Three Days in September: A Review and Warning (Beslan)

Israpundit ^ | May 26th, 2006 | Jerry Gordon

[2banana]

Three Days in September: A Review and Warning

Filed under: Front Page, Opinion, Islam, USA, Media A grisly graphic documentary on Showtime Cable TV about the siege in Beslan by Chechen Mujahideen

by Jerry Gordon

My wife and I watched “Three Days in September” last night. It is a made for TV documentary on the Showtime Cable network about the assault by Mujahideen rebels, and siege involving more than 1200 parents and students hostages on September 1, 2004 at the century old School No. 1 in Beslan in Ossetia in Southern Russia located 30 miles from the war ravaged Muslim Chechen republic.

The documentary was grisly and revealed the barbarity of Chechen Mujahideen fighters engaged in a purposeful jihad against defenseless non-Muslim hostages.

As I indicated in an Israpundit commentary on an article by Lee Kaplan, “Jihad Against U.S. High School Students” about a purported Saudi “dry run” that occurred on Tuesday involving possible seizure of school buses in South Florida a Beslan event could happen here. Only 30 heavily armed Chechen mujahideen rebels including two women wearing explosive belts were involved in the assault and hostage taking in Beslan. After a bloody ten hour assault by Russian Speznost Special Forces on the third day of the Beslan siege, over 330 innocent civilians laid dead, half of them children. All but one of the Chechens is either blown up by explosive belts and bombs wired in the school’s gymnasium or killed in the Speznost assault. The connection between the two Saudi “students” who boarded the bus in South Florida and the Chechen slaughter of the innocents in Beslan in 2004-what the documentary calls Russia’s 9/11 was the influx of Saudi Wahhabis into the Chechen Sufi culture beginning in the 1980’s.

The Chechens have been in rebellion as Muslim separatists in Russia for over three centuries starting with the Czarists wars in the Caucasus region in the early 19th Century depicted in famous literary works such as that of Mikhail Lermontov, author of “A Hero of our Time.” During World War II, Stalin ordered the Chechen’s removed from the region as they were viewed as being Nazi collaborators. The Chechens and Russians have been embroiled in two devastating wars that have flattened the Chechen republic capital of Grozny (aptly named as “frightening” in Russian). Chechen Mujahideen have fought alongside bin Laden and others in the decade long Secret war in Afghanistan that saw the defeat and withdrawal of the then Soviet 40th Army in the 1980’s. Chechen Mujahideen figured in the Bosnian and Kosovar actions in the Balkans, the U.S. led wars in both Afghanistan and Iraq as “foreign fighters.”

But the Chechens, despite the recent influence of Saudi Wahhabism remain Sufis whirling in their mystical Zikr dances, violent separatists in a Muslim war with Russia that is incessant and interminable resulting in tens of thousands of casualties and in the case of Beslan, the locus of the Showtime Cable TV network documentary, hapless children.

The assault and capture of hostages-parents, children, teachers- as the Showtime documentary points out graphically was deliberately planned for September 1st by Chechen rebel commanders.

September 1st is traditional “Knowledge Day” in Russian schools. Children families and educators make it a festive celebration. The opening segments showing home videos of the arrival of parents and children dressed in typical Russian formality carrying flowers, balloons and gifts for the teachers indicates the joy of the occasion-quickly devolve into terror and death.

The film’s story of the bloody hostage taking, siege and assault is told through the eyewitness stories of a 16 year old Russian exchange student who spoke impeccable English, walking through the bullet ridden and shelled hulk of School No. 1, the mother of two children, one a tot and the other an older sister and first grader entering school for the first time that fateful day, the surviving wife of a husband killed in the opening stages of the assault and hostage taking whose home video is used by the rebels to film their siege, a surviving husband who loses both his wife and daughter in the assault and is grievously injured in the ensuing battle to retake the school, a Russian photo journalist whose still pictures riveted the world’s attention of the horrors and grisly carnage that unfolds. The American film actress Julia Roberts is the voice over narrator who provides continuity.

The home videos portray the Chechen Mujahideen fighters wiring the gymnasium filled with sweltering dehydrated fearful adults and children, with bombs, the two women fighters swathed in black hijabs and equipped with explosive belts-later to be triggered with grisly graphic results and the pile of 21 bodies thrown unceremoniously out of the second story window that include the owner of the captured home video camera. The video footage is ironically found as Roberts narrates by two teenagers sifting through the rubble of what was School No. 1.

The home video footage depicts the commander of the assault team “Colonel” who sports a red henna dyed Muslim spaded beard - a symbol of his religious devoutness engaged in giving orders and in negotiations with the lone government representative, a former Russian General and President of the Chechen Ingush Republic.

There is footage of the previous Chechen terrorist takeover of a Moscow Theater in 2002 during which Russian security forces used sleeping gas that unfortunately resulted in the deaths of the hostage takers and more than 130 hostages.

