OT: Chechen Terrorist School Standoff

[Fearless Freep]

I'm studying Taekwondo now and it's rather amazing how many martial arts were developed based on various indiginous people fighting against Japanese Imperialism at various points in the past

[Sugar_Nads]

I could'nt agree with you more... Some parts of the world deserve to be nuked for their immoral beliefs and violent uprisings that only destroy the very fabric of society.

I support our men and women in the armed services and may the communistic parties be rendered to ashes. God bless America!

[maria paula]

"Some parts of the world deserve to be nuked "
how much i love clever opinions.

[Ash]

Eirik wrote:

> How the reported casualties went from five to 200+ is
> astounding.  You'd figure the media could just wait five
> minutes before blurting out their reports and make sure they
> get their facts straight..

Now they're saying that the death toll has reached 340.

[Fearless Freep]

So the rate of increase is dropping?

[dean]

Concentrated valium?  I knew they had used gas before but wasn't sure what it was.

They tried using that in the theatre crisis a while back, and we all know how that turned out...  Alot of people got poisoned, alot got killed, but as a friend said, better to be a bit poisoned than dead.

It's a good idea, though I don't think the Russians had time to use it in this particular situation.

From what I've heard, there was a Spetznaz force inside the building when one of the terrorist bombs went off, perhaps accidentally, so of course they stormed the place [and fair enough too, I guess]

The Russians have been putting up with this for years, and it gets worse every time.  Just be glad the terrorist attacks in the western world aren't so harsh.  Well as of yet at least. [Not that there's a good kind of terrorist attack though...]

Horrible tragedy, yet at least it wasn't a total screw-up.  We learn, we improve and we try harder to stop the next one.

Good Luck to Russia, their losses are felt by us all...

[Sugar_Nads]

how much i love clever opinions.

pauli


Wish I could say the same about yours.. tree hugger. ; )

[Eirik]

It's a good idea, though I don't think the Russians had time to use it in this particular situation.
*****  They may have worried what effect the gas would have on little kids...  Or the school may not have had a central ventilation system they could access.

The Russians have been putting up with this for years, and it gets worse every time. Just be glad the terrorist attacks in the western world aren't so harsh. Well as of yet at least.
*****  Um, September 11th?  Madrid?  Israel considers itself part of the Western World too, so I guess an Israeli would really take issue here.  Also I think this is the worst terrorist incident in Russian history... at least no others come to me, unless you consider 10 million dead for the sake of farm collectivization a terrorist incident.

[Kory]

As of today:

"North Ossetia's health minister Alexander Soplevenko said at least 340 people were dead, while his deputy Taimuraz Revazov said 324 fatalities were confirmed. The Interfax new agency quoted regional government spokesman Lev Dzugayev as saying the toll stood at 338, but he later said in televised comments that the number was 335.

The regional health ministry said 180 people were missing after the three-day hostage crisis, which began when armed attackers raided School No. 1 on Sept.1, the first day of classes, seizing students, teachers and parents attending opening-day ceremonies."

[dean]

b
<><>Just be glad the terrorist attacks in the western world aren't so harsh. Well as of yet at least.

>>> Um, September 11th? Madrid?

Yes they are tragedies, but I do understand at least some of the thinking behind that; taking hundreds of kids hostage, especially knowing that many would most likely die, is especially harsh.  That's what I meant.  With most other bombings/attacks, they are done to make a point, or to take down as many people as possible, most commonly fairly indiscriminate targets [such as a crowded street, etc] targeting kids however was just plain terrible.  No justification in any possible way can be given to that.

And of course it is Russia's worst terrorist attack, because each time there's a major terrorist attack on them, more people die, and it gets worse everytime.

[Eirik]

"With most other bombings/attacks, they are done to make a point, or to take down as many people as possible, most commonly fairly indiscriminate targets [such as a crowded street, etc] targeting kids however was just plain terrible. No justification in any possible way can be given to that."

*****  No justification in any possible way can be given for any of it.  It's all just plain terrible.  Even if you don't target kids specifically, you know you'll kill some and you also know you'll turn more into orphans.  I guess I see your point -- I just don't see much of a moral difference between the Chechens at that school and AQ on September 11th or in Madrid...  Actually I do - the Chechens had a goal other than killing in mind, they were trying to free some people.

[Ash]

This prose is some of the most accurate I've read in recent memory and it does apply to the topic at hand.
It resides at its very core.
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"As citizens of America, we must recognize that there is an ideological war, a political war, a financial war and a legal war all being waged against terrorism at different levels simultaneously.
They are all aspects of the same war.
Islamic fundamentalism, which leads to terrorism is a cancerous malignancy, a parasitic growth on the free world and it must be removed lest it consume its host. And because Islamic fundamentalism represents a global threat, the strategy required to deal with it will require global cooperation and coordination.

9/11 was a wake-up call for America. Europe still sleeps.

Just as the world was confronted with the challenge presented by German Nazism and Japanese militarism in World War II and was required to vanquish that enemy in order to remake those countries and set the stage for democracy, so we are now called to arms to ensure the survival and success of our way of life.

Let us remember that those who died on 9/11 and those who will die in future acts of terrorism have left us no choice but to distinguish clearly and resolutely between the forces of good and the forces of evil; between the Dark Ages and the Enlightenment; and to recognize that there is no option open to a free society other than victory.

This is not a Republican issue or a Democratic issue. It is a matter of survival. The West must recognize that this is a war and not simply a passing skirmish. And it must also recognize that if this war is not taken to this enemy, this enemy will bring the war to our cities, to our streets and to our homes because it perceives compromise, tolerance and the search for common ground as signs of weakness, vulnerability and Western decadence.

So the next time someone asks you if “it’s all worth it,” or “do you know how much this war is costing America,” or “why are we placing American lives in harm’s way,” you can respond with certainty - “There is no other choice.”

Mark Silverberg
Scranton, Pennsylvania
October 3, 2003
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Go HERE to read more articles from Mark Silverberg's archives.
(No...I am not Jewish...I am Christian...I just happen to agree with 99% of what this guy has to say)

Do you agree with what he's saying?
Any independent thoughts of your own to add?



Post Edited (09-07-04 04:27)

[Ash]

.......



Post Edited (09-07-04 14:59)

[Ash]

I recently read this:

"President Bush has asked top advisers to study how authorities would deal with a similar assault on an American school."

I must admit that this is an excellent idea on the part of the president.
Learning  from someone else's mistakes is always a wise choice.

Any ideas of what you think would happen if this were ever to take place in America?
If you were in charge, what would you have done?



Post Edited (09-11-04 05:56)