Date: Wed, 3 Aug 2005
From: "Raymond Finch" <rayfin3@ku.edu>
Subject: re 9213/ Ware
Mr. Ware ought to re-examine some of his assumptions and analogies regarding Chechen terrorism (DJL 9213, Interview: Robert Bruce Ware on Basayev's playing with the American media).
He continues to propagate the Putin message that equates America’s fight against al Qaeda with that of the Russians against Chechens. Nothing could be further from the truth. All terrorists are not equal, nor are the strategies to deal with them. The U.S. did not first bomb, torture, imprison, rape, torture and murder the Saudi people thus enflaming the hatred of someone like bin Laden. Basayev has surely played a role in transmogrifying the Chechen demand for independence into complete lawlessness. But one could argue that he has merely retaliated against the ruthless strategies of the Russian military in Chechnya. Mr. Ware is certainly aware of the deep-seated corruption and criminality within the Russian uniformed services that have kept this conflict alive.
With a near media quarantine on anything but the official Kremlin word on Chechnya, how is someone like Basayev supposed to make his grievances known to the Russian populace and beyond? Instead of being chastised, the intrepid RFE/RL reporter, Andrei Babitsky and the leadership at ABC should be praised for daring to deviate from the Kremlin-approved point of view regarding this conflict.
And ABC was not the only one remiss in not telling the whole story. Mr. Ware failed to mention how the Russian security forces have aided and abetted in both the creation of a monster like Shamil Basayev and the desperate criminality within Chechnya that has led to suicide bombings and hostage-taking. And his remark, that well, the Chechens had a chance to create a law-abiding state during the period 1996-99 ignores the fact that the region was completely devastated and that banditry was the only game in town.
Most ironic of all is that Mr. Ware chastises the American media for not informing them “about the causes of origins of the Iraq war” but then criticizes ABC for shedding light on the insanity within Chechnya. The truth is often ugly and painful, and sifting through the lies and distortions takes considerable effort, but silencing diverse points of view, however abhorrent, is not the answer.