Posted on 09/07/2004 3:08:55 PM PDT by Babsig
WASHINGTON - Secretary of Defense Donald H. Rumsfeld denounced the Chechen attack on a Russian school in which more than 400 people were killed as part of a global struggle with extremists.
"There really are no free passes in this struggle, this war," Rumsfeld said Tuesday. "No free passes for countries, no free passes for individuals."
But the State Department, while joining in condemnation of last week's attack, said Russia ultimately must hold political talks with rebellious Chechen leaders who are determined to break away from the Russian Federation.
Stepping around an angry declaration by Russian President Vladimir Putin ruling out negotiations, Secretary of State Colin Powell said Tuesday, "All parties including the Russian Federation have been looking for a political solution to the crisis in Chechnya."
The contrasting emphasis given by the Pentagon and the State Department appeared to reflect conflicting levels of confidence in the use of diplomacy to counter terror.
In a way, it was a replay of the Pentagon's impatience with diplomacy before the Iraq war and Powell's advice to President Bush to appeal to the United Nations for support before using force to depose President Saddam Hussein.
Rumsfeld told a Pentagon news conference that the terrorism that struck Russia, which included attacks on two aircraft and at a subway station, underscored that there were people in many parts of the globe "determined to alter the behavior of the rest of the world."
"This is a global struggle between extremists and people who want to be left alone to live free lives," he said. "We saw vividly the extremes to which terrorists are willing to go to achieve their ends."
Meanwhile, the State Department differed with Putin, saying only a political settlement could end the crisis between Russia and the breakaway region of Chechnya. The department also left open the possibility of U.S. meetings with Chechens who are not linked to terrorists.
In an interview Monday with a group of foreign journalists and academics, Putin rejected Western calls for negotiations with Chechen rebel representatives, according to Britain's Guardian and Independent newspapers.
"Why don't you meet Osama bin Laden, invite him to Brussels or to the White House and engage in talks, ask him what he wants and give it to him so he leaves you in peace?" the Guardian quoted Putin as saying sarcastically.
"You find it possible to set some limitations in your dealings with these bastards, so why should we talk to people who are child-killers?"
Putin said foreigners should have "no more questions about our policy in Chechnya" after the attackers shot children in the back, and said the Chechen cause was aimed at undermining all of southern Russia and majority-Muslim regions of the country.
Yet State Department spokesman Richard Boucher said Tuesday, "Our view on the overall situation has not changed." That is, he said, ultimately "there must be a political settlement" over Chechnya.
He said U.S. officials had met with Chechens with a variety of views in the past, although "we do not meet with terrorists." There may be more meetings in the future, though none are planned, he said.
Responding to Russian suspicions that the terrorist group that seized the school in Beslan included Arabs with ties to the al-Qaida terror network, Boucher said the Bush administration had no definitive information.
Later, at a news conference, Powell said Putin apparently objected to a past visit of Chechen officials to the State Department. He said it was "part of our way of keeping informed about the situation in the region."
But, he said, "Where we are now absolutely united is in condemning this horrible, horrible action that took place in this small town."
"Terrorism of this kind has no place in the world," Powell said.
Earlier, Powell and Deputy Secretary of State Richard Armitage signed a book of condolences at the Russian Embassy.
Boucher said that in response to a Russian government request, two C-130 cargo planes had flown medical supplies worth about $580,000 to Russia and planned an additional flight from Italy. The supplies had been stockpiled in Germany. Meanwhile, U.S. Ambassador Alexander Vershbow released in Moscow $50,000 in emergency assistance, he said.
"Why don't you meet Osama bin Laden, invite him to Brussels or to the White House and engage in talks, ask him what he wants and give it to him so he leaves you in peace?" the Guardian quoted Putin as saying sarcastically."
I thought our policy was that we don't negotiate with terrorists?
I was searching the net for Bush's response to this horrific terrorist attack. I am disappointed if this is adminstration's position. Bush needs to send Putin a message of solidarity and maybe even go to Moscow. We need to help fight these monsters.
And no this has not been posted before, the other article posted does not have Putin's comment.
There are no printable words for what I think of our State Department and by extension, Colin Powell if he endorses their call for negotiation.
I've read it on FR earlier today, but oh well.
It needs to be restated more than a few times since it sums
up how most people feel.
I agree.
President Bush SHOULD have been on the phone the day the Russian School Crisis started, offering sympathy and help.
I watched for him to say SOMETHING, ANYTHING at the convention, and he didn't.
