Reuters
Volunteers carry an injured civilian to safety while soldiers stormed a school seized by heavily armed masked men and women in the town of Beslan in the province of North Ossetia near Chechnya Sept. 3.
""We gathered in the forest and the Colonel -- it's his nickname -- and they said we must seize the school in Beslan," said the man, who had short, dark hair and no beard. He said the orders came from Basayev and another Chechen commander, Aslan Maskhadov, and that his group included Arabs and Uzbeks as well as Chechens and people of other nationalities. "When we asked the Colonel why we must do it, he said, 'Because we need to start war in the entire territory of the North Caucasus.' "
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I'm hoping we have the brains to stay out of this fight. Putin needs to watch his step. He snubbed the United States by refusing to send troops to fight against Saddam and encouraged France, Germany, and Europe to turn their backs on the US as well.
Perhaps he was afraid Russia's direct involvement in Iraqi Freedom would have ignited the North Cauasus wars. It doesn't matter. Nothing can stop it now.
wow