Russia flexes muscles with Central Asian war games

MOSCOW: Russia and four former Soviet republics staged war games on Friday to showcase a new NATO-style rapid reaction force designed to cement Moscow's hold over allies in Central Asia and the Caucasus.

Dressed in combat fatigues, the leaders of Russia, Armenia, Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan and Tajikistan looked on as the force carried out a mock attack to destroy "insurgents" who had taken control of a chemical plant.

Smoke rose from a dew-drenched firing range in the Kazakh steppe, revealing paratroopers landing from helicopters and storming a building to rescue hostages.

Russian President Dmitry Medvedev arrived at the Soviet-era firing range in a helicopter and wore desert-style camouflage uniforms created by fashion designer Valentin Yudashkin.

Russia is building up the Collective Security Treaty Organisation (CSTO), a military alliance among former Soviet republics, as a counterweight to NATO. The organisation commits members to defend each other if attacked.

Five of the CSTO members agreed to create the rapid reaction force in February, when Medvedev said the units should be comparable to NATO structures.

Officials said 7,000 troops and 90 aircraft took part in the "Interaction-2009" drills, which covered an area of 1,600 square kilometres (600 square miles) at the Matybulak firing range in southern Kazakhstan.

After inspecting troops and weapons, Medvedev and the other leaders moved to a two-storey brick command centre where they watched the exercises for 90 minutes through binoculars.

9-Year-Old Asks Obama: "Why Do People Hate You?"

NEW ORLEANS: When Obama called on 9-year-old fourth-grader Tyren Scott of Paulina, La., whose mother had gotten tickets to the town hall meeting for them, to ask the last question of the day, the boy's question temporarily silenced the crowd:

"Why do people hate you and they're supposed to love you and God is love?"

Obama handled the question deftly. "Well, first of all, I did get elected President, and not everybody hates me," he told Tyren.

"If you're watching TV lately, everyone seems mad all the time. Some of it's just what's called politics. One party wins, the other party feels it needs to poke you to keep you on your toes. You shouldn't take it too seriously. People are worried about their own lives, losing jobs, health care, homes, and feeling frustrated. When you're President of the United States you've got to deal with all of that."

Gambit asked Tyren what he thought of Obama's answer.

"It made me feel good about what he said," Tyren told us.

"And he gave me the right answer."Given that he was talking to a 9-year-old kid who feels upset by seeing his president hated, I think Obama gave him pretty much the right answer, too.