Russia: 85 dead in rebel attacks

[Byzantine Prince]

link to CNN.com (http://edition.cnn.com/2005/WORLD/europe/10/13/russia.toll.ap/index.html)

Chechen rebels and other muslim extremists are turning the capital of Kabardino-Balkariya province into a war zone. Will the Russian president persist? Of course. They are only fighting for their independence from a corrupt authoritarian regime. :no:

[Kaiser of Arabia]

link to CNN.com (http://edition.cnn.com/2005/WORLD/europe/10/13/russia.toll.ap/index.html)

Chechen rebels and other muslim extremists are turning the capital of Kabardino-Balkariya province into a war zone. Will the Russian president persist? Of course. They are only fighting for their independence from a corrupt authoritarian regime. :no:
LOL!

Read up on the Chechnan wars. They've been Terrorists since the 1600s.

Most recently, they persecuted Russians (since 1991), so Russia had to act. They lost, and Chechnya got their independance. But of course, wanting an Islamic State, they invaded a neighboring Russian County. Big mistake.

Then you have Beslan, the Theater Incident, the Apartment bombings, WHAT IS PUTIN SUPPOSED TO DO?

[Crazed Rabbit]

Yeah, some of my sympathy got lost along the way when Chechyna attacked a neighboring country.

Not that I view the Russians very sympathetically.

Crazed Rabbit

[Kraxis]

The real problem is really that there are two factions (general overview here), the secular ones who were lead by Dudayev (killed) and the AQ wannabes currently making trouble.
Whenever the latter does something, then the former suffers as Russia retaliates. After all it makes for a great excuse to clean it up a bit.

One, a cynical one, could even argue that the troublemakers are really not at the moment trying to get at the Russians, but trying to get rid of the other faction, by means other than direct attack (which would be hard since they too are hiding).

[Tribesman]

But of course, wanting an Islamic State,
Of course wanting an Islamic State they declared the creation of a secular State :dizzy2:
Then you have Beslan, the Theater Incident, the Apartment bombings, WHAT IS PUTIN SUPPOSED TO DO?
Well as far as the latter goes perhaps getting his old employees at the FSB to NOT plant bombs in Russian apartment buildings would have been a start .

Read up on the Chechnan wars.
Sounds like a good idea , perhaps you might try it some time .

A real mess , Kraxis you miss a third Chechen faction there (I know you did say general overview) and that is the Russian backed Chechens who by all accounts are some of the most brutal murderous thugs to have ever walked the Caucaus , which is really saying something!!!!!!
Plus the long established criminal gangs who ally themselves to whichever faction suits them on that particular day .

The military intervention has been a dismal failure , despite the obliteration of entire communities and the well armed and sustained miltary offensives they have made negative progress . The displacement of large numbers of the population has fostered an increasing hatred for the Russian State and has spread the conflict into neighbouring areas .
While at the same time the brutality of both the clampdown and the terrorism , and the financial strains created by the presence of large influx of refugees , in addition to the measures limiting freedoms and rolling back the democtratic proress is only serving to turn the wider region into a slaghterhouse .
So ...what to do ?
God knows ..... just another example that when you have a little fire burning away it isn't really a good idea to drive a petrol tanker into the middle of it and open the valves .

[Kraxis]

Yeah, I just thought of the groups that fight for an independant Chechnya. There almost always factions fighting for the state the other are fighting against.

And the bandits... Well I thought everybody knew it was a hotspot of crime, so I din't figure them in. But agreed they do make it rather unpredictable.

My fear is that the Russian crackdowns might hurt the secular groups more than the AQ wannabes. Which in turn will destabilize the region a whole lot more.

[Tribesman]

And the bandits... Well I thought everybody knew it was a hotspot of crime, so I din't figure them in. But agreed they do make it rather unpredictable.

Most certainly , the latest information I have from the British foriegn office regarding one case is that though it was bandits not terrorists involved it became a terrorist act when a certain fundamentalist group paid the bandits more money for the hostages it was holding than the hostages employer could raise for the ransom .....an unpredictable and complex situation indeed .

My fear is that the Russian crackdowns might hurt the secular groups more than the AQ wannabes. Which in turn will destabilize the region a whole lot more.
Unfortunately it does seem that your fears are right on the mark in that case .