Our sources tell Intelligence Watch that President George W. Bush had a long phone conversation with President Vladimir Putin and pledged his support to the embattled Russian leader whatever the outcome of the tragic school siege in North Ossetia.

One U.S. source close to the White House said, The Russians are on our team now.

The sources also said Bush assured Putin the Untied States would not object or cause trouble in any way for any repressive measures Putin felt necessary to crush the Chechen secessionist guerrillas who are now believed responsible for the series of atrocities that killed around 500 civilians in only a week, including the massacre-tragedy in the besieged school, the downing of the two Tupolev airliners flying out of the same Moscow airport, and the bombing outside Moscow's subway system.

Intelligence Watch's moles did not mention whether Putin offered or was asked for any quid pro quo for Bush's support, but one possible concession he might have given was a promise to stand aside if U.S. or Israeli forces seek to knock out Iran's Bushehr reactor before it can start producing weapons-grade nuclear material.

The prototype of a new U.S. Air Force surveillance radar has been successfully tested by pointing it out of the window of a Los Angeles-area office building.

Northrop Grumman said the prototype of the Multi-Platform Radar Technology Insertion Program radar it built in conjunction with Raytheon worked well as it monitored a series of passive and active targets from the upper floors of a Raytheon office building near Los Angeles. The device was aimed at a second Raytheon facility about a mile away.

The MP-RTIP is designed to be used by the RQ-4 Global Hawk unmanned reconnaissance aircraft and the E-10A command-and-control plane. It is considered an upgrade of the military's ability to track low-flying cruise missiles and vehicles on the ground. Flight-testing of the system will begin in 2006.

Lockheed Martin reported a successful test of its Patriot Advanced Capability-3 missile last week.

The PAC-3 destroyed a low-flying cruise missile and a tactical ballistic missile Thursday at White Sands Missile Range in the New Mexico desert in a simultaneous engagement technically known as a ripple fire.

However, Cruise missiles and TBM rockets represent the entire repertoire of the Patriot, which lost a good deal of its luster after the first Gulf War when it was learned that its success rate against Iraqi Scuds was lower than first thought.

Lockheed Vice President Steve Graham said the test validated improvements in the PAC-3's electronics, including the critical Multi-Band Radio Frequency Data Link.

Darjeeling Police have beefed up security and intensified patrolling along India's porous border with Nepal to apprehend anyone crossing from the nearby Ilum district following the Maoist threat to the residents to move to safer places or face consequences.

The police have made additional security arrangements, deployed reinforcement at vulnerable check posts, and intensified patrolling along the 60-mile border. The step was taken following reports that Maoist rebels had given a seven-day deadline to residents of Nepal's Ilum district to leave.

The threat is being taken seriously. Fear has gripped the population of the district bordering Darjeeling, one of India's prime tourist regions. Indian authorities are trying to prevent more infiltration by armed rebels.

Indian intelligence analysts believe the Maoists want to make the district a liberated zone before attacking government installations, following classic the Marxist-Maoist theoretical ruled book on rural revolution. But in reality, the conflict has broken down along ethnic lines. Many people residing in Ilum district, mostly of Indian origin, have taken temporary shelter in Indian territory. Some have rented houses in the Indian side to spend the nights and leave for Nepal during day.

Conclusion: The conflict remains localized and small-scale but it looks unlikely to ameliorate in the near future.

Violence and corruption in high places shook a Central Asian state: Gen. Gaffor Mirzoyev, the former commander of Tajikistan's presidential guards has been accused of the murder a high-ranking officer in the former Soviet republic's Ministry of Internal Affairs. To add to the embarrassment, Mirzoyev's alleged victim, Suleiman Cholov, was the brother of one of the Tajik army's field commanders. Mirzoyev is also accused of major financial fraud and the embezzlement of public funds.

Tajikistan has been looking more stable lately after endless religious and tribal conflicts, which have killed at least 70,000 people since the collapse of the Soviet Union. Russia's badly over-stretched army supports the government, but the last thing Moscow wants is a wave of new scandals that dents the public's still-fragile confidence that life is getting better.