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Russia revamps security doctrine

By Vladimir Radyuhin

MOSCOW NOV. 6. Russia will overall its national security system to meet the threat of terrorism which was highlighted by last month's hostage crisis in Moscow. The new national security doctrine to be drawn in the next few weeks will give Russia the right to deliver pre-emptive strikes against terrorist outfits in other countries and will allow the use of the armed forces against terrorists inside the country.

``They have in fact declared a war against us,'' the Russian Defence Minister, Sergei Ivanov, said in an interview published on Tuesday. "It has no fronts, limits or a visible opponent. But it is still a war. The new type of war in the 21st century. "The new security doctrine will call for a `sweeping' reform of the Russian armed forces, the Defence Chief told the Izvestia daily. The emphasis will be shifted to building rapid deployment forces and creating new smart weapons capable of hitting terrorist infrastructure outside Russia.

``The revamped national security concept will give the armed forces the right to deliver pre-emptive strikes to forestall a terrorist threat,'' Mr. Ivanov said. A day earlier the Russian Defence Minister announced the launching of a new crackdown on rebels in Chechnya and suspension of a partial troop withdrawal from the rebellious region. The measures came in response to the October 23-26 seizure by Chechen gunmen of 800 people in a Moscow theatre. At least 120 hostages died when Russian commandos stormed the building.

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