After the bloody assault President Putin arrives in Beslan to make a quick inspection tour of casualties in the hospitals, but as the film’s narrative says he doesn’t visit the site of the siege, School No. 1 and the visit is so short that his plane’s engines are kept warmed up.

At film’s end, the sibling, the mother, the school deputy principal and the Russian photo journalist are reunited with their siblings, children and subjects both physically and emotionally scared by the experience.

As my wife pointed out, only once is the religion of the Chechen mujahideen mentioned: Muslim. The term terrorists is used over and over again to identify them. Thus, the truth of the Beslan siege emblematic of Muslim Jihad is never broached. Rather the fingers are pointed at Russian government authorities or in the case of the lone negotiator sent in on not resolving the Chechen “crisis.” Subsequent to the Beslan siege several Russian Police commanders in the Ossetian region are tried for their incompetency.

Gripping and grisly as “Three days in September” is, it is also a warning that what happened in Beslan at School No. 1 in September 2004 could happen here in this country. It is the message that one correspondent who read the Lee Kaplan article said: was a definite Saudi “dry run” on vulnerable yellow school buses transporting innocent children and driven by untrained drivers here in America.

Watch the reprieve of “Three days in September” on Showtime in your respective viewing areas, despite its politically correct narrative flaw

[2banana]

"As my wife pointed out, only once is the religion of the Chechen mujahideen mentioned: Muslim. The term terrorists is used over and over again to identify them. Thus, the truth of the Beslan siege emblematic of Muslim Jihad is never broached."

One day the west is going to wake up. We need John Wayne again to make some real movies...

[AliVeritas]

You are correct. I've been warning everyone since they found two guys checking out a school in NJ after 9-11 and up till now with the Saudis on the school bus incident.
They know doing something to the kids would hurt us most.

[Guenevere]

bttt

[Bigg Red]

They know doing something to the kids would hurt us most.

&&
That is true, but it would also awaken many people, and there would be blood in the streets in retribution.

[ishabibble]

I agree that they will hit our children next. The biggest cover-up of the year, IMHO, was the Muslim convert who blew himself up outside of the football stadium at University of Oklahoma. There were approximately 60,000 people in the stadium on that day, many of them students.

When I read the news article about the school bus in FL, just before it was snuffed out by the MSM, my first thought was the reports of Muslim men on domestic flights acting in a suspicious and threatening manner. The root of terror is fear, which is highly contagious. The best opportunity for terrorism is stupidity. Why did the driver let the two Saudi men on the school bus full of children? Stupid or Muslim is my guess, although it would be difficult to find out, since the incident was erased from everyone's memory after CAIR said the two men were simply mistaken.

CAIR said...Oh OK, nothing to worry about now, it's just fine, move along nothing to see here. When the Muslims hit us again, we will then realize how stupid we've been, and how the MSM has deliberately lied to us, counting on that stupidity. If there is still electrical power after the next attack, I will watch this Showtime documentary about a Muslim mass murder of innocents, which took place in 2004.

[maine-iac7]

sleeping gas that unfortunately resulted in the deaths of the hostage takers and, unfortunately, more than 130 hostages.

(There, got that sentence corrected.)

I remember that Russia and the Russian people were very supportive/sympathetic to us re: 9-11. It saddened me that we/the US did not show that much towards their 9-11.

Russia has been fighting these bast*rds for decades whle the world pointed fingers at them for it.

Autopsies on the scum of the earth that committed the atrocities in Beslan showed each and every one of them to be hard line drug addicts...and I posed the question> Is this one of the control methods the muzzie terrorists use for their suicide squads? "You get your next fix after this job" It seems that this group of scum thought they would escape - only one did -

I wonder that the real control mechanisms of the suicide bombers in general hasn't been explored. The common denominator is the same as the WW11 kamikaze pilots = young, given little choice - family members hostage on point of death, etc - and the pilots had to be locked into the cockpits with no hope of escaping or landing without exploding. There were also some that evidently were convinced, like the muzzies, of eternal reward.

there have been evidences that some of the 'suicide' bombers in Iraq didn't know, or were forced through hostage family members, into 'sacrifice.' I remember one bomber that was driving a loaded truck - who survived the explosion. He thought he was only going to drive the truck to the site and then scoot out before the truck was detonated remotely. He realized he had been lied too regarding WHEN the bomb would be detonated.

the common denominator of the bombers is 'young' - If these scum really had the convictions they maintain, why aren't some of the older and/or leaders strapping on the bombs?

I would think it could pose a large question in muzzie minds if they were lead to believe that some of these young people were given an offer they "couldn't refuse" - with or without definitive data - a psych-ops

[maine-iac7]

I've been warning everyone since they found two guys checking out a school in NJ after 9-11 and up till now with the Saudis on the school bus incident.

and the 'dry run' in Florida last week...

2-3 years ago, a couple of terrorists were caught,one in the US and one in Saudi? Iraq? - with the plans for an American Beslan.

The US one had on him school bus schedules and school building layouts for several large city schools.

