Children of the Fire
From the 7.20.06 NY Times: "Shamil Basayev, was killed in what Chechen rebel groups say was an accidental explosion but the director of Russia's security service is calling a "special operation." Basayev was a leading figure in the Chechen resistance, which has waged a relentless war against Moscow since declaring its independence from Russia in 1991. He was the mastermind of some of the region's bloodiest attacks, including the September 2004 Beslan school siege. Andrei Babitsky of Radio Free Europe/Radio Liberty is one of the few journalists to have personally met and interviewed Basayev."
But first...
In retaliation to Hezbollah terrorism, Israel is invading Lebanon in an effort to destroy a Hezbollah nucleus, but by doing so is killing innocent civilians...
The United States supports the effort to root out Hezbollah factions, despite the fact that the Israeli initiative is effecting the fledgling democratic government in Lebanon. The United States has urged Israel to be cautious while rooting out Hezbollah, and not weaken the government in Lebanon. Nonetheless, the bombing raids by Israel are being called war crimes by detracters, while others support the effort. It depends on which side you stand. But really, GW is the Decider...
He will decide what constitutes terrorism, war crimes, and threats to democracy.
The war in Lebanon (though it is not being called a war just yet), is slowly weakening any shred of democracy...Heraclitus wrote that "war is the father of all things", and here, it should be noted, war is determining how the state of Lebanon will fall to complete chaos as death tolls rise, Hezbollah gets stronger, and innocent lives are lost. Israel, with the support of the Decider, is weakening the progress (a term I reluctantly use) in the Middle East. Although, as the Decider has said before: when we talk about war we are really talking about peace.
But how do you justify a war in Iraq, presumably about spreading democracy, and undermine the death rate there by supporting a war which is weakening Lebanon's democracy as quickly as I write this? My logic tells me that if we are willing to go to war to spread democracy, then we should be as vigilant to protect it. Without having democracy in location A, can there be democracy in location B? The Decider's rhetoric confuses this. The Decider fooled the American people into believing the war in Iraq was about defending freedom and introducing democracy (of course, this was only declared after the initial reason to wage war to rid Iraq of WMD had proven an absolute lie), and the Decider's rhetoric has reached such political heights that it has fooled the American people to believe that democracy can only exist if evil doers such as terrorists and bad Muslims are taken out of the equation...remember the days of "you're either with us or you're against us?"
What does this have to do with Chechnya and Russia?
Two things here: First, Chechnya has been waging civil war with Russia since its 1991 independence. Some of the worst atrocities, in recent years, against humanity have been committed here. As reported by the BBC, the Beslan school siege of 2004 "left 331 people dead, including 186 children...[and] more than 700 people were injured." Yet The Decider, Condoleeza, Rumsfeld et al. have all condemned Russia for its actions of retaliation against Chechen terrorists. We must not forget that Russia is a democracy (some of my Russian friends would smile at this concept), and as far as I understand, Russia's weight on a world stage, not to mention the sheer size of its country and population demands attention. But there is no helping hand from the Decider for Vladimir Putin as he confronts terrorism from Chechen guerrillas. 10 out of the 35 terrorists who murdered women and children at the Beslan school were Arab...they were not fighting for Chechen independence.
Yet, as the Washington Post reported, "the United States officially maintains that Russia should find a political solution to end the Chechen war, but does not push hard for that goal. European governments have been more vocal in promoting talks as the only way to end the war" (September 8, 2004; Page A01).
Never mind the 186 children that were burned to death by terrorists in southern Russia. The Decider has decided that Moscow's best course of action is to exercise diplomacy, by talking with the Chechens to see what they want...a suggestion for which Putin responded, "Why don't you meet Osama bin Laden, invite him to Brussels or to the White House, engage in talks, ask him what he wants and give it to him so he leaves you in peace?" Putin said to a group of Western academics and journalists. "You find it possible to set some limits in your dealings with these bastards, so why should we talk to people who are child killers?" (Washington Post, Wednesday, September 8, 2004; Page A01)
So where does diplomacy fit into the Israeli/Lebanon debacle? The fighting in Lebanon simply undermines the quest for democracy in other locations. As if we hadn't stirred the pot enough in Afghanistan and Iraq, we are now supporting the use of force by the Israeli military against another rogue terrorist group operating in yet another fragile political system. Hopefully Lebanon can withstand the impact of this war, but if it cannot, then what we have set out to do in Iraq will be all in vain due to the destruction of an almost stable government in an area very badly in need of stability. But...where the Decider makes a decision, chaos is sure to follow. Confusion, violence, and sadness are part of the Decider's diplomacy.
The reason I have revisited the Beslan school massacre and set it alongside the Israeli/Lebanon war is simple: there are too many inconsistencies, contradictions, and hypocrisies to the Decider's diplomacy of spreading freedom and democracy.
