[r9etb]

Sobering article.

And probably overblown, too. The Chechens are obviously a tough crowd. But IMHO they're not nearly so invincible as the author would have us believe. The Russian difficulties in Chechnya probably have mostly to do with Russian tactics. Of course the Chechens are going to fight to the death, because they know the Russians will kill them anyway.

[Deb]

I saw a documentary the other night on the Chechnyan war. It showed footage (for the first time) of atrocities committed by the "rebel forces" that were never shown to the Russian people or their soldiers because of the horrifying brutality. They weren't even told there was a battle. The picture were unbelievable.

Parents of young Russians soldiers are terrified of their boys serving because of what will happen to them if they're captured.

One Russian soldier was interviewed at the site of a battle where the Chechnyans had murdered all surrendering Russians. He said, "If they thought we should die, they should shoot us, but cutting off body parts and then heads...". He couldn't finish. It was so sad.

Just like Kosovo, very few people even know that Chechnya is Muslim. The international press stands firmly on the side of terror.