The Tragedy in Russia

[Don'tLiveonMoon]

I just wanted to start a thread to share thoughts and prayers for everyone touched by the tragedy in Russia. I watched it unfold over the last few days and really hoped it would end much better than the also tragic theater incident. I'm glad that many of the hostages did make it out, but far too many did not. My thoughts are with the survivors and the families of all the victims.
Erin

 

[Muppetsdownunder]

This is a horrible tragedy that should never have happened. Its bad enough when other places are targeted but a school would have to be the worst, most evil. theyre only children, they should atleast keep them out of it. The hostage takers you wouldnt even be able to describe them as animals, they are just scum of the earth.

 

[Beebers]

Ditto to both posts. *sigh* There is a long, long history exceeding a hundred years behind this event, as is the case with so much going on in the present day. There has been suffering on both sides for far too long, and naturally for all the wrong reasons, oil being the primary one. There are excellent Chechnya timelines and Chechen histories on the net which bring illumination, but of course not comfort. Intense outcry from the Arab/Islamist world is being well-documented on CNN.com as well as other news sites.

 

[Whatever]

It's just so sad. I was horrified to hear about it.

But it made me really mad that Bush used it to promote his war against terrorism in a campaign speech.

 

[JaniceFerSure]

Such a sad tragedy.

 

[Beebers]

It's an internal terrorist problem there, not linked to the "global terrorism" activities, which have a larger agenda, excepting in that they do receive some funding and supplies for their activities from Al Qaeda and other international terror organizations. Russia has a lengthy history of internal terrorism incidents going back to and through the era of the Tsars. Chechnya, lying geographically as it does so close to Iran, has coveted oil reserves and a major pipeline which have been primary factors in the denial of their bid for independence. When the U.S.S.R. collapsed many countries which had been absorbed into it gained the opportunity to re-form and regain themselves independently but Chechnya was denied this by Moscow. Tens of thousands of Chechens have died in the past ten years over this. In no way does this history justify this week's events. However, Russia is very, very sadly in for more tragedy until these issues are dealt with in a non-violent manner by both sides.

 

[McFraggle]

Very sad.

 

[Beebers]

The tactics of terrorism and suicide bombing might feel like a relatively new development to some but they have been employed by many factions over hundreds of years to attempt to literally terrify people into giving said factions what they want. Tsar Alexander II of Russia (who was in fact one of the more compassionate and forward-thinking Tsars) along with several others was killed by a suicide bomber during Victorian times, in 1881, as only one example of the many around the world. (There is now a beautiful cathedral on the site, meant in part to cleanse it, as has also been done on the site where the Romanovs, the last Tsar Nicholas and his family, lost their lives.) Terrorism is never acceptable, regardless of perpetrator, cause, locale or ideaology, but it has in fact been with us an appallingly long time.

 

[core]

I just wanted to start a thread to share thoughts and prayers for everyone touched by the tragedy in Russia. I watched it unfold over the last few days and really hoped it would end much better than the also tragic theater incident. I'm glad that many of the hostages did make it out, but far too many did not. My thoughts are with the survivors and the families of all the victims.
Erin

I have no words for this. It's just awful.

 

[Muppetsdownunder]

I have no words for this. It's just awful.

You can say that again! How could they do that to children!