From CNN World: Story

MOSCOW, Russia (CNN) -- Russian President Vladimir Putin says terrorist attacks in Iraq are aimed at preventing the re-election of U.S. President George W. Bush and that a Bush defeat "could lead to the spread of terrorism to other parts of the world."

Putin, speaking Central Asian Cooperation Organization summit in Tajikistan Monday, made his most overt comments of support so far for the re-election of Bush for a second term.

"Any unbiased observer understands that attacks of international terrorist organizations in Iraq, especially nowadays, are targeted not only and not so much against the international coalition as against President Bush," Putin said.

"International terrorists have set as their goal inflicting the maximum damage to Bush, to prevent his election to a second term.

"If they succeed in doing that, they will celebrate a victory over America and over the entire anti-terror coalition," Putin said.

"In that case, this would give an additional impulse to international terrorists and to their activities, and could lead to the spread of terrorism to other parts of the world."

Putin noted that American voters will not decide the election just on Iraq.

"Because of this we must take a realistic approach and be prepared for any development of events," he said. "We respect any choice the American people will make."

President Putin made it clear Russia remained opposed to the war in Iraq.

"Today, our views on that differ from the views of President Bush," he said.

Russia and Isreal are the only two countries in the world in which Bush is more popular than Kerry. I'm guessing Russia's favorable support can be attributed to the Beslan terrorist catastrophe--a "we're in the same boat now" sort of thing.

Indeed, oh wise one.

They have been fighting these extremists for as long as we have but still they couldn't see the bigger picture- unfortunately the school attack might have finally shown them the nature of the beast to be fought. I hope that we can work with Russia and Israel in this fight because when motivated to act they do so with finality and a certain lack of caring about public perceptions around the world.

This Russkie is right.

I'll be the first to admit that Arabs are cowardly savages that respect force and only understand force. The Chechens on the other hand have been rebelling, consistently, against every single Moscow stooge no matter whether they were monarchists or communists. They'll keep fighting no matter what happens. Strip them of Islam, they'll keep fighting. Leave them in rubble, they'll still fight. Only, Russia is so corrupt that their own officers will keep selling them weapons to kill their own soldiers with. Read Lermontov, Solzhenitsyn, anyone at any time, they said the same thing then.