"Rag tag military...."
Good Lord. It looks like no perimeters were set up. Civilians are running everywhere and terrorists have been given the opportunity to escape with hostages. We know that Russia has some elite, highly trained forces. Why didn't they send them down there to handle this situation? It looks like they didn't have enought medical personnel or ambulances either. This stand off has been going on for 3 DAYS! They were not prepared. Thank God we live in America.
America? I said it before, remember the LE at Columbine who stood around picking their noses while students and teachers were begging for them to come rescue them? That one kid finally had to fall out a window and the male teacher died because of inaction. Sorry, but even in America, if you're in a crisis situation be prepared that you're on your own.