[Spar]

Boucher said U.S. views on Chechnya, which are that Moscow should seek a political settlement to the conflict and that there is no military solution, were unchanged.

Say what now??

Concerned by the scale of Russia's campaigns in which thousands of civilians have been killed and the Chechen capital, Grozny, virtually reduced to rubble, Washington has tried to encourage Putin to differentiate between terrorism and Chechens who seek independence for their mountainous, mainly Muslim region.

That is like asking us to differentiate between the Taliban and al-Qaeda who just happen to be there too.

Good Ole State Dept. Predictable to a fault. Bush is ill served in this part of the world.

[DoughtyOne]

We really do need to consider that other parts of the world have a right to defend themselves.  It is terribly counter-productive to condemn others for doing what comes naturally to us.  Russians have very right to take preempitive action to prevent terrorism on their soil.  I wish we'd stop with the double standards.

[self_evident]

Russian President Vladimir Putin (news - web sites) blamed the attack in the Caspian Sea port of Kaspiisk on "terrorists," the usual Kremlin term to describe separatist Chechen rebels.

They blow up a PARADE and Reuters STILL can bring themselves to just call it a terrorist act.

[self_evident]

Putin has emphasized alleged links between some of the Chechen guerrillas and bin Laden's al Qaeda network.

Alleged??? I guess the Chechens at gitmo would be interested to know that they are only "alleged" to exist.

[truth_seeker]

Only political blindness permits one to conclude that islam is not at war, with each and every potential adversary, the world over.

In some places it is with high level military war. Other places, most in fact, it is terrorism. Finally we should recognize the quiet "war" support, of fundraising, incitement, recruitment, even in the US.

The positive element of this story, is to strengthen Rusia, as a partner, in fighting the worldwide islamist terror campaign. I only wish that Britain, Germany, Italy, Spain, Canada were more vocally on board. France is, thus far, hopeless.

I expect civilization will win, but not before many lives are lost. I find islam's practitioners to be much like Japanese in 1945; requiring the same degree of defeat.

The scale and duration of the epic war are yet unknown. The casualty statistics are yet unknown. But it is a war; a war of unconventional character. Guerrilla war is the closest term we know.

There are two ways to combat guerrilla's: Try to sort them out from the so-called innocent civilians, or to wipe out the entire population, sufficient to convince them to stop--aka Japan 1945. The latter is quicker, saves our fighters' lives, is more certain. When/will it come to that?

[Robert_Paulson2]

I agree with you... and yours was an understatement indeed.

There is something rotten at STATE... and it ain't just collin. What the HELL is going on here?

Us telling the russians what to do when 30 plus citizens and especially 12 innocent little kids just got blown to hell?!? By islamobombos?

Gimme a frickin' break!

I wonder what the crazy arab/islamobombos are threatening US with, that we would say and do such things towards our VERY CLOSE Russian friends in their hour of need? <p

[Robert_Paulson2]

Bush just don't get it. Can he truly be so dense?

He really believes ISLAM IS PEACE... and he is an idiot for insisting it is. SOME islamics are peace loving. The dominant form of it "fundamentalist" islam, is nothing but murder... and 80 per cent of them are just that kind of islamics... fundamentalist-murdering thugs.

If 3000 dead americans does not wake him up... what will?

Hell, he invited these pukes to Crawford for dinner... I just don't get it. some say its strategery... or kabooki. I don't see how it could be.

WE tell Russians, how to defend their own nation? "be nice, don't hurt the murderous little musli, now vladmir??" sheesh.

[antidisestablishment]

We will starve terrorists of funding, turn them one against another, drive them from place to place until there is no refuge or no rest.

And we will pursue nations that provide aid or safe haven to terrorism. Every nation in every region now has a decision to make: Either you are with us, or you are with the terrorists.

From this day forward, any nation that continues to harbor or support terrorism will be regarded by the United States as a hostile regime.

President Bush's address Thursday September 20, 2001

It once seemed pretty clear. It amazes me how some can forget so quickly.

[omega4412]

The infidel terrorists killed Holocaust survivors on Passover and attacked Russian WWII veterans on Victory Day. The terrorists should remember what happened to the last people to take on the US/Russia/Commonwealth.

Time to bring back the four-flag graphic here soon after 9/11 -- three flags with crosses, representing Catholic, Protestant, and Orthodox, and the Israeli flag. I didn't realize that the Cross of Jerusalem on the flag representing Catholicism was from the arms of the Latin Kingdom of Jerusalem, established by the Crusaders. (The Franks have certainly gone downhill since then!)

[Stavka2]

Why is it that only Americans are allowed to fight back while the rest of the civilized world is expected by the geniuses in DC to just die? People like these idiots can go to Hell. What will they do, bomb Russia like they did Serbia?

[Stavka2]

As said as it is to say, to bad it wasn't 3 thousand dead in DC instead of NYC...would have cleared up reality for these Washington human leeches...er politicians...a bit.

[Righty1]

Couldn't we spare just one old nuc for the state dept?

[Mamzelle]

Translation: go ahead, Vlad, and waste the scum.

[A. Pole]

Boucher said U.S. views on Chechnya, which are that Moscow should seek a political settlement to the conflict and that there is no military solution, were unchanged.

Russians tried the political settlement, they withdrew their troops and gave Chechens freedom to rule themselves. As a result the Saudies and West supported Wahhabi invasion which resulted in slave markets, takovers of hospitals, numerous beheadings, bloody bombings and the last straw - invasion of Dagestan. It is much harder to promote Caucasian version of KLA since Russia is bigger and stronger than Serbia, but will it stop humanitarian instigators?

[dfwgator]

Nuts!!! Go get 'em Putin.

[swarthyguy]

Restraint urged on Russia, india, israel. In the meantime, Arabs are put on a pedestal and feted. The finger pointing and blame game in US domestic politics reaches new heights; Arab/muslim considerations are front and center.

We tear ourselves apart by not having our enemy identified and named specifically.