Posted on 05/09/2002 10:57:27 PM PDT by Spar
U.S. Calls Bomb Blast in Russia an 'Atrocity'
Thu May 9, 5:10 PM ET
By Elaine Monaghan
WASHINGTON (Reuters) - The United States condemned as an "atrocity" a blast near the Russian region of Chechnya (news - web sites) on Thursday that killed at least 34 people, including 12 children, saying it looked like terrorism but declining to blame the attack on Chechen separatist guerrillas.
"We were saddened to learn of the bomb blast," State Department spokesman Richard Boucher told a news briefing after the attack that also injured more than 150 people and scattered bodies where a Russian Victory Day parade had been taking place.
"Many of the victims were elderly and were children. Our sincere condolences go out to the Russian people and the victims' families," he said.
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.
Boucher drew no link with Moscow's battle in the north Caucasus region of Chechnya, the scene of two conflicts between separatists and Russian forces since the 1990s and bordering the region of Dagestan where the blast occurred.
"We strongly condemn this cowardly and violent act. We look forward to seeing the perpetrators of these attacks brought to justice," Boucher said.
"I don't think at this point we have a sense of who's responsible for committing this atrocity. I have to say it looks like terrorism plain and simple, and the first issue therefore is to find, identify and punish the perpetrators," he added.
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.
U.S.-Russian relations have flourished since attacks by Islamic militant followers of Saudi exile Osama bin Laden (news - web sites) on the World Trade Center in New York and the Pentagon (news - web sites) near Washington on Sept. 11 that killed about 3,000 people.
President Bush (news - web sites) is due to visit Russia this month for summit talks with Putin.
Both men have made fighting terrorism a hallmark of their presidencies. Putin has emphasized alleged links between some of the Chechen guerrillas and bin Laden's al Qaeda network.
The State Department revived references to the alleged connections after Sept. 11 in an apparent reward to Putin, the first foreign leader to reach Bush after the U.S. attacks.
Putin, drawing parallels with his people's suffering in a series of apartment-building bombings that Moscow blamed on Chechens, announced an interest in political talks shortly afterward, although they have come to nothing.
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.
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.
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?
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
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.
"They repay me evil for good, and hatred for my friendship.
Appoint an evil man£ to oppose him; let an accuser£ stand at his right hand.
When he is tried, let him be found guilty, and may his prayers condemn him.
May his days be few; may another take his place of leadership.
May his children be fatherless and his wife a widow.
May his children be wandering beggars; may they be driven£ from their ruined homes.
May a creditor seize all he has; may strangers plunder the fruits of his labor.
May no one extend kindness to him or take pity on his fatherless children.
May his descendants be cut off, their names blotted out from the next generation.
May the iniquity of his fathers be remembered before the LORD; may the sin of his mother never be blotted out.
May their sins always remain before the LORD, that he may cut off the memory of them from the earth.
And I feel like we would be wise to stand with them in that as a prayer. The musli/fascists of the planet need to be dealt with... no more lies that "islam is peace" because in THESE cases, it clearly is NOT. Fundamentalist Islam is DEATH to all it touches. Murder to its victims, and suicide to its adherents... anything BUT peace.
God sustain the Russians, they are trying SOOOoo hard to be a democracy... it's hard with so many nutcases pulling this crap. The same nutcases that did our 9-11, radical musli, financed by the arab street, mainly saudi arabia and the wahhibi extremists...
I hope they are dealt with EVERY place they raise their ugly ideology to dominate and destroy the hearts, hopes and aspirations of good people.
And I want GWB, to wake up, and send them ALL home. Today.
I honestly think Bush has heard the hooves of the stampede that is approaching to complain of his words of caution and restraint towards Israel. Let's hope so, because if he reverts to refusing to label Arafat a terrorist and urges more restraint on Israel, I think he's going to do himself great political harm.
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