Here I strongly disagree. I do understand what soldiers are going through facing Muslim thugs and the fact that many Muslim non-combatants in both Iraq and Chechnya support these insurgents which makes them also culpable for the atrocities committed by insurgents. The story of two American soldiers kidnapped and grizzly murdered by Islamic thugs in Iraq is further proof that Islamists are completely out of the laws of civilized behavior. I have to state it clearer in my previous posts, but I certainly do understand and appreciate what US military is doing in Iraq. I also fully support the right of Russia to crush Islamic insurgency in Chechnya and N. Caucasus because Islamists gaining any more foothold anywhere are mortal threat for non-Muslims even if Muslims claim to be fighting only for "independence".
"I think it needs to be said, unlike the Muslims, we do not seek to butcher or enslave their people. That said, it is extremely difficult to fight by the Marquess of Queensberry Rules and go by the Geneva Convention when the enemy ignores all standards of civilized behavior."
That's very good point. When one side violates standards of more or less civilized warfare, the other side can certainly violate them too. Nevertheless, the question is how far this violation should go ? Should Russian leadership support local paramilitary thugs like Ramzan Kadyrov who is involved in kidnappings for ransom, torture, murder and the host other criminal activities ? Should revenge kidnappings and murder of locals occur whenever insurgents strike ? It's got to be better way to handle those who support insurgency without being directly involved in it. I read on-line suggestions from professional military advisors proposition to declare Chechnya under martial law with heavy curfews, etc. For all these years, Chechnya was not under Martial law and there was no set of sensible procedures how to handle the population that support insurgency. Are there alternatives, like depriving of citizenship and expelling from Russian Federation those who support insurgency in Chechnya and elsewhere ? Or declaring Chechnya closed military zone and relocating the entire population in the refugee centers (without Stalinist deportation of course) ? I do perfectly understand what unprofessional conscripts are facing and I do appreciate the bravery of soldiers fighting treacherous and thuggish Islamists and sending Islamists to Allah. My question is how to avoid going too far in breaking the norms (when it's necessary to win the war) to avoid becoming equal with Muslim thugs.