Alot of discussion about the terrorism in Russia lately has led to alot analysis and fingerpointing, and parallels with the west and its own war on terror.
Many Americans blamed the Russians and Putin as being heavy handed, blaming their tactics as the encouraging the terrorism but have not been so quick to do the same with Bush and the USA.
This article believes that the attacks further strengthen Putin because he has staked his entire career on ending the Chechen resistance through military force. The attacks make the average Russian want to punish the terrorists, and they feel Putin is the best man for the job.
It also says corruption in the Russian Army and super high unemployment in the region are big factors in the latest terror attacks.
In any case, this is one of the most disgusting acts in history, and there is absolutley no excuse or justitication for it. NONE, whatsover.
Observers believe the rampant corruption in the poorly-paid Russian armed forces has contributed to the mobility of the Chechen fighters — wads of cash (raised through criminal extortion or donations from jihadi-sympathizers abroad) has often proven a more effective weapon than a rocket launcher in the hands of separatist fighters looking to break through Russian lines. The heavy-handed tactics of Moscow's forces has alienated even many of those Chechens who had initially welcomed their arrival as deliverance from the violent chaos of criminality and warlordism that had prevailed under the de facto independence won from Moscow in 1996. And the state of the Chechen economy after five years of war also works to the advantage of the men of war — with unemployment at around 80 percent, the job prospects for many fighting-age Chechen men are restricted to joining the pro-Moscow militias or doing contract work for the rebels. (Bombing an oil pipeline, for example is believed to earn a Chechen fighter in the region of $400, a princely sum in a pauperized population.) And for many, particularly the "black widows" who have seen fathers, brothers and husbands killed by the Russian security forces, revenge is as powerful a motive as money — the suicide bombers of both airliners and the subway station are believed to be Chechen women who had lost loved ones in the war. But the cycle of violence spirals downwards, as increasingly savage terror bring new crackdowns from the authorities and further dim the prospects for a political solution.
Many Americans blamed the Russians and Putin as being heavy handed, blaming their tactics as the encouraging the terrorism but have not been so quick to do the same with Bush and the USA.
This article believes that the attacks further strengthen Putin because he has staked his entire career on ending the Chechen resistance through military force. The attacks make the average Russian want to punish the terrorists, and they feel Putin is the best man for the job.
It also says corruption in the Russian Army and super high unemployment in the region are big factors in the latest terror attacks.
In any case, this is one of the most disgusting acts in history, and there is absolutley no excuse or justitication for it. NONE, whatsover.
Observers believe the rampant corruption in the poorly-paid Russian armed forces has contributed to the mobility of the Chechen fighters — wads of cash (raised through criminal extortion or donations from jihadi-sympathizers abroad) has often proven a more effective weapon than a rocket launcher in the hands of separatist fighters looking to break through Russian lines. The heavy-handed tactics of Moscow's forces has alienated even many of those Chechens who had initially welcomed their arrival as deliverance from the violent chaos of criminality and warlordism that had prevailed under the de facto independence won from Moscow in 1996. And the state of the Chechen economy after five years of war also works to the advantage of the men of war — with unemployment at around 80 percent, the job prospects for many fighting-age Chechen men are restricted to joining the pro-Moscow militias or doing contract work for the rebels. (Bombing an oil pipeline, for example is believed to earn a Chechen fighter in the region of $400, a princely sum in a pauperized population.) And for many, particularly the "black widows" who have seen fathers, brothers and husbands killed by the Russian security forces, revenge is as powerful a motive as money — the suicide bombers of both airliners and the subway station are believed to be Chechen women who had lost loved ones in the war. But the cycle of violence spirals downwards, as increasingly savage terror bring new crackdowns from the authorities and further dim the prospects for a political solution.
Comment