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| 2004-09-20 |
| He is Russia's homegrown version of Osama bin Laden, but with a trademark all his own: dramatic mass hostage-takings that have often turned to bloodbaths. Like bin Laden, Shamil Basayev is an elusive target who has evaded capture for years. Chechnya's Deputy Interior Minister Sultan Satuyev told the Interfax news agency on Sunday that a search operation involving 1,000 personnel was under way in Chechnya's mountains after intelligence reports suggested that Basayev was in the republic. But Russian forces have claimed to have reliable tips on Basayev's location in the past — and failed to catch him. |
| Posted by:Dan Darling |
| #7 The bottom line is that post-Soviet Russia is dangerously close to being a failed state. Neither Yeltsin nor Putin nor any other possible candidate in the wings could put down the Chechen rebellion with the shambles of a military that Russia has. (For that matter, the Russian state cannot collect taxes, pay pensions, pass laws or enforce them, let alone protect the borders and prevent the Russian regional governors from building powerful fiefdoms largely independent of central federal control). Russia = North Pakistan. White faces, black shirts. FSB's incompetence is as dangerous to us as the ISI. If Putin fails, we're in deep trouble. |
| Posted by: lex 2004-09-20 8:13:26 PM |
| #6 Those Chechens sure have a habit of using kids and the weaker members of society so that they can hide from their direct responsibility for terrorist acts. What a model of courage in battle, huh? They vie for the world title of Scapegoating Cowards. |
| Posted by: jules 187 2004-09-20 12:12:01 PM |
| #5 A common Chechen tactic during the war was to set up next to a school or hospital, and begin firing artillery at the Russians. The Russians would spot the rounds on radar, and return fire to the point of origin. The Chechen fighters would quickly flee before the return fire, and the school or hospital would be destroyed with loss of life. The Chechens explained that they were doing it to get the population on their side by blaming the Russians for atrocities. |
| Posted by: Gromky 2004-09-20 12:04:32 PM |
| #4 even if 100% of the schools and hospitals were severely damaged that would still NOT prove intent. Yep. The Russians lack the highly accurate weapons we possess and can't be expected to wage a war with as little collateral damage as is inflicted by the US. Schools, hospitals, mosques & other public places tend to be located in populated areas which in this type of war tend to house the enemy. Get back to me when the Russians undertake a Dresden-style leveling of Chechen cities. |
| Posted by: AzCat 2004-09-20 4:56:17 AM |
| #3 No Anonymous6562, even if 100% of the schools and hospitals were severely damaged that would still NOT prove intent. You cannot prove intent with a figure. Even if I am assuming for the point of argument that your figure of 60% is right, those schools and hospitals could well have been damaged unintentionally as part of ordinary soldier on soldier fighting: particularly if chechyn soldiers took shelter in those hospitals and schools using them as human shields. Sympathy meter... it's all dried up i'm afraid. |
| Posted by: Anon1 2004-09-20 4:44:33 AM |
| #2 hey Zenster, one thing : over 60% of the Chechen schools & hospitals have been severely damaged during last wars. That only happens if it's done with the intention to do so. |
| Posted by: Anonymous6562 2004-09-20 3:10:14 AM |
| #1 "We regret what happened in Beslan. Horseshit! No you do not "regret what happened" in the least. If you were at all concerned about such an atrocity occurring, you would not have taken any children hostage. PERIOD. What you did manage to do was justify the most brutal retribution on Russia's behalf. Furthermore, Beslan probably tapped out a large portion of the world's sympathy for Chechnya. Great move, you bloodthirsty murdering moron. You got the hammer dropped on you and made sure nobody gives a rip what happens when it hits. It’s simply that the war, which (Russian President Vladimir) Putin declared on us five years ago, which has destroyed more than 40,000 Chechen children and crippled more than 5,000 of them, has gone back to where it started from," he wrote in the letter. I don't recall Russia intentionally bombing any school houses. Answering a putative atrocity with a definite atrocity doesn't tend to win you much support, as you're about to find out. "The fact that he took full responsibility of course does not mean that by liquidating the problem that exists in connection with Basayev, all the rest will disappear," Lavrov said. No, the problem won't disappear. There will still be Iran. Until Russia stops supplying Iran with nuclear technology, they bear a distinct degree of responsibility for Beslan and all future terrorist attacks. |
| Posted by: Zenster 2004-09-20 1:35:40 AM |