Posted on 09/04/2004 6:24:56 AM PDT by Clive
Terror's familiar face
The images streamed out of Russia yesterday like so many tears for elusive peace.
Naked and bloodied children running terrified through the street. Mothers and commandos alike, clutching onto wailing infants. Everyone clamouring for water and safety as mortars and gunfire cracked above their heads. Smoke, sirens and muffled cries hanging in the air.
The three-day siege of a school by a few dozen Chechen rebels -- Islamic militants with bombs strapped to their bodies and fleeing children in their gun sights -- exploded in chaos yesterday when Russian government forces stormed the complex where as many as 1,500 hostages, likely more than 100 of them now dead, were being held.
The horrific scene is already being referred to, as Peter Worthington notes opposite, as "Russia's 9/11."
Fittingly so. Because while the roots of the Russian-Chechen conflict date back hundreds of years and are often described as a battle for independence, the tactics of the extremists are the product of a most modern evil.
Russia has been hard hit in recent weeks, with the crash of two planes believed to have been linked to the same terrorist cause, and the bombing of a Moscow subway station, leaving more than 100 dead in all.
Female suicide bombers -- known as the "black widows" of the Chechen terrorist movement Putin says is linked to al-Qaida -- are believed to be responsible for all of the earlier attacks, and figure in the school bloodbath as well.
While the incident is singularly shocking -- the hatred that would drive a human being to blow herself up in a crowd of innocents, to slaughter children and to use them as shields is unthinkable -- it carries lessons for countries around the globe in the absolute necessity to meet terrorism with resolve, to give no quarter, make no excuse.
Prime Minister Paul Martin rightly recognized this with his strong message yesterday expressing "Canada's steadfast solidarity and continuing co-operation in the global struggle against terrorism" -- heartening words, especially given today's fog of war in Iraq.
It bears repeating. The perils of negotiating with terrorists show themselves across the globe daily. And many of the recent victims are from countries like Russia, that have not been supportive of (or were even hostile to) the U.S. in Iraq.
The sheer violence and shock of yesterday slices to the painful, elemental truth of all such incidents: to negotiate with today's terrorists only emboldens tomorrow's. They can never and must not be appeased. They could strike anywhere.
And another thing ...
AT A time when the headlines are too often filled with tales of youth crime, we're giving three huge cheers to Markham's Michael Simonassi, 14, Milos Zivanovic, 15, and David Nixon, 14, who returned $15,000 they found to its rightful owner (and got rewards of $500 each). Bravo, boys
-
If a woman is able to slaughter children that tells meIslam has reached the final stages of depravity.
It's refreshing to see a Toronto paper call a spade a spade: "Islamic militants". I just finished reading the AP story in the Tampa Tribune and all these monsters were called is "captors", "rebels" and "hostage takers". The Tribune insert "update" calls them "Chechen separatists", "gunmen" and "militants".
I am SO SICK of the liberal spin of the media.
The terrorist are reincarnations of the devil who is alive and well on this earth.
The AP news story at Yahoo never mentions Islam. In fact, half-way down, it does mention 10 Arab mercenaries, but neglects to provide a connection. You really have to wonder how many people don't know Islamics were behind this attack, or how many DO, and read the news clippings not for info, but for evidence of conspiracy against the WOT.
BS. Cananda has done everything they can to support the terrorists.. How's al Jazeeera's ratings by the way.
Most news stories point the blame away from islam and place the blame on Christians and Jews for the causes of the terrorist actions.
islam seeks to convert the world to its beliefs, by force if necessary. We MUST provide a hostile environment for those islamofacists who openly support terror, regardless of who or where they are. This is a war they declared, so everyone is fair game. Even their children and women if they seek to act against our women and children.
There is no glory in war, even if we win. But winning is stability and there is little more that allows people to live in confidence into the future than winning at all costs.
