U.S. Ties a Russian to Bombings in Georgia (country)

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Source: The New York Times

MOSCOW — American intelligence officials have concluded in a classified report that a Russian intelligence officer may have been behind a string of bombings in the nation of Georgia last year, including an explosion near the United States Embassy, but that there is no evidence of a plot to attack American installations, an American official said Thursday.

“The assessment seems to be that the bombings have more to do with Russia’s relationship with Georgia than Russia’s relationship with the United States,” said the official, who spoke on condition of anonymity because the intelligence assessment on the bombings is classified.

The official said the assessment implicating the Russian officer draws upon information from several intelligence and law enforcement agencies, including Georgian ones. The official cautioned that it was “not a rock-solid assessment” and reached no definite conclusion about whether the bombings were ordered by officials in Moscow. Its thrust, the official said, was that the bombing near the American Embassy likely “was an attempt to poke the Georgians in the eye, not the U.S.”

The existence of the report was first reported by The Washington Times. The intelligence community has apparently been unable to reach a clear consensus about who is responsible for the bombings, which has revived old differences in Washington about what the United States relationship with Russia should be.

Read more: http://www.nytimes.com/2011/07/29/world/europe/29georgia.html