Russia Denies Giving Iraq Intel

Go figure. When confronted with documents that show that Russia's ambassador to Iraq was passing US battle plans and assets in the region to Iraq, Russia says that it did no such thing. The Russians are saying the Pentagon claims are baseless.

RUSSIA'S Foreign Intelligence Service has denied as "baseless" Pentagon claims that Moscow provided information to Saddam Hussein's regime on U.S. troop movements and plans during the 2003 invasion of Iraq.

The latest spat is evidence of an increasingly tense bilateral relationship between the former Cold War rivals.

"Similar, baseless accusations concerning Russia's intelligence have been made more than once," Foreign Intelligence Service spokesman Boris Labusov said in response to the Pentagon claims.

"We don't consider it necessary to comment on such fabrications," Mr Labusov said.

An unclassified Pentagon report released on Friday cited two captured Iraqi documents that say the Russians collected information from sources "inside the American Central Command" in Doha, Qatar.

Sorry, but that doesn't compute. These are supposedly documents obtained in Iraq and translated by open sources. Are the Russians claiming that these documents were ginned up by the Pentagon? That's apparently what they're saying.

So how did those documents end up in Iraq and say what they're saying? Sounds like the Russians are trying to save face, but that's a tough thing to do when you're caught with your hand in the oil barrel.

The US is going to be investigating these details further.

The Moderate Voice thinks that the Russians were puttin' on the US.

UPDATE:
Greyhawk at Mudville Gazette wonders whether the media is going to catch on to the real story - how the Russians got this information in the first place and who leaked this information to the Russians. I had made a similar observation when the story first broke:

This begs several questions:
1) Was the information leaked to the Russians by US Central Command to provide a backchannels dialogue showing US resolve on tossing Saddam on the ash heap of history? Or was this the result of a spy or spy ring?

2) If this intel was obtained via a spy or spy ring, has the US smoked out the person or persons who provided the Russians with the intel about US assets and battle plans? This person is a traitor and should be treated as such for undermining US national security at a time of war. And has this person been identified so that he, she, or the group of persons involved cannot undermine US national security going forward - with an eye towards Iran?

Also commenting: Small Town Veteran, and All Things Beautiful whose posting reminded me of something I read last week.

Demographics. Amir Taheri notes that Russia has a serious demographic problem and they may be buying off their enemies and buying time.

Want to know why Russia may be trying to buy off the Iranians with its assistance in obtaining nuclear technologies for power facilities and possibly even nuclear weapons? Demographics:By the middle of this century, Iran's population will outnumber Russia's. A nuclear-armed Islamic Iran would emerge as an even stronger player.

And that has Russia scared for its very existence, which means that it has to weigh its interests and needs against all manner of variables. And since the US polity is far more volatile and less likely to be consistent over the long term, Russia will go it alone, and play both ends on policies that affect US national security interests.

And that may help explain how and why the Russians will provide some intel to assist US national defense, but will flip info to our enemies to buy time, curry favor, and otherwise try and maintain its own sphere of influence.