| − | Within hours after the [[September 11, 2001 attacks]] in the United States, Vladimir Putin was the first foreign leader to call U.S. President [[George W. Bush]] and offer sympathy and support for what became the first invocation of [[NATO]] [[Article 5]], "an attack against one is an attack against all."<ref>https://edition.cnn.com/2002/WORLD/europe/09/10/ar911.russia.putin/index.html</ref> Putin announced a five-point plan to support the [[war on terror]], pledging that the Russian government would (1) share intelligence with their American counterparts, (2) open Russian airspace for flights providing humanitarian assistance (3) cooperate with Russia's Central Asian allies in [[Uzbekistan]] and [[Kyrgyzstan]] to provide similar kinds of airspace access to American flights, (4) participate in international search and rescue efforts, and (5) increase direct assistance -humanitarian as well as military assistance -- to the Afghan Northern Alliance. The intelligence Putin shared, including data that helped American forces find their way around [[Kabul]] and logistical information about Afghanistan’s topography and caves, contributed to the success of operation and rout of the [[Taliban]]. Two weeks after the attacks, Putin was invited to make a speech to a Special Session of the Bundestag, the first ever by a Russian head of state to the German parliament.<ref>http://en.kremlin.ru/events/president/news/40168</ref> Among the numerous subjects Putin addressed in fluent German was peace and stability in the common European home. | + | Within hours after the [[September 11, 2001 attacks]] in the United States, Vladimir Putin was the first foreign leader to call U.S. President [[George W. Bush]] and offer sympathy and support for what became the first invocation of [[NATO]] [[Article 5]], "an attack against one is an attack against all."<ref>https://edition.cnn.com/2002/WORLD/europe/09/10/ar911.russia.putin/index.html</ref><ref>[https://www.bitchute.com/video/hTHkOo9tXYxw/ ZHIRINOVSKY EATS PUTIN'S LUNCH IN 2014]</ref> Putin announced a five-point plan to support the [[war on terror]], pledging that the Russian government would (1) share intelligence with their American counterparts, (2) open Russian airspace for flights providing humanitarian assistance (3) cooperate with Russia's Central Asian allies in [[Uzbekistan]] and [[Kyrgyzstan]] to provide similar kinds of airspace access to American flights, (4) participate in international search and rescue efforts, and (5) increase direct assistance -humanitarian as well as military assistance -- to the Afghan Northern Alliance. The intelligence Putin shared, including data that helped American forces find their way around [[Kabul]] and logistical information about Afghanistan’s topography and caves, contributed to the success of operation and rout of the [[Taliban]]. Two weeks after the attacks, Putin was invited to make a speech to a Special Session of the Bundestag, the first ever by a Russian head of state to the German parliament.<ref>http://en.kremlin.ru/events/president/news/40168</ref> Among the numerous subjects Putin addressed in fluent German was peace and stability in the common European home. |