Kinda reminds me of the "Elbonia" jokes in the Dilbert cartoon.
Posted on 08/29/2003 7:21:01 AM PDT by RussianConservative
VLADIKAVKAZ, North Ossetia -- Federal forces on Thursday battled a group of Chechen rebels who were heading from Ingushetia toward North Ossetia, the North Ossetian Interior Ministry said.
Ministry spokesman Alan Doyev said the military pushed the group of about 10 rebels back into Ingushetia's forested mountains near the village of Galashki. There was no report on casualties.
Officials in both North Ossetia and Ingushetia said the fighting ended later Thursday, in an apparent indication that the rebels had fled.
Chechen rebels have mounted similar incursions into regions neighboring Chechnya and launched suicide bomb attacks as part of their campaign to push federal forces out of Chechnya.
Interior Minister Boris Gryzlov said Thursday that the authorities would tighten security in Moscow to prevent terror attacks, the Interfax-Military News Agency reported. "Controls will be tighter and more thorough at public events, airports, stadiums and everywhere it's necessary," he said.
Gryzlov suggested that organizers of public events should assume full responsibility for the security of the audience.
In Chechnya, at least seven federal troops were killed in the latest rebel shellings and mine explosions since Wednesday, said an official with the Moscow-appointed Chechen civilian administration.
Unidentified attackers also broke into the house of Daman Dashiyev, the head of the local administration in the village of Prigorodnoye, and shot him at point-blank range, the official said, speaking on condition of anonymity. Dashiyev was hospitalized in critical condition.
Federal forces killed five rebels in a clash in the southern Shali region Wednesday, military officials said.
In Grozny, a teenager was killed as he attempted to set up a landmine, said the Emergency Situations Ministry branch for southern Russia.
Kinda reminds me of the "Elbonia" jokes in the Dilbert cartoon.
Scary? Yes, and unfortunate. I would be willing to bet that even MOST of the people who post here, and they tend to be better informed and more intelligent than the average American, could find Russia, perhaps Georgia, maybe even Chechnya on a map but have no idea about the causes of the war in Chechnya, the relationship between Georgia, Russia, and the Chechens, and think the Pankisi Gorge is a Greek restaurant.
I would say that is a bit of an exagerration. I wouldn't say MOST Americans couldn't find the US on a map, and exporting such a "fact" for foreign public consumption only adds to the perception of the "ugly, pompous, uninformed American".
I won't disagree with the fact that many, and probably even "most" US citizens would have difficulty pointing out most Asian nations, many in Europe and the Middle East, and all of Africa. In addition, your assertion that the average American is uninformed about the underlying causes for the problems, strife, political make-up and history of all nations is certainly accurate.
It is frustrating to me as a fairly knowledgeable and informed citizen, not only of our history and politics but that of many nations across the world, that most Americans have a very remedial and inaccurate view of these areas. Further, so few people seem to even have a desire or interest to become educated in these matters. That is what is scary, IMO.
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