In the last few days I've been keeping close tabs on the takeover of a school in Russia by Chechen terrorists.
I can't imagine the intense worry and grief that those parents and relatives are going through waiting outside.
The Chechen terrorists have refused to let any food, water or or medicine be sent in to the hostages.
That makes me try to vividly imagine the situation going on inside the school.
Shootings, beatings and the forcing of hostages to empty their bladders & bowels into a small confined space...the smell inside there of human excrement must be unimaginable especially if the estimates that there are 500 to 1000 hostages are accurate.
When I see this on TV I think of the takeover of the theater in Moscow in 2002 by Chechen terrorists.
We all know how that ended...it was a disaster.
The Russian police pumped that opium derived gas into the theater which killed something like 129 hostages.
That was a bad move because in most of our opinions, even one hostage death is unacceptable.
I predict that this terrible situation will only end in utter disaster and that casualties will far surpass that of the theater takeover
.
How can it be ended peacefully?
I do not think that that can be done.
These terrorists have a mindset that none of us here in Western civilization can probably comprehend.
They are completely willing to die for their cause and take as many civillians with them along the way.
They have supposedly rigged the place with explosives and will detonate them if Russian forces try to take action.
They have placed hostages in the school windows as human shields.
They have also made verbal statements that they will indeed kill women & children if even a single member of their party is killed or injured.
50 people will die if one of them is killed....20 of them will die if a terrorist is hurt.
A cowardly act if I do say so myself..
Any man or woman who targets innocent women and children is a cowardly yellow sunofab***h.
That fact infuriates me to no end and is the driving force for me to write this Off Topic thread.
Just as we here in America are fighting terrorists, Russia is doing the same.
Granted there are big differences in both situations.
Russia's particularly harsh treatment of Chechnya and Chechens in general has led to the increased targeting of civillians by militants.
Russia is not completely innocent here.
It could be stated that they have brought this on themselves but that is a matter of strict opinion & conjecture.
I understand that the Chechens want to have an established seperate state.
Go
HERE to read up on who the Chechens are and why they resort to such brutal means to achieve their imagined ends.
Not only does that website offer info on the Chechen problem, it also offers lots of information on other terrorist groups.
It does seem to be a bit dated though...everything in it is from two years ago in 2002.
Still, it is very educational.
The Chechens' particular brand of terrorism is what's known as "Nationalist Terrorism".
Here is the definition of Nationalist Terrorism:
"Nationalist terrorists seek to form a separate state for their own national group, often by drawing attention to a fight for “national liberation” that they think the world has ignored. This sort of terrorism has been among the most successful at winning international sympathy and concessions."
In my opinion, taking over a school filled with women & children is a horrible and ill conceived way to win "sympathy and concessions".
The only end that will become of this is the death of nearly everyone involved, thus reinforcing my point that this is a fruitless endeavor.
What do the Chechens hope to gain by taking women & children hostage and possibly killing them?
Do they think that any cowardly act of mass murder will help their cause?
No way!
I believe that this act of agression will only serve to harden and alienate international attitudes and opinions toward them.
Those parents and relatives outside that school are right to worry....their friends & family inside that school will probably die.
It frustrates me to no end.
Most people in the West will probably say, "Who gives a s**t about them? They're all the way around the world."
I do not see it that way.
I see it directly linked to our struggle as Americans against terrorism.
Hell, the Chechens have direct ties to Osama f**king bin Laden and al-Qaeda!
That is a fact that cannot be denied.
What do you make of all this and what do you think the eventual outcome of this standoff will be?
Post Edited (09-03-04 05:44)