The point for the Decider to understand is best put by Andrei Babitsky: "it's possible to kill all those who are resisting, but you can't kill the idea of resistance" (NY Times, 7.20.06). I have been saying this from very nearly the day war broke out in Afghanistan many years ago: as long as I continue to see children parading in streets with AK-47s holding pictures of American presidents with the words "death to America" written on them, and as long as I continue to see mobs of people burning American flags and dancing around effigies of American presidents, there will be no peace. You cannot fight a war against a feeling of hatred, against a ghost. The children will ensure that.
But first...
In retaliation to Hezbollah terrorism, Israel is invading Lebanon in an effort to destroy a Hezbollah nucleus, but by doing so is killing innocent civilians...
The United States supports the effort to root out Hezbollah factions, despite the fact that the Israeli initiative is effecting the fledgling democratic government in Lebanon. The United States has urged Israel to be cautious while rooting out Hezbollah, and not weaken the government in Lebanon. Nonetheless, the bombing raids by Israel are being called war crimes by detracters, while others support the effort. It depends on which side you stand. But really, GW is the Decider...
He will decide what constitutes terrorism, war crimes, and threats to democracy.
The war in Lebanon (though it is not being called a war just yet), is slowly weakening any shred of democracy...Heraclitus wrote that "war is the father of all things", and here, it should be noted, war is determining how the state of Lebanon will fall to complete chaos as death tolls rise, Hezbollah gets stronger, and innocent lives are lost. Israel, with the support of the Decider, is weakening the progress (a term I reluctantly use) in the Middle East. Although, as the Decider has said before: when we talk about war we are really talking about peace.
But how do you justify a war in Iraq, presumably about spreading democracy, and undermine the death rate there by supporting a war which is weakening Lebanon's democracy as quickly as I write this? My logic tells me that if we are willing to go to war to spread democracy, then we should be as vigilant to protect it. Without having democracy in location A, can there be democracy in location B? The Decider's rhetoric confuses this. The Decider fooled the American people into believing the war in Iraq was about defending freedom and introducing democracy (of course, this was only declared after the initial reason to wage war to rid Iraq of WMD had proven an absolute lie), and the Decider's rhetoric has reached such political heights that it has fooled the American people to believe that democracy can only exist if evil doers such as terrorists and bad Muslims are taken out of the equation...remember the days of "you're either with us or you're against us?"
What does this have to do with Chechnya and Russia?
Two things here: First, Chechnya has been waging civil war with Russia since its 1991 independence. Some of the worst atrocities, in recent years, against humanity have been committed here. As reported by the BBC, the Beslan school siege of 2004 "left 331 people dead, including 186 children...[and] more than 700 people were injured." Yet The Decider, Condoleeza, Rumsfeld et al. have all condemned Russia for its actions of retaliation against Chechen terrorists. We must not forget that Russia is a democracy (some of my Russian friends would smile at this concept), and as far as I understand, Russia's weight on a world stage, not to mention the sheer size of its country and population demands attention. But there is no helping hand from the Decider for Vladimir Putin as he confronts terrorism from Chechen guerrillas. 10 out of the 35 terrorists who murdered women and children at the Beslan school were Arab...they were not fighting for Chechen independence.
Yet, as the Washington Post reported, "the United States officially maintains that Russia should find a political solution to end the Chechen war, but does not push hard for that goal. European governments have been more vocal in promoting talks as the only way to end the war" (September 8, 2004; Page A01).
Never mind the 186 children that were burned to death by terrorists in southern Russia. The Decider has decided that Moscow's best course of action is to exercise diplomacy, by talking with the Chechens to see what they want...a suggestion for which Putin responded, "Why don't you meet Osama bin Laden, invite him to Brussels or to the White House, engage in talks, ask him what he wants and give it to him so he leaves you in peace?" Putin said to a group of Western academics and journalists. "You find it possible to set some limits in your dealings with these bastards, so why should we talk to people who are child killers?" (Washington Post, Wednesday, September 8, 2004; Page A01)
So where does diplomacy fit into the Israeli/Lebanon debacle? The fighting in Lebanon simply undermines the quest for democracy in other locations. As if we hadn't stirred the pot enough in Afghanistan and Iraq, we are now supporting the use of force by the Israeli military against another rogue terrorist group operating in yet another fragile political system. Hopefully Lebanon can withstand the impact of this war, but if it cannot, then what we have set out to do in Iraq will be all in vain due to the destruction of an almost stable government in an area very badly in need of stability. But...where the Decider makes a decision, chaos is sure to follow. Confusion, violence, and sadness are part of the Decider's diplomacy.
The reason I have revisited the Beslan school massacre and set it alongside the Israeli/Lebanon war is simple: there are too many inconsistencies, contradictions, and hypocrisies to the Decider's diplomacy of spreading freedom and democracy.
The point for the Decider to understand is best put by Andrei Babitsky: "it's possible to kill all those who are resisting, but you can't kill the idea of resistance" (NY Times, 7.20.06). I have been saying this from very nearly the day war broke out in Afghanistan many years ago: as long as I continue to see children parading in streets with AK-47s holding pictures of American presidents with the words "death to America" written on them, and as long as I continue to see mobs of people burning American flags and dancing around effigies of American presidents, there will be no peace. You cannot fight a war against a feeling of hatred, against a ghost. The children will ensure that.
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