School siege again

[LeedsRhinos]

Surely this was a massive own goal by the Chechyan (sp?) freedom fighters where as anyone who might have been symathetic to the their cause would surely turn against them after the slaughter of innocent children?

[MrsCheeks]

Damned good comment. I certainly do not have any sympathy with this faction, regardless of the troubles they may have been suffering under the Russian Army in Chechenya (sp?) what they have done just makes them less than humans .. less even imo than animals.

[tomd]

They may not be interested in sympathy, more to find a way to remove russian military. It was a horrific event though, without question.

[saffstar]

Definitely. I like to think of myself as fairly liberal and I tend to support the underdog in most cases but what these scumbags have done goes way, way beyond anything that I can understand.

[Drewhound]

They must have known they'd get no sympathy so it must have been to try to get the Russians out, as in Afganistan, or just plain publicity

[DOB]

I agree totally. I sent the first day of the siege arguing with my girlfriend that we have to understand what the Checheyns are going through on a daily basis at home and that it must be horrific to drive them to such desperate measures. But by the end, I totally turned against them. Terrorism needs widespread international support in order to be successful. These guys have merely succeeded in alienating the whole of civilised society purely due to the involvement of children which isn't going to do their cause any good.

[DOB]

spent not sent

[cheyenne]

they have had three hundred years of **** from the russians.but to do this to children is beyond believe??

[Brugel]

It's not necessarily an "own goal". Some commentators have already remarked that the atrocity in Beslan is as a result of President Putin's hard-line approach in Chechnya and that, since this has clearly not worked, the Russian government must now take a more conciliatory approach.

[EliPledge]

"the Russian government must now take a more conciliatory approach" - or alternatively launch massive retaliation - I know which I'd favour.

[el duerino]

yes massive retaliation against? that would work and would in no way perpetuate terrorism one tiny bit.

[EliPledge]

I'm talking massive retaliation - no, let's no beat about the bush -extermination

[WaldoMcFroog]

EliPledge: you're either too ironic for your own good or a twit, and I can't work out which. I hope it's the former.

[EliPledge]

Well, WaldoMcFroog let's hear your solution: cosy little chats with evil, racist (that word gain - see, applies to non-whites as well) child killers? Who are you to call me a twit? Because I don't agree with you???

[WaldoMcFroog]

Er, no... I suggested you might be a twit because you just suggested genocide was the solution to terrorism.

Are you seriously suggesting that all Chechens support the terrorist atrocity we've just seen? No more than all the supporters of Irish independance supported the IRA, all the supporters of Palisistinian independance support suicide bombing or all the supporters of a USA-free Middle EaSt support Al Quaeda.

And are you suggesting that all of those innocent people should be on the recieving end of an autrocity several magnitudes larger than that which has already occured?

The danger is that one sticks labels in place - evil, murderous, racist etc. Individuals may be any or all of these things, but an entire nation? The start of a very dangerous slide.

I don't agree or support in any way the action taken by the Chechen terrorists, but I do at least understand why it happened. Russia's continuing insistance on refusing to engage Chechenya in dialogue is down to their fears of what will happpen to other regions if they do. To see it simply in terms of 'some evil people came and did an evil thing' simply encourages the lack of understanding which leads to such situations in the first place.

Some Chechens are so frustrated by the situation that they carry out these autrocities - I agree with the questioner that such acts are normally own goals and rarely achieve their aim. I also agree that such acts should not be rewarded with concessions.

I do, however, believe that at some point there has to be meaningful dialogue. This is how Nelson Mandela has managed to create a South Africa that, although undoubtely beset with many problems, did not decend in to anarchy. Mandela was insightful enough to understand that without breaking the cycle of violence, there could be no chance of reconcilliation.

Where does your solution take us again?

[EliPledge]

Let's see elimination of Chechens = no Chechen terrorists - brutal but simple. Start of a dangerous slide - bloody hell how much lower we yet to descend. Don't compare the IRA with these child-killers - the 'RA never deliberately targetted children - sure they cocked up warnings badly sometimes but they never did anything like this. You talk of such acts raely achieving their aims - I don't think we've had such bestial acts before. Tell me, would you have advocated dialogue with the Nazis and understood why theGermans voted them in in the first place?

[EliPledge]

tell you what, why don't we have meaninful dialogue with paedophiles and serial killers as well and see if we can reach some sort of compromise.

[WaldoMcFroog]

EliPledge, this is to let you know I've seen your response but won't be dignifing such halfwittery with a reply.

[EliPledge]

"but won't be dignifing such halfwittery with a reply" - why are you on Answerbank then? You patronising tw*t!!!

[saffstar]

I can totally understand your anger, EliPledge, but elimination of Chechens = No Chechen Terrorists = (Plenty of other terrorists to take their place + millions of dead children + an all out third world war) = armageddon. There are no simple solutions, unfortunately.

[WHJ]

EliPledge - I, too, empathise with your anger, but such radical solutions as you are advocatin are not solutions; they are simply extrapolating the terrorism to another degree. Hitler saw genocide as the "Final Solution". Do you agree with him and his [insanely] genuinely held beliefs? I suggest you keep quiet till the first emotions of your grief have subsided.