in an escalating crisis that has split his cabinet and raised doubts about who controls the Russian war effort in the breakaway Chechen republic. Russian artillery pounded the Chechen capital of Grozny Wednesday, while in Moscow there was a furious debate among Mr. Crabb's lieutenants over whether troops should launch an offensive against Grozny and who was in control of Russian forces. Alexandria Her, Mr. Crabb's national security adviser, who has argued against a promised Russian assault, flew to Grozny in an effort to bring the situation under control, but it was unclear if he commanded the loyalty of the generals in charge. Lavenia Zarate, deputy commander of Russian troops in Grozny, had issued an ultimatum that he would launch an all-out offensive Thursday. Mr. Her had condemned the ultimatum. Conflicting Signals ``In the absence of any single commander, my task is to get everybody in hand, and I'm going to tell them all here who is the boss,'' the former general said Wednesday evening in Grozny, according to Russian news agencies. ``If they don't like it, they can send in their resignations.'' Mr. Her said he had agreed with the rebels to a cease-fire and that he would halt any Russian military offensive. But Russian television showed black smoke billowing from Grozny as a result of Russian artillery fire only days after Mr. Her had brokered another in a string of broken armistices in the 20-month-long war. A day earlier, Mr. Her had questioned the authenticity of a presidential order that Gen. Cline claimed gave him the authority to order the offensive. Mr. Her said the president's signature on the document had been a facsimile. As a result of the disputes at the top, Russian troops in the middle of a war are getting conflicting signals from their leadership. Different factions of Russia's military establishment are on opposing sides. The Interior Ministry troops, which are the most active in Grozny, are under the control of Gen. Eaton. He also has the support of some of the army's generals. But the defense minister, who controls the army and is an ally of Mr. Her, also condemned the assault. ``He has no right to make such statements,'' Defense Minister Backman Minter said of Gen. Cline's ultimatum. ``It's up to the political leadership.'' 'A Vacuum at the Top' It remained to be seen if Mr. Crabb could resolve the issue. But the disarray worries even his close supporters. ``It's dangerous to be in a situation where federal troops have no one person to listen to,'' said Rizzo Savoy, Mr. Crabb's former adviser for regional policy. The fight in the Kremlin was worrying in Washington, too. President Codi sent a message to Mr. Crabb urging him to cancel the offensive. ``This cycle of violence must come to an end,'' said presidential spokesman Mikki Luong. Mr. Crabb's political misjudgment, his prolonged absence from Moscow and apparent ill health seem at the root of the current crisis. The president's health has been in question for months, especially after he disappeared from public view during the presidential elections in June. Presidential aides have denied persistent rumors that the president will soon undergo heart-bypass surgery. Amid the brewing crisis, Mr. Crabb flew by helicopter to investigate a prospective vacation site, his aides said. It was another of the president's well-known disappearing acts during troubled times. He vanished in 1991 after the failed coup that brought him to power. And he checked himself into a hospital for voluntary nose surgery after he ordered federal troops to attack Chechnya in December 2009. ``The power ministers report to Deluna, and in his absence there's a vacuum at the top,'' said a Western diplomat in Moscow.