The terrorists have also announced that they will kill what means most to us - our children...and they have demonstated - via Beslan - that they are barbaric enough to do it.

When I was raising my children, I had to work more that one job. ONe was early morning school bus driving. When I heard about the two muzzies that approached the bus in Florida, one in shorts and a TRENCHCOAT! and were allowed to get on the bus and then to STAY on the bus and ride to school - I was infuriated. I had screamed for training school and bus personnel on security measures after the plans were discovered.

I drove high-risk (for abduction) kids - including Clint Eastward's - and we were trained for security: to watch for suspicious people or vehicles in the area - and NOT to open the door - let alone watch such people approach and then let them board and then let them ride! I would have slammed that door in their faces and left rubber on their feet. Training would also include taking a clear mental picture of their description and that would've been communicated post haste to the law authorities. Mind boggling!

TRAIN our school bus drivers - perhaps the first line of defense. and Train school personnel and have lock-down procedures etc in place...and a loud alarm system that could be activated that would immediately alert the surrounding area - and put any terrorists on notice that their presence was announced before they even got settled into their plan - Much could/should be done.

[dinasour]

The biggest cover-up of the year, IMHO, was the Muslim convert who blew himself up outside of the football stadium at University of Oklahoma.

We only found out about it because there was a FReeper at the game.

When I tell people about that, their jaw drops. They can't believe something like that could happen and they didn't here about it.

[maine-iac7]

to the poster who said :"They know doing something to the kids would hurt us most.

YOu replied:

&& That is true, but it would also awaken many people, and there would be blood in the streets in retribution.

Let's not wait for that to happen before we take action!

They have announced the intention a good 2+ years ago. they have now made some dry runs - SUCCESSFULLY.

We captured, 2+ years ago, a terrorist in this country with detailed school bus routes and schedules, and blueprints of schools for many big city schools.

Yet bus drivers have not even been given, it would seem, security training!

That Florida bus driver, before even climbing behind the wheel of school bus, should have been trained to spot suspicious characters in the area and how to take evasive action - i.e., the driver saw these two middle eastern looking men - obviously not students - one in shorts and a TRENCHCOAT! - approaching the bus. Step one: SLAM THAT DOOR SHUT. Steps 3 & 4, simultaneously, take mental note of suspects description and burn rubber. Step 3. notify authorities poste haste.

I have been screaming for security training for over 2 years. How do we answer for the lack of it after a catastrophe

[A Texan]

I watched this last night an it was pretty intense. I have also seen the documentary on the incident that took place at the Moscow theatre and the thing I walked away from about both of these films is that the russians need to work on there organization and assaults. I am no expert in this but I have read several books on hostage situations and US counterterrorist interdiction and we seem to be much more capable to handle these types of situations.

On of the most shocking and telling things I saw in last nights doc was the fact that russian civilians were armed and actually firing at the building at the climax of the siege. There was complete disorder and chaos.

[Sender]

Most schools today only have a policy of lockdown in the event of something bad happening, and to call 911. There are no armed guards.

Police responding to a hostage situation like Beslan would remain at a safe distance, not wanting to precipitate a disaster. Feds would be called.

By the time negotiators and the media arrive, terrorists would have had time to string explosives over the entire property and post lookouts.

The first time anyone tried to approach the building, one or two hostages would be killed. Everyone would back off.

IMHO, there is no good way to deal with a situation like this, except to prevent it in the first place. I'm sure there are many civilians who would volunteer to serve as armed guards around schools, but PC would never permit that. Guns are bad. So our schools remain blissfully vulnerable.

[A Texan]

I am reading "Inside Delta Force" right now (written buy an operator who was there from the beginning) and where as the book has yet to mention a situation like this, if those guys can assault a plane as well as they do then I imagine they would be pretty damn effective in a school situation.

FYI, the book is great.

[Sender]

I'm sure Delta Force and similar professionals are very, very good at taking down bad guys, terrorists would stand no chance of escaping.

I would worry about the safety of the hostages though, as when explosives are rigged everywhere like in Beslan, just shooting a terrorist can cause his foot to come off the switch, and if he sees you coming, his foot comes off the switch anyway.

[A Texan]

I don't know exactly what Delta or other US Special Forces do for training or their tactics, but when reading about their training one of the things that stick out is that they train for every possible contingent. They use terrorist events like this to hone there skills and prepare.

I wouldn't presume to know the out come if something like this happened in the US but after watching both documentaries I can tell you both the Theatre and School incident were absolute cluster f*$ks.

[Bigg Red]

Step one: SLAM THAT DOOR SHUT.

***
Oh, heavens no! That would be racial profiling. /sarc

[maine-iac7]

there is no good way to deal with a situation like this, except to prevent it in the first place...<

exactly - we need to worry MORE about prevention - once the barbarians are inside, it's too late to prevent a tragedy - then all that is possible is attempting to mitigate the end results.

First must come :

1: Awareness

2: methodology of detection/alarm/lock-down

3:intensive training

[TASMANIANRED]

Democrats want us to forget.