Sunday, September 12, 2004

Neoconservative role in Chechnya?

From The Guardian in the UK comes an editorial by John Laughland that contends that Russian critics of Vladamir Putin's tactics in the Breslan massacre are backed by some of the same neoconservatives who backed the invasion of Iraq. Why? Because the Chechen terrorists "...shows the undemocratic nature of Putin's Russia, and cultivates support for the Chechen cause by emphasising the seriousness of human rights violations in the tiny Caucasian republic. It compares the Chechen crisis to those other fashionable "Muslim" causes, Bosnia and Kosovo - implying that only international intervention in the Caucasus can stabilise the situation there." CNN reported that Putin has complained to the White House about this before.

Is it any wonder why The Seattle Times story today quotes Putin as saying "
Why don't you meet Osama bin Laden, invite him to Brussels or to the White House and engage in talks, ask him what he wants and give it to him so he leaves you in peace?"

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