At this point this is a huge nail in Kerry's coffin the last thing he wants is a graphic reminder of 9-11 two months before the election.
But if their only source of news is the MSM, they will think it's a provincial Russian problem and not an issue of Islamic fundamental terrorism.
They're trying to bury that fact.
Why? American women do it everyday. It's legal to kill your own children here. Millions and millions have died in this country. Only difference is that it's not called slaughtering..it's called ABORTION
http://www.rambler.ru/db/news/msg.html?mid=5002610
I am going to translate the gist of some of this article from the Russian media.
A spokesman for the Chechen president Zakaev says that there were no ETHNIC Chechens in the school. He says they were Inguish. The guy says he talked with a terrorist in the school who was the former President of Ingushetia named Ruslan Aushev. Aushev supposedly said that the terrorists were Inguish, Osetians and Russians, but no Chechens.
The former Inguish president Aushev supposedly said that a war is going on in all the republics of the northern Caucasus. Zakaev's spokesman also claimed that Chechens don't take part in international terrorism. "Between Chechen fighters and international terrorism there are no ties." He goes into a big discussion of recent political talks. I have to read that slowly to see what claims he is making.
International Terrorist Gang Headed by Militant Thought Dead
Check history. It is necessary to de-humanize your enemy so when you begin killing them with reckless abandon, its just like shooting beer cans off a fence post. Muslims, islamofacists, anyone that even looks toward Mecca once during the day have a toe over the line. The west wont have to fire up the propaganda machine to accomplish the necessary de-humanizing. They are doing it for us.
Just makes you wonder how much more the west will take before we start shooting those beer cans off the fence.
As I understand it, it's not being offered by any carrier. The CRTC may have approved it, but someone needs to host it. Get your facts straight.
As for supporting terrorists ...
http://www.thestar.com/NASApp/cs/ContentServer?pagename=thestar/Layout/Article_Type1&c=Article&cid=1094249413547&call_pageid=968332188492&col=968793972154
What are you going to do, have one of your braindead politico's call me names. Save it, you all have made your positions very clear. If your getting scared, don't blame us. We have been fighting and dying against this evil for years. Where is Canada?
It does not matter to the Islamic radicals if no one negotiates with them.
To be negotiated with, or not negotiated with, is not the main agenda of radical Islamics, and I don't understand why negotiation is even mentioned as a factor by the west.
It's more than unsettling that the mindset of the west is so off base regarding the Islamic mindset they are up against.
Well we fought and died in a couple of big wars before you guys showed up so save your apoplexy for the enemy.
Insofar as this war is concerned, no doubt we f**ked up and should have been shoulder to shoulder as one of our illustious politico's said. The facts are, our military was on standby and the Defense Minister prematurely announced our participation. For some as yet unknown reason, they were ordered to stand down and Canada officially came out against the pre-emptive strike on Iraq. Could have had something to do with Chretien and Bush not liking each other other, or the fact some bonehead flyboy blew a bunch of our good guys to Kingdom Come in Afghanistan and then blamed them for being in the wrong place at the wrong time. Be that as it may, our powers that be jumped off the bandwagon.
Today, however, it is starting to look like GWB was right on so you Yankee Doodles better get ready for a lot of puckered up Canadian ass kissers as we struggle to get back on board.
http://therant.us/staff/guest/is_canada_committed_to_fighting_terrorism_or_aiding_it.htm
"you all have made your positions very clear"
We have have we? What's my position? Nevermind, you don't know me. Any assessment you make would be as ignorant as your quoted response was.
"We have been fighting and dying against this evil for years. Where is Canada?"
We may have not gone to Iraq as one would hope, but ...
http://www.centcom.mil/operations/Coalition/Coalition_pages/canada.htm
Disclaimer: Opinions posted on Free Republic are those of the individual posters and do not necessarily represent the opinion of Free Republic or its management. All materials posted herein are protected by copyright law and the exemption for fair use of copyrighted works.