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There are people in this world who, lacking the ability to advance a notion, support an idea, or debate a point, resort to the one method available to them...vitriol.

You are one of those people.

Chechen terrorists committed an atrocity of monumental scale in Beslan, no one in this thread, myself included, has actually defended them; the article begins with a clear statement to that effect: "Nobody should excuse what happened in Beslan."

But beyond that, and addressed in the second part of that opening line is the actual topic of the article: "but Chechnya still needs a solution."

Here's a clue cowboy: Chechnya will not be nuked, they will not be razed from the Earth, and their people will not be massacred by the Russians. None of those are solutions that either Russia, or any civilized Western nation will embrace, and anyone who advocates such actions is no better than the people who murdered those children, because they too will be advocating the murder of children.

Now, in your infinite ignorance, you believe that a sophomoric game of name-calling while hiding behind the anonymity of an Internet bulletin board makes you brave, or maybe strong, or maybe even a man...it does none of those things, and in all actuality, it has the exact opposite effect...it exposes you as an immature, boorish dolt.

Chechnya still needs a solution, and you don't have the first notion of what that solution is...as a matter of fact, you can't even get Chechen history straight:

Imperial Russia's control of the Caucasus stretched from 1818 to 1917 the Chechens fought bitterly during an unsuccessful rebellion in the 1850's led by Imam Shamyl; the Bolsheviks seized the region in 1918, but were dislodged in 1919.

After Soviet rule was reestablished, the area was included in 1921 in the Mountain People's Republic, the Chechen Autonomous Region was created in 1922, in 1934 it became part of the Chechen-Ingush Region, and in 1936, it was made a republic.

The fact that an Imam from the region attacked Cossacks in 1785 has nothing to do with the fact that Russia conquered Chechnya in the 19th, not the 17th, Century.

Now, what is the solution according to you? Granting Chechnya independence? Would you organize the election under the supervision of troops from NATO? Or would you let power to be grabbed by the strongest factions? How will you prevent the repeat of 1996-1999 chaos?

How would you guarantee safety for the neigboring Russian provinces? How would you provide access to the world for the Chechen state? (Chechnya is in the middle of Russian territory with the exception of mountain passes to Georgia)

How will you prevent a new influx (through those mountain passes) of Islamist militants? How will you prevent the tribal warfare between Chechens, Ingush, Osetians, Dagestanis and other tribes?

Will the NATO troops do better job than in Kosovo? Will the Bondsteel style American base be established in Chechnya? If Russian government collapses how will you stabilize Russia?

The Russians ruled parts of what is now Chechnya since the late 18th century and fully by the mid 1800s. That makes their rule of Chechnya longer than some parts of America have been in the Union.

You need a reason to seek independence.

You argue the basis for Chechnian independence under the discredited Wilsonian self determination policy that states nations should be based on ethnicity. That notion died when Germany also invoked the Wilson Doctrine as its excuse for bringing into Germany areas based only on the existence of German population - no matter they were never part of Germany in the first place.

You come out for Chechen independence? On what basis then? After the fall of the USSR the Chechens had broad autonomy - more so than America's Puerto Rico has. They were ruled by their own people under laws that yes had to comply with the constitution of the newly re-created Russia but those laws are like most liberal European laws on human rights etc.

Chechens were even over represented in Moscow.

So the call for Chechen independence was ONLY ethnicity and Islam for the establishment of Islamic Sharia law. UNACCEPTABLE!

The Chechens then had ZERO justification for leaving Russia. You can post no evidence of post USSR Russia restricting one iota of Chechen ethnicity, religion or culture beyond banning imposition of Sharia.

But we forget the Chechens won their independence. Once granted such defacto independence under Yeltsin what did the Chechens do? Set up a viable peaceful state? No! They allowed through ommission or commission or both the creation of an anarchic Sharia ruled warlord state that waged war and crime on her neighbors.

The Chechen rebellion leaders thus FORFEITED their claim to nationhood.