I'm dissapointed.
What people don't seem to get is that if the monsters take out one school, ( or pizza parlour or resort or bus) they aren't just doing it to Russia, or Afghanistan, or Israel, ( or wherever) they are doing it to EVERYBODY.
UNLESS we get out act together and drop the PC crap we WILL lose.
Oh.
And the State Department bites.
They just poked the big bear with a sharp stick, and he's gonna stomp a mudhole in their asses.
I bet we can count on a different Russian reaction and participation in future WOT missions.
Well, actually he was, and he did.
Bush condemns hostage-taking in Russia 01 Sep 2004 22:01:00 GMT Source: Reuters
COLUMBUS, Ohio, Sept 1 (Reuters) - President George W. Bush on Wednesday condemned those behind the taking of hundreds of hostages in Russia and told Russian President Vladimir Putin that "we stand with the Russian people," the White House said.
Hundreds of hostages, many of them children, were being held by armed gunmen in a school in southern Russia.
White House spokeswoman Claire Buchan said Bush called Putin from the White House before going on a campaign trip. "He condemned the taking of hostages and other recent terrorist attacks in Russia," she said.
"He offered his condolences to the victims and to the Russian people. Both leaders stressed their strong commitment to working together to defeat global terrorism," she said.
White House spokesman Scott McClellan added that "we have offered whatever assistance they need," though specifics were not discussed by the leaders.
A senior official played down prospects of providing U.S. assistance, saying none was requested.
"The president expressed that we stand with the Russian people," Buchan added.
The State Department is an embarrassment. And if their position is Bush's position, he is embarrassing me.
I love the guy, but he needs to step up and extend the kind of statement that he knows how to do so well, heartfelt sympathy for the victims, and solidarity with the men with guns who must now respond to this barbarity.
Putin has it right. You don't negotiate with Bin Ladin, and you don't negotiate with the guys that ordered this operation. You identify them, find them, and finish them.
There are different kinds of Chechens. Some oppose the Russian domination but aren't animals like these guys who took over the school. I think Putin lumps all Chechen opposition together so he won't have to talk to the more normal ones.
The Russians have killed 25% of the Chechens in the last 10 years including 40,000 kids.
Maskhadov, the Chechen leader, claims his guys didn't attack the school and says he is opposed to those kind of tactics. He says the guys who did it were driven over the top by the Russian brutality, but that they are wrong.
There is good detail on the Chechen issue at www.rferl.org
Foggy Bottom..."said Russia ultimately must hold political talks with rebellious Chechen leaders who are determined to break away from the Russian Federation."
This is the kind of crap that anoys the hell out of me. Bush has no control of his administration. if I was in charge in a middle of a terror war and any of my people suggested negotiation with terrorists, I would have them fired on the spot.
Thank you for telling me that!
I hadn't heard ANYTHING!
I'm disappointed with W's response as well.
When I heard Russian soldiers had gone in to Chechnya
to take members of the terrorist families (to include kids)
I have mixed feelings. To kill children is wrong, period.
But, to put them in a well-run orphanage and to deprogram
them from hate and insanity , teach them about Christ
and how to live a meaningful life- that would help not only them, but all mankind.
Maybe someday they can go be missionaries to the hell they
came from.
You can't possibly kill all terrorist,everywhere
(not that we shouldn't try). Winning hearts and minds
should include winning souls.
if you're going to fight fire with fire: keep Islamofascist manaic's kids and raise them with kindess and love of Christ. In sub-saharan Africa, the Islamofascist kidnap non-Islamic kids and raise them to become
martyrs for Allah. Instead, raise kids to evangelize to their Chechyen relatives via their lifestyle and words and talk of freedom, not the threat of beheading.
I wondered the same thing so searched Yahoo earlier today and was happy to see it.
Chechnya is an integral part of Russia, as much so as New Mexico is of the United States.
Our "State Department" has no business giving Russia advice regarding its internal affairs, any more that Russia's Foreign Ministry would have telling us (and they have NOT) to negotiate the separation of the American Southwest with representatives of the Aztlan Movement.
Shame on Secretary Powell if he cannot control his minions. Heads should roll.
Have they made it clear they do NOT countenance violence.
We expect our own muslim population to speak out, rightfully so.
The Chechnyans need to speak out as well.
Until then, they condone the murders.
Powell and the State Department......perfect together.
Wow...sounds like something out of the President Kerry State Department. Hard to believe.
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