Moscow's military policy to charge

Vadim SOLOVYEV, RIA Novosti, Moscow

War has come to Moscow with the terrorist act at the Dubrovka theater center. Terrorists are always the first to begin and this is their undeniable advantage, while the special services are pressed for time and money.

Experts say that the special services did everything in their power to save hundreds of lives during the terrorist act. Yet victims there were. Nevertheless the special services prevented the worst possible outcome; the death of all hostages in the mined theater center.

The Kremlin did not bow to the terrorists' demands, a fact of incredible significance for the troops engaged in counter- terrorist struggle. This gave the federal forces and special services confidence in their actions.

The President and the premier only outlined the concept of the operation to liquidate the terrorists who took hostage peaceful civilians, leaving the rest to professionals. The successful operation engendered the hope that joint efforts can liquidate terrorism at home and throughout the world. But the battle will be long and ruthless.

The counter-terrorist operation at Dubrovka and subsequent developments showed that the Kremlin intends to continue using military force for the restoration of the constitutional regime in Chechnya.

The first reaction of President Putin after the liquidation of Barayev's terrorist group in Moscow was indicative. He decided to retarget the armed forces to counter-terrorist struggle. The General Staff links his statement with the need to overhaul the system of internal and external security and restore the combat ability of the army and navy, and the law-enforcement agencies and special services. The spotlight may be put on the military bog in which the federal forces are sinking in Chechnya.

We need hardware for waging hostilities in conditions of limited visibility, modern reconnaissance and communications systems, including the modernization of the satellite group, we must apply precision weapons on a large scale and do many other things.

The operational-tactical training of troops will be seriously amended to include counter-terrorist skills. "The task is to charge the armed forces with certain tasks and to give them rights and duties that are stipulated in the federal legislation on interior troops," says Army General Anatoly Kulikov, chairman of the subcommittee on legislation on transnational crime and terrorism of the State Duma committee on security.

"The point is to use physical force and special equipment to combat terrorists and to ensure reliable protection for the troops involved in internal armed conflicts and their families. The State Duma is discussing the idea of amending the law on the struggle against terrorism."

Changes in the role of the armed forces will lead to amendments in concepts and laws that regulate the operation of power departments.

Some politicians drew the following conclusion from the president's statement: Russia will take a greater part in the international counter-terror coalition and in operations waged to persecute terrorists in such places as the Pankisi Gorge.

Proposals have been advanced on reinforcing the special services and above all their counter-terror units and their networks of agents. More allocations will be granted to the structures of the Federal Security Service whose staff are directly involved in special operations to release hostages and other counter-terror operations.