[David_H]

Look- I have no doubt that our half westernized brothers in Russia are brutal. But look what they have to deal with!

The problem is that by exercising collective punishment against the Chechen civilian population, the Russians are actually facilitating support for these sadistic maniacs. Look at how much support and how many more recruits the IRA got after the 'Bloody Sunday' massacre. The oppressive methods used by the Soviets in Afghanistan didn't make them popular with the Afghans either.

Even if the rebel Chechen government are psychopathic fanatics, torturing and killing civilians will just be counter-productive for the Russians in the long run.

[Burkeman1]

Look - you have a point. But I don't think the Russian miliraty has the same sort of control that we do. And even under US control the Mai Lai massacre occured. Soldiers- taken from home- who see there friends butchered or under the influence of veterans can easily committ crimes. But let us be real. Do you really think that Chechynan civilians like how they live now under rebel rule? Are not many of their fighters not even Chechynan? But from some other Arab or Muslem land?

A good rule of thumb is this- where do the refugees flow? That is how you tell the good guys from the bad. Do they flow to Iran or Afghanistan? No- they flow North into Russian or partial western lands. Just as they did in VietNam.

[Stavka2]

BS, you conviniently ignore, again, the fact that 1. Most Chechins don't live in Chechnya and don't want to. 2. That they had 3 years of independence and in that time kidnapped 1,500 people, including a 4 star Russian general on a diplomatic mission; slaughtered a Red Cross mission; committed various acts of terrorism in Turkey and other places; trained Al Quids; trafficed opium; invaded Daghistan, facilitating the video recorded mass slaughter of whole villages...executed by Baseyov, the Minister of Defense under the Mashkidov regime; and blew up 3 apartment buildings and an underpass....but you'll give some conspiracy theory to avoid these facts.